Hi all! I hope I'm not breaking any rules by making this my first post. I'm in the midst of an incredibly frustrating situation and hope someone out there can help me, or at the very least offer up some suggestions. I apologize in advance if this becomes a long post and a boring read.
First of all, I live near Albuquerque, NM. This is very much a dog area. A lot of people have cats but there are far more dogs. Shelters have issues taking on any more cats and most people I talk to prefer dogs. Cats are just not the thing in this area.
Secondly, I love animals very much but have been cursed with one of the worst animal allergies any one has ever seen. I can't have cats or any other animal with fur/dander near me at all. I could endure and try to build up resistance, only my reactions trigger monstrous asthma attacks and I can't breath. I'm simply not a candidate for cat ownership, despite my great love for them.
Some background: My mother and I began feeding a pregnant female years ago. She stuck around and wound up having 3 litters of kittens in our garage before we finally relented and made our adoption of her "binding" by getting her spayed and keeping one kitten each from two of her litters. The situation was ideal in that we could have cats but they could live outside, thus avoiding the whole allergy thing. I got married and moved here to NM, my mother kept the cats with her in Tx and eventually brought them into her house because it became unsafe for them to be outside (I was also gone, so it didn't matter that they were in the house anymore). They were also getting older and wanted to be in more too.
My mother had to move in with my husband and me about a year ago and she had to bring the cats with her because the shelters in Tx wouldn't take them. Either they were too full or they had policies against taking in older cats. Because of my horrible allergies, we had to relinquish our garage to the cats and there they have been this past year. My mother tries to make it as nice for them as possible but it's difficult because of the weather and the fact that the garage is windowless and uninsulated.
I won't go into greater detail, suffice to say my mother has some issues when it comes to these cats. She's driving me nuts by not being as careful as she should be with washing her hands and other items coming in from the garage to the house. There's cat fur all over parts of my carpet and I know we must be tracking it all over the house. I have to clean up/mop/vacuum constantly to keep it under control. The garage is a wreck with cat stuff and fur everywhere and our cars have to stay outside in the driveway, which eventually is going to ruin the paint on them (it's already ruined the paint on my car) because of our harsh sunlight and blowing sand. These are just trivial things, however, compared to the cats themselves. The garage has no window and the only bit of fresh air that comes into the garage is through one small vent near the ground. Our last winter was unusually harsh and we wound up with a horrible utility bill and partially shorted electric fuse having to run multiple heaters and such to keep them warm. Summer was just as bad having to run multiple fans to keep it cool enough for them. My mother is insecure about their welfare in the garage and obsessively frets over ways to improve their environment. If I did not stop her, every single sheet, blanket, bowl, and pillow would be out there to keep them comfortable. She has a difficult time balancing what's good for them versus what's good for us (the humans). I'll also mention that at this time, my husband and I are shouldering all the costs of keeping these cats until my mother gets a job.
I love these animals very much. This can't be good for them to live what's left of their lives out in my garage like this. I want them have access to windows, fresh air and comfortable couches and a warm/cool house during extreme parts of the year. Maybe it would have been okay when they were younger, but they're elderly now. My husband and I have had to make so many sacrifices to have them here just so my mother can hold on to them, but I feel that her attachment to them is not only hurting me with my allergies, but them because she won't relinquish them to a better situation, which in of itself seems impossible to find.
I would like very much to adopt them out to a loving home but I'm afraid their chances of anyone wanting them is slim. For starters, they're old. Dana is about 12 or 13. Her son Luke is 12 and his sister Cairo is 11. Secondly, Luke has a magnesium sensitivity and heart murmur, so they're all on a special diet to protect him. Cairo has ocular herpes and gets outbreaks when she's stressed. They've been together all their lives so we'd rather they go together, wherever that is. Finding a home for a single, young healthy cat is difficult here in NM much less three older cats with some health issues.
I suppose I'm posting because I feel the situation I'm in with these cats seems beyond impossible and I need to vent. Having them put to sleep is not an option as I refuse to have these dear animals put down simply for my convenience. It would also break my mother's heart. Part of me also refuses to accept that that could be the only option simply because no one wants older animals. I just want what's best for them and for us. Nothing more. I butt heads with my mother constantly over this but she has agreed that if I can find someone to take all three together and give them a good home, she'll let them go. She's betting that I won't, however, and so far she's been right. But I must. Nice as the garage mostly is, I keep remembering Luke chasing butterflies and sunning himself in his youth outside in the fresh air. To have his life wind down in a dark garage with a hard, cold floor is unbearable to me. He's too old to ever be outside again, but I dream of him being able to sit at a window again to take in the sights. I want that for the other two as well (I talk about Luke a lot because he's my special little guy).
Can any one advise me? Shelters here won't take them as they're too old, plus they'd be separated. They'd need a quiet home with a gentle person attentive to their needs. They've never known any violence or even loud voices their whole lives. I just don't know what to do at this point. Any words of wisdom and/or comfort would also be appreciated. Thank you for reading.
