"Sacrifices" and concessions you've made...(fun thread)

[aliceneko]

We got a lock for the kitchen door because otherwise Toffee and Fudge will scavenge for food due to their former feral background. They were a month old when they were rescued and a few months when we adopted them, so we think they won't grow out of their eating habits.

A lot of clothes - especially fleeces and dressing gowns have also been sacrificed - and the blanket!

 

[Texaskitty]

Lots of stuff but it's soooo worth it! Our kitties make us laugh so hard, they're hilarious. Cat toys all over, 2 cat trees in the living room, all the throw rugs end up bunched up from them chasing each other all over the house, cat litter tracked around the bathroom, wet food morsels on the floor around the dishes. Claw marks in the sofa (cheap sofa so don't care). Leave the TV on all day for the cats. Had to set up a large folding room screen to create a fake "foyer" by the living room door to keep them from darting on the porch. Had to change out the way we're using the curtains in the windows so the kitties can look out all day. No glass knick knacks anywhere. Have to keep bags of bread loaves in fridge or they chew them, and no fruits or veggies in bowls on the counter. No more lit candles, or sprigs of herbs in vases in the kitchen. No more sleeping in on the weekends, they are all over me the little rascals. Late for work because they're laying in the front of the door and I have to move them and distract them with treats so I can slip out the door.

 

[Jemima Lucca]

Lots of stuff but it's soooo worth it! Our kitties make us laugh so hard, they're hilarious. Cat toys all over, 2 cat trees in the living room, all the throw rugs end up bunched up from them chasing each other all over the house, cat litter tracked around the bathroom, wet food morsels on the floor around the dishes. Claw marks in the sofa (cheap sofa so don't care). Leave the TV on all day for the cats. Had to set up a large folding room screen to create a fake "foyer" by the living room door to keep them from darting on the porch. Had to change out the way we're using the curtains in the windows so the kitties can look out all day. No glass knick knacks anywhere. Have to keep bags of bread loaves in fridge or they chew them, and no fruits or veggies in bowls on the counter. No more lit candles, or sprigs of herbs in vases in the kitchen. No more sleeping in on the weekends, they are all over me the little rascals. Late for work because they're laying in the front of the door and I have to move them and distract them with treats so I can slip out the door.

Amen to all of that

 

[CatsSoul]

Three of our sacrifices:
1. Sleep, but not in usual meaning
Ronnie really loves to sleep on his back between us. So there's often not enough blanket for me and my husband.
Also he often curls up between my feet and I have to sleep in that 'forced' position
2. Travels
We like traveling a lot. We would live at least 4 months abroad if we lived alone. But we simply can not leave him for that long!
3. Calm atmosphere
My husband has misophonia; he's very sensitive to the sound of cat's licking sounds. And sometimes he reacts too roughly to Ronnies licking. I wrote more about this in a separate topic - Cat's Licking Misophonia (Looking for advice)

 

[Krienze]

2. Travels
We like traveling a lot. We would live at least 4 months abroad if we lived alone. But we simply can not leave him for that long!

I feel this one hard, too. We had 3 cats prior to CiCi's death (so 2 cats now) and we have 4 dogs. Traveling is absolutely out of the question.

I suppose we could kennel them as we have an absolutely wonderful vet, but two of my dogs have bad separation anxiety and I'm fairly sure Sammy (my male cat!) would have a absolute fit and be a little demon.

 

[Antonio65]

2. Travels
We like traveling a lot. We would live at least 4 months abroad if we lived alone. But we simply can not leave him for that long!

Before having cats we were used to move a little more, and having an entire day out or a weekend away could have been normal. Since we've had cats, we didn't stay out longer than 10-12 hours.
In the last few years we found a solution to this, we had found a perfect pair of cat-sitters that would come home twice a day to take care of Lola and Pallina. They were so perfect that we hadn't the littlest doubt about what was going home at home.
Then my cats went to the Bridge...

Now we have this new kitten, and I hope they will still able to give us their service. They are students of veterinary medicine, an added value to their perfect sitting. Unfortunately their course of studies is coming to an end and if they find a real job they couldn't be available anymore.

