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I don't see euthanasia fitting into that definition, but I'm sure I'll be "proven wrong" in that as well.
I shouldn't need proof. To anyone humane, killing a pet, a living being you took responsibility for and are supposed to love, because it doesn't suit your lifestyle instead of re-homing it, is clearly unethical and suggests a serious lack of empathy. (Again, for the record, I never said the OP is going to or is even considering this as an option).
I shouldn't need proof. To anyone humane, killing a pet, a living being you took responsibility for and are supposed to love, because it doesn't suit your lifestyle instead of re-homing it, is clearly unethical and suggests a serious lack of empathy.
YOU CANNOT REHOME AN ANIMAL IF NO NEW HOME CAN BE FOUND FOR IT!
What part of this are you not getting?!!!
The United States still has a serious cat overpopulation problem. While great strides have been made in reducing the dog overpopulation problem, and canine euthanasia rates have accordingly plummeted, the same is not true for cats. Millions of friendly, perfectly healthy cats with absolutely no behavioral problems whatsoever are euthanized every year in this country simply because no home can be found for them. Given that nice, friendly, healthy trouble-free young cats can be had for free off of Craigslist, how easy do you think it's going to be for the OP to find a home for a not-so-young cat that pisses everywhere in the house except in the litterbox? Most folks, given the choice between adopting the Craigslist kitten or Callie, will understandably give Callie a pass. That's what the OP is up against if the Felaway/ear medication/dietary supplements don't work. Should she try to find a new, less stressful home for Callie? Absolutely - but there's no guarantee such a home can be found, even if the OP looks hard for one.
And no, keeping Callie and letting her urinate all over the house until she finally dies of old age is not an acceptable long-term option, to the OP or to anyone else who's actually sane. Signing up for pet ownership doesn't require committing to martyrdom. When a domestic animal develops severe and incorrigible behavioral issues, euthanasia is sometimes the last solution left to deal with the problem.
Are YOU going to volunteer to take in Callie if the OP can't get her inappropriate urination issues under control? If not, than what right do you have to judge the OP's choices? She's the one who's stuck actually dealing with the problem, not you.
How much of your lifestyle would you be willing to change for your cat? Especially when you can't know for sure what's causing the problem with the cat. Do you have a spouse to consider? Would you give up a lifelong dream, something you saved for for years, something you're finally realizing?
What if it's all the wildlife and other cats where we live out in the rural area causing the problem? Should we sell our home and move somewhere else? Would you and your spouse? What guarantee would we have the new location would make a difference - even if we could afford to move?
It's telling that neither PA2UK or Fat Freddie have actually answered these questions.
To euthanize a cat because he's suffering is compassion.
To euthanize a cat because the owner is inconvenienced is murder.
Inconvenienced? It has nothing to do with "inconvenience". It's unsanitary, expensive to replace ruined things, smells disgusting, creates endless laundry, may encourage the other cats to urinate where she does... and more. We can't know if she's "suffering," and from what exactly, if she is.
Are you telling us you live with a cat urinating all over your house, on your things, destroying them... your house stinks like a dirty litter-pan and you don't mind because it's only a simple inconvenience?
Ok, as an adult I'm on my second "pee cat". Still have both.
Once physical causes are ruled out with ones veterinarian, one has the mind being the cause. Happy cats are clean cats. They don't mess in their living space.
Our two are both success stories. Night and day new cats. The second one we took on was my mothers. The other kitty household member bullied pee cat- and bullied is mild. They did have a proper introduction. over the years something changed and pee cat was the devil in bully cat's eyes. Pee cat is a bit of a cat social idiot, and was a target. Nothing wrong with her body. She was suffering though- stress. I didn't want her at risk of being put down- so I put my money where my mouth is, talked to my spouse and WE took her. My mother paid airfare for this kitty. Unless my mother coughed up a loan/or spent all her retirement money for a second house to house one of the cats, or limited both of their qualities of life by locking them away from each-other in her modest/smaller home there was simply no keeping one of her two cats. She tried multiple things before it was clear.
First cat came with my fiancee. His house was rank- and it didn't take long for me to see the source brought her to a vet and again, no physical reason for her issues.
We were lucky, sources of stress were identified and rectified. I'm really good at finding triggers. Result- happy felines and a clean home. As a kid, the first cat we had couldn't be helped. My parents didn't "dump" animals. The friend who gave them the cat lied, and dumped her problem to them. This cat almost NEVER used her box, and the friend never found out because she went totally MIA as soon as the cat was given to my folks (friends for over a decade!). I was little, but my mother ran the gamut trying everything in the arsenal at the time. Different litters, multiple boxes, placements with "escape" in mind. We children were coached how not to stress her, she wasn't mishandled, had the proper kitty accouterments for mental health (safety, perches, toys) there was nothing outside that triggered her (like another cat outside the window), cat went to the vet. Eventually, she became basement cat. We had a large room down there. what used to be our playroom which the old owner had vinyl sheet down so it was at least easy to wipe up. They were martyrs, that had a cat that was always in a perpetual state of stress, urinating and defecating everywhere. Stiff posture, flicking tail. No amount of gentle love helped this girl. Oh, she tried to bite our vet whenever she saw him. 9 years later the cat did get sick. money was spent finding the cause. Money was not spent keeping her alive. Honestly she was "suffering" long before that. Knowing what we (folks and I) know now, she should have been released from her torment far earlier.
I'm not saying Callie is unfixable. I hope she is, or if the OP's home isn't the right environment that someone with the home Callie longs for falls for this girl knowing her current faults. (Tall order, hard to fill. thinking that 90% of cats are already culled at shelters.) But living in a latrine with a cat who is in a perpetual state of duress isn't a solution. Nor is unrealistic lifestyle changes- they shouldn't have to sell their house and RV to become shut ins for a cat. But what about situations where the triggers is another household member that's doing nothing wrong? Pet vs. (good) kids, pet vs. another pet? Sometimes re-homing appropriately is the kindest option, it's not "giving up" it's finding this creature happiness. and for the few who will never be happy, not keeping them in a state of mental suffering.
It's telling that neither PA2UK or Fat Freddie have actually answered these questions.
I do not have to justify my feelings because I'm not the one proposing the killing of a cat. I just think there are still many, many options the OP hasn't tried yet before anyone should be even suggesting putting the cat down, that's all. I am still baffled that this has ruffled so many feathers... guilty conscience perhaps?
I do not have to justify my feelings because I'm not the one proposing the killing of a cat. I just think there are still many, many options the OP hasn't tried yet before anyone should be even suggesting putting the cat down, that's all. I am still baffled that this has ruffled so many feathers... guilty conscience perhaps?
What options are you suggesting that the OP tries that hasn't already been tried? Have you read the entire thread and others about Callie's problem?
What options are you suggesting that the OP tries that hasn't already been tried? Have you read the entire thread and others about Callie's problem?
For the last time, in the other topic I made several suggestions that the OP dismissed - until the vet suggested some of the same things
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