Yesterday I did something I thought I would never do.
I surrendered a cat to the local animal shelter.
For those who have been following along, a year ago (almost to the day) we adopted Seth.
Alas, he and Fleur never really got along and in fact little Miss Princess-Diva-Puss-Kitty gave him a bit of a hard time. She let him know that she was Top Cat in no uncertain terms!
She would guard the litter boxes and harass and bully him so that he was scared to use them.
I often saw her take a swipe at him; sometimes he swiped back but mostly he cowered in fear.
As a result he suffered from stress-induced bladder infections, and his anxiety meant that he sprayed. After several months of constantly cleaning that up, I reached a point where I didn’t want him inside the house anymore, so he was relegated to the cat patio.
It wasn’t much of a life for the poor little blighter.
We tried separating them, we tried Feliway spray, we tried letting Seth play outside … but nothing seemed to work.
I saw little to no sign of the cuddly affectionate cat we knew in the first couple of weeks, except for when he spent time with Mr 23. Much as I wanted to bond with him, it just never happened – I guess he saw me as “belonging” to Fleur, and therefore off limits to him.
(You can read about some of the challenges in one of my past kitty updates.)
Even the vet agreed we’d done all we could, and that sometimes, two cats will just never work out or get along.
So we made the heartbreaking decision to return him to the animal shelter, in the hope that he will soon find a new home where he will be the only cat.
Surrendering a cat cannot be done on the spur of the moment. It involves booking them in, and waiting several weeks until a spot is available; making sure their vaccinations are all up to date; paying a fee and the filling out of quite a bit of paperwork.
The animal shelter itself is a lovely place, and has been completely renovated since we adopted Seth twelve months ago. Today, there are generous cat enclosures and plenty of spots for kitties to play, relax, and snooze in the sun – or snuggle inside a little hidey hole …
Having met one of the volunteers, who always had a soft spot for Seth, I know that the kitties are very well cared for.
Yet it was one of the hardest things I have ever done, and I spent most of yesterday in tears after saying goodbye to sweet Sethie.
I have always prided myself on being a responsible pet owner, and really felt that this was for the best (or I would never have done it).
Have you ever had to surrender a pet, or make any other heartbreaking decision?
UPDATE: Seth found his forever home!
How heartbreaking! Fingers crossed Seth gets adopted into a new family quickly which has no other cats.
Ingrid
http://www.fabulousandfunlife.blogspot.com.au
Yes fingers crossed x
I hope someone picks him up soon and he finds a happy home. Hugs to you, that’s rough.
Thanks Lydia, we’re all feeling pretty miserable about it x
Oh that must have been such a tough decision to make! But it sounds like the best thing for him. Fingers crossed he gets a new home where he’s doted on as the only cat and he can rule the roost there. xx
I really really hope so too x
Oh my, that’s tough – and, as you say, heart-breaking. Here’s hoping he finds a forever home soon. #TeamLovinLife
I feel like such a failure that I couldn’t make it work, but hopefully Seth has a happily ever after x
So devastating. On the bright side, he’s bound to find a loving fur-ever home! Someone will snatch him up because he has such a wonderful nature (when fleur’s not bullying him!). He will be sorely missed, but he will be happier xxx
I hope so Jubie x
We’ve never had to do that, but we’ve also never had two cats who get along great. We have just been lucky that any stress resulting from that does not manifest itself in bladder infections. An occasional swipe with the claw but for the most part they tolerate each other.
I think two cats from the same litter might be the best way to make sure they get along but also our older cat is a tortie who was taken from her mother before she got a chance to learn all the cat language. I think if we put a younger cat who knows cat language with our youngest, it would go a lot better.
I’m sorry you had to make that difficult decision. 🙁
We had 2 cats when we first got married, but they were both kittens adopted only a couple of weeks apart … we got one from the pet shop, and then a friend at work said “why didn’t you ask me, I have kittens looking for good homes!” so we ended up with 2. Within a couple of days they were best of friends. I would only ever get 2 kitties now if I knew they liked each other or had been raised together.
I’m so sorry you had to do this Janet – it’s feels like a failure, but when you’ve done all that you possibly can, it’s better to give him the chance to find a home where he feels secure and happy. Our two cats don’t love each other, but they co-exist quite contentedly and that’s fine. I hope Fleur enjoys the peace of having her home back to herself again.
Fleur is enjoying her status as the only cat … it does feel like a failure but I honestly believe this is for the best x
Oh that must have been so hard but perhaps in the long run the right decision Janet. I love the selfie of you both and hopefully there will be someone out there who can also give Seth the love that you obviously gave.
I hope so too Sue!
Oh that’s sad. My brother’s cats have never gotten along and they had to separate them for a long time. Now there’s an antipathy where they just ignore each other and occasionally have a spat. I see others who smooch and get on well and feel sad for them!
We had 2 kitties when we were first married and they got along fine, but obviously it doesn’t always work out so well 🙁
Oh tough gig Janet but no doubt you have made the right decision.
I hope so Jan!
A big decision for your Janet. We’ve only ever had one pet at a time (too expensive with food, care and vet bills). We haven’t surrendered one, but we have rescued a few. I’m sure Seth will find a lovely new owner soon 🙂 #TeamLovinLife
Yes we are already noticing the difference in the amount of pet food, litter etc we have to buy!
How heartbreaking. And it must have been such a difficult decision to make.
Wishing and hoping that Seth finds his new family soon.
SSG xxx
Fingers crossed!
That is sad, but sounds like it’s for the best. Seth will be better off as a solo pet and I’m sure another person/family will adopt him. 🙂 #TeamLovinLife
I hope so Kathy!
Proud of you, Janet. That was a tough call to make xx
Thanks Liz. Suffering from feelings of failure that we couldn’t make it work, but we just want the best for him and this wasn’t much of a life for him really confined to the kitty chiller most of the time.
Oh Janet, I can understand how hard that must have been for you. I am so sorry. However, you did the right thing by everyone and from what I saw of your posts you really did make huge efforts to assimilate this cat. I hope you can be kind to yourself in the meantime. Denyse x
Thanks Denyse, yes I try to comfort myself knowing we did all we could. I’ve been feeling a bit miserable but we will get there!
Janet, try not to beat yourself up about what has happened. 10 yrs ago we adopted a cat from the animal shelter that looks almost the same as Seth. Originally this beautiful cat had been taken in by a neighbour of someone who could no longer look after him. Sadly, the new cat Otis clashed with her cat so she had to give him up to the shelter. A short while later we adopted him, and what an amazing experience it has been. Otis was the best companion for my then 8yr son who had recently been diagnosed with anxiety. They became the best of friends and Otis was a great support in the management of the anxiety. Otis became a much loved member of our family and all those who knew him. So, by passing your Seth on you are giving another family a wonderful opportunity to share their life with Seth.
Hi Jenni, you wouldn’t believe it but our son was so lost without his companion that after much discussion he has brought Seth home! Difference is, now HE is the owner and is responsible for feeding, kitty litter, etc … which makes it much easier to keep the 2 cats completely separate. You should see how happy they both are to be reunited!!!!
Oh dear poor Seth. Hard decision. My sister had a cat called Roger (after Federer) who completely bullied her older female cat. In the end they had to give them seperate territories and keep them well apart, which was a huge commitment. When the old cat died, Roger (not the tennis star) used to go and sit on her grave. I wonder if he was gloating, or sorry!