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The litter tray

Join our community of cat lovers on the Mumsnet Cat forum for kitten advice and help with cat behaviour.

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Original poster

Has anyone regretted giving up their cats.

22 replies

coatlessinspokane · 01/10/2019 20:08

I have to rehome my cats. I’ve suffered a financial setback. Quite a big one. And I could cancel the insurance but I’d be worried all the time that something might go wrong. Plus as there’s two I pay a fair bit in food and litter. The CPL have offered to rehome them.

The cats are 2 now, young and healthy, so I’m sure they’ll be rehomed quickly. They’re lovely cats.

Has anyone done this? I’m so torn because on the one hand they’re quite independent and they say cats don’t get as attached but one of them is pretty affectionate and I wonder if he’ll be ok.

I don’t know what to do.

OP posts:

LucieFurr · 01/10/2019 22:30

I've never had to re-home a cat, I'm so sorry you're in this position. I adopted my cat from CPL and she's super affectionate (currently lying on me purring loudly). She'd been a stay for several months ago so I don'tt have any background on her. I would think that your cat would be equally affectionate with a new owner once he's settled

novasglowx · 01/10/2019 22:36

Yes, to this day. I was convinced by family that having 5 cats and a newborn was not okay. The cats never went near the baby but I was so sleep deprived and depressed I gave in and took two to the RSPCA. It's been nearly seven years and I still regret the decision. Of the three left, one was hit by a car a few weeks later and died. I moved and one refused to stay in the new house, after advertising her as missing someone found her and she was back for one week until she escaped. I was never able to trace her again. I have one left and he's the mummy's boy he's always been. It was a bad decision. I could afford them all, I just took bad advice at a bad time.

BlahBlahBlahh · 01/10/2019 22:55

Is the general upkeep of the cats you can't afford or insurance? Are you entitled to any benefits?
When my brother lost his job he had to go on benefits for a short while until he found a new job and his cat was run over and had to have her leg amputated but the PDSA done it for free as he was on benefits. Not sure if they still offer that x

Original poster

coatlessinspokane · 02/10/2019 05:59

Blahblahblahh

Yes the insurance. Unfortunately the PDSA don’t do that anymore which is especially annoying as I’d gone to all the trouble of paying twice on registering one of the cats (they just offered one) at another approved vet to find that they were stopping.

The thing is if I don’t have the insurance I’ll worry because I know some bills can be extremely expensive.

OP posts:

Namechangeforthiscancershit · 02/10/2019 06:03

Insurance for cats is really cheap though- especially when they're young. Lots less than dog insurance or insurance for older cats.

Can we try to find a better deal for you before you make this massive decision? How much are you currently paying?

Original poster

coatlessinspokane · 02/10/2019 06:21

£32 with PetPlan. But the excess is £95 and I’ve paid that out twice for the same thing this year, thinking it’d be covered but because it was different sides of the renewal date they said it didn’t apply.

OP posts:

Namechangeforthiscancershit · 02/10/2019 06:24

Is that per month? I am paying £8 per month for my cat who's 10. I might have a high excess though, I'll see if I can find it.

1300cakes · 02/10/2019 06:36

If you really have no choice because of finances, then regret doesn't really apply does it? You had too.

This is going to be an unpopular opinion but if it's just about not affording insurance, personally I would go without. As you said, they are young, healthy cats. I would try to put aside £50 and in the unlikely event something very bad happened, I would use it to have the cat pts. Better than than the cat living for ages in a shelter. 2 isn't that young for a cat so don't count on them getting snapped up. I mean it's youngish, but it's full grown, not a cute kitten.

Sorry, I hope that doesn't sound harsh. If you can't afford food and litter, then you have to give them up so don't feel bad. These things happen.

I don't have insurance for my cats either as I don't believe it's good value. I'm not in your situation though as I could afford to pay for vet treatment. However I don't believe in extreme treatments for cats and in the event of a bad accident or illness I would choose pts.

1300cakes · 02/10/2019 06:38

X post coatless, that's exactly what I mean. Ime pet insurance companies always find a way not to pay!

