My cat needs a better home

[shirleycat1]

We have a lovely 5 year old cat who completely does our heads in. She is gorgeous, really friendly, totally patient with the kids, but just annoying. I just don't feel like I have the time/patience/inclination to give her the attention she deserves and I feel like me and DP are constantly shooing her away. DD also has bad eczema which is made worse by the cat and is another reason to put her out.

I feel terrible and I think she could have a much better home, but I've tried to re-home her and all the organisations locally are full. I have also put her on Gumtree, which made me feel even worse, but no one volunteered to have her.

I just want her to be somewhere where she is loved and cared for and given the full attention that she deserves instead of being treated like a mild inconvenience. I know a cat is for life and we should have thought of this before we got her, but that was 5 years ago, pre kids, when we had more patience and time. Any ideas?

Put an ad in the local papers? Ask other mums at school/nursery if they want her? Put an ad in the local petshop window?

When you say local organisations are full, which organisations have you tried?

Thanks. I just googled cat re-homing places in Leeds and called all the organisations that came up. There were quite a few. I've asked friends but I'll try the petshop...

Your vet practice might let you put an advert up, mine does it.

Please dont give her away via gumtree etc, thats how the dog fighters aquire cats for the dogs to kill for practice.

im sorry but what attention does she need food in a morning, food in an afternoon and the odd fuss as in a stroke, i have excema and my cats dont make it any worse , if you are determined to rehome go onto catchat.org and this will bring up all the rescues in yorkshire get her on all the lists possible but all of them are in the middle of kitten season at the moment so all of them will be full, pens dont appear from nowhere , haworth cat rescue where i work has a six month waiting list at the moment, is it too much to wait for her to get to the top of a list or is it cats got to go and now like a lot of people who speak to us on the phone sorry i know a lot of people rehome when they really dont want to but you are coming across as oh dear no time for cat dont give a about cat

When your children are a bit older, you will be able to sit down and give her some attention. Don't worry about not giving her so much attention right now. She will get used to it and she can enjoy more attention in the future.
Don't stress. Maybe give try to give her 10 minutes of fuss per day or just give her a little stroke as you pass by. It doesn't take much. Don't feel guilty about giving her less attention than you used to because that is just how life is after you have children. Her turn will come again :)

Poor kitty I hope you don't get bored of your children when they get older

She sounds lovely and we are currently thinking about getting a cat. What does she look like?

Please do not advertise ever as free to a good home, they can end up in the wrong hands. If you really cant keep her, then wait for a place to come up with the cats protection league or similar.

gothannegeddes if you are looking for another cat please look into your local rescues, as i said earlier all of them are full as its kitten season at the moment so lots of kits and young mom cats looking for homes, yesterday at haworth we rehomed 3 adult cats and had 7 phone calls for poeple needing or wanting to rehome thier cats, and all thought we could take the cat in like NOW we cant 500 cats on our list at the moment

Issey - I know that in theory, but I had a very unpleasant experience with a cat rescue and would be very hesitant to get involved with any such organisations again.

Nickname555 I have found a new home and I'm very happy here. Thank you for your concern. Should I also make a point that there were a few properties that I got turn down by landlords because they didn't accept pets, but besides being in an already difficult situation I didn't 'give away' my cat. Pets are for live, not just up until we have emotional needs and then get rid.

I'm not being nasty. I understand that the OP is looking to re home the cat and not dumping her on the streets. But, it doesn't stop being wrong. How difficult can it be to give a cat a little of love and attention.

gothanne im sad to hear that your experience with cat rescues was not a pleasant one the one i work at is small, independant and we do everything we can to make it a pleasant experience to rehome a cat or kitten from us, sadly some of the people who work in rescue do get possesive over thier charges and put too many conditions on rehoming or rehome to unsuitable homes so the cat goes back to the rescue which makes them even more possesive good luck with finding a cat or kitten

Jesus, what a carry on. I am bothered and have come back. I just have a life outside of mumsnet and don't come here every day.

The cat does my head in, I can't change that. If I leave a bedroom door open I find her asleep in a bed, if I put any item of clothing down she sits on it straight away, insurance, food and fleeing and worming stuff and litter is an expense I could do without. I hate changing the litter tray. Boy cats are always pissing on my door step and it stinks. Her fur gets everywhere. My GP has advised me to rehome her because of my daughters severe eczema.

Issey I'm glad you're cats don't affect your eczema - lucky you.

Trish - you sound nice, thanks for that.

She could have a nicer home than the one she is in at the moment. She deserves better. I am thinking about what's best for her and asking for a bit of advise.

So the cat is supposed to know not to go in a certain room even though the door is open? And she's supposed to know the difference between an item of clothing you don't want her to sit on and something like a blanket for instance that you would let her sit on?

As for the expense, litter tray, moulting etc - what aspect of that exactly did not figure in your original expectations of cat ownership?

The eczma issue, absolutely fair enough. I just absolutely cannot abide the other attitudes you express.

We rehomed two cats 9 months ago, surrendered to a rescue by two people who just couldn't be bothered with them anymore. One is shyer by nature but has blossomed into a really affectionate, chatty adorable cat full of personality. When we first got her she hid under a bed for two weeks and took another two weeks before she would leave one room. When we first met her at the resuce chalet she hid under her basket and howled. In the long run, rehoming was better for her I'm sure, but the stress she endured for months was awful.

I agree that she deserves a better home, and I'm glad you're looking to give her that, but I also think you were very irresponsible to get a cat in the first place if you're going to be so annoyed by pretty much everything to do with cat ownership.

Flame away.

I sound nice? Please look at yourself and at your irresponsibility and selfishness. Everything you described it's normal behaviour for a cat, you should have thought about that before getting a cat. You're right about one thing, she does indeed deserve a better home

Shirleycat, you sound pretty heartless actually. And selfish.

We gave one of our cats to my Dad, she was 14 so quite old, she was a nervous wee timid thing, who got bullied by our 2 boy cats. When DC4 came along it just wasn't fair on her, we always said she needed a one cat only house, no kids with one older person to fuss her. My Dad was looking for a cat so it was a match made in heaven. She spent the last 2 years of her life (she died 2 weeks ago) being fussed and utterly spoilt for us best decision ever.

We only have one cat now, he drives us insane too. He's scratched the back of my sofa to pieces, he hates everyone, he does big stinky poos that stink the whole house out, he's a cat alright.

Can you ask family, friends if they will take her on?

Frillycat1 was from a rescue home. She had been put there by a woman and 2 small girls when she was no longer a kitten and so not wanted any more.

The rescue vet discovered that at some point in her short life she had swallowed a sewing needle that had gone through the top of her palate and into her head. It had gone rusty. Every time her head was touched she must have been in pain.

She was completely traumatised. She ate by begging and ate anything. She still panics and bites if she is stroked. She has never been able to relax and we just let her do her own thing and gently pet her on the odd occasion she invites it.

She's not really a very friendly cat but we have taken her on and we would never give her up. I couldn't bear to think of her in a rescue or being treated cruelly again.

Don't know why I am telling you this - except that I think you should be kind and look after this poor little creature that never asked to come into your home and deserves to be one of your family.

This almost sounds like a joke.

"I'm rehoming my cat because it is acting like a cat, and needs to be fed and watered."

What the actual fuck.

Sometimes people stop being able to cope with a pet for one reason or another though. However, there are some people who repeatedly get pet after pet and re-home them all. These people are irresponsible.

funny really, but i like our cat getting into everything (literally), sitting on everything (literally), she adds a certain something to our home :) i especially like it when she has one of her 'crazies' and bombs it around the house as if she has seen a ghost