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My finances are extremely tight (they were before I got the cat), and I simply can't afford two cats. That's twice the food, vet, litter, toys fees every month (the vet wouldn't be monthly of course, but twice the vaccination bills certainly). I have never in my life have had only had one pet (always two or three when I lived with my parents), and I didn't realize just how much they need social attention (cue the "you're stupid for not knowing that" posts). Like I've said too, I let him sleep in my room now and he grew accustomed to that on night #2. My plan is still to take him back to the rescue. I've already paid the pet rent my apartment complex requires, but I'm taking him back next week at the beginning of May. Believe me, if there were any way I could in good conscious keep him, I would. I am so much happier with an animal in my life, and I would LOVE to keep him, but I cannot see him having a good life with me since I'm away so much. Better for me to be lonely and bored in the apartment than make him suffer in solitude for hours and hours on end.
This is one of those "learning experiences" we all have to go through in life. Many (or not so many) years from now you'll look back and be grateful for the lessons this kitten has imparted.
It's been reiterated more than once that the shelter has given assurance they will not end the kitten's life and will do their best to get him re-homed sooner than later. For their sake I hope - out of fairness to animal and human alike - they institute a more stringent screening process for prospective adopters.
To the OP I only want to add: When the day you have to part company with your kitten arrives, leave something of yours bearing your scent along with him. It could be something small he enjoyed playing with, or perhaps even a not-too-smelly tube sock. Ask the shelter workers to let him keep it. Yes, he'll be confused and sad over the separation, but like with young human kids it will pass and not have lingering effects. To me you're a selfless person to have deliberated so much over whether or not this arrangement was fair to the kitten and to make the correct decision. Far too many people aren't that way. They're the ones who take out a craigslist ad or drop the pet by a roadside miles from home.
So...is this like a humane society shelter? So this cat is going to live in a cage waiting for someone else to come get him? That's somehow better? Your cat is fast approaching the "not small enough of a kitten" age and could be spending a long time in that cage. When people go to adopt kittens, they go to adopt kittens that are 2-3 months old, not six month old kittens.
Yes, your cat may be lonely while you are gone during the day, but the idea that only those who stay home can have pets is ridiculous. If you're gone 14 hours a day, and you sleep for 8, that still gives you two solid hours to spend time with that cat on those days that you work that many hours. You already stated that it is not every single day.
Why hasn't anyone mentioned that cats sleep about 16 hours out of the day, any dang way? That's what most cats do while you're gone, they fricken sleep.
I don't really care if no one agrees with me, but you already stated that you accept all of those other things about cat ownership, and now you're going to give up on this kitten? Put him back in a cage in a shelter and who knows where that cat will end up next? Really? Because you're gone 14 hours a day a few days a week?
It would be ideal to have another cat, but if you can't afford another, you can't. However, you're throwing in the towel awfully early based on the fact that temporarily, your cat will be home alone while you work SOME DAYS at long hours. Yes, kittens need attention. So do that when you get home, stop locking him out of your bedroom. Let him get on the bed with you. Let him follow you around, so what. My cats follow me everywhere I go. On the days when you don't work 14 hours a day, or the days you have off, spend a lot of time with him. I can't believe you're going to bail on this cat when you already made the promise to this cat that he would have a new home, in your home.
Edit: Here, someone even made a post about this product just a little down the page of this forum: http://kittyo.com/
Last edited by Three Wolves In Snow; 04-25-2014 at 03:52 PM..
It's a rescue, and they didn't have their cats in cages (at least not what I could see). They were free to roam a pretty good sized room with lots of cat trees (I can't even afford a cat tree for him as much as I'd like to buy one for him). It's actually *most* days (5 out of 7) with really long hours for several months at a time with maybe up to a month where I'm gone 9.5 hours, but then I'll be right back to the 5 out of 7 days being 14 hours long. There will never be a time where I work fewer hours, and it all likely-hood it may even increase in the years to come. I just know how terribly bored and lonely I would feel I were stuck in my apartment alone with no interaction with people for 14 hours. It would drive me insane, and I'm an introverted person who doesn't need a large amount of interaction.
I've been debating this decision for the past month. I've owned him for about a month. When I adopted him, I had a gut feeling that this wasn't the best choice for me right now, but I chose not to listen to that voice, and now that I've grown to love this little kitty, it hurts even more that I don't think I have the time or resources to properly care for him.
So what are you saying. No one who works should own a cat...only unemployed cat ladies with deep pocketed husbands?
Nope, I didn't say that at all, nor did anyone else.
Quote:
Originally Posted by CaptainCode
It's a rescue, and they didn't have their cats in cages (at least not what I could see). They were free to roam a pretty good sized room with lots of cat trees (I can't even afford a cat tree for him as much as I'd like to buy one for him). It's actually *most* days (5 out of 7) with really long hours for several months at a time with maybe up to a month where I'm gone 9.5 hours. There will never be a time where I work fewer hours, and it all likely-hood it may even increase in the years to come. I just know how terribly bored and lonely I would feel I were stuck in my apartment alone with no interaction with people for 14 hours. It would drive me insane, and I'm an introverted person who doesn't need a large amount of interaction.
I've been debating this decision for the past month. I've owned him for about a month. When I adopted him, I had a gut feeling that this wasn't the best choice for me right now, but I chose not to listen to that voice, and now that I've grown to love this little kitty, it hurts even more that I don't think I have the time or resources to properly care for him.
I know what you mean. I've been feeling sad over that lonely little kitten since I read your first post. It's a brave unselfish thing you are doing. The rescue sounds lovely, and I'm sure he'll find a more appropriate home.
I hope someday you can work fewer hours and be able to have a pet or two. With your instincts, I think you'll make a wonderful pet owner when the time is right.
