Help. I need to find a new home for our much-loved cat.

[LovelyBertha]

Our beautiful ginger tom, who has been a brilliant family pet for 10 years, needs a new home. We live fairly close to the town centre, and for some reason he has gradually been straying further and further from home (probably in search food, as he is a bit of a scrounger). It has got to the point where he is crossing a very main road. The other day I was shocked to bump into him when I was shopping in town. We have had phonecalls from people asking us to come and pick him up, and he has been nearly run over a number of times.

I know that if things carry on like this, it wont be long before he either gets run over or causes a major road accident. Our options are to keep him as a house cat, or find him somewhere to live in the countryside. At the moment we are keeping him indoors, but he is absolutely miserable and my ds thinks the cat litter tray is a sandpit.

So, we have decided to find him a new home.

He is fully house trained, de-wormed/flead, a brilliant mouser, fine with dogs and good with children.

We got him as a rescue cat, and think he is about 15 or 16. So he is old, but very sprightly has no medical conditions.

We live in Hastings, East Sussex. If you live in this direction and fancy sharing your rural home with a lovely old cat, or know anyone who might be up for it, please let me know.

bump?

I think you should keep him tbh. He is too old to want to adapt to a new home.

Once cats get about 8/9 years old they find it near impossible to settle in a new home (unless they are with owners).

I would try and keep him indoors as much as possible, always make sure his bowl is full of crunchies etc (not that I'm saying it isnt), give him treats and maybe some cat milk so that he won't feel the need to wander as much.

I know it is difficult for cats of this age to adapt to a new home, but I really think it is our only option.

You wouldn't believe the lengths we have gone to to try and encourage him to stay here, he just eats his fill of treats, has a quick nap and then heads into town.

It seems that if he has been kept indoors, he is more inclined to go for long wanders when we do let him out. I think if we do keep him indoors, it is going to have to be permanently.

Something else that is worrying me about the current situation is that I am pregnant, and aware that cat poo is probably not the best thing to be regularly dealing with.

This really is a heartbreaking position to be in, I just think it is irresponsible to continue to let him out (keep imagining him causing a major car accident), but we equally can't keep him in.

Just wondering what has caused him to get more adventurous in his old age- I would have expected him to have become a bit of a home-body by now. Any ideas?

I know it is difficult for cats of this age to adapt to a new home, but I really think it is our only option.

You wouldn't believe the lengths we have gone to to try and encourage him to stay here, he just eats his fill of treats, has a quick nap and then heads into town.

It seems that if he has been kept indoors, he is more inclined to go for long wanders when we do let him out. I think if we do keep him indoors, it is going to have to be permanently.

Something else that is worrying me about the current situation is that I am pregnant, and aware that cat poo is probably not the best thing to be regularly dealing with.

This really is a heartbreaking position to be in, I just think it is irresponsible to continue to let him out (keep imagining him causing a major car accident), but we equally can't keep him in.

Just wondering what has caused him to get more adventurous in his old age- I would have expected him to have become a bit of a home-body by now. Any ideas?