I know I will get heat for this, but am in New York and looking to rehome my raw fed cat to a respon

As the title says, after a lot of deliberation and problems I have realized that a cat is a very poor fit inside my home. He is a very good, nice black 2yo male cat with gorgeous copper eyes named Chipi, but I have realized that it was really rather a bad decision on our parts to get a cat. The nature of a cat to climb and destroy does not fit with our lifestyle, and I am not ale to take proper measures to block and restrict him due to the nature of my tiny apartment (400 sq feet). He is neutered and UTD on his vaccines. I feed him a carefully balanced home made raw diet. He gets along famously with dogs (he and my dog are best buds) and is the kind of cat you can really do anything with and he behaves, doesn't bite or scratch (unless he's just trying to use you as a tree when playing), and plays fetch. I'm not looking to give him away on a whim but instead seeing if I can find a home that is able to keep him forever, and able to keep up the standard of care I have established. I will keep him as long as I have to (possibly forever) while I look for an appropriate home (so please do not think that I am just tossing him out to the first taker).

I was wondering if anyone here, on this site of like-minded individuals, is in NY and would be willing to entertain the idea of taking him into their home. I would love to correspond for a while ideally and am able to drive a decent way to meet you (on a weekend I would be willing to drive up to 6 hours or so to meet the right person). Thanks a lot and I hope to not be judged too much for this post.

there's nothing wrong with knowing your limits! Don't let anyone bring you down for it. If you can't find anyone personally, find a no kill shelter.

msserena said:

there's nothing wrong with knowing your limits! Don't let anyone bring you down for it. If you can't find anyone personally, find a no kill shelter.

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Thanks a lot. I appreciate it. However, I absolutely refuse to send him to any shelter, cause I have no control over where he goes in that situation. One of my biggest stipulations also is that he goes to a raw feeding household. So it's tough, I'm being picky, but he didn't do anything wrong and deserves to live a long happy life. I hope I can find someone and if I can't I'll just continue to take care of him. But I think it would be ideal for us and him if he goes elsewhere...

It's obvious that you care a great deal about him. Please forgive me if I have missed another post where you may have answered some of the questions I'm about to ask.
You said that he is climbing and destroying things. Do you have any cat trees? That may help with his behavior. I was also wondering if you have tried and pheromone products such as Comfort Zone with Feliway or a calming chew such as Composure.
I have eight cats and I feed raw. I appreciate you wanting to make sure he will be able to continue with the diet that you have him on.

Ralphscats said:

It's obvious that you care a great deal about him. Please forgive me if I have missed another post where you may have answered some of the questions I'm about to ask.
You said that he is climbing and destroying things. Do you have any cat trees? That may help with his behavior. I was also wondering if you have tried and pheromone products such as Comfort Zone with Feliway or a calming chew such as Composure.
I have eight cats and I feed raw. I appreciate you wanting to make sure he will be able to continue with the diet that you have him on.

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Hi there. Yea I have one cat tree for him, unfortunately it's all that I can fit into our 400sr ft apartment. My husband and I share the one room with him and our dog. I don't believe he needs any calming stuff (I am familiar with delivery as I worked for a vet and we sold the stuff), because he is not stressed or anxious in the least. He is actually a very happy cat with a very good attitude, he is just being a cat which on its very own i believe is just not a good fit for the home. He climbs the desk and closet when he wants to be fed, wakes me up early in the morning and yowls and scratches (not aggressively) to get my attention and get his way.

But I see his behavior and I know that he is just being a cat. None of his behavior is extreme at all, just doesn't work well with our home and family.

I also have a big issue with him climbing and destroying my sculptures. I sculpt as a side job and he broke two sculptures for clients as well as a few i made for myself. And I am recognizing that I am getting very fed up, very angry, and am resentful towards him. I also recognize that's not fair and i think the only way I'll remedy that is by rehoming him. I think it's best for him to because I'm just not nice to him anymore and I feel bad about it. I chase him away/yell etc almost all the time and no longer feel the desire to cuddle/pet him though I still do just because it's not fair to him to completely deny him affection.

Anyways this turned into a wall of text and I'm sorry about that. I care a lot about him, I've never regimes a pet and carry a lot of guilt over the desire to do so. But my husband and I have talked about it a lot over the past few months and we think it's best for everyone involved. So I have decided to seriously start looking. Since I do stipulate he needs to stay raw fed, it's understandably hard however, to find him someone. I had a nice raw feeding family that was interested and I was still apprehensive about making the decision, they said I can take my time but once I decided to go ahead I found out they got another dog instead and no longer wanted to...sigh...

sorry I do not know how to edit, I meant to say ''I've never rehomed''.

grratu531 said:

Thanks a lot. I appreciate it. However, I absolutely refuse to send him to any shelter, cause I have no control over where he goes in that situation. One of my biggest stipulations also is that he goes to a raw feeding household. So it's tough, I'm being picky, but he didn't do anything wrong and deserves to live a long happy life. I hope I can find someone and if I can't I'll just continue to take care of him. But I think it would be ideal for us and him if he goes elsewhere...

