My cat needs a new home. She is no longer happy here. My daughter, son-in-law and grandson had to move in with us since they lost their home to the Flood of 2004, and the cat is not happy. In fact, the cat is just nasty.
A little background. The cat came to us when she was about two weeks old. She had been abandoned on a country road. We took her in and raised her as if she were our own. Hand fed with a medicine dropper. Cuddled and pampered. The best cat food, premium litter, you name it, she got it. Actually, I credit the cat, named Lucky, for saving my wife’s life. Lucky gave her something to focus on other than the crushing depression.
Lucky has never been what you call a normal cat. She never purrs, ever. She doesn’t like to play. And she has always been mean. She uses her teeth and claws very effectively. In fact, when we took her to the vet after she was half grown, he couldn’t get near her to even do an exam.
Lucky takes wild spells. If you have ever seen a Tazmanian Devil cartoon, (one of the older ones) this is what she looks like. When it was just me and the wife, we could control her. But with a 4 year old, autistic grandson, it’s not going to work. So, she needs a new home.
Lucky is a pure white long hair cat. She is scared of loud noises. She eats only Nine Lives Tuna with egg or cheese. She is not spayed. If anyone has any suggestions as to what I can do, please pass them on. Having her put down is NOT an option at this time.
Is she an indoor or outdoor cat? IANAV, but perhaps having her spayed will calm her down. If she is a permanent indoor cat, declawing may be a good option (don’t even start, anti-declawers).
She is indoors mainly because she isn’t spayed. The vet said not to bring her back unless she is sedated. He won’t give us a sedative unless he examines her. We tried another vet, but Lucky had the same reaction, so we had to leave. (Thanks to whomever invented the pet taxi.) Considered de-clawing, but the chance that she may be an outside cat some day put that off.
She has always been nasty with visitors, so it’s not really a new behavior since they moved in yesterday, but Zack just doesn’t understand that he can’t play with her like he did with his cat, a big, orange, lazy, mellow tom named Jones. Jones died about 2 months ago, apparantly hit by a car.
Well, if that’s the case, do whatever it takes to get her spayed and make her a permanent outside cat. If you were to take her to the pound, she probably would have a hard time finding a good home and we all know what that usually leads to.
It’s ridiculous for any vet to refuse to spay her because she acts up while there. How do they think thousands of completely feral, cannot-be-touched cats get spayed every year? Why, they are brought in in a cage and the vet injects them with a pole syringe through the bars. The cat falls asleep, vet pulls the cat out, operation is performed, everyone’s happy.
Find another vet or make a “suggestion” to your current one. Lots of vets are stuck in their own little housepet world and don’t think of anything outside of it. Or you might try calling some shelters or rescue groups and ask if they can recommend a vet who is used to dealing with a cat who is very difficult, or if they know of vets who spay ferals and who thus would know what a pole syringe is and how to use it.
If Lucky is truly wild and not adoptable, well frankly she is better off being put to sleep. No shelter is going to take an unadoptable cat.
I must disagree with Mr. Blue Sky’s suggestion to make her a permanent outside cat, if he means a permanent outside UNOWNED cat. Who is going to take care of this cat? God? God is busy. He doesn’t care about homeless cats.
My exroommate had a white cat, a stray he adopted.
This cat had been a source of amusement over the years. Like the time he tried hanging himself by playing with the cord of the blinds or trying to all warm and toasty by sleeping in the dryer.
This cat, which had no real name because he ignore all names and efforts at obedience. He used to stalk me. I’d be sitting watching TV and I’d see him sitting, facing me from 20 feet away. Then everytime I wasn’t looking, he’d move closer by three feet. Eventually, he’d jump on to my lap and begin kneading my thighs. This lead to me wearing a pillow.
Well, when we had to move, we couldn’t take the cat so he put an ad in the paper for a new home. When a couple called who were looking for an older cat to adopt called, he asked them to come by and see the cat. When the couple sat down, my roommate put cat he had been carrying down so that he could get used to the strange couple. When the man said “come here kitty” the cat jumped in his lap and started purring. My roommate got the cat’s stuff and the cat left with the couple.
While my roomate was glad he didn’t have to worry about his cat, he was clearly hurt too. Now, would you like to guess what I think of cats? :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:
Your cat sounds like our Snowball. When DeHusband got her, she was a stray who had never been around other cats (found on the side of the road and bottle fed.) He took her in when she was about 4 months old, fixed and declawed. She couldn’t purr, or meow, and couldn’t drink from the water bowl. She instead would daintily dip her paw in the water and lick the water off. Very possesive of DeHusband and would hide when strangers came over.
Then came me. I was evil. I wouldn’t leave. I actually had the audacity to sleep in the bed with DeHusband. All night! She stalked me, peed in my shoes and anything else on the floor and just basically was a bitch. Until one day, she had a hissy fit. Screaming, hissing, biting, chasing me around the house (she weighs 5 pounds but it was like something out of Pet Semetary.) I, the evil one, took her to the vet who offered to put her on “kitty valium”. I had lived with an epileptic lab and there was no way I was going to put her on medicine for what we considered an attitude problem.
So we worked with her. Several months of cause and effect - she would begin to get hissy; we would lock her in her bathroom (where the food, water and litter box were). When she calmed down, we’d let her out. If she attacked, we’d close her in the bathtub. Never mean; no water, just over and over again. And eventually we came to an uneasy truce. We agreed to share DeHusband and I was allowed to pet her only if he was out of the house.
When another cat was introduced to the house, she started up again but stopped as soon as we started disciplining her. Then she just asserted her dominance to the new cat but never tried to kill him.
After about 10 years now, she has learned to purr and to meow and from time to time will actually drink from the water bowl. And sleeps on me when DeHusband is away.
Good luck. I wish you had more time to work with your cat.