 

[Willow's Mom]

Social acceptance. I kind of blended in when I just have doggies, but it doesn't seem to be possible to give cats what they need and deserve in the current culture of the US without being labelled "the crazy cat lady/man".

The most popular pet in my country is a very exotic and unusual desert carnivore with unique special needs. Anyone who has ever loved a cat knows that there is no such thing as a "normal" cat.

If I'd paid a gazillion dollars to be put on a waitlist for my moggie, nobody would question my mental stability for putting her needs over social conformity. No, that's NOT a rare and expensive Russian Blue on my shoulder, she's a Blue Domestic Shorthair who is worth a lot more than money.

/rant over

 

[basscat]

Do I start from scratch?
Or do I use everybody's else's and then start there?

 

[Silver Crazy]

Do I start from scratch?
Or do I use everybody's else's and then start there?

Yep...cant add much more either..lol
Like last night..had a small fire start in the bush about 1/2 a kilometer from here and the house stank of wet burnt wood and smoke so I was going to run the air purifier fan all night.
Cat wasn't going to settle for the night unless that fan was off..yeowed and yeowed until it was turned off then he jumped on my bed and went to sleep.
So I have a stinky house this morning just to make him happy..lol

 

[Willow's Mom]

Do I start from scratch?

You're punny. I'm sure Gibsy's scratches are much harder to conceal than Willow's. You must buy band-aids by the case.

No regrets about raising her full contact, though. I couldn't do that when I had kids and husbands and friends and stuff. Of course all kitties have thorns, but isn't it great that some thorns have kitties?

 

[Tobermory]

I really had to stop and think about this question. My first reaction was, “Sacrifices? Concessions? I don’t think I’ve made any.” After 46 years of sharing my life with cats, what I do and don’t do because of them is my way of life and is as natural as breathing (even when those breathes are full of cat hair ).

But, yes, pretty much what others have said!

— Sleeping soundly through the night? Nope. They come and go, usually walking across me in the process. They sit and stare or sniff my face and give it a gentle nudge. My first ever cat used to gently pat my closed eyelid with her soft little paw. (“Wakey, wakey, Mom.”) They sleep on both sides, wrapping me like a mummy and tying me to the bed. I contort myself around them.
— Vacations? Nope. The last time we went away was for 2-3 days in 2017, and when we returned, we had to rush Iris to the emergency vet at 2 a.m. She was so stressed about our being gone, she had made herself ill and was passing blood. I was a wreck. It’s not worth it to me if the cats are going to be so upset.
— Life structured around the cats’ meal times? Yep.
— Cat hair, litter boxes, jumping on counters, yowling in the night, scratching things...and me, making cat food, vet visits...all worth it.
— People thinking I’m a little weird? Their problem, not mine.

My cats are my family and my best friends. As Bill Watterson of Calvin and Hobbes fame said, “Things are never quite as scary when you’ve got a best friend.” Or three best friends in my case. There are few experiences to equal a loving, purring cat on your lap or in your arms.

 

[Willow's Mom]

I tried to live without a cat once for almost a whole year.

I don't think I'm going to do that again. I don't know what the world will look like in 20 years, so even if I do outlive Willow there will be cat cafes and cat shelters who need someone to foster short term and maybe a caregiver's daughter or a neighbour boy who will bring their cats over to visit that crazy old cat lady.

I'm just glad I don't have to think about that right now because this spoiled wotten widda pwincess is shaping up to be one of my weirdest and most wonderful kitties ever and that's saying a lot! There's going to be quite a large colony waiting for me at the Rainbow Bridge when I finally get there and it's fun to think about them meeting each other and figuring out how to live together.

 

[basscat]

You're punny. I'm sure Gibsy's scratches are much harder to conceal than Willow's. You must buy band-aids by the case.

No regrets about raising her full contact, though. I couldn't do that when I had kids and husbands and friends and stuff. Of course all kitties have thorns, but isn't it great that some thorns have kitties?

