Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Flip

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Original poster

To be angry at FB "friend" over cat post and be desperate to post something scathing

166 replies

Witchofzog · 19/04/2019 13:48

Post reads " Now baby is here and about to come out of hospital, we need to rehome our cat due to the hair issue. She is short haired, 1 year old and really friendly. She has been flead and wormed but isn't vaccinated or spayed"

I feel like asking whether they realised a cat could live to around 16 before they got her if they knew babies could be a possibility, and why she isn't bloody vaccinated etc. And why can't they try the cat and baby living together at least before they think of revoking. It's such an arsehole thing to do in my book

OP posts:

Littlechocola · 19/04/2019 14:17

We had to rehome our cat when ds was a baby because he was allergic. We tried different areas of the house for cat/baby, scrubbing everything etc but after months of it really affecting his health it was kinder to rehome him. We visited our cat once a month and paid for everything he needed until he passed away.
But... they sound like they haven’t tried which is incredibly sad.

Shinesweetfreedom · 19/04/2019 14:18

Can you tell her to contact Cats Protection.
She is an utter cunt but I am more concerned about the safety of the cat because anyone can get their hands on the cat on Facebook

whohaa · 19/04/2019 14:20

Cats and babies are fine together. Much safer than a dog, and plenty of people manage that ok. What a dick.

mummyhaschangedhername · 19/04/2019 14:20

It's so sad. See so many people do this and it makes me so angry.

I have had cats around babies, always had cats and have 4 children. I have rehomed a cat, he was a rescue and really violent, it was fairly hilarious, you just looked at him the wrong way and he would attack. I remember seeing him chasing a child at the back (we had a open grass area behind us). That's not why we re-homed him though, he started peeing in the house and on everything, we started buying baby things and we had to throw away brand new things as he would pee on them. We went back and forth the vets, tried loads of things, we even got a kitten thinking he wanted feline company, nothing changed, the house stunk. We eventually had to speak to the rescue and they agreed to take him back. Hardest thing we have ever done and we loved him so much but nothing worked.

As for vaccinating, I don't think you need to if they are indoor and never been to a cattery, at least once their initial ones are done. Mind have always been though.

Poor cat, hope it finds a better home. I bet they will be getting another one in a year or so.

saraclara · 19/04/2019 14:22

I don't understand why people get so wound up about others rehoming their pets. Surely it's better for an animal to be loved and appreciated in a home where they're wanted, and better that people recognise when they're no longer well placed to do justice to their pet.

I wouldn't do it, but then I was confident that I could balance parenthood and pet ownership, and didn't have anyone in my family with a pet allergy.

Aimily · 19/04/2019 14:24

I can't comprihend wanting to get rid of a pet just because a child has arrived??
My Ted (ddog) is my baby, DC arrives in July, he'll have to adjust to the new reality!

Yanbu they are assholes

lyralalala · 19/04/2019 14:25

Rehoming a cat for genuine reasons is one thing, but they haven't even brought the baby home yet so they don't know that there is any issue. That means they've likely always planned to do this now so they could have done it when the cat was tiny and less settled with them.

I had to rehome a cat once after a month. We were told by the rescue that it was good with kids, that's what they'd been told. Turned out the poor mite was absolutely terrified of kids, and I had 4 the time. It would have been cruel to keep him. Instead my BIL took him in and he thrived in a one adult one cat household.

justarandomtricycle · 19/04/2019 14:25

Yabu a bit. Better to re-home cats if it isn't going to work for you. Cats really don't give a monkeys so the thing that matters is that they're re-homed well.

Whether it's better to re-home directly or go through cpl/shelters etc is entirely dependent on who they go to, how careful you are in choosing someone and how correct your judgment of character is. On that bit, yanbu.

ThePlatypusAlwaysTriumphs · 19/04/2019 14:26

I hear this all the time, and it makes me raging. Why do people think they need to rehome their cat if they have a baby?? Is it really that they believe that old wives tale about cats smelling the milk and suffocating the baby?

I had 2 cats then 3 babies, no issues. Whatsoever.

The other thing that gets me is that people seem to think the cat charities will just "take" them. Because there are just so many good, loving homes desperately awaiting THEIR unvaccinated, unneutered moggy, aren't there

yourestandingonmyneck · 19/04/2019 14:26

You're friend sounds like an arsehole. But she sounds so ignorant and blasé that she would probably be completely oblivious to all the points made above.

How good a friend is she? Is she an intelligent woman who could be educated on the importance of neutering / vaccinating and of cats living with children? Although tbh it's probably a moot point, sounds like she's made up her mind and the cat would be better off somewhere else.

But yeah, I would defo want to be saying something on her fb to point out what a dick she is...

SadOtter · 19/04/2019 14:27

Cat is only a year old, so they can only have had it a month or two when they found out they were pregnant, why not rehome it then (kittens being easier to rehome and there not being a rush to find the right home and poor thing not having got as attached to them) rather than waiting til baby is about to come home and trying to rehome a 1 year old cat quickly? New baby is a stupid reason to get rid of a pet anyway but doing it in a rush is even worse.

