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- Sep 21, 2008
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Hi,
A customer came into my workplace today and told me about her problems with her indoor cats and her intention to release them outside in the near future. She says she has no choice. I persuaded her to give me her contact info so that I could look into alternative options and then get back to her.
Please arm me with some good information and options to save these cats. Please read all the way through before replying and respond only with objective facts and reasonable possibilities.
This is the situation:
The two cats live in her basement. One is about 14 years old, "only 3 pounds, never got big", and unspayed because she has a liver problem that would have caused her to not survive a spay procedure. She still goes into heat, sometimes for months at a time (according to owner), and she "sprays" urine all over as well as defecating everywhere. The owner said that her "spray" has caused the basement windows to rust shut and once even caused a fire when she urinated on an electrical outlet. The second cat is a feral who was brought into the house 3 years ago and is still too wild to handle, take to the vet, etc. I forget why the owner said she brought the feral in ... might have been injured, or just a really cold winter, I don't remember. Not sure of the feral's sex. The feral and the unspayed female do not get along. The feral also urinates and defecates all over.
The owner told me repeatedly that she will not give the cats to anybody because they are a "health hazard", and she does not want to be sued if they make someone sick. She said that the ammonia from breathing in the urine vapors can cause pneumonia, which might kill someone. When I suggested that perhaps they could become barn cats, she said that hay reacts chemically with cat urine in such a way as to release poison gas. She rattled off a list of diseases that can exist in cat feces. She said that it is illegal to give someone a cat that constitutes such a health hazard as her floor-defecating cats. She said a vet told her that. (I haven't checked the Ohio Revised Code yet, but I will....) She said it would be against the law for her to give her cats to someone else.
She said she tried Feliway and consulted with half a dozen vets, who largely recommended euthanasia. One vet, she said, told her that releasing the cats into the outdoors is the only way to avoid having them killed. She asked the ASPCA, APL, and other shelters, and was told they cannot accept these cats. She is intent on kicking them out of the house in the near future. Maybe the feral would be alright outdoors, since the feral has only been indoors for a few years and is still pretty wild. But I cannot imagine a good outcome for the 14-year-old, "3 lb" unspayed female who has apparently lived indoors since kittenhood. If she couldn't survive a spay procedure, how would she possibly survive pregnancy? There's got to be some other option here.
My taking the cat(s) would not be an option even if the owner were willing to give the cats away. My current lease stipulates no pets, period, let alone incontinent pets in heat.
In addition to giving the owner my contact information, I gave her TheCatSite URL, so she may come on here and find this thread. Please do not reply to the thread with emotional reactions and personal criticisms: that will not sway her, and it may shut her down and ruin the cats' chance to find an alternative solution. Please stick with objective facts, scientific/veterinary sources, and reasonable options for the cats. The owner says she trusts information from veterinary experts, but does not really trust laypeople. I may send a copy/paste of this thread to the (amazing) vet who cared for my late cats.
We're in Northeast Ohio if anyone knows of local resources.
Please help me find information to address the owner's concerns so that these cats don't have to be kicked out of the house!
Thank you!
A customer came into my workplace today and told me about her problems with her indoor cats and her intention to release them outside in the near future. She says she has no choice. I persuaded her to give me her contact info so that I could look into alternative options and then get back to her.
Please arm me with some good information and options to save these cats. Please read all the way through before replying and respond only with objective facts and reasonable possibilities.
This is the situation:
The two cats live in her basement. One is about 14 years old, "only 3 pounds, never got big", and unspayed because she has a liver problem that would have caused her to not survive a spay procedure. She still goes into heat, sometimes for months at a time (according to owner), and she "sprays" urine all over as well as defecating everywhere. The owner said that her "spray" has caused the basement windows to rust shut and once even caused a fire when she urinated on an electrical outlet. The second cat is a feral who was brought into the house 3 years ago and is still too wild to handle, take to the vet, etc. I forget why the owner said she brought the feral in ... might have been injured, or just a really cold winter, I don't remember. Not sure of the feral's sex. The feral and the unspayed female do not get along. The feral also urinates and defecates all over.
The owner told me repeatedly that she will not give the cats to anybody because they are a "health hazard", and she does not want to be sued if they make someone sick. She said that the ammonia from breathing in the urine vapors can cause pneumonia, which might kill someone. When I suggested that perhaps they could become barn cats, she said that hay reacts chemically with cat urine in such a way as to release poison gas. She rattled off a list of diseases that can exist in cat feces. She said that it is illegal to give someone a cat that constitutes such a health hazard as her floor-defecating cats. She said a vet told her that. (I haven't checked the Ohio Revised Code yet, but I will....) She said it would be against the law for her to give her cats to someone else.
She said she tried Feliway and consulted with half a dozen vets, who largely recommended euthanasia. One vet, she said, told her that releasing the cats into the outdoors is the only way to avoid having them killed. She asked the ASPCA, APL, and other shelters, and was told they cannot accept these cats. She is intent on kicking them out of the house in the near future. Maybe the feral would be alright outdoors, since the feral has only been indoors for a few years and is still pretty wild. But I cannot imagine a good outcome for the 14-year-old, "3 lb" unspayed female who has apparently lived indoors since kittenhood. If she couldn't survive a spay procedure, how would she possibly survive pregnancy? There's got to be some other option here.
My taking the cat(s) would not be an option even if the owner were willing to give the cats away. My current lease stipulates no pets, period, let alone incontinent pets in heat.
In addition to giving the owner my contact information, I gave her TheCatSite URL, so she may come on here and find this thread. Please do not reply to the thread with emotional reactions and personal criticisms: that will not sway her, and it may shut her down and ruin the cats' chance to find an alternative solution. Please stick with objective facts, scientific/veterinary sources, and reasonable options for the cats. The owner says she trusts information from veterinary experts, but does not really trust laypeople. I may send a copy/paste of this thread to the (amazing) vet who cared for my late cats.
We're in Northeast Ohio if anyone knows of local resources.
Please help me find information to address the owner's concerns so that these cats don't have to be kicked out of the house!
Thank you!