Tips on rehoming (carpet, kidney, throw, food)

[elyn02]

Hello. I am usually a lurker in this subforum gathering little bits of advice for my cat who I adopted from the Humane Society two years ago when he was just 9 months. We are his third family.

I am recovering from an illness that kept me out of work for 1 1/2 weeks and I am not out of the woods yet. We now suspect an allergy and deep inside, I suspect it is my cat. I am being tested soon I hope. I may not be able to keep him if I am allergic to him. It was very difficult to care for myself, him and maintain the cleanliness of the house while sick. Right now he is staying with a nice neighbor temporarily; we are paying her until we can find a solution.

So what can I do to improve his chances of being adopted by somebody else? I was told to try Petsmart and I was considering providing a gift card for $300 as an incentive, or enough to cover food for a year, especially his favorite. The other option would be to return to Human Society like they requested us to should we no longer be able to care for him. I can offer the same incentive.

Finally, and I know it is not popular, but maybe he can be an outdoor cat? He loves it out there but he will ask to come back inside which neighbors may not like to hear him meowing. However, I think I would rather risk Humane Society than have him hurt by a car, other animal or a person if cannot find him a home.

I know the majority of cat owners may go against all choices that do not involve rehoming or him staying with me. Like I said, I lurked here before so I know what to expect. Definitely looking for input, support, criticism if you need to. I am sad.

[catdad7x]

Originally Posted by elyn02

Hello. I am usually a lurker in this subforum gathering little bits of advice for my cat who I adopted from the Humane Society two years ago when he was just 9 months. We are his third family.

I am recovering from an illness that kept me out of work for 1 1/2 weeks and I am not out of the woods yet. We now suspect an allergy and deep inside, I suspect it is my cat. I am being tested soon I hope. I may not be able to keep him if I am allergic to him. It was very difficult to care for myself, him and maintain the cleanliness of the house while sick. Right now he is staying with a nice neighbor temporarily; we are paying her until we can find a solution.

So what can I do to improve his chances of being adopted by somebody else? I was told to try Petsmart and I was considering providing a gift card for $300 as an incentive, or enough to cover food for a year, especially his favorite. The other option would be to return to Human Society like they requested us to should we no longer be able to care for him. I can offer the same incentive.

Finally, and I know it is not popular, but maybe he can be an outdoor cat? He loves it out there but he will ask to come back inside which neighbors may not like to hear him meowing. However, I think I would rather risk Humane Society than have him hurt by a car, other animal or a person if cannot find him a home.

I know the majority of cat owners may go against all choices that do not involve rehoming or him staying with me. Like I said, I lurked here before so I know what to expect. Definitely looking for input, support, criticism if you need to. I am sad.

You've had him for 2 years, but only recently became sick? I would think you would have had a problem before now, if you're allergic to him. Be absolutely positive it is a cat allergy before you make that decision. If you must rehome him, try to do it through the humane society or a rescue that has high standards for adoption. Offering financial assistance or incentives to prospective adopters is ok, but it might be best to not disclose that info until after a good home is found and he's adopted. Otherwise you may run the risk of him being adopted for the wrong reason (to get the money).
Wishing you a speedy recovery, and that your illness had nothing to do with your cat.

[elyn02]

Originally Posted by catdad7x

You've had him for 2 years, but only recently became sick? I would think you would have had a problem before now, if you're allergic to him. Be absolutely positive it is a cat allergy before you make that decision. If you must rehome him, try to do it through the humane society or a rescue that has high standards for adoption. Offering financial assistance or incentives to prospective adopters is ok, but it might be best to not disclose that info until after a good home is found and he's adopted. Otherwise you may run the risk of him being adopted for the wrong reason (to get the money).
Wishing you a speedy recovery, and that your illness had nothing to do with your cat.

Thank you for your support. I will withhold any incentives but I maybe I will give the rescues his food. I want to support him until he is adopted. So I can send them food from Amazon.

I would say that slowly my health has been in decline. Just this December we made a yearlong schedule on scrubbing each part of the house daily, so even on my own, I concluded that his dander is partly responsible. I know that when we slacked, even for a week, I started experiences symptoms. There must be another allergen in the air because I fell sick very quickly which prevented me from cleaning as thoroughly everyday.

Again thank you for helping me and my cat out.

[Lola4]

If your allergist finds that you have even the slightest allergy to cat dander, I guarantee you that s/he will suggest you get rid of the cat. It is the easy way out.

Some suggestions:
Keep the cat out of your bedroom. Or put a fleece blanket at the foot of your bed. Most cats love fleece, and that will attract the cat to to the foot of your bed...away from your face.

