Rescue Journal

what do you do at 6 am when...

Carol  ·  Dec. 14, 2008

you are full, with 2 more cats already slated to arrive and the first email you read....... is about an indoor senior cat, living and balancing on the bare edge of tolerance inside a family home. the small kids are somewhat allergic and break out with a rash, she is confined to a very small area, she throws up hairballs, mom is stressed and fully admits the cat does not have a happy life and knows she is sometimes not wanted...so what do you do?

do you say...you are supposed to love that cat every moment so that she feels it in every cell...that kids and cats and allergies and hairballs happen and can be dealt with and are just other kinds of life small challenge? do you say that somehow, someway you have to re-make yourself to be more committed and compassionate and creative and caring about your cat than you are today?

do you refer that cat to a shelter who is even more full than you happen to be? or do you send her to the spca to spend her 10th xmas waiting for that very rare home looking for a senior cat to put under the xmas tree? do you tell them that finding another good home is their responsibility? and do you trust that they can recognise the difference between a good home and a not so good one because they missed some pretty important things about themselves when they adopted 9 years ago.
i did appreciate her full honesty and in admitting that this is not the right home for this cat....who she freely admits is just a nice cat without any problems except she needs a different home. soooo....just because today i am weak and the thought of this cat bewilderedly balanced between someone wanting to love but not today, and the possibility of things going for her from bad to worse...i sent my cell phone number to arrange admission to saints.

i do believe that so many animals lose their homes at this time of year simply because they were in the wrong homes in the first place. the stress of getting ready for xmas is usually the straw that breaks the camels back...or maybe it is the key to finally admitting that pets for some eventually become a liability.

if the family reads this, please do not take offence, the sad reality of a great many of cats living in very many normal family homes is that quite simply, they are just a cat....they never were able to make that transition to become a real person and so they lose their homes.

Comments

Amy

One thing I find works great for allergies (I'm allergic to long haired cats - BADLY) is Allerpet/c. My family used it on our cats and neither me nor my grandmother had any problems and my grandmother was deathly allergic to cats. You just need to put it on once a week or so when you brush them. And it's not too expensive. Just an idea.