rehoming the cats with a dilemna

[akane]

Yep I've given up. I've just reached my limit a month ago for these cats and still kept trying to integrate them back in to our condo. Well we decided we like not having to make sure every surface is perfectly clean, everything is picked up, no boxes or anything that smells like rabbit are left on the floor, all craft and models have to be put away, every shelf has to be blocked from cat access.... In the end we don't really want to let them back out in the condo and right now Kazuki keeps trying to get to and eat my baby bunnies in the pet room so I haven't been allowing him in there while we have small ones so he's meowing incessantly. Plus the $4 a day for their canned food to stop any urinary tract problems that might have started the peeing could be put to other uses we'd enjoy more. I have them up listed for free to go together but there is one problem.

Squeak was hit in the head by a car as a kitten and has health issues. She has mental problems adjusting to things and immune system disorders. The prednisone she was on seems to be making her pull her own fur out now. Josh is maintaining it's a food allergy we can solve but I ran tests and while I didn't follow full procedure to rule out seafood I'm doubting it. So I have a cat who breaks out in itchy bumps all over if not on meds, pulls her fur out with the meds, has constant fluid in her ears, and mental disorders. This is why we couldn't rehome her in the first place. No one wants her. I don't think a shelter would take her and would require a $50 fee to do so.

I advocate that it should not be as frowned upon as it is to put down an injured or unhealthy animal but that's more when people find things that need major care that taxes resources of shelters and rescues from other animals they have. Does a cat who no one has time to put drops in her ears, money to pay for more expensive pills now that the prednisone (dirt cheap) does not work, time to find the solution to her health problems, and to work out her mental problems warrant PTS when she is active and playful during times she's not itching herself to death from fluid in her ears or bumps and her entire back is bald..... or do I keep trying to find a way to deal with her problems and find her a home. Another $60-$100 vet trip is in order to discuss new meds if we want to continue. My truck needs a minor repair that would cost about that much.

Or maybe we go back to keeping one cat. Send Kazuki who caused all the problems to a new home which he will easily rehome being a purebred. Keep squeak confined to bathroom and rabbit room where she does no damage and do the best for her health we can even if it isn't perfect. She can't meow so we hear no complaints from her even though she would be bored. It's bigger than a shelter cage she'd spend months in and it's not death.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

I would rehome Kazuki (or take him to the barn?), and either keep Squeak confined as you mentioned, or put her to sleep. You know that finding someone to deal with her health issues will be difficult at best, and despite their best intentions the quality of her care may lapse. It sounds like she has a poor quality of life with the best of care.

I find that you have to weigh the pleasure you get out of an animal against the costs and time spent caring for them. It sounds like she is a bottomless pit with regard to veterinary care, and it doesn't sound like you glow with contentment when medicating her or treating her ears. The time and money you are devoting to her could care for multiple healthy animals.

 

[akane]

Really she wasn't suppose to live. She was bleeding from her rectum, a rock indent in her head, all scraped up. The vet said he could do nothing and she wouldn't survive. This is days later

I planned after my last cat to never get another because while I like the idea of cats they tend to drive me insane. I just couldn't leave it laying in the middle of the highway to die terrified amongst traffic of heat stroke and dehydration. But she lived and my aunt covered the vaccinations, health testing, and spaying for the first 2 years until she got her 3 year rabies since I had no money for another cat. Then I got married about the time her rabies came due and my husband covered vaccinations on both cats.

Maybe considering her start in life she's lived out what she can of it happily but I don't think my husband will go along with putting down an alert, active animal. His family spent thousands to do chemotherapy in the only place in the US on a dog for years. The problem is he can't remember or accomplish giving her meds and putting in ear drops every day and we can't afford to spend $100s on her for vet and good quality food. So while he thinks we should do all these things he is not going to. Every time I get the "Yes I'll take responsibility for the cats" speech a few weeks later I find myself cleaning up after them, thawing their food, and working on the door to the hallway alone.

