Originally Posted by katiemae1277
mission accomplished!! The crazy cat lady triumphs again!!!!!
Originally Posted by katiemae1277
mission accomplished!! The crazy cat lady triumphs again!!!!!
I appreciate your response and your "throwing the cat among the pigeons."Originally Posted by sarahp
Ok, now I'm going to "throw a cat amongst the pigeons". Do you know her situation or how long she's had the cat for?
We moved to the US recently from Australia and left our kitty back in Australia. 6 months earlier, someone was looking for a home for her kitty because she couldn't keep it anymore. If she didn't find a home by that Friday she was taking it to the RSPCA. She was 10 or 11 years old, and kitten season was just finishing, and I knew she wouldn't last if she went there.
We knew at this time there was the possibility we were going overseas, but we took her in anyway because we couldn't bear the alternative. When it came time for us to move, we found her a new loving home rather than bring her with us. It would have cost us a fortune, and we knew from day 1 she may be a "temporary cat". We had 1 month temporary accommodation over here in the US organised for us, and it was going to take 6-8 weeks for our furniture to arrive by sea freight, so the cat would have had a long flight to deal with, up to 2 months in a cattery while we got settled and we had no idea whether apartments where we were moving were going to be pet friendly. All we knew is Silcon Valley was very expensive, and we didn't want to have to be picky about what we could take if people generally didnt accept pets.
We found her a wonderful older single man who lived on his own, had cats all his life, and promised to love and adore her. What do you think was better for her? Going through all that stress of moving overseas or finding a nice, loving home with someone else? We've heard from her new owner a couple of times and she's doing really well, and had settled into his house and was sleeping on his bed with him within 2 days, so I know we made the right decision.
Please try not to be too judgemental with people, especially if you don't know the whole story. And remember that there's people out there who don't love or understand cats as much as us, and if they'd prefer to give them away because they're moving and just couldn't be bothered taking the kitty, maybe it's best for the kitty.
The lady could have just taken the kitty down to the local shelter and said "sorry, I'm moving and can't take her". If people know you're going to upset for trying to rehome their cat, they're more likely to just take it to she shelter, rather than trying to find a nice home for kitty and risk you getting upset at them!
I can understand why you got upset, but if this happens again with someone maybe you need to talk to them and try to understand their situation and see what you can do to help first. It sounds as though as soon as you did this, you saw a more positive result. Good on you for helping her!
Originally Posted by lookingglass
Don't ever apologize for saying what you feel. Life is way too short to tow someone else's line.
That is sad - 7 years!! Like I said, it's great you spoke to her and explained your stance. Next time you hear a similar story, I'm sure you'll be more likely to help first rather than try to bite the heads off your co-workers who don't agree with youOriginally Posted by eilcon
I appreciate your response and your "throwing the cat among the pigeons."
Yes, I am familiar with this woman's situation and know that she's had the cat for 7 years. She adopted him as a kitten. That's what upset me so much initially. To "get rid" of cat just for the sake of convenience after that long is wrong - period.
It sounds like you absolutely did the right thing for the cat you took in and I'm glad you were able to find him a wonderful home. However, this situation is different. We're talking about a planned move within the same city. There's no reason for her to have to give up the cat, which she now realizes.
I always try to refrain from being judgemental until I know the whole story. As a journalist by profession, that's part of my job and I do it well. You're right - there are people out there who don't care as much as we do for cats. But, if they're not willing to take the time to understand their cats and give them love and care, they shouldn't have them to begin with. I reserve the right to be judgemental in situations like that - where people have demonstrated blatent irresponsibility toward the care of their pets.
I do have to give this woman credit for reaching out for help rather than dumping her cat at a shelter. I agree it's important to really listen to people to get an understanding for their situation, which I'm always happy to do. At the same, they need to understand what their responsibility is toward their pets and I'm not going to spare their feelings if it means saving a cat.
I apologize if I offend you because I don't mean to, but here is my opinion:Originally Posted by eilcon
I do have to give this woman credit for reaching out for help rather than dumping her cat at a shelter.
Thanks! Yeah, that probably wasn't the most productive or professional way to handle it. At least she has no doubt now where I stand on the issue. I did my mention my "outburst" to my boss, a cat person, when she came in and she just laughed and said she's sorry she missed it!Originally Posted by sarahp
That is sad - 7 years!! Like I said, it's great you spoke to her and explained your stance. Next time you hear a similar story, I'm sure you'll be more likely to help first rather than try to bite the heads off your co-workers who don't agree with youJust make sure that if you manage to lose it at work again, that it's not your boss or anyone like that....We always learn from our experiencesIt was a good outcome and you were able to apologise for the outburst while rationally explaining your viewpoint, which is a lot more than a lot of other people could do, so I wouldn't worry about it.
Originally Posted by kittylover4ever
I think we should have Wyan make us a "CRAZY CAT LADY OF THE MONTH" badge and you should definitely get to wear it this month Eileen..........I'm a crazy cat lady and darn proud of it!!!!