Bad news

Hi all:

I took Sam (my 4 yo) to the allergist on Friday. His sensitivity to cats
has turned to full allergy. He's developing asthma. My pediatrician, who
is asthmatic and a pet owner and one of the directors of the asthma clinic,
had said initially that giving up Otis and Chester might not make a
difference to Sam since he's such an allergic child in general. She said,
last month, that she didn't feel that we were being irresponsible to keep
the cats.

Since then, I don't know if he's just going through a phase or not, but he's
had a husky voice for a couple of weeks, has the dark circles, and has a
chronically stuffed itchy nose. His nose has always been a problem;
however, a side effect of the asthma mask that he wears when he gets his
preventive puffer is that he takes some of it up the nose by accident. He
used to get regular sinus infections but hasn't had one for five months.

The fullness of time will only tell how Sam continues to react and I
obviously have to have his long-term health as a major consideration.

It's one thing to rehome a loved cat and know that they'll be ok and another
thing when you have a problem pet. Chester is loving, adaptable to being
inside, has no bad habits (other than scratching furniture occasionally) and
is totally adaptable. It's devastating to give him up but you can see how
he'll live a long happy life.

You all know the problem that is Otis. He has a history of peeing on the
floor when he's ****ed off or the litterbox isn't clean. Has to go outside.
Doesn't like enclosures and tries to escape constantly. Escapes and gets
lost. Needs special food and someone who loves a high maintenance high
return cat - he's very loving and such a lap fungus and such a people
orientated cat. You all remember one of the four times I've lost him - when
we moved to our new house. I kept him holed up inside for two weeks and
then went to take him for a walk. He ran off and we found him 4 days later
1.5 miles away from the house and only after full time cat finding efforts
of 2 people and a series of miracles. How can you feel good about trying to
rehome him? Add to that the cat by-law here and the fact that there are few
neighbourhoods where cats are tolerated outside. Those ones fight and Otis
can't back down. He's very territorial. He's also 9 years old.

I can't tell you how I feel. Add to this this week that I am on the BOD of
my daughter's school. I've been in emergency meetings until midnight all
week dealing with an issue and have been in meetings with parents about said
issue where I've been yelled at, threatened, and my integrity questioned.
We're in a no-win situation for this problem and stand to lose children and
parents which ever way we end up. We didn't handle the issue perfectly and
I know this. I also know that we have been trying our best and working like
dogs to try to come to some even resolution. I am nauseated and haven't
eaten more than scraps for three days. I physically can't eat and this is
first in my life.

All of this right during finding out the bad news about Sam and the boys. I
think that you can't impose on a four year old this level of allergen. It
will never be clear the impact of having cats on his asthma and perhaps he'd
never have asthma if he weren't chroncially irritated. It's just as
possible that he'd get it anyway - we have the highest rate of asthma in the
country in our province. We're talking a major life long health issue. And
we're talking my boys. Y'all know how I feel about them. Not that I love
Chester any less - but he'll be ok no matter what. I don't see a happy
ending possible yet for Otis and it breaks my heart.

Take care,

Susan M
Otis and Chester

"Susan M" smawdsley remove @shaw.ca wrote in message
news:UYXwd.536041$nl.210296@pd7tw3no...
Hi all:

I took Sam (my 4 yo) to the allergist on Friday. His sensitivity to cats
has turned to full allergy. He's developing asthma. My pediatrician, who
is asthmatic and a pet owner and one of the directors of the asthma
clinic,
had said initially that giving up Otis and Chester might not make a
difference to Sam since he's such an allergic child in general. She said,
last month, that she didn't feel that we were being irresponsible to keep
the cats.

Since then, I don't know if he's just going through a phase or not, but
he's
had a husky voice for a couple of weeks, has the dark circles, and has a
chronically stuffed itchy nose. His nose has always been a problem;
however, a side effect of the asthma mask that he wears when he gets his
preventive puffer is that he takes some of it up the nose by accident. He
used to get regular sinus infections but hasn't had one for five months.

The fullness of time will only tell how Sam continues to react and I
obviously have to have his long-term health as a major consideration.

It's one thing to rehome a loved cat and know that they'll be ok and
another
thing when you have a problem pet. Chester is loving, adaptable to being
inside, has no bad habits (other than scratching furniture occasionally)
and
is totally adaptable. It's devastating to give him up but you can see how
he'll live a long happy life.

