I'm not sure where to put this, so I put it in this section. Sorry, this is going to be a bit long.
I'm a student so I'm obviously living at home with my parents. And I'll probably be living with them until I marry (a Chinese thing). Not too long ago (3-4 months back), I got Sho quite spontaneously. I wasn't prepared for a cat, and no one else was either, but it was an emergency situation. My younger sister had gotten a call from her friend, someone I also happen to know. Someone had left in her care a cat. It was only supposed to be for a few days until a new home could be found permanently. Unfortunately she already had a small dog, and her mother was absolutely against another animal in the house--even if it was temporary. So my sister looked to me imploringly. I didn't want the poor thing to end up in a shelter because that was the likely scenario if no one kept him, so I agreed to take him in, knowing I'd be facing some serious opposition. The next morning, he arrived at my doorstep.
Now the problem is obviously my parents, specifically my mother. My mother absolutely hates cats. Serious hate. To be accurate, she's a hater of all animals and detests cats above all else, but I've been keeping quite a few pets anyway. Needless to say, it was a battle of wills that ensued that night. In the end I won, and Sho found a permanent home with us.
I had wanted them to have a good first impression of each other, but it was not to be. I'm guessing due to the stress of all the moving from household to household caused UTI and blockage. So Sho was peeing all over the place for a week, unable to hold it in because of an inflamed bladder. My mother would not listen. She refused to believe me and insisted it was a behavioral problem. Even my father tried to convince her Sho was sick, and that it wasn't his fault. She even threatened to throw him out on the streets, something I know she wouldn't do because she's afraid of my demonic temper. Just yesterday morning, she told my aunt to shut the front door because the cat could run out. And if I woke up to find the cat missing, it would be my aunt's head on a platter.
Sho's all better now, but my mother hasn't gotten used to his presence at all. I'm sure he can feel how much she doesn't like him because he always hides from her. If she's in his path, he'll go around under tables or behind furniture to get from Point A to Point B.
Does anyone have suggestions on how to better their relationship? I don't mean make miracles happen, but to at least be in the same room without all that tension. Does anyone else have similar experiences? If so, what have you done?
Note: Educating her about cats is impossible. She'll believe what she wants to believe.
I'm a student so I'm obviously living at home with my parents. And I'll probably be living with them until I marry (a Chinese thing). Not too long ago (3-4 months back), I got Sho quite spontaneously. I wasn't prepared for a cat, and no one else was either, but it was an emergency situation. My younger sister had gotten a call from her friend, someone I also happen to know. Someone had left in her care a cat. It was only supposed to be for a few days until a new home could be found permanently. Unfortunately she already had a small dog, and her mother was absolutely against another animal in the house--even if it was temporary. So my sister looked to me imploringly. I didn't want the poor thing to end up in a shelter because that was the likely scenario if no one kept him, so I agreed to take him in, knowing I'd be facing some serious opposition. The next morning, he arrived at my doorstep.
Now the problem is obviously my parents, specifically my mother. My mother absolutely hates cats. Serious hate. To be accurate, she's a hater of all animals and detests cats above all else, but I've been keeping quite a few pets anyway. Needless to say, it was a battle of wills that ensued that night. In the end I won, and Sho found a permanent home with us.
I had wanted them to have a good first impression of each other, but it was not to be. I'm guessing due to the stress of all the moving from household to household caused UTI and blockage. So Sho was peeing all over the place for a week, unable to hold it in because of an inflamed bladder. My mother would not listen. She refused to believe me and insisted it was a behavioral problem. Even my father tried to convince her Sho was sick, and that it wasn't his fault. She even threatened to throw him out on the streets, something I know she wouldn't do because she's afraid of my demonic temper. Just yesterday morning, she told my aunt to shut the front door because the cat could run out. And if I woke up to find the cat missing, it would be my aunt's head on a platter.
Sho's all better now, but my mother hasn't gotten used to his presence at all. I'm sure he can feel how much she doesn't like him because he always hides from her. If she's in his path, he'll go around under tables or behind furniture to get from Point A to Point B.
Does anyone have suggestions on how to better their relationship? I don't mean make miracles happen, but to at least be in the same room without all that tension. Does anyone else have similar experiences? If so, what have you done?
Note: Educating her about cats is impossible. She'll believe what she wants to believe.
