Long story short...My friend cant keep her cat anymore because her baby is asthmatic and she has to get rid of her cat...probably bout 7 or 8 years old

She tried to hand it over to a no-kill shelter and they said they can only take strays.

Firstly, is that common and what would the reason be for this? I know that NKS are not charities but it seems kind of odd to me.

10/5/2011 3:55:57 PM

go back and tell them you just found this stray.

10/5/2011 4:31:57 PM

Quote :

"Firstly, is that common and what would the reason be for this?"

To force pet owners (including your friend) to seek out other options...So that the shelter's resources can be appointed to animals that don't already have a caretaker. They want your friend to relocate her cat via her own network of friends, advertising, etc rather than relying on the shelter to do all the work. It's really not much to ask when you think about it.

[Edited on October 5, 2011 at 4:53 PM. Reason : s]

10/5/2011 4:52:59 PM

They are probably hoping that since it isn't a stray you will try your hardest to either take care of it yourself or find a good home for it. No kill shelters are overcapacity in most cases and so if they think you can handle the situation for them that is the approach they will take. Especially with cats, those are the hardest things to find homes for because everyone who gets a cat wants a kitten and the shelters are flooded with both cats and kittens.

When we found a stray we tried to find a home for it because it was a really sweet cat/kitten but we couldn't so we ended up taking it to the Goathouse Cat Refuge and while they were at or above capacity we made a donation for them to take the cat in so it wouldn't be such a burden on them. Sucked to spend money to make sure a cat was in a no kill shelter but we didn't have many choices.

10/5/2011 4:56:53 PM

How does someone give up an animal they have had for 8 years? You'd think it would be an essential part of the family at that point

10/5/2011 5:10:41 PM

Probably because it's an animal. You can find them on the side of the road or get them for free from flea markets all over the place. Not everyone considers their pet to be a family member.

10/5/2011 5:14:29 PM

Quote :

"Long story short...My friend cant keep her cat anymore "

Feed the cat to the starving children in Africa?


Shit, this isn't chit chat. disregard.

[Edited on October 5, 2011 at 5:18 PM. Reason : .]

10/5/2011 5:18:22 PM

I'm allergic/asthmatic to animal dander/fur, dust, pollen, mold, you name it, and did my parents look me in a box or get rid of cats/dogs/horses/plants? No, I was prescribed a good allergy medication, gave me a preventive inhaler/emergency inhaler, and I ended up outgrowing most of the allergies with systematic de-sensitization.

Point is, I bet that cats aren't the only thing her baby is allergic to, so she would be better off dealing with it and de-sensitizing the child now, then have the kid grow up into someone whose allergic to literally everything.

10/5/2011 5:26:46 PM

say it's a stray
leave it at front door
give it to friends
tell the baby to toughen up

10/5/2011 5:26:59 PM

^2 that's basically how my sister was as well. She eventually outgrew the cat allergy but wouldn't have without our cat.

10/5/2011 5:42:23 PM

Indeed, a 20 min car ride into a wealthy neighborhood will take less time, give the cat better odds of being adopted, and drain fewer public resources than any of the other options.

10/5/2011 8:16:48 PM

i don't get how you people are so attached to your fucking animals that you'd allow an infant to be miserable and/or ill indefinitely, hoping they'll grow out of it.

[Edited on October 5, 2011 at 8:47 PM. Reason : .]

10/5/2011 8:47:17 PM

It really depends on the severity of the allergy. I'd rather my kid build up their immune system than keep them in a bubble-esque environment. Better to do it when they're young. But I mean, if the kid is literally dying from pet dander then that's another issue altogether

10/5/2011 8:50:28 PM

^^yea that a little ridiculous, but thats not really the discussion i want to get into


part of the long story is that i spent the last 5 months taking care of the cat while she raised her kid and tried to find a home for the cat. No one wants a cat that is as "rough" as this one is guess. Point is she tried and is still trying and i guess in the end she would keep it rather than put it in a shelter.

i still think its stupid but it makes sense why the NKS says no. Lesson in life is to lie to get your way :-/

Shes still looking for an owner so if anyone in this thread might be interested send me a PM

10/5/2011 8:56:23 PM

It sucks man, but the reason for this is because these shelters are PACKED. Once the kittens get older, no one wants to adopt them, and then since there is no euthanasia, you have to wait until there is space to take more cats.

I don't necessarily agree, but I think that they value a stray cat who has no one who could take care of it more than some personal pet who could be pawned off on aquantainces of the owner. I guess they feel like it's more likely that someone could take care of the personal pet when push comes to shove, but the only solution for the stray is a bag and a bridge.

good luck

10/5/2011 9:03:35 PM

my mom runs a animal rescue and has something like 30 cats. they can barely adopt them and she gets something like 1 call a day asking her to take more (which of course she can't).

It is tough to maintain that many cats, particularly if you are a small operation.

10/6/2011 9:55:00 AM

She's probably best off euthanizing the cat.Dumping it in a rich neighborhood will mean getting run over by a mom with a van full of kids.

10/6/2011 10:06:32 AM

Yeah sadly an 8-year old cat will most likely spend the rest of its days in the shelter if she manages to find a space for it. Hopefully she can find someone she knows to take the cat.

10/6/2011 10:16:07 AM

find the baby a new home, the cat was there first

10/6/2011 11:18:28 AM