Unless someone can help him with a new home, my cat Rafael is in the last days of his life. He's been living with my parents in Grand Rapids, MI for the past couple of years, ever since I moved out of their household. None of my living situations since have been cat friendly, or he would be with me now.
Anyway, my parents are their wits' end with him. He's been pooping in carpeted rooms for months and months now rather than in his litter box, and repeated attempts to retrain him have gone nowhere. Perhaps worse, he's taken to waking my parents up at 3 or 4 in the morning a few nights a week by yowling loudly or even jumping into bed and nipping them with his teeth. They're in their late fifties, so the lack of sleep is taking a toll.
We are theorizing that this behavior stems from a lack of attention. My dad is out of the house all day at work, and on the evenings or weekends both my parents are often running errands or working on some household project or other. So they've been trying to find someone to take him in who would be able to shower him with the attention that he's missing. For the past three weeks, they've posted ads and contacted area shelters and vets, but they haven't gotten so much as a single phone call from anyone who might want to take him in. So I am hoping and frankly praying that someone here might want to take a chance on an excellent friend and companion. If no one does, I've been told the last day of his life will probably be this Thursday.
Rafe is a male short hair tabby, orange on his back, sides, tail, and some of his face, and white on the paws, feet, and underbelly. He's been an indoor cat all his life. For the most part he has a very laid back personality. He likes to sleep a lot, and when he's awake, he likes to be sitting on or near someone being petted or getting a tummy rub. He's always happy to see you come into the room, and you would find him a very loving and devoted friend.
Other than his present behavior issues (which are completely isolated to the past year -- the whole rest of his life his behavior was all but spotless) the biggest challenge with Rafe is his age; he is 14 years old. My parents were informed that placing him in a shelter now, even a no-kill shelter, is essentially a death sentence, that no one wants older cats and that the cats end up starving themselves to death out of complete loneliness and misery.
So that's why I'm appealing directly to anyone living in or around Grand Rapids to please consider giving Rafe a chance. He was a light in my life for almost ten years while I was growing up, and I know he would bring much love and warmth into the household of whomever chose to take him in.
I have pictures available if anyone wants them, but I'm not sure how to insert them into these messages, so I may have to e-mail them. Please reply as soon as you can if you are interested, for as I said, Rafe will probably be put to sleep Thursday afternoon if no alternative is found. Thank you for listening.
Anyway, my parents are their wits' end with him. He's been pooping in carpeted rooms for months and months now rather than in his litter box, and repeated attempts to retrain him have gone nowhere. Perhaps worse, he's taken to waking my parents up at 3 or 4 in the morning a few nights a week by yowling loudly or even jumping into bed and nipping them with his teeth. They're in their late fifties, so the lack of sleep is taking a toll.
We are theorizing that this behavior stems from a lack of attention. My dad is out of the house all day at work, and on the evenings or weekends both my parents are often running errands or working on some household project or other. So they've been trying to find someone to take him in who would be able to shower him with the attention that he's missing. For the past three weeks, they've posted ads and contacted area shelters and vets, but they haven't gotten so much as a single phone call from anyone who might want to take him in. So I am hoping and frankly praying that someone here might want to take a chance on an excellent friend and companion. If no one does, I've been told the last day of his life will probably be this Thursday.
Rafe is a male short hair tabby, orange on his back, sides, tail, and some of his face, and white on the paws, feet, and underbelly. He's been an indoor cat all his life. For the most part he has a very laid back personality. He likes to sleep a lot, and when he's awake, he likes to be sitting on or near someone being petted or getting a tummy rub. He's always happy to see you come into the room, and you would find him a very loving and devoted friend.
Other than his present behavior issues (which are completely isolated to the past year -- the whole rest of his life his behavior was all but spotless) the biggest challenge with Rafe is his age; he is 14 years old. My parents were informed that placing him in a shelter now, even a no-kill shelter, is essentially a death sentence, that no one wants older cats and that the cats end up starving themselves to death out of complete loneliness and misery.
So that's why I'm appealing directly to anyone living in or around Grand Rapids to please consider giving Rafe a chance. He was a light in my life for almost ten years while I was growing up, and I know he would bring much love and warmth into the household of whomever chose to take him in.
I have pictures available if anyone wants them, but I'm not sure how to insert them into these messages, so I may have to e-mail them. Please reply as soon as you can if you are interested, for as I said, Rafe will probably be put to sleep Thursday afternoon if no alternative is found. Thank you for listening.
