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and it's bothering me a lot more than I thought it would.
I've had this cat since I was eight, and now she's old and has a lump in her neck and I've been emotionally preparing myself to hear that she had died. But today my mom told me that they know a "very nice" family that would be thrilled to have a spayed, clawless indoor cat. The worst part is that she'll be gone before I come back home for the summer.
"But she'll think I abandoned her!" I said. "You abandoned her two years ago when you left for school," my mom retorted.
Yeah, that's true, but still! My parents can't just wait for me to graduate and get my own place, or for the cat to just DIE, instead of just deciding that they don't want to take care of her any more???
*is sad, and feels ridiculous for being sad* Posts: 4089 | Registered: Apr 2003
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posted
I don't think you need to feel ridiculous for being sad. There's nothing strange about developing a deep connection with animals. I also have a cat who's getting on in years, and for over a year he was constantly sick, he lost a large amount of fur, he urinated very frequently (and it stunk) and, to my surprise, started losing weight (he's quite a pig). But he has made a miraculous recovery. He's fatter than ever, his fur is growing back, and he's actually become pretty friendly when before he was a major grump. Anyhow, I will be most depressed when he dies, and if anyone bugs me about it, they'll be asking for a serious ass-kicking.
Posts: 1855 | Registered: Mar 2003
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posted
It is quite sad to lose a pet, whether through natural causes or giving it to a new home. I love my cat. One of the things I like best about living back in MN now is that I can hang out with my cat again. My cat is currently waiting not-so-patiently for BobnDana to get back to the US, and take Smokey away from him.
Post a picture of your cat! Here's mine. (with some crappy border stuff because this was a valentine's day picture)
posted
My dad took my dog Penney to the pound about 3 weeeks ago, and I still feel like crying every time I think about it.
I go down to see my parents fairly often, considering I live 1 1/2 hours away, but I haven't been down there since he did this. My mom comes back from AZ next week, and I want to go see her...but I don't want to spend another night in that house ever again. It would remind me far too much of Penney, and I wound't enjoy being there, not like I use to.
posted
Let's see ... is it your parents' position that going away to school is "abandoning" your cat? Wasn't this discussed when you LEFT for school?
Take this as a warning, all you youngsters who have carelessly acquired pets that won't conveniently die before you leave home for college or somewhere else: Either choose a pet you can take with you to college (or wherever), or resign yourselves to the fact that you will, in effect, be assigning your beloved animal companion to new owners.
Obviously, the quality of life of your cat is now going to diminish so radically that the only choice you have is to stop feeding the cat, and stop anybody else from feeding it, either.
Posts: 2005 | Registered: Jul 1999
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posted
Ooh, I feel so guilty for laughing at that.
((sm)) I'm sorry about your cat. At least they're not putting her to sleep. I know it's not much of a consolation, but they did go to the trouble of finding her a new home. So in their own way, your parents care about what happens to her, too.
Posts: 2283 | Registered: Dec 2003
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I don't know if I would say pets are people, but I WOULD say that pets are part of the family. Despite the huge problems my family had and has, never once has anyone not considered a pet part of the family (okay, except for maybe the gerbils that kept killing each other, that was scary and creepy). My dog was a HUGE part of my life growing up. His loss was more devastating than my mother leaving my life.
I think it's the unconditional love pets give.
Posts: 14745 | Registered: Dec 1999
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I can really relate. When I moved to a teaching job two hours away from home, I couldn't find an apartment that would accept cats. My mother kept the cat for over two years, but she was making messes and my mom couldn't handle her anymore. She found a wonderful home for my cat, with a couple that already had about 8. They love Katarina (yes, I stole my internet name--my "original" internet name anyway from my cat), and they say she's really happy.
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I guess it's just another layer of my childhood being peeled off like a scab. My mom told me how she remembered when the cat was just little, and likewise, when I was little. That made me a little.
Posts: 4089 | Registered: Apr 2003
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Take (some) comfortin the fact that if your parents decided not to care for the cat anymore, at least they found it a home instead of just taking it to a shelter or having it put to sleep.
posted
Hopefully, you can get visitation rights... I have never had my own cat, but it hurt just as much when the cats that adopted me disapeared. Now I have a rabbit and would be crushed if I had to give him up.
Posts: 9942 | Registered: Mar 2003
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