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- Aug 27, 2023
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I wasn’t sure which forum to put this under so hopefully this one works.
Should I rehome my cats?
Before I start this I just want to clarify these are my family cats I’m talking about so I really have no control over it because technically they’re my parents cats, but I’m the one who cares for them (as much as I can) and I really love them but I’ve started thinking after three years of having them that maybe the best thing to do is rehome them.
Sorry in advance if this post is a little long I feel like there’s so much I have to explain. Basically my family ever since I was born has had cats. We previously had two cats who passed away and they lived to their mid-late teen years which I guess is good? But only recently have I began to realize how bad my family mistreats their pets. They almost never went to the vet, for most of my childhood they weren’t even fed on a regular basis (they were outdoor cats and my parents expected them to fend for themselves), one of them had a terrible tapeworm infection and my parents tried to treat it once but it didn’t work so they gave up and never did anything about it again. He also got hit by a car and my parents did nothing except let him sleep inside for the night and give him a bowl of milk for comfort and he always had body pains and my parents never did anything about it. My other cat had a problem with eye infections her whole life until eventually she lost her whole eye and again my parents never did anything except they tried to give her prescription eye drops for pink eye !! Also side note for even more context I also had a childhood dog and when she got sick I saw the signs that it could be fatal and I fought and fought for my parents to take her to the vet but they didn’t do anything ( except my dad used his prescription inhaler on her wth!!) and she died a week later.
Back to my cats, the one died from I’m assuming old age-we’ll never know because my parents didn’t take her to the vet, and shortly after, the other one went missing and we haven’t seen him since (he was acting really weird after she died and they lived together their whole lives). I feel horrible and like I could have and should have done more for them but it’s too late now. However my family adopted two more feral kittens and for the past three years they’ve been our pets. I’m a lot more involved with them: I feed them everyday, I check them for injuries and I try as best I can to take care of any wounds, I also bring them inside I don’t care what my parents say anymore and they sleep in my room a lot. They’ve been spayed, vaccinated and microchipped, but they haven’t gone to the vet since they were kittens and I think they’re overdue for some shots. I told my parents and they’re refusing to take them (I don’t have money or transportation to do so, also once again legally these are my parents cats). Side note my parents can afford to take them to the vet they’re choosing not to because they don’t think it’s necessary. Also they have a terrible problem with fleas because I can only really bring them inside at night or at times when my dad isn’t around so they spend a lot of time outside and I’ve tried to use flea drops but it made one of my cats go bald where I put it on so I don’t really want to use it, and even if I wash them they just get reinfested and I don’t know what to do. It’s like as long as they’re living here they’re going to suffer. Also they get in cat fights a lot because one of our neighbors has a cat that fights with them over territory in our yard and not to mention all the feral cats around here. Also one of them recently had a terrible leg injury where she was constantly in pain and couldn’t walk on it at all for over a week and during that time she went missing for a few days and I seriously thought I lost her. I was crying and begging to my parents to take her to the vet, but they just don’t care. Arguing with them has been a waste of time they don’t hear or care about anything I have to say, and I feel completely hopeless because I don’t want these cats to have a miserable life, and I feel like as long as they live with this family they will. I feel bad because this is their home and I have a relationship with them and I feel like maybe they’ll miss me like I’ll miss them. They trust me so much and I feel so horrible because I should be doing more for them and I want to be able to give them a better life but at this point I don’t think it’s possible.
I can come to terms with having to be apart from them so they can live a better life but here’s the problem: my parents don’t want to give them up. For years ever since we got them my parents held them over my head because they knew I cared about them. Whenever I would argue with them or they would get mad at me they would threaten to take them away. Finally I’ve realized that maybe that’s the best option, and now my parents are refusing. They are saying that they’re the new family cats, that I have no say over what happens to them, and that they’re going to live out the rest of their lives on this property. A rage room wouldn’t be enough for me to take out all the anger I have for my parents. They continually mistreat them, say that they don’t want or care about them, express their disgust for them and neglect them but now when it comes to giving them up they suddenly matter? You don’t have a right to want them !!
I can’t move on with my life knowing these cats will be left with these people. Maybe some people will think I’m over exaggerating the mistreatment of them but I know they deserve better and I’m going to make sure they have a healthy life. I guess I’m just asking for advice because I feel clueless. I don’t know how to get them away from my parents, or where to take them. The shelter is probably the fastest and best option (I mean at least they’ll be safe from harm and not have to worry about medical neglect), but again if my parents are refusing I don’t know how to do it.
If you read through this whole thing thank you for caring, I was debating whether or not to post this because I just feel stupid about it all, but I have nowhere else to go. If anyone has been in a similar situation or has any advice on what to do I would really appreciate it.