Band-aids by the case and the dish towels always had red on them....BUT, I've not peeled a band-aid or had to wash up a cut or bite in.....a very long time
He's just calmed down with age and is now a really, really good boy

 

[basscat]

Here ya go:
1) Built my cat a 1500 sq ft outdoor enclosure. Loaded with options
2) Gave him the sun room as his own.
3) Removed all my stuff from "his" sun room, for it's own protection.
4) We hand cut one lb boneless chicken breast for him each day. (and a chicken leg)
5) We go to great lengths to keep our other cat from pouncing on him....and vice versa
6) We are at his beck and call when it comes to water. If he jumps up on the Coke Box and barks, that means he's thirsty and we stop what we are doing to fill up his water bowl with fresh water, and take it to him.
7) We embrace the sight of upholstery stuffing covering the floor like snow and consider it a treat to try to stuff it all back into and patch up whatever piece of furniture he's eaten through...this time.
8) Not to mention the human blood sacrifices... (seems those are behind us now though)

 

[mekkababble]

I spent two evenings and $20 learning how to sew so I could fix Clove’s favorite stuffed fish toy. it was cheaper to buy a new one, but she was staring at it so forlornly that I wasn’t willing to wait 3-5 days for shipping.

pictured: clove holding her fish

 

[Willow's Mom]

I don't really think about eating and sleeping as sacrifices and concessions, but I guess they are kind of weird.

I have insomnia, but I don't need to take any meds for it. I don't sleep for a full eight hours without getting up for some reason or another, so it hasn't seemed like that much of a sacrifice not to make my kitten wait that long between meals. It does get very lonely in a dark world when everybody else is asleep, so I think of it as a feature, not a bug.

But I know the world wouldn't see it that way.

The eating thing is something that is kind of hard to explain, especially since I don't want to accidentally offend anyone who has different values, priorities, and cultural customs. I don't eat animal products because I don't want to. It's not some sacrifice on my part and I honestly couldn't tell a top sirloin from a brisket if you paid me.

But I rip up carcasses with my bare hands and sprinkle EZComplete on them because I love my little girl and she would die if she didn't have a species-appropriate diet. You can't just pick up a package of vegan kibble at the grocery store and call it good. If you're going to invite one of these creatures into your life, you're simply going to have to stare down your own mortality, look it squarely in the eye, and deal with the fact that death exists.

 

[Furballsmom]

it was cheaper to buy a new one, but she was staring at it so forlornly that I wasn’t willing to wait 3-5 days for shipping.

Sweet baby Clove!

Do I start from scratch?

You're punny.

Dang. Totally missed this

I'm not a patient person but The Big Kitty gets every ounce of it I have to give.

 

[Jemima Lucca]

Social acceptance. I kind of blended in when I just have doggies, but it doesn't seem to be possible to give cats what they need and deserve in the current culture of the US without being labelled "the crazy cat lady/man".

The most popular pet in my country is a very exotic and unusual desert carnivore with unique special needs. Anyone who has ever loved a cat knows that there is no such thing as a "normal" cat.

If I'd paid a gazillion dollars to be put on a waitlist for my moggie, nobody would question my mental stability for putting her needs over social conformity. No, that's NOT a rare and expensive Russian Blue on my shoulder, she's a Blue Domestic Shorthair who is worth a lot more than money.

/rant over

I positively looove your rants

 

[Jcatbird]

My house is now a kitty sanctuary. Lol In my opinion, there’s no better use for it than that so maybe it’s not much of a sacrifice?

 

[Xraystyle]

Decorations have been the first thing to go since Puar arrived in my life two weeks ago. Even last night he discovered it was suddenly fun to paw at the art prints I'd hung from a grid board. Almost the very first thing he did was knock down and drag around any action figure he could find. Will be getting a display case (even though they're not worth anything) because I still want to see my stuff. Thinking about sticking the case to the floor with putty to keep it secured.

I think the hardest thing to adjust to sacrifice was just my lack of responsibility. I've spent the past 8 years totally on my own, coming home whenever I felt like it. Now I've been getting anxiety when it's time to leave work because I start to think of all the trouble he could have gotten into and how upset he'll be when I do finally make it home. I used to just worry about what I was going to eat for dinner. Now I worry if he's gone to the bathroom, if he'll eat his supplements, if he's too bored; if he'll sleep all right...