GoldenKelpie · 19/04/2019 14:28

Sounds like the cat will be better off elsewhere.. I took in two cats (litter brothers) from someone who advertised them 'for sale' in a pet shop. I went to see them, they lived in a flat and she was heavily pregnant and couldn't cope with 9 month old kittens (but fully grown in size) tearing round the flat having a grand old time.

They had never seen a vet, so I didn't pay for them when I took them, but spent a fortune at the vets getting them fully health checked, vaccinated, neutered, chipped, wormed and deflead.

That was 12 years ago and they live a happy, healthy life with me. This young cat can be rehomed with a family who will love and care for them.

SospanFrangipan · 19/04/2019 14:28

Blimey, they want to see our house with two cats and two spaniels. I regularly find the toddler covered in their hair 😂

TimeIhadaNameChange · 19/04/2019 14:29

There was a house in the family before I was born. No question of getting rid of him. He'd sit on my mother's lap whilst she nursed me, and would round the baby blanket on the floor rather than walk straight over it as my (much older) sister would.

I have all sorts of pets now and if I do happen to fall pregnant (hopefully very soon) they are going nowhere. In fact, we're planning to get a few more in the next month or so.

Purplecatshopaholic · 19/04/2019 14:31

OMFG! Cats and babies are fine together. This woman should be v ashamed. And to not have vaccinated and spayed the poor thing?? Disgusting behaviour! I can not stand people who take on a pet then get rid the minute they have a baby - wrong, wrong, wrong!

Hopeygoflightly · 19/04/2019 14:31

Wow. Some of these comments! For whatever reason they have decided they cannot keep a pet, it happens and they're going to re-home the animal, they've not taken to a river and drowned it. Perhaps there's more to it, perhaps there's not but I'm not sure what taking a pop at them will achieve.

Original poster

Witchofzog · 19/04/2019 14:34

I think it's the fact that they haven't even tried. And the cat is so young so like another poster said, she could have rehomed as a kitten which would have been a lot easier.

She isn't someone I know well anymore. We used to be colleagues but don't socialise together so I would not be able to say anything to her.

I think I will link to Cats Protection and vent on here instead

OP posts:

FoxSquadKitten · 19/04/2019 14:35

Omg cat hair, the horror 😱

Unicornshopkeeper · 19/04/2019 14:37

It reads to me like the baby is finally being allowed home, so it was prem or had health problems. Is it possible that they've been advised its best not to have pet hair around the baby? I can't think of any conditions except asthma, which wouldn't be obvious at birth would it?

HomeMadeMadness · 19/04/2019 14:38

I think the point is it was stupid to get the cat in the first place and she didn't even bother getting it vaccinated. Completely irresponsible.

VoyageInTheDark · 19/04/2019 14:38

Yanbu. So irresponsible not to vaccinate/spay. I hope the cat finds a loving home. PIL gave away their dog when they had kids and then MIL went on about how dangerous it was to keep our cat when we had DD. It was fine. (And there is no hair issue)

eurgh · 19/04/2019 14:40

I have a 'friend' who had a cat for ages, the cat was, well, catlike and a bit antisocial. They then got a puppy. Puppy didn't like cat so they took the cat back to where they rescued it from. Poor little thing

SchadenfreudePersonified · 19/04/2019 14:43

they are probably making the best decision, given how they feel about the cat and the baby.

Why wait until the baby is here and then have a rush re-homing, where there is neither time nor inclination to check out where she is going?

I'm firmly in the "a pet is for life" camp, I admit, but if your situation is that for whatever reason, you have to re-home, then unless it's an emergency you do it in plenty of time - check out the people, the home your pet will be going to, ensure the family aren't taking her on a whim etc.

The adverts that say things like "must get rid by weekend" etc are the ones that piss me off the most. This is a LIFE FFS!

Walkingdeadfangirl · 19/04/2019 14:44

YABU if the cat goes to a good home then what is the problem? Its a cat not a baby. You have no idea the circumstances surrounding how they got it, or their intentions.

I have had the same cat for 16 years, it has never been vaccinated or spayed, never had any issues and it is very healthy. If it bothers you that much then offer to take it on yourself.

IHateUserName · 19/04/2019 14:45

@justarandomtricycle

"Cats really don't give a monkeys so the thing that matters is that they're re-homed well."

You obviously have never had pets or you yourself don't have the emotional depth to form a genuine bond with one. My cat is super family oriented, loves affection & attention & always wants to be with us. He hates strangers & doesn't let anyone else touch him. He would be devastated & not understand it if he was ever re-homed (abandoned is how he would feel.) Try reading up on posts of re-homed pets. Many of them recover, but many of them end up with emotional scars that stay with them forever. A friend of mine has a rescue dog who was dumped, they can't take him anywhere in the car because he was so traumatized & is terrified of being dumped again.

OP you are not being unreasonable at all. Sadly there are too many people in this world who get pets & don't have the emotional maturity to give them the love they deserve, or even think they need it.

Flip

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Swipe left for the next trending thread