He's calling the vet to ask about other meds and see if they have an idea to get the fur pulling under control without spending a fortune. That answer determines our next options.

 

[ladysown]

me personally... I'd put her to sleep. Pulling out her hair, mental issues, trouble coping with change and such like. I can't see any of that as being good for a cat. I just can't.

The other option would be to contact a rescue and put it to them bluntly. You have a special needs cat who was supposed to die. Is basically sweet natured but when push comes to shove you can't afford to care for her any longer. Can they take her? Make sure they know her issues, and let them know you'll be putting her to sleep because nothing else makes sense for you financially at this time.

 

[akane]

Iowa lacks rescues. There are only local small shelters that work alone and you have to go out of state for breed rescues. Many rescuers have called Iowa a black hole when it comes to rescue and adoption since it doesn't exist here. It's mainly farming communities who have no use for any animal that has no use except the odd pet. There's a slight exception in this area because we are near the university and do get college students and people who live in town to work there or the UofI hospital who will take in animals sometimes or want something expensive like the purebred bengal but there are far more animals than such people. The farms are generating endless kittens from feral populations and people who can't afford to spay every barn cat that appears. Programs to reduce cost went under years ago and no one has tried again from the sheer number that get brought in. You have to be in one of the university counties and below poverty level to get the shelters to pay for neutering for you.

 

[fuzzy9]

That poor kitty. You have exhausted pretty much all you can do, and if Squeak has that many issues, I think it would be more humane to put her down.

Out of curiosity, can I ask, is it for sure fluid in her ears, or was the vet just guessing? One of the signs of food allergies is the itching, and it shows especially around the head. For mine, itching and digging in the ears was a big part of it. Not that it matters, sounds like this kitty has way more problems than just the itching and hair loss.

 

[OneAcreFarm]

I agree with the others that it would likely be more compassionate to have Squeak PTS. It is sad, but if you cannot provide the care she needs, and even if you *could* it likely would not improve her quality of life much, then there is no reason to extend her suffering.

 

[akane]

They stuck a camera down her ears. We could even see it on the monitor. You can also hear the squishiness all the time. We've been through testing the food allergies. Like I said the only thing we didn't test completely thoroughly was a seafood allergy but we put her on seafood pretty much only for awhile when testing chicken and she did not get worse. She might have improved a little and we thought we had figured it out but when I gave her more of her pills she pulled out the fur that had grown back. Since we didn't try a no seafood diet my husband argues it could be that but I've seen enough signs that it's her meds and I don't know if there's anything else inexpensive that would work. We are using grain free canned food rotated with raw and have tried different brands. We even did raw only for a short time even though it meant they got no organs because they refuse them if I don't blend them in to the canned food. I see no correlation to diet over the past 3 months of trying.<br /><br />__________ Wed Mar 28, 2012 10:08 am __________<br /><br />You won't believe this. People just hit a new low. We finally had someone really interested in the cats. With their latest emails though from what I can gather and the incessant "are they neutered cause we prefer them not neutered" question I kept getting along with others from this person I think they wanted to breed these 2 cats. They'd probably go ahead and sell them as bengals. The irresponsibility of breeding a cat with so many health issues that was born a feral is so huge I can't even fathom it. I tried not to be too mean in my response that of course they are neutered due to how horrible it would be to let a cat like squeak breed.

 

[OneAcreFarm]

They stuck a camera down her ears. We could even see it on the monitor. You can also hear the squishiness all the time. We've been through testing the food allergies. Like I said the only thing we didn't test completely thoroughly was a seafood allergy but we put her on seafood pretty much only for awhile when testing chicken and she did not get worse. She might have improved a little and we thought we had figured it out but when I gave her more of her pills she pulled out the fur that had grown back. Since we didn't try a no seafood diet my husband argues it could be that but I've seen enough signs that it's her meds and I don't know if there's anything else inexpensive that would work. We are using grain free canned food rotated with raw and have tried different brands. We even did raw only for a short time even though it meant they got no organs because they refuse them if I don't blend them in to the canned food. I see no correlation to diet over the past 3 months of trying.