Wash your hands after touching/petting the cat. Wear a "cat shirt." After holding your cat, change your shirt.

We removed as much soft material items as possible, from our home... dining room chair cushions, drapes (changed to blinds), carpet (or vacuum every day) etc.

We went to the extreme by removing all carpeting and replacing it with tile. We also changed our living room furniture to all wood. It would be easier to just cover a space on your couch or whatever, and just remove it when wanting to sit down.

We have a few small throw rugs (in bathrooms), but no large are rugs.

There are allergy meds. There are also allergy shots.

It all depends how far you are wiling to go, to keep your commitment of being a forever home.

[viridianforest]

I'm sorry to hear about your current situation and that it interferes with your ability to care for your cat.

There are definitely a lot of things to consider, and I'm glad that you're able to help with their care until they find a home.

I think it's interesting how many people would rather try and rehome their cat than have an outdoor cat. Yes, there are risks to cats going outdoors such as toxoplasmosis, other parasites/bacteria's they can pick up, and seasonal allergy issues made worse if they run through the offending plants. Although, when I was growing up, we had an indoor/outdoor cat that lived 14 years - she never got hit by a car, but of course she did come in with scratches and stuff from time to time to keep an eye on. She ended up passing away from kidney failure. Outdoors is not an automatic death sentence, cats were originally meant to be outdoors. Although, there are companies now a days that can cat enclose your yard to keep your cats in, which I have thought was definitely a great option! I can understand your concerns, though, especially if you live close to a highway or busy street.

It's hard to say what will "improve your chances" of rehoming. All I can say is make sure you can give the best history you can of your cat, know their behaviors well, mention their likes/dislikes, have them all updated on their vaccines, etc. It seems people like to know a history about a pet before adopting and that they are healthy. There's only so much you can do unless you do the rehoming process 100% or have an agency that helps you rehome (cat stays with you until they interview people and find a good match) - although, this can take months an up to a year or more.

You'll probably run into a lot of criticism when it comes to rehoming your pet as a lot of people mention you made a commitment to "keep your pet forever/be their forever family". Yes, adopting a pet is a commitment, and life tends to throw things our way. I remember running into websites that would say, "Don't adopt a pet if you plan on being pregnant, don't adopt a pet if you plan on having a baby, don't adopt a pet if you have any type of medical issue...I mean it went from some sensible advice to downright offensive. We had our cats for 7, almost 8 years. I can imagine others in the same boat, where they have had their pet a long time and can no longer provide a home for them. A lot can happen in a couple weeks let alone a couple years! People don't plan on getting ill - that stuff happens. People don't always plan on expecting a new baby in their household - sometimes that happens. People don't always expect that they will lose their job, run out of their savings, and be faced with being homeless - it happens. There are so many things that can get in our way of being able to keep a pet. I remember having a hard time finding rehoming advice when we needed to rehome our two cats. While it is an awfully long story, we eventually ran out of time and had to take them to the local shelter where we got them from in the first place (the absolute last thing we wanted to do, and it really made us feel like trash to do so).

Don't make yourself feel guilty in this. Definitely list the pros and cons and if you are allergic to the pet, it could be best to find them a new home to keep you environment pet free. I know a lot of pet lovers will disagree whole heartedly, but my husband who saw I loved the cats, hid his allergy from me to keep me happy. In the end, was I happy? No, not really - I had formed more of a bond with them by then. He was taking allergy meds like Benadryl and switching between ibuprofen, naproxen, tylenol, and aspirin like clockwork. He was suffering worse and worse respiratory illnesses every season. I always thought it was his bad allergies that he said he had to plants in the area. Eventually, he ended up with swollen tonsils and tonsil stones that wouldn't go away. They are at that point where they need to be removed because the pus left such large gaps that it's causing more harm than good leading to even more illnesses.

Since the cats are no longer here, his health is like it was before we adopted the cats and he doesn't get sick near as often. That's what can happen when you are exposing yourself to allergens each and every day at home. A lot of people go through great, expensive lengths to keep their pets, but even then - if you go through those expensive things, your pets are still there...you're going to breathe in their dander, they might lick you at times, they may rub against you. It also may depend on how sensitive you are to them, but the constant allergy medication and NSAIDS are going to cause you more harm than good all for the pleasure of keeping your pets - it doesn't sound like a good trade to me.


I do hope you find the most feasible situation that works for you. Hopefully you're not allergic to your pet, your illness passes, and you can get back to loving your furry feline.