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Not the same but I went though having to let a cat go. She was a stray we took in who had babies. We love/loved her dearly but she was not and was never going to be a fit with our older cat. I felt awful turning her over to a very good no kill shelter. About the only one in my state. I know a lot of posters here and in my life really wanted us to find a way to keep her. Sometimes only the actual people living the situation know that things are never going to work for them , their lifestyle of other pets. You may have some issues finding a home that feeds raw. Consider this in the long run no matter your personal beliefs would you rather he had kibble and had owners that would cherish him always and take care of his needs or someone who feeds raw that might not be as good of a match. I chose the rescue for our stray because of their aggressive adoption policies and their genuine dedication to taking care of the cats while they are in their care. Good luck if it's finding solutions or finding a good home.

grratu531 said:

Hi there. Yea I have one cat tree for him, unfortunately it's all that I can fit into our 400sr ft apartment. My husband and I share the one room with him and our dog. I don't believe he needs any calming stuff (I am familiar with delivery as I worked for a vet and we sold the stuff), because he is not stressed or anxious in the least. He is actually a very happy cat with a very good attitude, he is just being a cat which on its very own i believe is just not a good fit for the home. He climbs the desk and closet when he wants to be fed, wakes me up early in the morning and yowls and scratches (not aggressively) to get my attention and get his way.

But I see his behavior and I know that he is just being a cat. None of his behavior is extreme at all, just doesn't work well with our home and family.

I also have a big issue with him climbing and destroying my sculptures. I sculpt as a side job and he broke two sculptures for clients as well as a few i made for myself. And I am recognizing that I am getting very fed up, very angry, and am resentful towards him. I also recognize that's not fair and i think the only way I'll remedy that is by rehoming him. I think it's best for him to because I'm just not nice to him anymore and I feel bad about it. I chase him away/yell etc almost all the time and no longer feel the desire to cuddle/pet him though I still do just because it's not fair to him to completely deny him affection.

Anyways this turned into a wall of text and I'm sorry about that. I care a lot about him, I've never regimes a pet and carry a lot of guilt over the desire to do so. But my husband and I have talked about it a lot over the past few months and we think it's best for everyone involved. So I have decided to seriously start looking. Since I do stipulate he needs to stay raw fed, it's understandably hard however, to find him someone. I had a nice raw feeding family that was interested and I was still apprehensive about making the decision, they said I can take my time but once I decided to go ahead I found out they got another dog instead and no longer wanted to...sigh...

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It's good that you recognize what is going on. I have eight and feed raw. We live in a 1200 sq. ft. house, so I understand the space issue and the desire to continue his raw food.

Have you thought about trying something like this for when he goes near your sculpting?
https://www.chewy.com/sentry-stop-that-noise-pheromone-cat/dp/56489

I'm also thinking that I've seen an episode on My Cat from He-- where Jackson Galaxy was able to redirect the cat to playing with Da Bird and other things instead of destroying them.

Also some cats love to be up high.  Have you made use of vertical shelving space for him.  Jackson Galaxy has  tons of information on Catification.  He has had use of walls with attached shelving to give cats lots of space.  You can do a google search for ideas or go to his website.  

I would imagine his buddy the dog will be very sad without him around.

The photo of your beautiful cat with your dog says a lot.  It seems heartbreaking to separate them - your dog is likely to miss the cat and so will you!

Like the other responders I keep thinking there must be simple solutions for the problems you've experienced.  What about storing sculptures in a closed cabinet.  I bought glass doors for IKEA Billy bookshelves for example.  And in a tiny apartment can you find wall space for climbing shelves?  Do you play with your cat every day?  At this age they have a lot of energy, and just a few minutes of play twice a day works wonders.  Also, since you talk about driving it sounds like you're in upstate New York, not the city.  Can you leash train him and take him on walks outside? What about setting up a window catio - there are renter-friendly window inserts you can use.

Apologies if you've thought of all these things already.

Is there a reason why you specified raw-fed home only? Is he on a special-needs diet that he has to be fed raw, or is it preference?

Grratu531:  Thanks for sharing.  Seems to be a sad situation.

You seem to be doing everything right to find a new home

for Chipi.  I wish you well with finding Chipi a home with

a larger space.  The Happy Cat Sanctuary out here is

full with the 300 they already have.  

I was going to ask the same question as Draco. Would you not be happy with a home *cooked*diet of appropriate food for an obligate carnivore? Also, for anyone in the position of needing to rehome a cat in the NY area, we adopted our cat from a no kill shelter that was fairly well funded. St. Hubert's is in Northern New Jersey and, for a shelter,is fairly nice. They are in no rush to place their dogs and cats as they were funded to keep some for life, if necessary. We wanted anot older cat; one that was less likely to be adoptable. As I have trained dogs and cats (and horses) for years,I was not afraid to try taking one with "socialization" problems. Within a week,I knew that she had been an "only" cat belonging to a good home which had to remove her. I believed that her person had likely died. I called the shelter to confirm my suspicions. Well meaning relatives had placed this small girl in a no kill shelter. She was terrified of all of the other animals. As our last dog had died of superlative old age, she gets one to one attention here from three adults. (My son lives at home at present).

I, like many others, cannot prepare raw food due to the issues of the humans in our home. But there are good ways to cook for cats and some prepared raw foods (like Honest Kitchen) which would probably be easier for a next owner to consider.

Others may not agree with me, but I have friends who feed raw and to do it correctly requires a knowledge base and weekly time set aside for preparation.

When our family was showing dogs as a hobby, we saw well intentioned folks attempting to feed raw due to the insistence of their dog's breeder. If one is not willing and happy to feed this way, it can cause problems for humans and animals alike. It's lovely that you care enough to go to that time intensive trouble, but not sure that you are doing any favors insisting that a next home do the same. Perhaps advertise it as a preference rather than a demand? You might get more interest if you are willing to consider a good home cooked or natural diet.

Just my thoughts; please don't pillory me for them, as I have good friends who feed raw successfully and know what trouble they take with their preparations.

Suze
May it be of benefit.