Cat to a good home in Southern CA

Hi, I have a grotesquely obese female orange tabby who needs to go to a good home (she's about 5 years old). She can be friendly but only on her own terms (doesn't like to be overly petted or picked up). It's best not to mess her with when she doesn't want to be. She would NOT be good around children. She could probably live in a house with other cats, but would have to be introduced slowly. The reason I'm giving her away is that I just can't devote the time necessary to taking care of her (she needs to be bathed every few days at least because she's so fat she can't bathe herself). Our other cat is aggressive with her, and I'm really sick of their fighting, too. I won't just euthanize her, and I'm afraid that if I give her to a shelter, nobody would adopt her and then they'd just end up euthanizing her anyway. I'm being completely honest about what she's like, even though I know this will lessen her chance of being

Tara Lee, Just how fat is fat? How much does she actually weigh? She might be too much for you to handle, but there are people out there who might be able to take her in. Some folks don't like those cats who crawl all over you and want to be paid attention to all the time. My hunch about your cat, though

Hi Teresa, Thanks for the response. She weighs about 18 pounds. I didn't mean to sound mean or anything about my cat

You may wan to consider a a 'no-kill' shelter. There are plenty of them around. I volunteer at 'Friends of Cats' http://www.friendsofcats.com/ in El Cajon CA. This is East of San Diego. They have over 300 cats to date and will never euthanize any cat, unless medically required. Their phone number is (619) 561-0361. They also offer a 'Lifetime' care program where they take your cat and keep it for its lifetime. It will never be adopted out.

Robert

Is this something that can be arranged ahead of time, 'just in case'? I would never give up my cats while I'm alive, but I do worry about what could happen if I were to die suddenly. I'm more than happy to provide financial care for them in my will, but I need a place that I could be certain they would be cared for and, preferably, kept together. I've seen far too many horror stories from trusting that friends or family will care for your pets after your gone.

You may wan to consider a a 'no-kill' shelter. There are plenty of them around. I volunteer at 'Friends of Cats' http://www.friendsofcats.com/ in El Cajon CA. This is East of San Diego. They have over 300 cats to date and will never euthanize any cat, unless medically required. Their phone number is (619) 561-0361. They also offer a 'Lifetime' care program where they take your cat and keep it for its lifetime. It will never be adopted out.

Robert

Hi Tara Lee, Good, I'm glad you posted her on Petfinder. I would definitely tell people that she was a former feral. I have four former ferals presently and two are unadoptable and one failed his adoption

Hi, I'm the original poster of this thread. I've found a no-kill shelter located about 4 hours away from us that is willing to take her. They have a website located at: http://sites.netscape.net/felinerescue/moreaboutus They will keep her until she is adopted if we pay $10 a month. We're going to drive up this weekend and check it out.

Am I an irresponsible pet owner to consider doing this? This is all making me feel so guilty. The thing is, both my husband and I are starting to feel very resentful of her: We had to pay several hundred dollars to replace the carpet at our last apartment, and we will probably have to do so again when we move soon. She pees all over the place (we have had her checked at the vet several times), and we've tried all the suggestions that we can find on the internet and from our vet (more kitty boxes, trying to find a litter she likes, constant scooping, Feliway, anti-depressents, putting things down to prevent it, and other stuff I can't even think of). Add into that the constant bathing that is required due to her inability to bathe herself. And constant beating up of our other cat (which we _have_ attempted to address; it's the other cat's own fault for picking fights with her, but our attempts to fix it with either cat haven't helped much) Is it better to keep her in a situation in which we're incredibly unhappy and resentful of her, or place her at this no-kill shelter? She's not very friendly towards other people at all; what if she's never adopted? We don't mind paying the shelter for the keeping of her in that case, but is this kind of shelter situation good for her, though? (no cages, it's a house with outside enclosures for the cats to wander around in). I just feel so awful to be doing this, but we've stuck it out now for six years and tried everything we can think of. Isn't part of being a responsible pet owner recognizing when you can no longer have a pet? More responsible than keeping around an animal you do not like at all and resenting it, causing stress and anger?

*sigh* I'm probably a very bad person. But I just can't deal with this anymore.

I'm pretty sure you don't really want an answer to that question

.> Add into that the

So did she just wake up too overweight to bathe herself one morning? You never noticed she was getting too fat? I've noticed one of mine, who was starving when I brought him home, has put on a lot of weight, although not obese by any standard, he seems to still eat as if he's afraid the food won't always be there. I've started to take steps to address the problem now, before he becomes overweight.

My vote would be for the no kill shelter. And please, do not get another pet.

You did ask.

Ahh, C'mon Duvall, Leave her alone. She's been putting up with the cat inappropriately urinating all over the house for six years. She tried some of the things the vet told her to do, had the cat checked out...etc. I think she's finally admitting that she can't handle this anymore..and...she doesn't know what else to do. Another irresponsible owner, might lock the cat outside! Or dump the cat, hoping that someone else will take pity on her. She's trying to do right by that cat!

Teresa

OTHER BOARD MEMBERS: ANYBODY HAVE ANY MORE IDEAS FOR TARA LEE?

Hi Tara Lee, I don't think you're being irresponsible. In fact, I think you are trying to do the responsible thing by finding her a new home. I originally thought you might have a bored or unhappy cat, and as you've further posted, I still believe that, for whatever reason, this kitty isn't going to get any better in her current situation. Once a cat gets into a habit of marking or inappropriate elimination, it's very hard to stop. I've had several cats that had problems