__________ Wed Mar 28, 2012 10:08 am __________

You won't believe this. People just hit a new low. We finally had someone really interested in the cats. With their latest emails though from what I can gather and the incessant "are they neutered cause we prefer them not neutered" question I kept getting along with others from this person I think they wanted to breed these 2 cats. They'd probably go ahead and sell them as bengals. The irresponsibility of breeding a cat with so many health issues that was born a feral is so huge I can't even fathom it. I tried not to be too mean in my response that of course they are neutered due to how horrible it would be to let a cat like squeak breed.

Wow... that is too cruel for words...
Are you saying that Squeak is the Bengal or the other cat? I have two Bengals, both fixed...here are pics...

 

[akane]

The other male cat is a bengal and I was hoping to use that to rehome them together since they both drive other cats nutty with their hyperactive behavior but get along great together. Squeak's condition has declined since then though since we are unable to solve the fur pulling which seemed a simple food allergy and her ears have gotten worse. Previously it was just pop a pill in some canned food twice a week and we're good but now there's multiple problems. I took down my ad and my husband is making an appointment with the farm vet for one last check of options. If we can get her back to a cheap pill occasionally I will try to find them a home, probably just go through a shelter this time if they aren't overly full right now, or keep her and not give her the whole house. If we can't there may be a slight domestic dispute over putting her down.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Wow, Sistah, those are some nice Bengals! Jag has great rosettes, and they both have that beautiful sheen (not sure what the term is in Bengals), and Little Miss has that lovely mahogany color. They are gorgeous! Do they have the water fetish?

 

[akane]

Kazuki isn't such a perfect example of a bengal but cat breeders in Iowa seem to be the lowest of the low in most cases along with bengals actually being illegal here and I wouldn't be surprised if they already mixed some DSH tabby in there once. Don't tell my husband who was in love with the idea of a bengal. He does have rosettes down his stomach and try to point me to a non bengal who pees in water sources.

 

[OneAcreFarm]

Wow, Sistah, those are some nice Bengals! Jag has great rosettes, and they both have that beautiful sheen (not sure what the term is in Bengals), and Little Miss has that lovely mahogany color. They are gorgeous! Do they have the water fetish?

Little Miss actually has better rosettes than Jag, I will have to find a better pic...but you know, I am not sure about the water. I don't bathe them since they are indoor only. I know they prefer to drink from the sink or bathtub faucet than a bowl...

<br /><br />__________ Wed Mar 28, 2012 9:56 am __________<br /><br />

Kazuki isn't such a perfect example of a bengal but cat breeders in Iowa seem to be the lowest of the low in most cases along with bengals actually being illegal here and I wouldn't be surprised if they already mixed some DSH tabby in there once. Don't tell my husband who was in love with the idea of a bengal. He does have rosettes down his stomach and try to point me to a non bengal who pees in water sources.

I think he is likely a poorly marked "Snow Leopard" Bengal. He is lovely!

 

[MamaSheepdog]

The ones I knew loved the tap, and also would knock over vases of cut flowers. I don't think they had ever been bathed, but they loved to spill water!

Kazuki looks like a snow leopard in coloring, he is just lacking the bold stripes and/or rosettes.

 

[akane]

I like him and I wouldn't mind his trouble if my husband actually did what he promised and prevented the problems. Getting him to keep the house picked up, clean things so they don't have scent to pee on, make sure the water is fresh since he won't drink it if it's over 8hrs old and gets bladder problems then, cleaned the litterbox more often, etc... we could have a cat. But he won't no matter how much he likes cats. I'm tired of him getting frustrated when the cats knock down his models, dump a thing of paint, dump the water he was using for his brush, pee on a wet towel he left on the floor or some clothes that had smell from something, and you don't want to know what the kitchen counter collects and then goes in the dog water bowl when the cats get up there. I've dried a lot of mail out. I can't keep up with him and a cat much less 2 with one having problems.

