On 27 Dec 2003 05:45:56 -0800, (tioga 0630) wrote:

I'm posting on this subject for the first time and want to thank
anyone who takes the time to read and respond to me.

Someone I know and love is currently in an untenable domestic
situation and needs to leave the home. This person lives with several
troubled family members, one of whom found and brought home a stray
fourteen years ago.

That person's prolonged absences from the home now, and the fact that
the only other regular habitant (beside my friend) suffers from either
depression or dementia, or a combination of both, has made my friend
the little one's sole caretaker.

This cat was found wild, then raised in two mountain suburbs where she
was able, in warm weather, to roam free. During the summer in
particular, she still enjoys her "nights out" but always returns.

The family situation is deteriorating so rapidly and alarmingly that
my friend may seek out emergency shelter. From that point, finances
dictate that a subsidized apartment is all that can be afforded.

My friend has rejected one housing complex where the management
insists on declawing, but the major concern and heartache is whether
taking the fourteen year-old into such a foreign environment will
probably spell doom for her.

The cat allows my friend to pick her up, but not cuddle or hold her,
and the question of how the cat would be sufficiently tranquilized as
to even get her out of the house is another source of deep concern.

My friend has a pet carrier and is *deeply* devoted to this animal's
health, welfare, and happiness; and if the misery of removing it from
such a geographically lovely but intrinsically negligent setting
doesn't kill my *friend,*, this good human being needs to know
everything possible about changing an old, relatively healthy--and
precious--feline's way of life.

Thank you again for reading this, and God bless to anyone who responds
via post or email.

My suggestion is for your friend to put the cat in the carrier and
take her to the new place. She should then leave her in a quiet room
with food and water and perhaps a radio playing until she seems to
accept the situation. Do not let her outside -- keep it as an inside
only cat. Being treated well, and fed well, with a clean litter box,
the cat should adjust in time. Best of luck. MLB