Fuming my boyfriend has bought me a cat

[Banana2079]

I absolutely love and adore cats but I have one already and live in a very small home

boyfriend brought home a 16 week bengal cross kitten last night as a surprise and am fuming

cost him £150

firstly 16 weeks for me personally, is too old for a kitten between 10-12 weeks is better I’ve had cats and many kittens all my life and I prefer this age as easier to socialise them the way I want

secondly she is absolutely terrified and extremely timid . He didn’t even bother to go look at the litter and see the kittens with their mum, usually I would go for the most confident. He bought poor kitten from back of a car . Have spent hours trying to coax her from under the bed , she has spent the evening scrambling around the house in terror

(obviously I know it takes a lot of time for a kitten to settle in new environment ) my other cat is livid that I’ve shut him in my daughters room

but now I’m starting to feel increasingly angry at him, esp as I can’t afford another pet and the fact he spent 150 on what is basically a mongrel cat - no such breed as bengal cross they are either bengal or not .

the person he bought it from is refusing the kitten back and I feel shit to readvertise this poor cat it’s been through enough , other option is a shelter but again , traumatising
what do I bloody do

Keep the cat and "rehome" the boyfriend?

Is the breeder refusing it back because your bf wants a refund?

I would say he sorts it out but I wouldn't trust him not to just dump the cat.

I have a purely practical view of the animal kingdom so Im afraid I would take it to the vet and ask to have it pts. It's not having a good life already. If the vet has any alternative ideas I'd listen to them.

Have spent hours trying to coax her from under the bed , she has spent the evening scrambling around the house in terror

If you are experienced in owning cats then you should know to leave the poor thing to get settled rather than try to handle her from the off. Leave her, ignore her for the most part and she will come out when she is ready. Traumatising her further is pretty cruel.

My terrified rescue spent pretty much the first week under the kitchen unit, coming out to eat at night. She slowly started to tiptoe into the room we were in after that but would dart and hide if we so much as looked at her. She soon settled. She is currently sat on my lap purring away.

You don’t want this cat so contact cats protection so they can find her a loving home.

I’d be livid to. Is he going to pay the £60-100 a month for insurance, food and medication too? I think this is his problem to solve.

Shelter. At least they will rehome to a suitable family.

Aahhh poor kitty 🥺

That's crazy, has he just been watching old romcoms? Poor kitten.

First get rid of shit for brains bf as he’s obviously a complete twat

Second, leave the poor thing to settle and stop chasing her around.

Third, a reputable rescue if you really don’t want to keep her

Fourth, report ‘breeder’ to RSPCA

I can’t believe there are still complete bellends walking amongst us who will buy an animal as a surprise present, and buy it from the back of a car. Fucking idiot bastards.

Are you insane!!!! Any cat can be turned around in the right home. You can't have a perfectly healthy kitten put down.
I've turned cats like this around in 5 minutes.
That poor animal. Take it to a rescue so it can be rehoused properly.
For God's sake don't sell her on so she can be mauled by children and lousy owners.
Ffs if I didn't have my maximum of rescues I'd have her myself.

Give the cat away in a responsible way. You can't afford and don't want it, you didn't buy it, if it goes to a new home quickly the damage will be minimal.

I have left her alone and not tried to handle her
whatsoever
she was scrambling around of her own accord , possibly not used to the noises of my home and the fact that I have a young child who walked by where she was hiding so I had to relegate both daughter and other cat to bedroom
don’t assume please!

as for the person who said put her down .. why ?? She’s just a timid kitten !
currently she’s snuggled up in boyfriends arms , climbed of her own accord but does not want to be put down anywhere else

she just needs time to settle however my issue here is not settling the cat I can Manage that well , it’s the fact I don’t want the cat

breeder refusing back the kitten because they are going away

It’s his cat, so he can keep it.

If you don’t think he’ll be a responsible owner, rethink your relationship with him.

For now, keep the kitten shut in a bedroom, and let your other cat out into the house. Ignore the kitten and let it acclimatise.

What an appalling proposition, shame on you 😡

No I'm not insane. God's sake, peoples attitude to pets in this country is nutty. I'm pointing out an option.

Breeder is not ‘going away’ they’re a backyard breeder just after the cash and can spot a twat a mile off

Poor kitten

Option maybe, ridiculous option, definitely

Agreed crazy thing to suggest wasn’t it
As I said my issue isn’t socialise in the kitten I can do that myself ( it doesn’t take 5 mins either , she’s 15 weeks and socialising takes considerably longer than socialising an 8 weeks old)

she’s beautiful and I’ve I had the money I would keep her but I neither have the cash nor the time and at the Moment I’m being investigated for severe palpitations in my chest so all this is giving me anxiety which has made my symptoms worse
I think I will tell him to take the kitten to his moms and he can look after it there until we figure a plan

Fine. I definitely agree with dumping the boyfriend, he's incredibly irresponsible.

On the plus side he saved a poor kitten from becoming a bait animal or something equally horrible.

Why would you even consider giving it back to the breeder?!

give the kitten a chance , you need gain her trust . I’m sure seller will get her back but not refund you if you are that desperate but I’ve fostered hundreds of cats and kittens over the last 20 years and the kitten will get better if you take your time with her

My life's a bit shit at the moment should oli be PTS as well?

That is irresponsible and you're right to be cross.

But of course you can have half a Bengal. Bengals are a distinct and relatively new breed, but they are quite different to other cats. I know quite a few half bengals, but it's definitely not a cat you'd want to get without planning as they're high energy and need a lot of attention.

Also you might prefer a 10 week old but best practice nowadays is to take them from the mother from 12 weeks, so although you're rightfully cross, don't bring that into it.

He said it was a private home apparently
kitten came with a vaccination certificate and vet check so I don’t think she would have been used as dog bait

I don’t really want to discuss all that anyway - the kitten is here safe with me , has not been chased or bothered in any way , remember she Hasn’t even been here 24 hours of course is going to be afraid!

i was just trying to figure out what to do with kitten - no I’m not going to dump boyfriend - he made a stupid mistake out of love and has learnt from it seriously despairing at some of the unhelpful immature comments here . It’s being well looked after I’m going to hide comments which suggest other wise
I’ll figure it out , thanks for your replies

A cat charity will help rehome the kitten. It sounds totally the wrong environment for such a timid cat. The kitten needs a home without other cats and no children. Your bf is an idiot