You all know the problem that is Otis. He has a history of peeing on the
floor when he's ****ed off or the litterbox isn't clean. Has to go
outside.
Doesn't like enclosures and tries to escape constantly. Escapes and gets
lost. Needs special food and someone who loves a high maintenance high
return cat - he's very loving and such a lap fungus and such a people
orientated cat. You all remember one of the four times I've lost him -
when
we moved to our new house. I kept him holed up inside for two weeks and
then went to take him for a walk. He ran off and we found him 4 days
later
1.5 miles away from the house and only after full time cat finding efforts
of 2 people and a series of miracles. How can you feel good about trying
to
rehome him? Add to that the cat by-law here and the fact that there are
few
neighbourhoods where cats are tolerated outside. Those ones fight and
Otis
can't back down. He's very territorial. He's also 9 years old.

I can't tell you how I feel. Add to this this week that I am on the BOD
of
my daughter's school. I've been in emergency meetings until midnight all
week dealing with an issue and have been in meetings with parents about
said
issue where I've been yelled at, threatened, and my integrity questioned.
We're in a no-win situation for this problem and stand to lose children
and
parents which ever way we end up. We didn't handle the issue perfectly
and
I know this. I also know that we have been trying our best and working
like
dogs to try to come to some even resolution. I am nauseated and haven't
eaten more than scraps for three days. I physically can't eat and this is
first in my life.

All of this right during finding out the bad news about Sam and the boys.
I
think that you can't impose on a four year old this level of allergen. It
will never be clear the impact of having cats on his asthma and perhaps
he'd
never have asthma if he weren't chroncially irritated. It's just as
possible that he'd get it anyway - we have the highest rate of asthma in
the
country in our province. We're talking a major life long health issue.
And
we're talking my boys. Y'all know how I feel about them. Not that I love
Chester any less - but he'll be ok no matter what. I don't see a happy
ending possible yet for Otis and it breaks my heart.

Take care,

Susan M
Otis and Chester

Ohmygawd, Susan, I'm so sorry! As much as we love our furbabies, our bare
babies *have* to come first - any cat would agree with you, they are the
best mothers in the animal kingdom.

I'm sure you have done all of this, but I've always had really bad allergies
and asthma, so I'll list some things that have helped me (and my
just-as-allergic) bare babies.

First (and many people, even doctors, don't even think of this), have
someone come out and clean out all the ductwork in your house. This is the
foremast cause of respiratory problems - we dust religiously, but we don't
think about the duct mites, mold spores, and other gunk being blown out on
us every time we put on the A/C or Heater.

Second, Hepa filters in every room and a vacuum with a Hepa filter
attachment.

Third, cool mist humidifiers in your most-used rooms.

Fourth, get rid of all carpets, rugs, drapery, throw pillows, afghans,
fluffy spreads, and mini-blinds - pull-down shades are much easier to clean
and keep dust free.

Fifth, clean those things we don't normally think to clean - telephone
receivers, ceiling fans (which catch and distribute and incredible amount of
dust), walls (especially the "bumpy" type) can collect a *lot* of dust, door
and window frames, etc.

Sixth, put a fan up pointing at all outside doors so that airborne pollens
and other allergens are blown outward whenever someone comes inside.

Seventh, think about getting leather or naugahyde furniture rather than
cloth furniture. If you can't do that be sure to remove all cushions from
the furniture every time you vacuum and vacuum both sides of the cushions
and the cloth underneath.

Eighth, get rid of books, knickknacks, and other dust collectors.

Ninth, clean out your closets, attic, and basement.

Tenth, of course, dust, dust, dust, vacuum, vacuum, vacuum.

Keep in mind that if you have someone with health problems in the house,
most of the above (including having a maid come out and help) are tax
deductible, so look into doing as much of this as you can.

Hugs,

CatNipped

"CatNipped" wrote in message
...
"Susan M" smawdsley remove @shaw.ca wrote in message
news:UYXwd.536041$nl.210296@pd7tw3no...
Hi all:

I took Sam (my 4 yo) to the allergist on Friday. His sensitivity to
cats
has turned to full allergy. He's developing asthma. My pediatrician,
who
is asthmatic and a pet owner and one of the directors of the asthma
clinic,
had said initially that giving up Otis and Chester might not make a
difference to Sam since he's such an allergic child in general. She
said,
last month, that she didn't feel that we were being irresponsible to
keep
the cats.

Since then, I don't know if he's just going through a phase or not, but
he's
had a husky voice for a couple of weeks, has the dark circles, and has a
chronically stuffed itchy nose. His nose has always been a problem;
however, a side effect of the asthma mask that he wears when he gets his
preventive puffer is that he takes some of it up the nose by accident.
He
used to get regular sinus infections but hasn't had one for five months.