Should I rehome my cats?
Before I start this I just want to clarify these are my family cats I’m talking about so I really have no control over it because technically they’re my parents cats, but I’m the one who cares for them (as much as I can) and I really love them but I’ve started thinking after three years of having them that maybe the best thing to do is rehome them.
Sorry in advance if this post is a little long I feel like there’s so much I have to explain. Basically my family ever since I was born has had cats. We previously had two cats who passed away and they lived to their mid-late teen years which I guess is good? But only recently have I began to realize how bad my family mistreats their pets. They almost never went to the vet, for most of my childhood they weren’t even fed on a regular basis (they were outdoor cats and my parents expected them to fend for themselves), one of them had a terrible tapeworm infection and my parents tried to treat it once but it didn’t work so they gave up and never did anything about it again. He also got hit by a car and my parents did nothing except let him sleep inside for the night and give him a bowl of milk for comfort and he always had body pains and my parents never did anything about it. My other cat had a problem with eye infections her whole life until eventually she lost her whole eye and again my parents never did anything except they tried to give her prescription eye drops for pink eye !! Also side note for even more context I also had a childhood dog and when she got sick I saw the signs that it could be fatal and I fought and fought for my parents to take her to the vet but they didn’t do anything ( except my dad used his prescription inhaler on her wth!!) and she died a week later.
Back to my cats, the one died from I’m assuming old age-we’ll never know because my parents didn’t take her to the vet, and shortly after, the other one went missing and we haven’t seen him since (he was acting really weird after she died and they lived together their whole lives). I feel horrible and like I could have and should have done more for them but it’s too late now. However my family adopted two more feral kittens and for the past three years they’ve been our pets. I’m a lot more involved with them: I feed them everyday, I check them for injuries and I try as best I can to take care of any wounds, I also bring them inside I don’t care what my parents say anymore and they sleep in my room a lot. They’ve been spayed, vaccinated and microchipped, but they haven’t gone to the vet since they were kittens and I think they’re overdue for some shots. I told my parents and they’re refusing to take them (I don’t have money or transportation to do so, also once again legally these are my parents cats). Side note my parents can afford to take them to the vet they’re choosing not to because they don’t think it’s necessary. Also they have a terrible problem with fleas because I can only really bring them inside at night or at times when my dad isn’t around so they spend a lot of time outside and I’ve tried to use flea drops but it made one of my cats go bald where I put it on so I don’t really want to use it, and even if I wash them they just get reinfested and I don’t know what to do. It’s like as long as they’re living here they’re going to suffer. Also they get in cat fights a lot because one of our neighbors has a cat that fights with them over territory in our yard and not to mention all the feral cats around here. Also one of them recently had a terrible leg injury where she was constantly in pain and couldn’t walk on it at all for over a week and during that time she went missing for a few days and I seriously thought I lost her. I was crying and begging to my parents to take her to the vet, but they just don’t care. Arguing with them has been a waste of time they don’t hear or care about anything I have to say, and I feel completely hopeless because I don’t want these cats to have a miserable life, and I feel like as long as they live with this family they will. I feel bad because this is their home and I have a relationship with them and I feel like maybe they’ll miss me like I’ll miss them. They trust me so much and I feel so horrible because I should be doing more for them and I want to be able to give them a better life but at this point I don’t think it’s possible.
I can come to terms with having to be apart from them so they can live a better life but here’s the problem: my parents don’t want to give them up. For years ever since we got them my parents held them over my head because they knew I cared about them. Whenever I would argue with them or they would get mad at me they would threaten to take them away. Finally I’ve realized that maybe that’s the best option, and now my parents are refusing. They are saying that they’re the new family cats, that I have no say over what happens to them, and that they’re going to live out the rest of their lives on this property. A rage room wouldn’t be enough for me to take out all the anger I have for my parents. They continually mistreat them, say that they don’t want or care about them, express their disgust for them and neglect them but now when it comes to giving them up they suddenly matter? You don’t have a right to want them !!
I can’t move on with my life knowing these cats will be left with these people. Maybe some people will think I’m over exaggerating the mistreatment of them but I know they deserve better and I’m going to make sure they have a healthy life. I guess I’m just asking for advice because I feel clueless. I don’t know how to get them away from my parents, or where to take them. The shelter is probably the fastest and best option (I mean at least they’ll be safe from harm and not have to worry about medical neglect), but again if my parents are refusing I don’t know how to do it.
If you read through this whole thing thank you for caring, I was debating whether or not to post this because I just feel stupid about it all, but I have nowhere else to go. If anyone has been in a similar situation or has any advice on what to do I would really appreciate it.