So Ashamed : Cat Needs Home VT/NH Border

I am ashamed of my 21 year old daughter ... she dumped her cat (s) on us a few months ago with promises of returning ... Then we were told she wasn't coming back.

Lilly , hates it here she is meant for a 1 cat household without children. We have a 15 room house and have Patches , Bridget , Tessa, Beth , Izzy and her kitten Trinity ( she was one of 3 ) and my daughters other cat Fluffy... who has bonded with the rest .... her only issue is she chews wires and my nebulizer tubes ( Asthma medication tubes , only air flows through them )

Lilly looks part Siamese , shes been living on my shelf for over a month .... she was kicking the crap out of my cats ( and even Fluffy ) and now they have formed a pack , travel in a pack and kick her butt.... of course we try to break it up but we cant be up 24/7

We are trying to find placement for Lilly ... and want to work with Fluffy to see if we can teach her not to chew.

Fluffy came from my ex husbands house , when my daughter was living there with Lilly she liked her ( Fluffy ) best and she became unoffically hers ...

House is the wrong word to describe where my ex lives, its a 6 man camper... with over 20 cats and if you removed the furnature it would be a giant litter box.

Pregnant cats , urine enough to sting your eyes , feces everywhere ... its awful and poor Fluffy is the product of her mother mating with her brother. Its thought she has some eye sight issues but is otherwise healthy.

Where its in a different state I was just given the info on how to drop a dime on them in their county.

Lilly really needs a home , all our local shelters are full ... our vet told us that if a cat remains this unhappy it can die .... I dont want her to die ... but I cant toss my other cats and my kids.

In our state after 30 days its abandonment and the cat becomes ours , its been 30 days plus.

If anyone can help us... plz private message.

no nasty comments either its hard enough to know you have a kid that has such disrespect for life, her parents etc and that we just cant seem to reach this cat because shes been bounced from home to home with my daughter ....

There are medications to help depressed, unhappy cats. There are medications to help hyperactive & psychotic cats as well - to calm them down. Animals may not be human, but they do have feeling as well as us.

For example, When my beloved cat Skittles died 2 years ago of what the vet thought may have been an incurable blood cancer (I had the painful decission to euthanise to prevent her anymore suffering), my cat Jessi who was close to her, became very withdrawn and introverted.

I was worried and took her to the vet, the vet told me she was depressed and was experiencing the loss of Skittles... in her mind, she was wondering where Skittles was, why wasn't she home? etc. The vet prescribed some mood enhancing medication for her, and she slowly recovered.

Whenever I go away for any period of time, my eldest Keylah is a hot tempered kitty, and apart from myself, my current 'partner' & my dad - she does not like anyone else and throws a temper tantrum. She acts out, she only tolerates my other cats apart from her son Jerrynn (whom she is completely fine around, even thought she is 5 years old & he is 4 years old both de-sexed)

My point is, if you go see your vet, they may be able to give you something to calm her (Lilly) antics down, so that she's not so quick to go on the attack of your other cats, she may be more tolerant. Feliway I have heard works to calm cats down a bit, perhaps if she's not desexed, you need to get that done too.

In regards to Fluffy, the same applies, she sounds hyperative, and the vet may be able to suggest something to calm her behavior down and remedies to stop her chewing cords. OR You can rub something nasty tasting but cat friendly on the cords.... one taste of the yucky stuff (lemon perhaps?) & she won't want to try again knwim? only use natural stuff - ask your vet.

I hope you can sort it out, if you can't find a home for her, then perhaps as I said, a vet may be able to help her settle into your home so that you are able to keep her, it sounds like you have no problem with a multi cat household & perhaps if her behavior changes, then you might be able to keep her?

Then on a different note - In Regards to your EX's House. It sounds horrific. You need to say something to someone about it, I know you may not want to cause trouble, perhaps warn him first, give him 2 weeks to fix it, and then say something to an animal rescue organization? If its that bad, you could spare them from future pain.

I have a large multi cat household, but I would NEVER let it get as bad as you describe, I spend hours cleaning up, making sure it's sanitary, scrubbing bowls with boiling water, scrubbing floors if there's mess, kitty litter gets cleaned on a regular basis, bedding is regularly cleaned and bleached with cat friendly products - if someone / your ex is going to have a lot of cats, then they need to take responsibility for their health and wellbeing and what you described about your ex isn't so.

Good Luck! & I hope everything goes well for you.

Originally Posted by luvmyfurbabys

no nasty comments either its hard enough to know you have a kid that has such disrespect for life, her parents etc and that we just cant seem to reach this cat because shes been bounced from home to home with my daughter ....

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I think that every one who is passionate about their pets has at least one family member who, while they may love animals, does not meet our standards regarding the care of those animals. Your daughter is still young, keep setting a good example and don't blame yourself that she hasn't yet followed it.

My youngest is always feeding strays that she plans to get spayed, and if I can't pay for it she never gets farther than planning. Then she moves again, and whatever critters she has at the moment stay with whoever she was staying with, who may or may not take care of them. Drives me nuts, and keeps me broke.

You can pick your friends, you can't pick family.

My advice - while pursuing a new home for Lilly, is to set her up in a decent sized room on her own (food, water, litter, toys, etc). If she & the other cats really do not get along at all - eventually someone will get hurt (human or feline). The longer she is terrorized or terrorizing - the more likely behavior issues are to start (like spraying, biting, etc).

I deal with a kitty like Lilly. I had to keep her in her own room, my bedroom, for over a year. It took 4 years & we finally have *relative* peace. A room as her home isn't ideal, but it's better than nothing.

Giving Lilly her own room may be the best options for the present time. You can also try Feliway in the room or at the door. Rescue Remedy has helped some. Might be worth a try.

Sometimes other cats pick on a cat that has health issues not yet noticed. Just trying to think of everything. A vet check up would determine if this was an issue.

For finding a new home, you could ask the vet's staff if there are any rescue groups in your area. They sometimes have weekend adoptions at local pet stores. Maybe they will help look for her an only cat home.

Using a bitter spray product to deter the chewing might help Fluffy. I think there is one called "Bitter Apple" ? Also, use those plastic zip ties to bundle cords together and tape the cords to a base board or underneath desk/table using duck tape. That worked for some of my boys.

Hope everyone settles down soon. You are an awesome person taking them and doing the best you can for them.