The fullness of time will only tell how Sam continues to react and I
obviously have to have his long-term health as a major consideration.

It's one thing to rehome a loved cat and know that they'll be ok and
another
thing when you have a problem pet. Chester is loving, adaptable to
being
inside, has no bad habits (other than scratching furniture occasionally)
and
is totally adaptable. It's devastating to give him up but you can see
how
he'll live a long happy life.

You all know the problem that is Otis. He has a history of peeing on
the
floor when he's ****ed off or the litterbox isn't clean. Has to go
outside.
Doesn't like enclosures and tries to escape constantly. Escapes and
gets
lost. Needs special food and someone who loves a high maintenance high
return cat - he's very loving and such a lap fungus and such a people
orientated cat. You all remember one of the four times I've lost him -
when
we moved to our new house. I kept him holed up inside for two weeks and
then went to take him for a walk. He ran off and we found him 4 days
later
1.5 miles away from the house and only after full time cat finding
efforts
of 2 people and a series of miracles. How can you feel good about
trying
to
rehome him? Add to that the cat by-law here and the fact that there are
few
neighbourhoods where cats are tolerated outside. Those ones fight and
Otis
can't back down. He's very territorial. He's also 9 years old.

I can't tell you how I feel. Add to this this week that I am on the BOD
of
my daughter's school. I've been in emergency meetings until midnight
all
week dealing with an issue and have been in meetings with parents about
said
issue where I've been yelled at, threatened, and my integrity
questioned.
We're in a no-win situation for this problem and stand to lose children
and
parents which ever way we end up. We didn't handle the issue perfectly
and
I know this. I also know that we have been trying our best and working
like
dogs to try to come to some even resolution. I am nauseated and haven't
eaten more than scraps for three days. I physically can't eat and this
is
first in my life.

All of this right during finding out the bad news about Sam and the
boys.
I
think that you can't impose on a four year old this level of allergen.
It
will never be clear the impact of having cats on his asthma and perhaps
he'd
never have asthma if he weren't chroncially irritated. It's just as
possible that he'd get it anyway - we have the highest rate of asthma in
the
country in our province. We're talking a major life long health issue.
And
we're talking my boys. Y'all know how I feel about them. Not that I
love
Chester any less - but he'll be ok no matter what. I don't see a happy
ending possible yet for Otis and it breaks my heart.

Take care,

Susan M
Otis and Chester

Ohmygawd, Susan, I'm so sorry! As much as we love our furbabies, our bare
babies *have* to come first - any cat would agree with you, they are the
best mothers in the animal kingdom.

I'm sure you have done all of this, but I've always had really bad
allergies
and asthma, so I'll list some things that have helped me (and my
just-as-allergic) bare babies.

First (and many people, even doctors, don't even think of this), have
someone come out and clean out all the ductwork in your house. This is
the
foremast cause of respiratory problems - we dust religiously, but we don't
think about the duct mites, mold spores, and other gunk being blown out on
us every time we put on the A/C or Heater.

We had this done a couple of years ago. The guy pulled a green garbage bag
full of cat hair out of the ducts. He says "Someone had a cat living here".
LOL, Cali was hiding from the truck sized vacuum at the time.

Second, Hepa filters in every room and a vacuum with a Hepa filter
attachment.

You can put them on the furnace, assuming you have your own furnace.

Third, cool mist humidifiers in your most-used rooms.

Fourth, get rid of all carpets, rugs, drapery, throw pillows, afghans,
fluffy spreads, and mini-blinds - pull-down shades are much easier to
clean
and keep dust free.

Hardwood/Tile is definitely better.

Fifth, clean those things we don't normally think to clean - telephone
receivers, ceiling fans (which catch and distribute and incredible amount
of
dust), walls (especially the "bumpy" type) can collect a *lot* of dust,
door
and window frames, etc.

Sixth, put a fan up pointing at all outside doors so that airborne pollens
and other allergens are blown outward whenever someone comes inside.

Home Depot (etc) has air exchangers that you can attach to your furnace to
bring in outside air. They don't increase your heating bill too much, as
they use the outgoing air to heat the incoming air. They even have complete
instructions for a DIY install if you're handy.

Seventh, think about getting leather or naugahyde furniture rather than
cloth furniture. If you can't do that be sure to remove all cushions from
the furniture every time you vacuum and vacuum both sides of the cushions
and the cloth underneath.

