Have to say goodbye to our cat :(

[Hulababy]

After just 5 days :(

DD is definitely reacting to her. She is fine when out of the house, and she is fine at night in her bedroom (Sassy not allowed in there at all). But just playing and touching her for 30-40 minutes makes her have cold like symptoms. Have monitored it all week and there is a definite pattern :( Seems DD has a slight allergy, probably to the fur. Thinking back quite often when we visit BIL/SIL with their cat, DD often seems to have a cold when we are down there and that is with only having very infrequent contact. I can’t have DD living with cold like symptoms all the time at home and don’t want to resort to her having to take tablets/medicine to feel normal at home. It isn’t fair.

Also Sassy has several times now pounced and tried to scratch DD. DD has scratches on her arms as a result. We think she is jealous of DD and the attention thing. Sassy is so affectionate and wants cuddles all the time, and she doesn’t like it if DD is getting that attention instead. I an no longer leave Sassy and Mollie in the room on their own as Sassy uses this time to jump and scratch. And it is all unprovoked. DD has been wonderful with Sassy and not been too fussy with her at all, just playing ball, etc. It is actually when DD is sat doing something else that Sassy pounces – and it is a proper pounce too with claws out. If it was just this we could probably work on it, but with the allergy/reaction as well...

I think Sassy needs to be with a childless family, or one with teenagers, where the competition for attention is less.

Sad, but better to do it sooner rather than later especially as DD is becoming very attached. :(

Anyway, a nice 5 days but no more pets for us.

Hulababy you are doing what you feel is right for your family, dont feel bad about it at all. We all have to do what we think best, regardless of whether everyone agrees with us. Its horrible having an allergy, your daughter doesn't need that.

ohhh....when we got our dog both Ds1+ 2 had cold symptons on and off for weeks, I think i just stopped noticing the snotty noses.

LOL

That was nearly 4 years ago so I suppose they've built up an immunity to the fur now.

Hula
My mum and dad had to do the same thing for me when I was younger.

I had nagged for ages to get a cat and one night when I came home from school my dad was sat down with a little ginger kitten on his knee.
I was so excited and the cat was fab
but
like your dd, I started to react to her. I did have asthma and had reacted to cats in the past but we thought that I was growing out of it.
My face would itch like mad and I had to physically stop myself from touching my face to make sure that I didn't come out in rashes and would try and hold my breath so that my mum couldn't hear me wheezing.

After a fortnight I ended up in hospital on strong steroids because I couldn't breath. I felt so poorly.
As upset as I was that kitten had gone, I knew it was for the best as it was making me so poorly.

You are doing the right thing.
I don't think there will be a problem re-homing sassy. Like you said before you got her, there was a long list of people interested so I'm sure they will be contacted and given the chance to take her on.

How did dd take it ?

Poor you

Agree no much choice with allergy situation. Shame as any scratching can and usually does go (and you can train cats despite what they say in this sort of thing) but an allergy is the be all and end all.

We are facing the death of our beloved cat, as he has a 'rectal bleeding problem' that has been decided with the vet is not worth the pain of investigationa s his weight is dropping, and we couldn't afford surgery. We couldn't get him insured as he had health problems earlier on . he is in no pain though and will stay with us receiving love until he either is in pain or passes away.

Will miss him, he's very much part of the family and has been for 8 years now.

tbh the pouncing doesn't sound like jealousy to me it sounds like a kitten wanting to play.

When I was younger I was severely alergic to cats. My friend has persians and I couldn't go into her house. I now have two cats of my own and have no problem with them. There are countless studies that prove children who grow up with animals are less likely to have lasting alergies/asthma etc.

And as for cats smothering babies, that's a load of crap.

I had a cat when dd1 came along, the cat was there first. dd1 had really bad eczema, so as a last ditch attemoted we gave the cat to my sister to look after. dd1 skin cleared upo a bit but not much. 3years ago i thought i;d try getting a kitten, thought and thought about it, and my friends bought one over. they knew if it didnt work out then they'd get the kitten. within a few days dd1 skin flared, her asthma played up, and she had cold like symptons. i gave it 2 weeks to make sure it wasnt just a cold. it wasnt. so i now longer have cats. i love them, mieow has 2 and they are lovely, i find cats calming, but just cant have one in my home i hope sassy finds a new home suitable for her, and that your dd symtoms go away quckly.

misdee I think though that there is a vast difference between a child developing serious health problems as a result of animals, and having a bit of a snuffle. In your DD's case, I would most certainly have done the same and have had to part with the cat, but I think that if my child only had a bit of a snuffly nose (cold like simptoms) I'd have given it a decent amount of time to potentially settle down. As someone who has had alergies to cats, I know that they can be outgrown, and that the body can adjust to accommodate cats that live as regular guests in a house. I used to be alergic to my ILs' cat when I visited them. Nothing too severe, just hayfever-like simptoms, and yet I have two cats of my own and I have no reaction to them.

