Giving Away A Cat

[greypaws]

 
We actually got Chip from a cat rescue who has a vet that they have things go through so we'll be setting it through them. I have no idea how much it'll cost I have to discuss that with my mom. If it turns out to be too much I'll be sure to ask you all for references and help. 

My mom has a question though, she wants to make sure he doesn't have UTI before he gets neutered so she was wondering if we mention it to the vet as we're setting an appointment for the surgery or if we should make two separate appointments, one to see if he has a UTI and another for his surgery. Or would the vet look him over before the surgery anyways to make sure he's ready and suitable for it? 

This is excellent news. When you speak with the cat rescue about the neuter appt., make sure your Mom tells them of the change in financial  circumstances and if they have a program to assist with the medical costs. Definitely ask the vet to check for UTI too.

The shelter I volunteer at has a no or low cost S/N program available to every resident in our county. We also have a Pet Pantry where you can pick up food for dog or cat, monthly. The pantry is stocked thru donations, so you get whatever brand is on the shelf. If you animal needs specialty foods, those would not be available. There is no income restrictions to pick up food for your animals but you must provide vet proof that they are fixed. Be sure to ask your rescue if there are any other resources available to your family's pets. Best wishes

 

[jazzyp]

I believe @ImTheBae referred to Chip as a teenager. I took that as a teenager in cat years, so 2-3? Maybe I'm wrong!

I saw that, but I was assuming she meant teenage in people years.  Boy, do I feel dumb.  

 

 

[arouetta]

but I do wish that you would take another look at this conversation and how it has evolved before passing judgment on an entire community.  

Oh, I read the thread.  And what I saw was a 17 year old child whose life had been torn apart being jumped on.  A child.  You can say we didn't know her life's circumstances.  But that's the point.  We shouldn't jump all over people who discuss rehoming, and back off once they share intimate details of their lives.  They do have a right to privacy, and the assumption on the part of the community as a whole should be "We don't know what all is going on in someone's life, we should be supportive.  We should not jump all over them because our lives are such that we don't have to face that decision.  We don't live with the person, we don't know all the ins and outs."

This happened once before recently, a woman had a terrified cat, her roommate was sick of the cat peeing outside the box and was threatening to evict her, and everyone was telling her to ignore the roommate, ignore the cat's utter terror of the established cat and to give it more time.  People were harsh with her too, jumped all over her.  She did rehome the cat and within a week the cat was calm and happy in the new place.  So obviously all those people telling her to just ignore the threatened eviction and to give the cat more time to get over the sheer terror were wrong.  Their stance on "forever" homes and "do not rehome" would have been the worst thing for that cat.

I really, really think that people should be gently supportive, not crowing about "forever" homes and how horrible it always, always is to rehome a cat.  I think that people should remind themselves we don't know the life's circumstances of anyone here.  I think people should remember that hey, unless their cat was born in their home, their cats already have been rehomed at least once, probably more than once, since they are in the home now, and the cat survived just fine coming into a new place.

 

[mani]

MOD NOTE

We're getting a little close to taking this thread off-topic. 

It's also good forum etiquette to talk to the OP, not about her.

______________________________________________

 

[jazzyp]

ImTheBae, I don't know where you live, but if you are in the US, here is a list of organizations that may be able to help you with the cost of neutering and other medical care.  

http://www.humanesociety.org/animal...ing_pet.html?referrer=https://www.google.com/

 

[imthebae]

Ah thank you! I talked to my mom, and I guess when we adopted Chip part of the fee included the neutering. So We will set an appointment to take him down. The only thing is we don't have a car, so we have to find someone who is willing to take us there and wait and everything. My mom is more worried that he has a UTI. But I will post an update after his surgery. 

 

[jazzyp]

 
Ah thank you! I talked to my mom, and I guess when we adopted Chip part of the fee included the neutering. So We will set an appointment to take him down. The only thing is we don't have a car, so we have to find someone who is willing to take us there and wait and everything. My mom is more worried that he has a UTI. But I will post an update after his surgery. 

Did you get him from a shelter or rescue?  Most shelters have volunteer groups helping out.  Perhaps one of the volunteers would be willing to help you out with transportation.  

