WWYD: Re-homing a pet

[mcktymck]

I'm hoping you ladies can offer me some advice, as I am currently feeling very helpless and don't know what else to do. I ask that you please reserve your judgement of my story/predicament, and understand that I have done literally everything possible I could. If you read the long version, thank you in advance! I know it's a lot, but I want to make sure it is very clear that everything has been done, and I'm not just some flaky pet owner.

Short version: We are looking to re-home our cat and have run out of options.

Long version: DH and I are looking to re-home one of our cats, Binx. 20 months ago he became ill, and after going to the vet we determined that he had crystals in his urine and would need to be on a special prescription diet (at $40 per 6lb bag!) for most likely the rest of his life. Since then, we have had nothing but issues when it comes to him. He refuses to pee in the litter box, he always goes a few inches away from it no matter what we do. We have tried different brands of litter, bought multiple different boxes, moved them around our place, and NOTHING works. We have taken him into the vet several times, tried different prescription foods, anxiety medication, and he still continues to pee on the floor instead of in the box.

We attempted to turn him into an outdoor cat a couple weeks ago and it was working very well for all involved, until a few days ago we got a nasty note on our door from the front office saying a neighbor had complained and to bring him in. Now he is peeing on our carpet AND peed on both of our brand new couches. We're both so sick of constantly cleaning up pee every day, multiple times a day, our apartment reeking of pee, floors being ruined, etc.

Over the weekend I looked up several cat rescues/shelters/humane societies, and DH called today to see if they would take him in. All of them said no, either because they are full, they only take cats they adopted out, or because he is "not a good candidate due to his crystals". I'm feeling so frustrated, helpless, hopeless, heartbroken, I don't know what to do. I put up an ad on Craigslist to see if anyone might be interested in an outdoor or barn cat, and have received no responses yet. He needs to go, but what am I supposed to do if no one will take him? I just sit here and think, who would want a cat that is on expensive food and pees all over the place?

So I don't know what else to do. I feel sick to my stomach over this whole situation. I feel guilty, but I know that I have done everything possible to try and fix it and nothing has worked. What would you do if you were in my shoes?

[rablissful]

There was a thread on parenting the other day about a cat petting everywhere with some different advice and meds you could try.

goodbyecb.proboards.com/thread/61452/cat-guru-help

I would NOT trust craigslist if you want to guarantee him a good home.

Edit: peeing not petting.

[nerdykitten]

Yes, please do not use craigslist as he could end up being bait. I will also say my cat had crystals in his urine and the vet said the same thing and he did not have to be on that pet food the rest of his life. It has been so long ago however that I can't remember how long he had to actually be on the food. I also think we may have had to line the area around the litter box with newspapers cause he didn't always get in the box during that phase either. Dogs can also get crystals and they also tend to potty in areas where they shouldn't simply because of the discomfort or lack of bladder control. Have you taken him to a different vet for a second opinion?

[kariann12]

I was an ER vet tech for many years, and have dealt with a lot of urinary cats. Let me first say that you are doing/have done everything you should be doing. I applaud you for doing everything you can, because not everyone would. Its very expensive and time consuming, not to mention your house always smelling like cat pee.

Secondly, the unfortunate situation about FLUTD cats (feline lower urinary tract disease) is that there are not many options once you've done just about everything. They are always at risk to block because of the crystals, which turns into a medical emergency, regardless of time of day/night. If they block it means anesthesia and surgery to unblock them, which obviously isn't cheap. Because of all this, he can never be an outdoor cat.

So, as you know already, the options are finding someone to adopt him or a shelter that will take him. If neither are found, and you can't keep him, the only humane option is euthanasia, and I can honestly tell you if this were my cat, and I'd done everything you had, I would euthanize him. This may seem like an extreme option, but there aren't many options when you get to this point.