Eighth, get rid of books, knickknacks, and other dust collectors.

Ninth, clean out your closets, attic, and basement.

Tenth, of course, dust, dust, dust, vacuum, vacuum, vacuum.

Keep in mind that if you have someone with health problems in the house,
most of the above (including having a maid come out and help) are tax
deductible, so look into doing as much of this as you can.

Hugs,

CatNipped

Susan M wrote:


All of this right during finding out the bad news about Sam and the boys. I
think that you can't impose on a four year old this level of allergen. It
will never be clear the impact of having cats on his asthma and perhaps he'd
never have asthma if he weren't chroncially irritated. It's just as
possible that he'd get it anyway - we have the highest rate of asthma in the
country in our province. We're talking a major life long health issue. And
we're talking my boys. Y'all know how I feel about them. Not that I love
Chester any less - but he'll be ok no matter what. I don't see a happy
ending possible yet for Otis and it breaks my heart.

Susan, I'm so sorry to read this. What a dilemma. My heart goers out to
you. Wish I had something useful to suggest, but all I have is purrs and
hugs.

--
Marina, Frank and Nikki
marina (dot) kurten (at) pp (dot) inet (dot) fi
Pics at http://uk.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/frankiennikki/
and http://community.webshots.com/user/frankiennikki

My son was diagnosed with asthma, and a strong possiblity of allergies to
cats. He was coughing so hard he was throwing up, he lost 3 pounds.

I got those dander clothes and wiped the cats down regularly.

High end cat food also keeps dander down.

And we have those dander grabbing batting mats too.

Cats and son all doing well.

TBird ---- just my experience

"Susan M" smawdsley remove @shaw.ca wrote in message
news:UYXwd.536041$nl.210296@pd7tw3no...
Hi all:

I took Sam (my 4 yo) to the allergist on Friday. His sensitivity to cats
has turned to full allergy. He's developing asthma. My pediatrician, who
is asthmatic and a pet owner and one of the directors of the asthma
clinic,
had said initially that giving up Otis and Chester might not make a
difference to Sam since he's such an allergic child in general. She said,
last month, that she didn't feel that we were being irresponsible to keep
the cats.

Since then, I don't know if he's just going through a phase or not, but
he's
had a husky voice for a couple of weeks, has the dark circles, and has a
chronically stuffed itchy nose. His nose has always been a problem;
however, a side effect of the asthma mask that he wears when he gets his
preventive puffer is that he takes some of it up the nose by accident. He
used to get regular sinus infections but hasn't had one for five months.

The fullness of time will only tell how Sam continues to react and I
obviously have to have his long-term health as a major consideration.

It's one thing to rehome a loved cat and know that they'll be ok and
another
thing when you have a problem pet. Chester is loving, adaptable to being
inside, has no bad habits (other than scratching furniture occasionally)
and
is totally adaptable. It's devastating to give him up but you can see how
he'll live a long happy life.

You all know the problem that is Otis. He has a history of peeing on the
floor when he's ****ed off or the litterbox isn't clean. Has to go
outside.
Doesn't like enclosures and tries to escape constantly. Escapes and gets
lost. Needs special food and someone who loves a high maintenance high
return cat - he's very loving and such a lap fungus and such a people
orientated cat. You all remember one of the four times I've lost him -
when
we moved to our new house. I kept him holed up inside for two weeks and
then went to take him for a walk. He ran off and we found him 4 days
later
1.5 miles away from the house and only after full time cat finding efforts
of 2 people and a series of miracles. How can you feel good about trying
to
rehome him? Add to that the cat by-law here and the fact that there are
few
neighbourhoods where cats are tolerated outside. Those ones fight and
Otis
can't back down. He's very territorial. He's also 9 years old.

I can't tell you how I feel. Add to this this week that I am on the BOD
of
my daughter's school. I've been in emergency meetings until midnight all
week dealing with an issue and have been in meetings with parents about
said
issue where I've been yelled at, threatened, and my integrity questioned.
We're in a no-win situation for this problem and stand to lose children
and
parents which ever way we end up. We didn't handle the issue perfectly
and
I know this. I also know that we have been trying our best and working
like
dogs to try to come to some even resolution. I am nauseated and haven't
eaten more than scraps for three days. I physically can't eat and this is
first in my life.

