I never stop being amazed

Tue, 19 Jan 2010 08:54:06 -0500 from dgk :

at how cruel people can be. Here's a posting from the local Freecycle
group:

Our 10-year-old cat, Cleo, is looking for a new home to escape the
terrors of our two young children. Cleo is a spayed, de-clawed, indoor
female cat with a nice demeanor. She has tolerated our 20-month-old
son's chasing and tail-pulling (and has never bitten him, though often
deserved) and is now subjected to our newborn's screaming. We would
love to find a calmer, more suitable home for her to enjoy her prime.
Cleo is white and grayish with bright blue eyes (google "lynx point
siamese" for images of cats that look similar) and is about 10-11
pounds.

--------------

Oh isn't that such concern for the benefit of the cat. Live in home
for ten years and now gets kicked out because the newborn wails away.

Would anyone like to make some comments so I can forward them?

Yes:

"Thanks for trying to find a better home for your cat. I hope you
have success."

Like it or not, a parent can't monitor a child's behavior 24/7. Even
good children can terrorize a cat when they're too young to
understand that the cat is a living creature, and 20 months seems to
qualify.

As for the screaming, if *I* lived in a home with constant baby
screaming, I'd be a nervous wreck. Some cats have lower tolerance for
that sort of thing.

If the cat is clearly suffering, and the situation can't be changed
(gagging the baby is obviously not an option, and nor is following
the toddler around every minute of the day), then a new home is the
best option for the cat.


--
Stan Brown, Oak Road Systems, Tompkins County, New York, USA
http://OakRoadSystems.com
Shikata ga nai...

Tue, 19 Jan 2010 23:44:27 -0800 from Bill Graham :
"dgk" wrote in message
news
[quoted text muted]
Oh isn't that such concern for the benefit of the cat. Live in home
for ten years and now gets kicked out because the newborn wails away.

Would anyone like to make some comments so I can forward them?

Why be so harsh? She is trying to do her best for the cat.....A lot of
people (I have known a few) would just put the cat down and be done with it.


Exactly -- or they would just abandon it somewhere. Seems to me like
this person is making the best of a bad situation.

--
Stan Brown, Oak Road Systems, Tompkins County, New York, USA
http://OakRoadSystems.com
Shikata ga nai...

"Stan Brown" wrote in message
t...
Tue, 19 Jan 2010 08:54:06 -0500 from dgk :

at how cruel people can be. Here's a posting from the local Freecycle
group:

Our 10-year-old cat, Cleo, is looking for a new home to escape the
terrors of our two young children. Cleo is a spayed, de-clawed, indoor
female cat with a nice demeanor. She has tolerated our 20-month-old
son's chasing and tail-pulling (and has never bitten him, though often
deserved) and is now subjected to our newborn's screaming. We would
love to find a calmer, more suitable home for her to enjoy her prime.
Cleo is white and grayish with bright blue eyes (google "lynx point
siamese" for images of cats that look similar) and is about 10-11
pounds.

--------------

Oh isn't that such concern for the benefit of the cat. Live in home
for ten years and now gets kicked out because the newborn wails away.

Would anyone like to make some comments so I can forward them?

Yes:

"Thanks for trying to find a better home for your cat. I hope you
have success."

Like it or not, a parent can't monitor a child's behavior 24/7. Even
good children can terrorize a cat when they're too young to
understand that the cat is a living creature, and 20 months seems to
qualify.

As for the screaming, if *I* lived in a home with constant baby
screaming, I'd be a nervous wreck. Some cats have lower tolerance for
that sort of thing.

If the cat is clearly suffering, and the situation can't be changed
(gagging the baby is obviously not an option, and nor is following
the toddler around every minute of the day), then a new home is the
best option for the cat.


--
Stan Brown, Oak Road Systems, Tompkins County, New York, USA
http://OakRoadSystems.com
Shikata ga nai...

Even though it is difficult for an older cat to make an adjustment to a new
home, it can be done, and cats are far more adaptable than people give them
credit for. My mother passed away several years ago and she had three cats.
My father could only keep one, so that left two, one of which, a one-person
cat who missed my mother terribly, with no home. Even though they were
older, I ended up taking the leftover two, flying each one across the
country (in the cabin with me - one at a time). It was tough for them, but
they did adjust and are both very happy and healthy. And the one-person
cat? He is now my baby - one of the sweetest cats I've ever had.

It CAN be done if the new home is the right one with lots of love and
patience. The right home is worth the adjustment, especially when coming
from an awful one or no home at all.

"starcat" wrote in message
m...

"Stan Brown" wrote in message
t...
Tue, 19 Jan 2010 08:54:06 -0500 from dgk :

at how cruel people can be. Here's a posting from the local Freecycle
group:

Our 10-year-old cat, Cleo, is looking for a new home to escape the
terrors of our two young children. Cleo is a spayed, de-clawed, indoor
female cat with a nice demeanor. She has tolerated our 20-month-old
son's chasing and tail-pulling (and has never bitten him, though often
deserved) and is now subjected to our newborn's screaming. We would
love to find a calmer, more suitable home for her to enjoy her prime.
Cleo is white and grayish with bright blue eyes (google "lynx point
siamese" for images of cats that look similar) and is about 10-11
pounds.

--------------

Oh isn't that such concern for the benefit of the cat. Live in home
for ten years and now gets kicked out because the newborn wails away.

Would anyone like to make some comments so I can forward them?

Yes:

"Thanks for trying to find a better home for your cat. I hope you
have success."

Like it or not, a parent can't monitor a child's behavior 24/7. Even
good children can terrorize a cat when they're too young to
understand that the cat is a living creature, and 20 months seems to
qualify.

As for the screaming, if *I* lived in a home with constant baby
screaming, I'd be a nervous wreck. Some cats have lower tolerance for
that sort of thing.

If the cat is clearly suffering, and the situation can't be changed
(gagging the baby is obviously not an option, and nor is following
the toddler around every minute of the day), then a new home is the
best option for the cat.


--
Stan Brown, Oak Road Systems, Tompkins County, New York, USA
http://OakRoadSystems.com
Shikata ga nai...

Even though it is difficult for an older cat to make an adjustment to a
new home, it can be done, and cats are far more adaptable than people give
them credit for. My mother passed away several years ago and she had
three cats. My father could only keep one, so that left two, one of which,
a one-person cat who missed my mother terribly, with no home. Even though
they were older, I ended up taking the leftover two, flying each one
across the country (in the cabin with me - one at a time). It was tough
for them, but they did adjust and are both very happy and healthy. And
the one-person cat? He is now my baby - one of the sweetest cats I've
ever had.

It CAN be done if the new home is the right one with lots of love and
patience. The right home is worth the adjustment, especially when coming
from an awful one or no home at all.
Yes. One of my 5 cats, "Junie" came to us because her owner died when Junie
was about 8 years old. She has adapted very well, and is now (at 11) a,
"happy cat" again.

Sat, 23 Jan 2010 14:11:34 -0600 from starcat :
Even though it is difficult for an older cat to make an adjustment to a new
home, it can be done, and cats are far more adaptable than people give them
credit for.

Agreed -- it takes time and patience, and many people are deficient
in one or both.

Milo (a/k/a Destructo the Visigoth) has been with me for a year and a
half now, and I'm still noticing his personality change. To me that
says it just takes him a *really* long time to adjust to a new home.

In just the past couple of weeks, for example, he's started draping
himself on my shoulder almost every time I watch TV.



--
Stan Brown, Oak Road Systems, Tompkins County, New York, USA
http://OakRoadSystems.com
Shikata ga nai...