Should I take my cat with me? Tough Decisions

darkangel8603

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
Jan 19, 2005
Messages
30
Purraise
0
Location
Brantford, Ontario
I am 18 yrs old, and lives with my parents, with 2 dogs (Elsa and Kiki) and 4 cats (Spooky, Milly, Tigger, and the baby Minka), Tigger and Minka actually belongs to me while the other animals belongs to my parents.
I will be moving out into a new home, in a different city. Minka will denifily have no problems and will for sure come with me, (she is only 1 yrs old) But my concern is Tigger, he is 6 yrs old, and lived his whole life in this house, he also was raised with Elsa together, so they are pretty close. Anyway, I am not sure whether or not I should take Tigger with me, for one thing, he lived here all his life and will be stressful for him to leave,
but lately he has been very very tense and nervous for some reason, my mom told me that since my parent did some flea thing on the cats in the recent summer, (some kind of flea meds that rubs on the neck of the cats) since that, he had been very nervous and tense, he freaks and pee on me when i pick him up, he runs and hide at little noises also i just noticed this week, his fur is thinning alot, its not his normal amount of fur. So i am thinking if i take him with me, he may get a little better cuz will be less people, less animals, and stuff. I am still not sure what to do. I am really concern about my cat, and dont know what to do with Tigger, as I hate to see him like this, I hate to see him suffer like this, i have no clue whats going on. so pls help me and give me ur opinons.
 

cirque

TCS Member
Super Cat
Joined
Jan 18, 2005
Messages
1,086
Purraise
1
Location
Rochester, NY
I say take him with you. He will adjust to his new surroundings given a little bit of time and might enjoy not having a house with only one animal instead of 6 total. It does sound like he has some health issues going on though because anytime you notice a change that usually means something has been going on for at least a little while if not longer as most times people just do not pick up on those changes and cats cant write us a note or draw a picture of where it hurts or whats wrong. If you can afford it have him seen by a vet and get some tests done, but perhaps all he needs is a safe friendly place to live where he feels no threats from animals or people.
 

jennyr

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Dec 6, 2004
Messages
13,348
Purraise
593
Location
The Land of Cheese
I would say get him checked by a vet before you make a decision. If he has a health problem, the stress of moving will make it worse, and it does sound as if htere might be something going on. Otherwise, I have moved with cats a number of times and if handled properly they are usually fine.
 

huggles

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Jul 3, 2003
Messages
9,620
Purraise
4
Location
Melbourne, Australia
what sort of flea thing did your parents do? was it an over the counter flea product or was it from the vet? some over the counter products can be very harmful to cats so I think you should most certainly get Tigger looked at by the vet...

How do Tigger and Minka get along?
 

sammie5

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Aug 3, 2002
Messages
1,690
Purraise
3
Please find out what kind of flea medication your parents used. If they used one of the prescription flea drops (Like Revolution or something like that), then that is not a major cause for alarm. But if they used an "over the counter" flea drop, like Hartz, this could be making him very ill. The thinning out of his fur is definitely a concern.

It seems worrisome that he is suddenly exhibiting these symptoms, a vet visit is definitely in order.

At age 6, change can be stressful, but he is not too old to adjust. I adopted my cat at that age, he had been given up for adoption by his family, moved to a kennel, then moved to my house. He had a lot to adjust to, and stopped eating for a while, but eventually settled in well. Your cat would have less stress, as he would be moving with familiar people and food.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #6

darkangel8603

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
Jan 19, 2005
Messages
30
Purraise
0
Location
Brantford, Ontario
Originally Posted by huggles

what sort of flea thing did your parents do? was it an over the counter flea product or was it from the vet? some over the counter products can be very harmful to cats so I think you should most certainly get Tigger looked at by the vet...

How do Tigger and Minka get along?
I am trying to get some money, but i do not have a whole lot of money, i still havent got Minka fixed yet nor even check up at the vet since she was born, i know its bad, i really need to find a way to get money to get them both in the vets office.

Minka and Tigger get along pretty well, they dont sleep together or play together, but other than that they get along pretty well.

The name of the liquid stuff is called advantage, i dont know if that is the name or just the company, my parent got them when i was in school, so i have no idea, but i asked my dad where did they get the stuff, he said from the vet office, so it should be alright.