All of this right during finding out the bad news about Sam and the boys.
I
think that you can't impose on a four year old this level of allergen. It
will never be clear the impact of having cats on his asthma and perhaps
he'd
never have asthma if he weren't chroncially irritated. It's just as
possible that he'd get it anyway - we have the highest rate of asthma in
the
country in our province. We're talking a major life long health issue.
And
we're talking my boys. Y'all know how I feel about them. Not that I love
Chester any less - but he'll be ok no matter what. I don't see a happy
ending possible yet for Otis and it breaks my heart.

Take care,

Susan M
Otis and Chester

Susan,

We're sending lots of purrs your way.

--
Victor Martinez
Owned and operated by the Fantastic Seven (TM)
Send your spam he
Email me he

(((((((((((((Susan, Sam, Otis and Chester))))))))))))))))

Joy

"Susan M" smawdsley remove @shaw.ca wrote in message
news:UYXwd.536041$nl.210296@pd7tw3no...
Hi all:

I took Sam (my 4 yo) to the allergist on Friday. His sensitivity to cats
has turned to full allergy. He's developing asthma. My pediatrician, who
is asthmatic and a pet owner and one of the directors of the asthma
clinic,
had said initially that giving up Otis and Chester might not make a
difference to Sam since he's such an allergic child in general. She said,
last month, that she didn't feel that we were being irresponsible to keep
the cats.

Since then, I don't know if he's just going through a phase or not, but
he's
had a husky voice for a couple of weeks, has the dark circles, and has a
chronically stuffed itchy nose. His nose has always been a problem;
however, a side effect of the asthma mask that he wears when he gets his
preventive puffer is that he takes some of it up the nose by accident. He
used to get regular sinus infections but hasn't had one for five months.

The fullness of time will only tell how Sam continues to react and I
obviously have to have his long-term health as a major consideration.

It's one thing to rehome a loved cat and know that they'll be ok and
another
thing when you have a problem pet. Chester is loving, adaptable to being
inside, has no bad habits (other than scratching furniture occasionally)
and
is totally adaptable. It's devastating to give him up but you can see how
he'll live a long happy life.

You all know the problem that is Otis. He has a history of peeing on the
floor when he's ****ed off or the litterbox isn't clean. Has to go
outside.
Doesn't like enclosures and tries to escape constantly. Escapes and gets
lost. Needs special food and someone who loves a high maintenance high
return cat - he's very loving and such a lap fungus and such a people
orientated cat. You all remember one of the four times I've lost him -
when
we moved to our new house. I kept him holed up inside for two weeks and
then went to take him for a walk. He ran off and we found him 4 days
later
1.5 miles away from the house and only after full time cat finding efforts
of 2 people and a series of miracles. How can you feel good about trying
to
rehome him? Add to that the cat by-law here and the fact that there are
few
neighbourhoods where cats are tolerated outside. Those ones fight and
Otis
can't back down. He's very territorial. He's also 9 years old.

I can't tell you how I feel. Add to this this week that I am on the BOD
of
my daughter's school. I've been in emergency meetings until midnight all
week dealing with an issue and have been in meetings with parents about
said
issue where I've been yelled at, threatened, and my integrity questioned.
We're in a no-win situation for this problem and stand to lose children
and
parents which ever way we end up. We didn't handle the issue perfectly
and
I know this. I also know that we have been trying our best and working
like
dogs to try to come to some even resolution. I am nauseated and haven't
eaten more than scraps for three days. I physically can't eat and this is
first in my life.

All of this right during finding out the bad news about Sam and the boys.
I
think that you can't impose on a four year old this level of allergen. It
will never be clear the impact of having cats on his asthma and perhaps
he'd
never have asthma if he weren't chroncially irritated. It's just as
possible that he'd get it anyway - we have the highest rate of asthma in
the
country in our province. We're talking a major life long health issue.
And
we're talking my boys. Y'all know how I feel about them. Not that I love
Chester any less - but he'll be ok no matter what. I don't see a happy
ending possible yet for Otis and it breaks my heart.

Take care,

Susan M
Otis and Chester

Susan, we will purr and pray that an amicable solution occurs all around.
Hang in there. God blesses all his good children.
Jazz & his mama

--

Irulan
from the stars we come
to the stars we return
from now until the end of time
"Susan M" smawdsley remove @shaw.ca wrote in message
news:UYXwd.536041$nl.210296@pd7tw3no...
Hi all:

I took Sam (my 4 yo) to the allergist on Friday. His sensitivity to cats
has turned to full allergy. He's developing asthma. My pediatrician, who
is asthmatic and a pet owner and one of the directors of the asthma
clinic, had said initially that giving up Otis and Chester might not make
a difference to Sam since he's such an allergic child in general. She
said, last month, that she didn't feel that we were being irresponsible to
keep the cats.

