I have a Loyalty Pet Slot Totem & a 1 Week Gold Account Medal. If I activate the medal & the totem, do I have to find a new owner for the 6th pet when the week is over?

No, you do not. That pet is yours. Even if you run out of gold time, you don't lose pets unless you abandon them.

, That is wonderful to read! Thank you for your help. I really appreciate it!

No, you can adopt six pets without a GA afterwards.

However, a GA also gives you five temporary pet slots you only have when you have a GA activated. You won't lose a pet if you have more than 6, but you cannot abandon and get a new one. You need another GA.

Was that changed recently? I've always heard that you need a GA to use any pet slots over your usual 5 even after you get more slots :x

No, that always was a thing. The only time where you need a GA is to access the GA-only 5 slots. Any other slot, other than these five, can be accessed at any time.

I have 42 slots, 47 with a GA. Meaning, when my GA expire, I could abandon all my pets, and adopt 42 new ones, but I'd have to get a GA to get the last five ones.

Someone with five pets, using a totem to get a sixth pet, does not need a GA to get the six pets. Their number of total slots has increased, they now have 6 free slots, and a potential for five GA slots.

Huh, I've always heard it the other way around.

When my GA is off, it says "You use 47 out of 42 pet slots" or something and I can indeed use them as 42 slots.

I don't need to have a GA active to get above 5, but I do need one to adopt a pet when I have more than 42.

Huh, alright then. I don't know that I ever tried to adopt pets above 5 without a GA because it always says you can't :L And now I have too many pets anyway