[kariann12]

Sept 8, 2015 16:17:17 GMT -5 nerdykitten said:

Yes, please do not use craigslist as he could end up being bait. I will also say my cat had crystals in his urine and the vet said the same thing and he did not have to be on that pet food the rest of his life. It has been so long ago however that I can't remember how long he had to actually be on the food. I also think we may have had to line the area around the litter box with newspapers cause he didn't always get in the box during that phase either. Dogs can also get crystals and they also tend to potty in areas where they shouldn't simply because of the discomfort or lack of bladder control. Have you taken him to a different vet for a second opinion?

If they have crystals that are dissolved by the food they absolutely need to be on it for the rest of their lives. If they don't, the crystals can re-form and it can cause a blockage in their urinary tract. 

[emilie]

Sept 8, 2015 16:19:01 GMT -5 kariann12 said:

I was an ER vet tech for many years, and have dealt with a lot of urinary cats. Let me first say that you are doing/have done everything you should be doing. I applaud you for doing everything you can, because not everyone would. Its very expensive and time consuming, not to mention your house always smelling like cat pee.

Secondly, the unfortunate situation about FLUTD cats (feline lower urinary tract disease) is that there are not many options once you've done just about everything. They are always at risk to block because of the crystals, which turns into a medical emergency, regardless of time of day/night. If they block it means anesthesia and surgery to unblock them, which obviously isn't cheap. Because of all this, he can never be an outdoor cat.

So, as you know already, the options are finding someone to adopt him or a shelter that will take him. If neither are found, and you can't keep him, the only humane option is euthanasia, and I can honestly tell you if this were my cat, and I'd done everything you had, I would euthanize him. This may seem like an extreme option, but there aren't many options when you get to this point.

I think while this advice is frank, it is also practical and realistic.  Best of luck in whatever you choose mcktymck.

ETA:  Also, agree with PPs in that you should stay the fuck away from Craigslist.  Giving your cat to someone on CL runs a good chance of him facing a much worse fate than euthanasia.

[wannabmama]

This situation is heartbreaking and familiar for me.
I don't have much advice bc we are facing something similar and haven't found a solution. Our cat uses the litterbox only about 50% of the time. Usually she does pee in it (thank goodness) but she poops other places. We've been to vet, tried behavioral stuff, new boxes, new litter...she's also about 14-15 years old, but has done this off an on for a decade. Usually she stops after a month or so, but not now. We don't know what to do.
I'm sorry you have this tough decision but do tend to agree with kariann12 that might be the most humane option, as heartbreaking as it is. I hope a miracle arrives with a good solution and I wish you peace with your decision, whatever it is.

[pinkcat]

We were in a similar position with one of our cats a few years ago. I was so sad but we found a friend that was looking for another barn cat. She had a heated barn and beds for the cats, and she has sent us pictures of him showing how happy he is being an outdoor cat now. (He was a stray when we got him and I think the transition to indoor cat was hard on him) Maybe you can find someone looking for an outdoor cat or barn cat? I know it's hard with the expensive food component though...hugs, I know how hard this situation is!

[mcktymck]

kariann12 yes I found out the hard way that he would need to be on it the rest of his life. I tried weaning him off the diet food a few months after he was first diagnosed and he ended up in the hospital four nights fighting for his life, and cost me over $1500. I really appreciate your kind words, like I said this is such a tough decision and I keep thinking "what else can we do?", but we've tried everything.

I have told DH that it might have to come down to putting him to sleep. It just hurts me to think that because he is not even 5 years old, he has so much life left ahead of him 


wannabmama a friend suggested that I call around to local farms and see if they might be interested in a barn cat, so I think I will try that next. I just worry that no one will want to take on a cat that requires such expensive food, especially if it will be a cat they will hardly see. I hate that it's come to this.