Since then, I don't know if he's just going through a phase or not, but
he's had a husky voice for a couple of weeks, has the dark circles, and
has a chronically stuffed itchy nose. His nose has always been a problem;
however, a side effect of the asthma mask that he wears when he gets his
preventive puffer is that he takes some of it up the nose by accident. He
used to get regular sinus infections but hasn't had one for five months.

The fullness of time will only tell how Sam continues to react and I
obviously have to have his long-term health as a major consideration.

It's one thing to rehome a loved cat and know that they'll be ok and
another thing when you have a problem pet. Chester is loving, adaptable
to being inside, has no bad habits (other than scratching furniture
occasionally) and is totally adaptable. It's devastating to give him up
but you can see how he'll live a long happy life.

You all know the problem that is Otis. He has a history of peeing on the
floor when he's ****ed off or the litterbox isn't clean. Has to go
outside. Doesn't like enclosures and tries to escape constantly. Escapes
and gets lost. Needs special food and someone who loves a high
maintenance high return cat - he's very loving and such a lap fungus and
such a people orientated cat. You all remember one of the four times I've
lost him - when we moved to our new house. I kept him holed up inside for
two weeks and then went to take him for a walk. He ran off and we found
him 4 days later 1.5 miles away from the house and only after full time
cat finding efforts of 2 people and a series of miracles. How can you
feel good about trying to rehome him? Add to that the cat by-law here and
the fact that there are few neighbourhoods where cats are tolerated
outside. Those ones fight and Otis can't back down. He's very
territorial. He's also 9 years old.

I can't tell you how I feel. Add to this this week that I am on the BOD
of my daughter's school. I've been in emergency meetings until midnight
all week dealing with an issue and have been in meetings with parents
about said issue where I've been yelled at, threatened, and my integrity
questioned. We're in a no-win situation for this problem and stand to lose
children and parents which ever way we end up. We didn't handle the issue
perfectly and I know this. I also know that we have been trying our best
and working like dogs to try to come to some even resolution. I am
nauseated and haven't eaten more than scraps for three days. I physically
can't eat and this is first in my life.

All of this right during finding out the bad news about Sam and the boys.
I think that you can't impose on a four year old this level of allergen.
It will never be clear the impact of having cats on his asthma and perhaps
he'd never have asthma if he weren't chroncially irritated. It's just as
possible that he'd get it anyway - we have the highest rate of asthma in
the country in our province. We're talking a major life long health
issue. And we're talking my boys. Y'all know how I feel about them. Not
that I love Chester any less - but he'll be ok no matter what. I don't
see a happy ending possible yet for Otis and it breaks my heart.

Take care,

Susan M
Otis and Chester

CatNipped wrote:

First...

[big ol' snip]

Tenth, of course, dust, dust, dust, vacuum, vacuum, vacuum.

11. Also, you can wash the *cats*. I've heard from many people that if
you bathe the cats once a week you will remove most of the allergen.
Of course, I don't know how your cats would respond to that! But it's
something you might want to consider.

I'm really sorry to hear this! I once had an incorrigible cat who
peed on everything and pooped on the floor, near the litterbox, but
never *in* it. This alienated a couple of roommates, to be sure. But
because she was such a totally neurotic cat, afraid of everything
and everyone (except me), I couldn't imagine finding her a new home
(and who would want a cat that peed everywhere??). And I adored this
cat, she was such a sweetheart. It's a terrible dilemma to be in,
I understand.

Do you know about Best Friends animal santuary in Utah? They take in
special-needs pets that can no longer be cared for by their people (or
who are no longer wanted), and that shelters would most likely euthanize
as unadoptable. The animals are then allowed to live out their lives
with good care, attention and love from the caregivers, and some space
to move around in (ie, they're not in little cages). If it does come to
having to find someplace else for Otis, this is one place you might
consider.

http://www.bestfriends.org/

I hope you can find a good solution. This is a hard one!

Purrs,
Joyce

Lots of purrs and best wishes for a solution to be found,
--
Polonca & Soncek

"Susan M" smawdsley remove @shaw.ca wrote in message
news:UYXwd.536041$nl.210296@pd7tw3no...
Hi all:

I took Sam (my 4 yo) to the allergist on Friday. His sensitivity to cats
has turned to full allergy. He's developing asthma. snip