Last edited by catsmom21; 04-25-2014 at 04:15 PM..
OK, you're young, you didn't give this much thought, please learn from this experience if you've decided to take this cat back to the shelter. I'm predicting you will have a much more difficult time than you can imagine taking that cat back and walking away. That kitty will be meowing and not understanding why you are leaving him/her. If you don't have a difficult time, please don't ever adopt another pet. We all make mistakes but contrary to some attitudes, furry children are not throw away toys, but all too often are treated that way. I would think more of you if you went out of your way to keep your kitten until you found a loving home for him/her, not a return to a shelter, any shelter, and please posters, don't anger me with saying "it looks like a lovely place", no shelter is a lovely place. I don't agree with posters who are praising you for your courage, and that your kitten will find a loving home, it may not happen and I think you're treating your kitten as a throw away. Have enough compassion to find your kitten a new home, but I suspect with all the posts you have obviously read, you're not going to take the time and effort to do that, but are going the return-to-the-shelter route, and to me, you seem way too comfortable to do so. I wish I knew you, lived near you, I would come get your kitten and adopt her/him. You have made me hold my baby very close and reassure her that I would never abandon her and would rather die than take her back to the shelter where I adopted her, and I'm dead serious. Screw anybody who thinks that's crazy. It brings me to tears but only animal lovers would understand that, even my own father would scoff and say, "they're just dumb animals without a soul", not true! My favorite poster, Kudso [sp] posts videos almost everyday about cats, she's a great editor and picks out the best of the best and makes me love my cats all the more, makes me realize what wonderful creatures they are, and I've always been a dog person but after 3 sets of canines [I'm dating myself] I have become a cat lover. I grew up on a farmette and cats were a mechanism to control rodents, not to be loved and known. But I understand you are young and probably on a career tract, and having a cat was probably never a good idea for you, so please learn from it, and try to find a good home for your kitty. I hope this thread can simmer down and close, it's been painful and I'm not sure why you posted because you already made your decision that you were getting rid of your kitten before you posted this thread.
I made this forum because I was conflicted about taking him back or not. I was leaning more on the side of taking him back, but was not 100% sure and wanted to know if it was just new pet owner nerves or a real problem of me not being home enough. Most people on here say it's better to take him back.
I wish I could find him a new home myself, but in the contract from the rescue I adopted him from, it explicitly stated that he MUST be returned to the rescue if he doesn't work out. They do not allow you to give him to a friend or family member or work to find him a home yourself. He is microchipped through the rescue and they are also authorized to do home visits and check on your pet and require that you keep them updated on how your pet is doing by posting picture on their Facebook page and through emails. I'm sure they're just being overly cautious because this is a rescue and they want to make sure their pets go to good homes.
True that there's no guarantee that he'll go to a better home, but I'm not kidding when I say *I'm* the only source of attention and affection he has. I'm not dating anyone (and I don't see that changing soon), I never have friends over, heck, even my family stays at my late Grandmother's house when they visit because they bring their two dogs up and my apartment will not allow outside animals in the apartment (not even for a day). It's just me. Is it fair to make him stay alone for 14 hours a day then just watch me sleep at night and get very little interaction just because I adopted him, so; therefore, no matter what my circumstances may be he has to suffer through them? That sounds like it's more for the human's benefit rather than the cat's. That sounds like just having him around to be there when it's convenient. Doesn't sound like a life I'd enjoy if I were in his position.
Returning him to the rescue is definitely more appropriate, especially as you have signed a contract. The rescue will have the ability to investigate any other potential adopter.
I am a strong advocate for not re-homing pets, if they have lived in the family for a long time, and most reasons people claim for dumping their pets are ridiculous.
But your case is very different from most of the situations I read about where someone is looking for justification with some lame reason for dumping a family pet.
I also will urge people to give it more time, when there is a case of a new cat seeming to take a while settling in, or if a resident cat is having trouble adjusting to a newcomer. Those are things that can be improved, with time and effort.
That is not the case at all here. Your schedule is not going to change, your circumstances are not going to change, you have made that very clear to us.
Of course it will be hard on you to let him go, but that's because you clearly have a heart, and you also have a sense of what is right and wrong. While bringing him back may sadden you, you can feel good that you put the little one's needs before your own feelings.
It's a rescue, and they didn't have their cats in cages (at least not what I could see). They were free to roam a pretty good sized room with lots of cat trees (I can't even afford a cat tree for him as much as I'd like to buy one for him). It's actually *most* days (5 out of 7) with really long hours for several months at a time with maybe up to a month where I'm gone 9.5 hours, but then I'll be right back to the 5 out of 7 days being 14 hours long. There will never be a time where I work fewer hours, and it all likely-hood it may even increase in the years to come. I just know how terribly bored and lonely I would feel I were stuck in my apartment alone with no interaction with people for 14 hours. It would drive me insane, and I'm an introverted person who doesn't need a large amount of interaction.
I've been debating this decision for the past month. I've owned him for about a month. When I adopted him, I had a gut feeling that this wasn't the best choice for me right now, but I chose not to listen to that voice, and now that I've grown to love this little kitty, it hurts even more that I don't think I have the time or resources to properly care for him.
Okay...well, then he stands a better chance of getting re-adopted at least. He still is getting to that age that he's not going to be the hot commodity that most people look for, but at least he won't be stuck in a cage. I thought you said "shelter" and I couldn't fathom how that could possibly be any better than where he is right now.
. I can't believe you're going to bail on this cat when you already made the promise to this cat that he would have a new home, in your home.
The cat doesn't know she made a promise. However, if marriages (a promise to God) can end, so can ownership of a cat.
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