Finding this thread was such a relief I made myself an accout so I could reply. I was desperately googling "my new cat gives me anxiety" and found this. Reading all your messages helped me a lot since I have been so alone with my thoughts. I hope you don't mind me replying here because I need some help and support.
After a long time and great deal of planning and considering I adopted a cat from a local rescue center. He's a beautiful 1 year old boy who had been apparently abandoned by the previous owner. I took him home a week ago and he seemed quite comfortable in my home and around me. I liked to watch him and play with him and he's been so sweet and well-behaved.
I have been living alone and on my own for many years and although I love animals and wanted to get a pet, I knew I'd need some time getting used to the feeling of sharing my home with another living being. I felt a little funny and uneasy about the new situation, but thought it must get better after a while. I thought both me and my cat just need the time to adjust.
Everything changed on thursday (it's now sunday evening in where I'm from). My cat got ill. I knew him to be a picky eater, but he stopped eating anything and refused to drink. His nose was runny, he was sneezing and then he became flegmatic and unresponding. I got worried and took her to the vet. He was dehydrated and the lab results showed he had some kind of infection. However, the vet couldnt tell anything more spesific. The acute dehydration was taken care of and I was told to give him antibiotics and give him water with a syringe. I've been able to give the water and meds relatively easily. He seems to be a little better, even eats and drinks a little, but he's definitely still very ill.
It's day three and I'm exhausted. I'm afraid because I don't know what's wrong with my cat and if he will get well. Taking care of the cat has drained me of all my energy. I'm just stressing, worrying and crying, and I, 've started to feel resentful.
I have started to feel like this was a mistake. Sometimes I have found myself regretting the adoption and I' m not sure I can take all this. For brief moments I find myself wishing I didn't have to deal with this at all and that I hadn't adopted the damn thing. I feel like an awful person and the worst cat owner ever because of this.
I have also found myself briefly considering giving the cat away. The truth is, however, I could never return the cat who has already been abandoned once. I think he's lovely. I really want to give him a loving home, but right now I don't feel I'm able to. I feel guilty even considering returning him for a brief second.
I'm just too overwhelmed by the whole situation. I'm still not used to even having a pet in a first place, and already I need to fight to keep him alive. I don't know what to think or feel.
The rescue center will cover the medical expenses, so money is not the reason I feel resentful towards owning this cat. The whole situation is just too much for me mentally and emotionally and I just wish I could back off and return to my relatively simple pre-cat life with no trouble like this.
I'm experiencing burning fits of guilt because of all this. Am I an uncaring person? Does this mean I don't deserve to own a pet? Would my cat be better off somewhere else?
I apologize for this rambling mess. I just needed to get this out of my system and I'm too ashamed to talk to my friends about my thoughts.
After a long time and great deal of planning and considering I adopted a cat from a local rescue center. He's a beautiful 1 year old boy who had been apparently abandoned by the previous owner. I took him home a week ago and he seemed quite comfortable in my home and around me. I liked to watch him and play with him and he's been so sweet and well-behaved.
I have been living alone and on my own for many years and although I love animals and wanted to get a pet, I knew I'd need some time getting used to the feeling of sharing my home with another living being. I felt a little funny and uneasy about the new situation, but thought it must get better after a while. I thought both me and my cat just need the time to adjust.
Everything changed on thursday (it's now sunday evening in where I'm from). My cat got ill. I knew him to be a picky eater, but he stopped eating anything and refused to drink. His nose was runny, he was sneezing and then he became flegmatic and unresponding. I got worried and took her to the vet. He was dehydrated and the lab results showed he had some kind of infection. However, the vet couldnt tell anything more spesific. The acute dehydration was taken care of and I was told to give him antibiotics and give him water with a syringe. I've been able to give the water and meds relatively easily. He seems to be a little better, even eats and drinks a little, but he's definitely still very ill.
It's day three and I'm exhausted. I'm afraid because I don't know what's wrong with my cat and if he will get well. Taking care of the cat has drained me of all my energy. I'm just stressing, worrying and crying, and I, 've started to feel resentful.
I have started to feel like this was a mistake. Sometimes I have found myself regretting the adoption and I' m not sure I can take all this. For brief moments I find myself wishing I didn't have to deal with this at all and that I hadn't adopted the damn thing. I feel like an awful person and the worst cat owner ever because of this.
I have also found myself briefly considering giving the cat away. The truth is, however, I could never return the cat who has already been abandoned once. I think he's lovely. I really want to give him a loving home, but right now I don't feel I'm able to. I feel guilty even considering returning him for a brief second.
I'm just too overwhelmed by the whole situation. I'm still not used to even having a pet in a first place, and already I need to fight to keep him alive. I don't know what to think or feel.
The rescue center will cover the medical expenses, so money is not the reason I feel resentful towards owning this cat. The whole situation is just too much for me mentally and emotionally and I just wish I could back off and return to my relatively simple pre-cat life with no trouble like this.
I'm experiencing burning fits of guilt because of all this. Am I an uncaring person? Does this mean I don't deserve to own a pet? Would my cat be better off somewhere else?
I apologize for this rambling mess. I just needed to get this out of my system and I'm too ashamed to talk to my friends about my thoughts.