Unadoptable - Help!

[kittens mom]

I understand your distaste at the thought of putting down an animal that is not clearly suffering. I have put down the two dogs I grew up with due to cancer and hip dysplasia in their old age. I have also watched another beloved family dog die slowly and painfully in front of my eyes due the inability of my mother to let her go. I do not mean to lessen or insult those situations which euthanasia is used to end physical suffering.

I am trying to find the best scenario for my cat at this current time. That does not necessarily mean euthanasia. I am simply trying to create a soundboard for ideas. I do not have the money for her vet bills if her odd behavioral issues are due to an underlying neurological problem. No, I did not think of the possible financial burden when I first brought her home when I was 12 years old. I know that is my own shortcoming. However, at this time she is living a life in constant anxiety and her behavioral patterns have worsened. I do not wish to keep her in a household where she lives this way, and the same problem arises if I try to find a home for the other older cat. Both are old and unlikely to be adopted. I am just facing the reality that I cannot find her a home on my own and surrendering her to a shelter, merely for her to be traumatized before she is deemed "unadoptable" by the shelter and then euthanized, is lengthening the same end.

Prozac is a cheap answer to many cats with anxiety issues. There may be some natural herbs that you can try without a vet visit. A thread about that in cat health might get you some good ideas.
12 year olds are not expected to think about the future vet care costs of pets. That's why it's called childhood.

 

[littlemuse3]

Da Bird ?
Be the bird!
How violent are the fights, fur, puncture, biting ?
VCA hospitals offer the first exam free. Many public shelters have low cost veterinarians.
Redirection is useful if you become observant for when a conflict is in the making. Changing the behavior pattern.
Clicker training is becoming more popular with cat owners.
You have not been getting the right kind of potential adopters.
I would never try and pick up an adult cat the first time we met. Someone would need to visit multiple times to establish some kind of trust.
It's hard to work on behavior if you don't know if there is an underlying medical issue. Not everything costs thousands to diagnose or treat.
As far as I can see you have a lot of things you can try before even putting euthanasia on the table.

Neither cat appears to ever draw blood and most of the scuffles happen at night while we are asleep, so I cannot be sure how rough they get. Sometimes there are fur clumps, but thankfully no deep wounds.

I have had adopters come over multiple visits, informing them they should be patient and understand she is shy. Sadly, these adopters end up moving on to look for a more sociable cat.

I will try to find a VCA hospital near by. Perhaps somethings can be explained if she is properly diagnosed and a vet's guidance on what to do would be helpful. Thank you very much for your advice!

 

[kittens mom]

Neither cat appears to ever draw blood and most of the scuffles happen at night while we are asleep, so I cannot be sure how rough they get. Sometimes there are fur clumps, but thankfully no deep wounds.

I have had adopters come over multiple visits, informing them they should be patient and understand she is shy. Sadly, these adopters end up moving on to look for a more sociable cat.

I will try to find a VCA hospital near by. Perhaps somethings can be explained if she is properly diagnosed and a vet's guidance on what to do would be helpful. Thank you very much for your advice!

Be very upfront that you cannot afford a lot of tests. Those are not included in the exam. I do think getting her to a vet is important so you can hopefully get an idea of what you're working with.
Tip the claws.
If the fights are at night rotate them from bedroom, bathroom, living area. Camera on laptop , tablet and record what's going on at night.