 

[greypaws]

 
Ah thank you! I talked to my mom, and I guess when we adopted Chip part of the fee included the neutering. So We will set an appointment to take him down. The only thing is we don't have a car, so we have to find someone who is willing to take us there and wait and everything. My mom is more worried that he has a UTI. But I will post an update after his surgery. 

Your news keeps better with every post. Usually the procedure is you drop off the pet in the morning, then they call you later after the surgery and let you know everything is fine and what time you can pick up. Definitely, if transportation is a problem, call the shelter and see if there is a volunteer whom can help.

As for the possible UTI, one thing you can do is to get him onto canned food, no kibble. Even Friskies is fine, no gravy, no fish or seafood or fish by products. Add a tablespoon or so of warm water to this and stir it up, so it looks like firm oatmeal. A urine sample examined under the microscope in the vets office is the easiest way to see if he has a urinary tract infection or crystals. This test is not that expensive and really if you have concerns or there is blood in his urine, he should be checked sooner rather than later. Often this issue can be resolved with food.

I understand your life changes are hard on everyone and asking for help is not easy. But please, let your Mom know, there are organizations in place to help folks and their pets when the family has hit a rough patch. You need to dig around, make some phone calls and see what is available in your area. It may also be possible since the neuter was part of the adoption, that a well kitty check up is included. Mom needs to ask, the place to start is the rescue you got Chip from. At the very least they should be able to give her the names and phone numbers of area resources. Oh one last thing, some vets have an in house fund for those clients that are on a limited income. Often that means a reduced vet bill, the excess paid thru donations from their other clients. Best wishes and crossed paws

 

[maureen brad]

I just want to say that life can sometimes turn and your situation changes. I have volunteered in rescues and shelters and have seen many people give up their animals for the most bogus of reasons. There were times I could not sleep because of the heartless lack of commitment people show. That said, if people only used a shelter when it was the very last resort we would not have the horrible loss of life and complete despair that animals feel when they lose their home and their family.I was in a bad situation once, I was very sick , undiagnosed, and unable to work. Dr's kept sending me for 'counseling' thinking I was under stress, I had to leave my job but got no benefits because I was undiagnosed. I had 2 young children and 2 large dogs. I lost everything and, to make matters worse my ex quit paying child support. I had to move to my mom's with my kids, I was to sick to do much walking  etc and to sick to get much done. I was so lucky that a good friend (who years later I married) took my dogs for me. In the end I was diagnosed with cancer, went through all the treatments and got a place and a job and my dogs came back.That was the only person who stepped up to help me with the dogs , if he had not my dogs would have ended up in the shelter.

 I think those of us who do rescue work or volunteer work see so much garbage that people do to their pets that we may , at times, unfairly judge when really emergency circumstances arise. Shelters should be only for a crisis that cannot be avoided. People with young kids can't live in their cars in order to keep their pets. They can't.

 That said, it seems that this young girl still has a possibilty to keep her cat and I pray that happens.

 

[Norachan]

 
Ah thank you! I talked to my mom, and I guess when we adopted Chip part of the fee included the neutering. So We will set an appointment to take him down. The only thing is we don't have a car, so we have to find someone who is willing to take us there and wait and everything. My mom is more worried that he has a UTI. But I will post an update after his surgery. 

That great news. Fingers crossed for you and Chip.

 

[imthebae]

Hi guys I know it's been a while. Uh but we finally got Chip neutered sometime in the middle of March. He spent quite some time wearing a cone but he's doing a lot better. He still tries to mount our other cat but so far no peeing outside the litter box and no more middle of the night wailing. He's also a lot more cuddly and affectionate. And we moved and the cats are doing really good, they're just re-adjusting to the smaller space. But so far so good. I hope it keeps up.
The rescue we did everything through was soooooooooo awful. They were rude and didn't give us proper information and so it took forever to actually get him an appointment. And the place that neutered Chip was really rude too. So, if anyone wants to adopt from the Ontario Cat Shelter in CA go ahead but I wouldn't recommend doing anything else through them, just adopt your cat and get the hell out. And the vet that they used ( i can't remember the name of the place) didn't take very good care of him, we had him stay over night since it was really far, and when we picked him up he had feces all over his crate and he didn't want any of the workers to touch him, when they handed him to us he was hissing at them and only calmed down when he saw me and once I took him outside. Anyways thanks for all the advice and everything guys!

 

[sarah c]

So glad to hear chip is doing great, despite it being an ordeal for you all.