 

[OneAcreFarm]

The ones I knew loved the tap, and also would knock over vases of cut flowers. I don't think they had ever been bathed, but they loved to spill water!

Kazuki looks like a snow leopard in coloring, he is just lacking the bold stripes and/or rosettes.

Mine will knock over glasses of water, "play" in the water when I take a bath, etc...

I think at the very *least* he is part Bengal. He has that look about him...

That is a very Bengal trait, to pee on *any* clothing or fabric of any kind left on the floor or in a pile anywhere...I am about to make a pair of slippers out of Jag for just that reason! :evil:

 

[MamaSheepdog]

It's a shame that making fur items out of domestic dogs and cats is so frowned upon... we have a lovely long haired orange tabby that will occasionally pee on clothing left on the floor too. He would make a nice lap throw... don't tell Firstpup I said that. :lol:

Kazuki has the rounded ears of a Bengal.

 

[akane]

So the conversation continues like this:

Potential adopter after my last email
Its all good though. It would be a waste of time to come get them since they are neutered and spayed. Just FYI, not everyone likes their animals to be neutered and spayed. Everyone isn't like you! Everyone has their own preferences. Oh, and another thing, we won't pay a penny for an animal that is spayed or neutered. Have a good day.

My response
While I have no problem keeping unaltered animals so long as you can supervise them or confine them properly to avoid accidental breeding and I even advocate not neutering early because of health reasons just how did you plan to keep a male and female in the house without irresponsible breeding of an unhealthy female who was from feral parents and should not get bred and a bengal male? The whole thing looks quite fishy from my end. Even trying to separate them every heat cycle is tricky to catch and they'd scream the whole time they were confined apart which would be unfair to them. Bengals are also notorious sprayers and unaltered males can require very dedicated and special owners.

 

[fuzzy9]

They stuck a camera down her ears. We could even see it on the monitor. You can also hear the squishiness all the time.

I see, I was just curious. Those tests are not cheap either!

I honestly feel I would put her to sleep, she doesn't sound like she has much quality of life as it is.

 

[akane]

Now they are saying they would have spayed the female anyway after saying they wouldn't take a neutered animal. I'm bored of this person. *mute*

My truck goes in Friday for a quote and Squeak goes in Wednesday if the truck doesn't take all my money. The vet said there's a capsule, much harder to get down her, and injections that could be tried instead of prednisone but he wants to see her and I see $$ signs on the injections idea plus the time to take her in. There's a closer vet that could do it but I don't want to deal with an in town pet vet who's clients most likely are willing to spend anything. I want the farm vet who understands this is a feral kitten I scraped off the road 6 years ago.<br /><br />__________ Mon Apr 16, 2012 6:42 pm __________<br /><br />I have the bengal listed separately with a high enough rehome fee to cover the vet bill of the other cat. So far I've only gotten a few concerning emails. I actually told someone to go back and read my ad again before we continue because they asked questions that were already answered and there are a few specifics to his personality I want to make sure people are aware of. Haven't heard back from them so I guess they took my request personally. Then there's the fun "is this item still available" emails that I also hate.

As for the domestic shorthair we are switching ear drops to get rid of a yeast infection from the goo that's been collecting in her ears constantly and then we are going to try just taking her off all meds and see what happens. If the immune system symptoms return we can discuss injections of a different steroid and the cost. If the hair loss doesn't go away completely he talked about blood tests for metabolic disorders which is beyond what I'm willing to do. He thinks though that it's behavioral. We took an adhd cat who got hit in the head by a car as a kitten, put her on prednisone which can cause hyper behavior, and then moved her to a condo followed by confining mostly to a bathroom. So no meds and more entertainment by getting rid of the other cat and letting her out with the other animals to watch gerbil tv.