how could someone abandon their pet?

I was just talking to a friend of mine and she said her brother-in-law (who has 3 cats) just decided a while back 3 is too many so he opened the door and just let one of them go. The poor thing is probably dead or suffering terribly. How could someone do that? That makes me so sad thinking about that poor scared, hungry and abandoned cat. The cat was indoor so has no survival skills. Oh dear

~writergirl

That is terrible and, unfortunately, an all too common event. I see my cats as my children so I can't imagine anyone doing that. However, I think people often misunderstand animals, and cats especially. Cats may seem less independent, so some may believe that they can easily survive outdoors completely on their own. Like you, that makes me sad. I can't see a cat or dog outside on its own without worrying about it for days.

Poor kitty, I hope she found someone to take her in.

When were thinking about moving to another province, my father in law said just drop the pets off at the shelter then move.
I told him, so if we had kids we should leave them at the orphanage then?

That's awful. I would only ever give up my pets due to something really awful and unavoidable - like being too seriously ill to look after them, or being made homeless, something like that (I mean none of us can say never because we don't know what our futures may hold if you see what I mean), and it is too painful to even think about giving them up. But I also know people who would take them and give them good homes. I can't imagine ever just kicking them out, it would never cross my mind to do that. Even taking them to a no-kill shelter would be a very last resort. I feel sad thinking about it.

Before I decided to commit to feeding the feral cats in my neighborhood, I spent more than one sleepless night worrying about them, and they weren't even MY cats.

They are now of course, all spayed, neutered, fat and sassy, but I could no more throw one of my insiders out, because I have seen what kind of training ferals need to survive, and my insiders don't have it. Yes, they could survive for a while on their own, most likely they would end up as road kill.

I couldn't do that.

That is horrible. Maybe you can convince him to take the cat to a shelter and hope the cat tries to come back home so he can do so. It's his responsibility.

I went over to my moms house the other day to shovel for her and the neighbors cat was outside in the freezing cold meowing to get in. The stupid irresponsible neighbor doesnt care about her poor cat and so it has to suffer. I've called the humane society before who brought in her cats but they were back being left out in the cold in a week. She doesnt even want her cats, they are her kid's cats, but her kid's dont take care of them. My cat, who I loved more than anyone, just died a week ago and it broke my heart. I would give anything to have him back in my arms. And there are so many a**holes out there who neglect these innocent and helpless creatures who ask for nothing but food and love. It makes me so angry. I'm so happy my Kance didnt have such an owner. I really don't understand how people can do stuff like that. That cat could get sick, lonely, abused, injured, any number of things. Tossing an indoor cat outside to fend for himself, with no intention of letting that cat back in to be taken care of, is next to murder. And murdering pets is step one to becoming a serial killer. It makes me sick that people are so self centered and irresponsible that they can do something like that and still be able to sleep at night.

that would be one person that would never be allowed back in my house ever again.

It is against the law to abandon animals. But don't expect your friend to turn her brother-in-law in for animal cruelty.

Ugh! Those stories make me so sad. I can't imagine my little girls or any cat I've ever cared for out on their own.

When I was a little girl in boarding school, I rescued a little kitten that was only 7 days old and his mother had abandoned the entire litter very early on. It's a wonder that he survived. All his other siblings were dead when I got to him.

It took several days to get him back to good health, but the weird thing is he never grew. He stayed the size of a three week old kitten for about 6 months. Since we weren't allowed to have pets, much less indoors at the school, I kept him in our furnace shed and always volunteered to feed the fire. He thrived for some time and he was our little baby until one day the biggest a**hole teacher we had suddenly had a "soft spot" for our kitten. He wanted us to take it to the soccer game so the girls who sat out could play with him.

I should have known something was up, cause this guy had NO heart. He hated us as much as he hated all living things. During the soccer game he took the kitten over to a garbage area near some apartment buildings and I came screaming running out of the game to stop him from what looked like getting ready to wring the kittens neck. He threw the kitten as far as he could and I saw it scamper off real fast. He was furious that I interupted him, and I was punished real bad for the rest of the year. I never saw the kitten again, but I hope someone saw him and took him in. He would have been the best thing cause he'd always look like a kitten.

I hated that man to death though... we all did.

it's beyond comprehension to me, too. today on craig's list I saw lisitings for people giving away their 1-3 year old cats because they are moving to a new apartment. and sure they are at least trying to find a home but it's like downsizing and telling your 13 year old you will find a new home for them.

too many people see pet ownership as some temporary perk rather than a lifelong commitment. I ofen wonder what lead to my little Abi being in an animal shelter and what would have happened if I hadn't met her that day in November and brought her into my home. it gives me the willies.

Originally Posted by writergirl

I was just talking to a friend of mine and she said her brother-in-law (who has 3 cats) just decided a while back 3 is too many so he opened the door and just let one of them go. The poor thing is probably dead or suffering terribly. How could someone do that? That makes me so sad thinking about that poor scared, hungry and abandoned cat. The cat was indoor so has no survival skills. Oh dear

~writergirl

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I believe I have the answer. I looked up pet in the dictionary and here is what it says:

An animal or person kept, regarded with affection.

So the answer is nobody could do that to a true pet.

I would also like to know how a person could have a pet killed like my brother-in-law and sister-in-law did, only because he was spraying in "inappropriate" places. I will never ever forgive them for it as long as I live. If they had only called me, I would have come and got him and brought him back here.