[nerdykitten]

Sept 8, 2015 16:20:26 GMT -5 kariann12 said:

Sept 8, 2015 16:17:17 GMT -5 nerdykitten said:

Yes, please do not use craigslist as he could end up being bait. I will also say my cat had crystals in his urine and the vet said the same thing and he did not have to be on that pet food the rest of his life. It has been so long ago however that I can't remember how long he had to actually be on the food. I also think we may have had to line the area around the litter box with newspapers cause he didn't always get in the box during that phase either. Dogs can also get crystals and they also tend to potty in areas where they shouldn't simply because of the discomfort or lack of bladder control. Have you taken him to a different vet for a second opinion?

If they have crystals that are dissolved by the food they absolutely need to be on it for the rest of their lives. If they don't, the crystals can re-form and it can cause a blockage in their urinary tract. 

When we switched vets they took him off of it and he was fine. So maybe the original vet misdiagnosed the issue and it wasn't something he should have been on in the first place.

[kariann12]

Sept 8, 2015 17:08:31 GMT -5 mcktymck said:

kariann12 yes I found out the hard way that he would need to be on it the rest of his life. I tried weaning him off the diet food a few months after he was first diagnosed and he ended up in the hospital four nights fighting for his life, and cost me over $1500. I really appreciate your kind words, like I said this is such a tough decision and I keep thinking "what else can we do?", but we've tried everything.

I have told DH that it might have to come down to putting him to sleep. It just hurts me to think that because he is not even 5 years old, he has so much life left ahead of him 


wannabmama a friend suggested that I call around to local farms and see if they might be interested in a barn cat, so I think I will try that next. I just worry that no one will want to take on a cat that requires such expensive food, especially if it will be a cat they will hardly see. I hate that it's come to this.

I can understand how hard of a situation this must be. It's never easy. However, I must caution against sending him to a farm to be an outdoor cat because if he gets a blockage, the owners must be aware of it almost immediately if they intend on treating him. If he roams around, and isn't around the barn when he blocks, he will suffer a long and certainly painful death. 

[mcktymck]

Sept 8, 2015 17:12:45 GMT -5 nerdykitten said:

Sept 8, 2015 16:20:26 GMT -5 kariann12 said:

If they have crystals that are dissolved by the food they absolutely need to be on it for the rest of their lives. If they don't, the crystals can re-form and it can cause a blockage in their urinary tract. 

When we switched vets they took him off of it and he was fine. So maybe the original vet misdiagnosed the issue and it wasn't something he should have been on in the first place.

I wanted to respond to your original post and say that yes we did take him to a second vet more recently (this past January before we moved to OR), and he still had crystals in his urine. 

[nerdykitten]

Also check into seeing if there are local pet pantries that could help offset the cost of the food since that could make rehoming a bit easier if there is.

Sorry that you are having to face this pet challenge.

[beckynsean11]

kariann12 has given you great advice. We were in a similar situation with a stray we took in. She had diabetes, which we assume is why she was dumped in the first place (very friendly Persian kitty - definitely not feral). We did the best we could with her. Gave her insulin twice daily, but she destroyed our apartment peeing all over. We made the best arrangements we could for her to go to a rescue, but she had to go through a shelter first. I still don't know what happened with her. The humane decision would have been euthanasia for her & I have regrets that we didn't just do that. She was so sweet, the thought of her potentially suffering in the shelter (if the rescue didn't go get her) makes me sick. It sucks, but sometimes that the best choice for them

[mcktymck]

Thank you beckynsean11, and I agree. I know that if he ends up in a shelter he will most likely be with them until he dies due to all his issues, which makes this decision that much harder. I don't imagine most people wanting to adopt a "special needs" animal, but I do know that a few are out there.

[beckynsean11]

There are. You can check with local rescues maybe. See if they have any regular adopters that look for special needs. If you find a group, through FB out something, that's not run through the state you may have better luck. Hugs! This shit sucks.

[ohinvrtedworld]

I'm so sorry you're faced with such a tough choice Something that has helped me with pet decisions is that animals experience good quality of life far more than good quantity of life. This really sucks, no matter what you decide.