First of all, I live near Albuquerque, NM. This is very much a dog area. A lot of people have cats but there are far more dogs. Shelters have issues taking on any more cats and most people I talk to prefer dogs. Cats are just not the thing in this area.
Secondly, I love animals very much but have been cursed with one of the worst animal allergies any one has ever seen. I can't have cats or any other animal with fur/dander near me at all. I could endure and try to build up resistance, only my reactions trigger monstrous asthma attacks and I can't breath. I'm simply not a candidate for cat ownership, despite my great love for them.
Some background: My mother and I began feeding a pregnant female years ago. She stuck around and wound up having 3 litters of kittens in our garage before we finally relented and made our adoption of her "binding" by getting her spayed and keeping one kitten each from two of her litters. The situation was ideal in that we could have cats but they could live outside, thus avoiding the whole allergy thing. I got married and moved here to NM, my mother kept the cats with her in Tx and eventually brought them into her house because it became unsafe for them to be outside (I was also gone, so it didn't matter that they were in the house anymore). They were also getting older and wanted to be in more too.
My mother had to move in with my husband and me about a year ago and she had to bring the cats with her because the shelters in Tx wouldn't take them. Either they were too full or they had policies against taking in older cats. Because of my horrible allergies, we had to relinquish our garage to the cats and there they have been this past year. My mother tries to make it as nice for them as possible but it's difficult because of the weather and the fact that the garage is windowless and uninsulated.
I won't go into greater detail, suffice to say my mother has some issues when it comes to these cats. She's driving me nuts by not being as careful as she should be with washing her hands and other items coming in from the garage to the house. There's cat fur all over parts of my carpet and I know we must be tracking it all over the house. I have to clean up/mop/vacuum constantly to keep it under control. The garage is a wreck with cat stuff and fur everywhere and our cars have to stay outside in the driveway, which eventually is going to ruin the paint on them (it's already ruined the paint on my car) because of our harsh sunlight and blowing sand. These are just trivial things, however, compared to the cats themselves. The garage has no window and the only bit of fresh air that comes into the garage is through one small vent near the ground. Our last winter was unusually harsh and we wound up with a horrible utility bill and partially shorted electric fuse having to run multiple heaters and such to keep them warm. Summer was just as bad having to run multiple fans to keep it cool enough for them. My mother is insecure about their welfare in the garage and obsessively frets over ways to improve their environment. If I did not stop her, every single sheet, blanket, bowl, and pillow would be out there to keep them comfortable. She has a difficult time balancing what's good for them versus what's good for us (the humans). I'll also mention that at this time, my husband and I are shouldering all the costs of keeping these cats until my mother gets a job.
I love these animals very much. This can't be good for them to live what's left of their lives out in my garage like this. I want them have access to windows, fresh air and comfortable couches and a warm/cool house during extreme parts of the year. Maybe it would have been okay when they were younger, but they're elderly now. My husband and I have had to make so many sacrifices to have them here just so my mother can hold on to them, but I feel that her attachment to them is not only hurting me with my allergies, but them because she won't relinquish them to a better situation, which in of itself seems impossible to find.
I would like very much to adopt them out to a loving home but I'm afraid their chances of anyone wanting them is slim. For starters, they're old. Dana is about 12 or 13. Her son Luke is 12 and his sister Cairo is 11. Secondly, Luke has a magnesium sensitivity and heart murmur, so they're all on a special diet to protect him. Cairo has ocular herpes and gets outbreaks when she's stressed. They've been together all their lives so we'd rather they go together, wherever that is. Finding a home for a single, young healthy cat is difficult here in NM much less three older cats with some health issues.
I suppose I'm posting because I feel the situation I'm in with these cats seems beyond impossible and I need to vent. Having them put to sleep is not an option as I refuse to have these dear animals put down simply for my convenience. It would also break my mother's heart. Part of me also refuses to accept that that could be the only option simply because no one wants older animals. I just want what's best for them and for us. Nothing more. I butt heads with my mother constantly over this but she has agreed that if I can find someone to take all three together and give them a good home, she'll let them go. She's betting that I won't, however, and so far she's been right. But I must. Nice as the garage mostly is, I keep remembering Luke chasing butterflies and sunning himself in his youth outside in the fresh air. To have his life wind down in a dark garage with a hard, cold floor is unbearable to me. He's too old to ever be outside again, but I dream of him being able to sit at a window again to take in the sights. I want that for the other two as well (I talk about Luke a lot because he's my special little guy).
Can any one advise me? Shelters here won't take them as they're too old, plus they'd be separated. They'd need a quiet home with a gentle person attentive to their needs. They've never known any violence or even loud voices their whole lives. I just don't know what to do at this point. Any words of wisdom and/or comfort would also be appreciated. Thank you for reading.
. You really are a wonderful, kind person for wanting to keep them together. As they should stay together. I think Barb has given you some great advice above. I too would see about building an outdoor enclosure or something of the sort if at all possible. I fear that this will be the only way that all three will stay together, if you keep them yourself 