I will call the vet today and see if i can book an appt for both of the cats, and see how much it is, hopefully its not too much.

thanks for your comments and advices.
 

mamacat

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Dec 6, 2004
Messages
1,355
Purraise
3
Location
The beautiful borough of Queens, NYC, NY
I notice that you mention getting the money together to take your cats to the vet. A hard question you should ask yourself before taking either cat with you to a new city is whether you can afford to take care of them--not just the regular expenses of food and litter and such but also things like emergency trips to the vet, medicine, etc. As difficult as it might be, if you do not have the means to take care of your cats, and your parents do, they might be better off with your parents.
 

jennyr

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Dec 6, 2004
Messages
13,348
Purraise
593
Location
The Land of Cheese
As hard as it might be for you I agree with Stephanie. Whatever you do, think of the cats' best interests.
 

captiva

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Dec 5, 2004
Messages
10,312
Purraise
25
Location
Indiana
I'm sorry that it's such an expense for you right now.
I think it's a really, really good idea to have Tigger checked out. Advantage is a well know treatment, but like people, every cat can react differently to medication. At least if he goes to the vet, he can rule out something medical vs. psychological (spelling?) Something has happened and it very well could be some interaction with another cat. In the end, please go with what your head tells you to do. As much as you want this kitten to go with you, if you feel he's getting good care at home and he is attached to other cats at home, then you should probably leave him where he is. It's so stressful for cats to move . You are probably correct about the little one though, if she/he is only a year old then she/he will adjust fine. Maybe once you get settled and if you feel comfortable enough financially again, you could adopt a playmate for the kitten you're taking. I wish you the best of luck. It's so hard leaving your pets behind when you leave home. I still remember and that was 25 years ago.
 

catsknowme

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jan 2, 2005
Messages
11,458
Purraise
6,679
Location
Eastern California,USA
You are doing a good job of recognizing potential concerns about moving the cats. Is there any kind of animal assistance league in your area? Maybe they will help you with spaying Minka. My area has a group called ICARE (you can check out their website at www.inyopets.org) . We live in an economically disadvantaged area, and the folks at ICARE use collections from the community to assist people in properly caring for their companion animals. Since the start of this program, the rate of animal kills at the county shelter is down and all the vets are thrilled with the progress made in improving life for the local dogs & cats. As for Tigger, hopefully your vet will help you with financial arrangements. Between your parents and you, who's more likely to devote the most time to Tigger? If you are busy studying or working, but one or both of your parents usually stays home, then Tigger is probably best left there. But if you give him the most attention, then he will miss you alot, and will have grief added to his current problems. Please keep us posted on how things are coming along for you!



(
Originally Posted by darkangel8603

I am 18 yrs old, and lives with my parents, with 2 dogs (Elsa and Kiki) and 4 cats (Spooky, Milly, Tigger, and the baby Minka), Tigger and Minka actually belongs to me while the other animals belongs to my parents.
I will be moving out into a new home, in a different city. Minka will denifily have no problems and will for sure come with me, (she is only 1 yrs old) But my concern is Tigger, he is 6 yrs old, and lived his whole life in this house, he also was raised with Elsa together, so they are pretty close. Anyway, I am not sure whether or not I should take Tigger with me, for one thing, he lived here all his life and will be stressful for him to leave,
but lately he has been very very tense and nervous for some reason, my mom told me that since my parent did some flea thing on the cats in the recent summer, (some kind of flea meds that rubs on the neck of the cats) since that, he had been very nervous and tense, he freaks and pee on me when i pick him up, he runs and hide at little noises also i just noticed this week, his fur is thinning alot, its not his normal amount of fur. So i am thinking if i take him with me, he may get a little better cuz will be less people, less animals, and stuff. I am still not sure what to do. I am really concern about my cat, and dont know what to do with Tigger, as I hate to see him like this, I hate to see him suffer like this, i have no clue whats going on. so pls help me and give me ur opinons.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #11

darkangel8603

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
Jan 19, 2005
Messages
30
Purraise
0
Location
Brantford, Ontario
Hello again,
I have found a way to get some money for the vet, I am taking my cats to the vet on tuesday jan 25, so wish me luck.

Some of you mention that it may be best f or the cats to stay home, my parent will not want my cats at home for more mouths to feed, etc they already have 2 other cats and 2 dogs to feed and care for, so they cant really afford any more animals, since the two cats are primary mine so i am suppose to take care of it and stuff. I care of my two cats, i lvoe them alot, i couldnt be away from them, so money is not an object for love.
 
Top