I only hope that a fellow cat lover found her and has taken her in.

That is sooo sad and very irresponsible of him. There were a zillion other more responsible he could have done.

Ugh...how sad. Such a waste of a wonderful friend and family member...and how people can take them for granted! Since when were members of our families disposable? It's awful.

I too pray that this poor baby has found someone with a heart big enough to find room for him/her...as if this cat was probably any trouble to begin with!

My Fergus was a "cast away." When I lived in an apartment 4 years ago, I kept spotting a beautiful (but badly beaten up) kitten outside on the sidewalk, and he'd often spend time on our apartment porch. My neighbor 3 doors down (who I suspect was his "owner"), would leave a dirty plate of some sloppy cat food out, and leave him out in the rain, and defenseless against the feral cat colony that inhabited that back end of the apartment housing. Well, I put up with that business for about 3 days, and at 3:00 a.m. in the morning, when the kitten came scratching at my door, howling (as it was raining, and only about 35 degrees outside), I let him in. I kept him overnight, and he slept in a warm towel with me in bed. I called the Humane Society the next day, and asked if they could take him. They sent a lady out in a van to come pick him up, and about 3 minutes later, the kitten jumped into my lap, looked me in the eye, gave me a head butt, and that was that. There I was, calling the lady on her cell phone, telling her not to bother...that I was going to keep the cat. I was so worried about his health for the next two days before his first vet appointment, I could hardly stand it...the tip of his tail was missing, he had a wounded paw, an eye infection, fleas, an URI, and dingy white fur. Well, he got a clean bill of health, was guessed to be between 6-9 months old, a bath, several nutritious meals, toys, and endless lap and cuddle time. He was also neutered immediately. I have since acquired two additional cats for Fergus, but I have to tell you, that he is my big whopping 17 lb. baby. He's now 4 years old, and is literally the sweetest and most affectionate cat that anyone could know. And I still ask myself how anyone could just kick a cat to the curb like this? The way I see it in my case, is that it's my former neighbor's loss, and my super-gain.

That boarding school story was horrible. And your parents PAID to send you to a place like that? That 'teacher' could not have treated his students much better than he treated a helpless cat.

I, too, have remarked on the unbelievable selfishness of people who say they are moving and 'can't take the cat'. Any city will have landlords and landladies who will accept tenants with well behaved cats. It's a lot easier to house them than to move with a dog.

The cat is too often seen as a disposable accessory. Gizmo was treated as a 'thing' by her previous owner's wife, so she had to go when he married this girl (I'm surprised that he did, but obviously he valued his marriage more than his pet.)

I may be moving soon, and Gizmo is going with me. Maybe 25% of the apartment ads I see allow small pets. That's enough--you only need one to live in. A little work will ensure that the cat gets to stay with you. I would not consider even the nicest apartment if they would not let me keep Gizmo.

I don't know how but it makes me so mad! I mean at the very least you can drive it to a shelter, or in some places they will even come and pick the pet up if you don't want it!

I have found SO MANY stray pets that obviously had a home at one time, and I'm use many of them were purposefully dumped. I think people feel more guilty sometimes about taking a pet to the pound thinking it might get put to sleep so they decide to dump them instead-- which is really stupid, because they will likely die in some horrible way after you dump them. I guess they just feel less responsible for the animal's fate that way.

My most recent stray rescue was a little kitten. She was very friendly so she must have been owned by someone at some point. A friend's friend had found/caught her and they gave her to someone who gave her to someone else who wanted to keep her but couldn't (and had put her in a box in their basement with dirt for a litterbox! Luckily it wasn't for too long.) When I saw where she was kept for that short time I took her home. She was so small and just skin and bones... Poor little thing! My sister was looking for a cat to adopt at the time and I convinced her to give this kitty a try. She ended up adopting her. This kitten weighed only 2 1/2 pounds when I found her, and when we took her to the vet we found out she was about SIX MONTHS OLD! She was SO tiny and malnourished I thought she was about 3 months! It's been about 3 months now and she has gained what she weighed when we took her in! She's now 5 lbs and doing very well, but the vet said because of the malnourishment she will probably not grow much larger than she is now.
If anyone is interested, you can see her pictures HERE.

What a cutie she is and it's a good thing that you took her in. Also the balcony kitten story is wonderful. Who can resist a kitten in your lap and their "I need you" face?

Yah, that boarding school was one of the million indicators that my mom felt the same way about her kids that most of these bad "pet owners" feel about their pets; fun until they get past the baby stage.

It takes a selfish, cruel, ignorant person to abandon a pet, pure and simple. I'm currently fostering a 10-month-old orange male who, according to the people in the neighborhood where he was found, was most likely abandoned.
I tried finding his owners, posted flyers, asked around the neighborhood, ran an ad in the newspaper, but no one claimed him. He must have had a home at some point because he's the sweetest, most laidback boy, so eager to give and receive love.

All I can say is that the person who abandoned this wonderful cat is an idiot who doesn't deserve him anyway. BTW, he has been adopted and will be going to a wonderful forever home.

I found my little bundle of joy at the local humane society....she was dropped off when she was 14wks old and she spent 3mos in a cage. The moment I held her and rubbed her belly, she just started purrrrrring like an airplane. I couldn't resist her. I can't see why anyone would give her up. She is the most well-behaved little love sponge in the entire world...