TBH (and I wait to get shot down for this) I think it's a bit irresponsible to adopt an animal from a rescue shelter if you have limited knowledge of that type of animal and its behavior. Bearing in mind that animals are usually in rescue shelters as a result of abuce or neglect, such an animal has generally been through a lot already, and to then be brought into a house and ridiculed for displaying behavior that is natural to it (i.e. pouncing which is perfectly natural kitten behavior and by no means a form of jealousy), and then be sent back to the rescue shelter at the first opportunity, can potentially only add to that cat's trauma. I hope she finds another home soon. TBH I wouldn't get any other pets before reading up on them extensively.

Hulababy, how old is your dd? Our local centre won't home kittens in families with young children, because it's really not a good combination. We adopted two oldies, and it worked out very well because they just potter around really, and don't spend much time near the kids except when they feel like it. Our previous cats predated the kids, but were also well established in their own routines by the time the children were born. We are now getting a new cat to replace one of our oldies that recently died, and we are still going down the older cat route. I think it is better to adopt a cat which you already know has had contact with children, and to be honest I am surprised that the rescue centre didn't do this for you (especially as kittens are much quicker to be adopted).
Anyway, I hope that you and your dd recover quickly from the upset. Perhaps tropical fish would be a better bet (ds's wish at present!)

wannabe1974, hulababy thought about getting a cat for ages. i am sure she knows about the playful pouncing that cats do. When i was younger a friend up the rd had a cat, it was the most evil thing you could imagine. you;d walk in and it would sink its claws into you. it wasnt playful pouncing but full-on attacks.

A child showing signs of snuffles can be the first indicator of an allergy. then the cough may start. then the wheezing. dd2 is showing signs of allergies to cats, she loves mieows cats, but it brings out the snuffles in her.

Yes, Hula could keep the cat for a few weeks to see if her dd symtons settle down, but its not a risk i'd personally be willing to take. I think she is doing the most sensible thing and returning the cat to the shelter.

Hula has gone out for the evening.
But I was there with DD earlier this afternoon, and Hula's poor DD was still snuffling due to the lingering cat hair.
I think my DD being there helped her forget about puss. Sad, but better in the long run for Hula's DD.

I am trying to pursuade her to get some fishies.
DD is a proper little marine biologist these days.

Sassy has been rehomed already as I knew she would be.

Luckily the Shelter was far more understanding than some people here. They even offered me my money back but of course I said no. So the Shelter has actually got a large donation plus over £60 worth of cat related items given to them.

I am NOT irresponsible in my decision. We went through a lot of consideration, visits, etc. before getting Sassy. As th Shelter said we could not foresee the allergy.

As I said in my message, if it was just the scratching them we would have worked through it. But it wasn't.

I posted on here as I was sad that our decision to have a pet had sadly come to an end. I KNOW I did the right thing. I don't need people on here throwing accusations around at me over this.

Thank you to those who have understand why we have sent Sassy back to go to another home.

I have no cleaned and hoovered the house fully. As GB says DD was suffering still when playing on the floor when Sassy had been. ter my cleaning spree DD is much much better, although the dry skin will take a little longer to clear up.

It might be a sniffle to some of you, but to a 3 year old it is really not pleasant to have a runny nose, itchy eyes, and itchy skin all over. I don't intend making my daughter suffer when I don't have to.

At the end of the day I make no apologies for putting my little girl first over a cat we had known for 5 days.

BTW, I am a grown adult and I have had a cat before. I had one as a child and it lived till it as 22 years old I do understand what a cat/kitten is like. I am not stupid.

Oh, and how come when I had an allergic reaction to shellfish everyone told me to avoid it so i don't suffer again. Yet my daughter has an allergic reaction to a cat and I am told that I am wrong to remove the cat from my house, so Dd doesn't suffer constantly. Hmmm....

you made the right decision hula.
Hope DD feels better now.

She is thanks. And although sad to say goodbye to her cat, she understands why she had to go. And it was so lovely that GB's little girl was around after nursery yesterday to occupy her and take her mind off her loss.

you def did the right thing. i did the same.

Thanks misdee.

I know that I did. DD is much better now. And in future I will have piriton in so she no longer has to suffer when she visits BIL/SIl - now we know why she is always feeling poorly when she visits. Can't believe we had never twwigged before!

I always have piriton in the house. dd1 suffered yesterday with her eyes at mieows house, they were very itchy and streming, mieow also has piriton handy

but misdee that wasn't because of my cats (they weren't in the house at all yesterday) it was mum's dog who is staying here while they are on holiday. Dh is allergic to him too.

Hopefully your dd should start to feel better in a couple of days once the hair starts to clear.

I think it's something to do with the saliva from the cat that is on the hair which causes the reaction.

Fishes are a good idea like GB said. Not much maintenence but enjoyable to have as a pet.

I'm sure Sassy will have a good home.