As a kitten. I think this was taken on the first night, back when she was still a wee little thing. Here’s another photo from the same night – you can see how curious she was even then. Now she’s grown a bit and has developed something resembling a belly, most visible when she lies down. But she’s still a petitekitty with a sweet little face (except when she goes like this).
Regrettably, they take a very long time (years) to have much effect, and with cat allergies they’re not all that effective. Learned this the hard way, after keeping a cat that was badly affecting MY allergies, for far too long, and triggering what now appear to be lifelong lung issues. One of ours was positive for feline leukemia so it was “keep or kill” for him, the other one we were ultimately able to rehome.
To the OP: good on you for rescuing and socializing the kitten, and I do hope you’re able to find her a wonderful new home. As wrenching as it is, you have to look after the two-legged rent-paying roommates too.
I’m sorry, OP. I’m in kind of the same boat, only it’s my two year old daughter who’s allergic. Since she’s allergic, we have to keep the cat downstairs all the time in his own room. He doesn’t get nearly enough interaction and contact as he should and, even though I feed him and go downstairs to pet him, he shouldn’t have to live like that. I had another cat, but she passed away last March from sudden kidney failure.
Anyway, we’ve given the whole situation with the cat a year and a half, but it just isn’t getting any better. My daughter’s allergies are actually a bit worse than they used to be. I’ve had the cat since before my eldest was born, so coming to this conclusion was very difficult. Still, I’m trying to find a good home for the remaining cat where he’ll be well taken care of and get the attention he deserves.
Good luck to you - coming to that conclusion sucks. Doing something about it sucks even more.
My heart goes out to you. I’m crossing my fingers for the lead to be a good one. Is it someone you know, even a little bit, who might be able to take the cat?
My sister had to give up a dog that she had absolutely fallen in love with. If she’d posted a thread here the overwhelming response would have been “keep the dog, find a new home for the husband!” Anyway, the dog ended up going to the sister, niece, and nephew of a man she works with so she gets email and photo updates and even visits him occasionally.
In any case, you helped Kiwi when she needed it most. Don’t think of it as giving up. You prepared her for the next phase. There’s a home that needs her.
Two of my 3 sons have severe cat allergies (one with asthma) but both love cats. After 10 years without a cat, we discovered that a combination of Claritin 10mgs. and Singulair 5-10mgs. blocks all symptoms in both of them. We have 2 cats and everybody is fine. Your roommate may not be willing to dose up but both my sons are happy to do it and don’t have any noticeable side effects.
Yesterday evening, Kiwi the kitty was bundled off with her things into the care of her new family.
She was newly spayed and still in discomfort. She was groggy and subdued from the meds, and hadn’t eaten anything substantial in a couple of days. But I’m sure she will be fine. She was still lively enough to bat at the elusive red dot of the laser pointer if it got close enough, and just a couple of hours earlier, she had started purring again. And she is incredibly lucky. I know her new family will take great care of her, certainly better care than I could offer. She will be a very happy kitty with more people to cuddle up with, another kitty for company, and a yard in which to explore and chase all sorts of things.
Everyone, thank you for your encouragement and advice and concern. This wouldn’t have been possible without you.
The apartment feels too quiet now without her meowing at the door for food, or the scrabble of her claws on the floor as she bats around god-knows-what, or the enormous clatter of noise as she leaps from the TV stand onto the giant hanging wicker chair onto her favorite windowsill. I still subconsciously check my feet as I walk lest I step on her, and stick to one side as I go up the stairs because she always bounded up after me to see where I was going. These will fade with time, I know. Bye, kitty.
Gorgeous kittie - I see she likes to hang out on the basement stairs like our mostly-black cat used to do. The better to kill you in the dark, you see.