Ticklemeelmo · 02/10/2019 06:54

Just put aside the £32 a month into a separate account instead of the insurance- you'd easily have enough after a year if you needed to pay vet's bills

slipperywhensparticus · 02/10/2019 07:00

Yes I've not forgiven myself ive now got three cats I'm regretting and not regretting at the same time I love them to pieces but they are hard work and i cant just go away overnight on a whim but I couldnt be without them

Hamsterian · 02/10/2019 09:01

It’s a very personal decision. Hopefully they would find new owners but I’m not sure they would be snapped up as such. Unfortunately there are many kittens and cats looking for a new home.
I would go without insurance for as long as necessary. With regards to food and litter, perhaps you could tell us what you use and there may be savings to be had? For example some litter is a bit more expensive to buy but much longer lasting etc.

batvixen123 · 02/10/2019 09:03

In your situation I have just dropped the insurance and hoped. I couldn't let my cats go.

viccat · 02/10/2019 11:40

I haven't given up cats but I used to volunteer in the rehoming team at a cat charity and dealt with enquiries from people who needed to rehome theirs and seen them adopted again.

I strongly disagree with 1300cakes above. 2 year old healthy, friendly cats find a new home quite easily - lots of people want to adopt a pair and CPL in particular is a popular/well known charity so I doubt they'd be waiting for long at all - at the small charity where I volunteered, it would have taken 2-4 weeks for them to find a new home if what you've described is accurate (no major health or behaviour issues, quite friendly cats). The long stay cats tend to have behavioural issues (some form of aggression especially), be very shy, have expensive health conditions, or be older.

Most cats also settle into a new home very easily - probably easier than we'd like to think if we're bonded with our cats! And as there's two, hopefully they'd go as a pair and would have each other for comfort too. You will find it a lot harder than the cats will, I'm sure.

As for insurance and vet bills, I think you're right to consider this now before something happens. You just never know, a healthy cat today could have an accident outdoors or indoors next week... If £30-90 a per month (for insurance/excess) is a struggle financially, a sudden vet bill that was several hundreds or several thousands of course would be impossible. Putting money aside is not a good "insurance policy" - emergency or ongoing treatment is expensive!

Horehound · 02/10/2019 13:06

I did it and still feel guilty. Mine were only 8 months and when I gave them away the girl said she'd keep in touch occasionally to let me know how they were doing and she very did once :( still think about them 10 years later. I'm sorry Hamish and scampi :( :(

Original poster

coatlessinspokane · 02/10/2019 18:41

Thank you so much. I’m reading through all the replies but no closer to feeling good about my decision!

But thanks for not judging me.

OP posts:

Cherrypies · 02/10/2019 19:06

Sorry for maybe being a bit forward, but have you seen the post from
notacrazycatladyyet
Looking to maybe home cats, but turned down as her child is 7. Dont know where each of you are, but might be able to work something out!
Just a thought.....

Hamsterian · 02/10/2019 19:15

@coatlessinspokane it sounds like you have made the decision. Try not to feel guilty, you are doing the right thing, and CPL is happy to take them on. It will be heartbreaking to take them in but it sounds like you don’t have a choice. I hope all goes well, it is devastating, but you are doing right by them, and it sounds like you will have to focus on your own situation for a good while due to the changed financial circumstances. Wishing you the best of luck.

Original poster

coatlessinspokane · 02/10/2019 21:37

Cherrypies that was such a good idea but she has found two black cats. Identical to mine! I would have loved to give them to a mumsnetter.

OP posts:

Judystilldreamsofhorses · 02/10/2019 22:14

Coming at this from the other side, we adopted our cat direct from a lovely family. She was becoming stressed by their boisterous toddler, and they had another baby due - they had had her from when she was a tiny kitten, before they had children, and it was a really difficult decision for them to make.

We do keep in touch, and I send photos of cat-face, while they send me photos of their beautiful children. We also follow one another on Instagram. Madam is SO loved here, has a huge garden to play in, and generally rules the roost. Her previous “mum” is glad that she has a great home, and that she’s happy, stress-free (except when the hoover comes out) and is treated like a little princess.

Original poster

coatlessinspokane · 05/10/2019 12:17

Just wanted to say thanks for everyone’s kind words. The lady from CPL collected them earlier today and she seemed absolutely lovely. She reassured me that they would be well looked after and talked about the vetting process for their new home. Hopefully they will get a safe garden which is something they haven’t had here.

I’m just having a cuppa to recover from the goodbye. I was a complete wuss and cried a lot.

Thanks everyone for your sharing your experiences. It really helped.

OP posts:

Horehound · 05/10/2019 12:50

Aw well that's good to know. I actually got my last cat from CPL and they are pretty thorough so they will go to a good home.

Feel for you though as it is heartbreaking but they have their whole lives ahead of them. They'll be on some fun adventures in no time.

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