Gentle Christian Mothers Community

Gentle Christian Mothers Community (http://www.gentlechristianmothers.com/community/index.php)
-   Animal Companions (Pets) *Public* (http://www.gentlechristianmothers.com/community/forumdisplay.php?f=433)
-   -   Advice on Rehoming (http://www.gentlechristianmothers.com/community/showthread.php?t=526257)

Virginia 10-30-2018 05:22 PM

Advice on Rehoming
 
Preface: our decision to rehome is final :( I know this topic really upsets some people, so I'm hoping I can get some thoughts on the actual process of rehoming our seven-year-old cat.



So any advice on HOW to find a good home for her?
And how to make the transition smooth for her?
And what kinds of equipment I should send with her?

I'm taking her to the vet on Thursday to get her one last check-up and make sure all her vaccinations are updated. I'm so sad :( But she's miserable, and we are miserable, and she needs love and attention we can't give. And we need a sanitary house without cat feces and urine in the carpet :(

sweetpeasmommy 10-30-2018 05:59 PM

Re: Advice on Rehoming
 
I’ve never rehomed a pet but it seems like talking to your local rescue agency would be a good place to start.

I would ask the vet if it’s possible to start her on some meds for stress to help with the transition. It sounds like she is a pet that doesn’t handle stress well. You might also be able to use Feliway which is a pheromone spray or diffuser that can help stress and problematic behaviors.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Virginia 10-30-2018 06:05 PM

Re: Advice on Rehoming
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by sweetpeasmommy (Post 6160814)
I’ve never rehomed a pet but it seems like talking to your local rescue agency would be a good place to start.

I would ask the vet if it’s possible to start her on some meds for stress to help with the transition. It sounds like she is a pet that doesn’t handle stress well. You might also be able to use Feliway which is a pheromone spray or diffuser that can help stress and problematic behaviors.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thank you. Awesome advice-- I appreciate it.

She doesn't handle stress well at all :( Good idea asking the vet about meds or pheromone spray (is that okay with a toddler in the house?)

expatmom 10-30-2018 06:08 PM

Re: Advice on Rehoming
 
Rescue agencies can be really critical. They tend not to see kids as being a good enough reason to rehome. I’d use them as a last resort.

I’d start with seeing if you can put up a note at your vets. They might have people who have other pets & they can vouch for both you and the other person.

We rehomed a dog who hated one of my four kids on Kajiji. We met the people, saw where they lived and vetted them in person. It worked out well. He went to live on a literal farm with teenagers. Much better for him.

Rehoming is hard. :(

Virginia 10-30-2018 06:13 PM

Re: Advice on Rehoming
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by expatmom (Post 6160817)
Rescue agencies can be really critical. They tend not to see kids as being a good enough reason to rehome. I’d use them as a last resort.

I’d start with seeing if you can put up a note at your vets. They might have people who have other pets & they can vouch for both you and the other person.

We rehomed a dog who hated one of my four kids on Kajiji. We met the people, saw where they lived and vetted them in person. It worked out well. He went to live on a literal farm with teenagers. Much better for him.

Rehoming is hard. :(

Thanks! I'm not in the mood to argue with a rescue agency ;)

Good idea about the vet-- thank you :heart And thanks for sharing your success story!

This situation reminds me of when we had a second cat for a while-- poor Minion was terrorized every second of every day and was SO miserable (this was pre-baby). When we managed to give the second cat back to their original owners about a year later, Minion was SO much happier. I just know she will be happier in a home without kids because I remember what she was like before we had KO, ya know?

ECingMama 10-30-2018 06:13 PM

Re: Advice on Rehoming
 
We got our dog on a FB group. The mom interviewed us. She’d already turned down 2 other people.

My mom gets her cats from a rescue group.

Virginia 10-30-2018 06:16 PM

Re: Advice on Rehoming
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by ECingMama (Post 6160820)
We got our dog on a FB group. The mom interviewed us. She’d already turned down 2 other people.

My mom gets her cats from a rescue group.

I can definitely find a FB group :tu Good idea; thank you.

sweetpeasmommy 10-30-2018 06:45 PM

Advice on Rehoming
 
Pheromone spray is just (synthetic?) cat hormones, the type they leave on you when they rub their face on you. So I would presume it’s safe as long as toddle doesn’t ingest it. There is also an herbal calming formula by Nature’s Miracle that amazon has as an add on item for $3 right now. Going to try that for my easily stressed girl who has urinary crystals/frequent and blood tinged urine but doesn’t pee outside her box. She just stops eating or drinking for a week at a time if you bring her to the vet or try to change her food to the prescription diet to help the crystals. :banghead :ph She seems super chill otherwise unless I consider that she took over two months to be okay with our other cats. I’m thinking of asking the vet for some Prozac for her.

Ask around locally. I think a lot depends on your area and the specific rescue. Here I think they would be pretty understanding if a pet just can’t handle children in the home. Where I grew up, they would probably be pretty snotty about it.

Virginia 10-30-2018 06:54 PM

Re: Advice on Rehoming
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by sweetpeasmommy (Post 6160827)
Pheromone spray is just (synthetic?) cat hormones, the type they leave on you when they rub their face on you. So I would presume it’s safe as long as toddle doesn’t ingest it. There is also an herbal calming formula by Nature’s Miracle that amazon has as an add on item for $3 right now. Going to try that for my easily stressed girl who has urinary crystals/frequent and blood tinged urine but doesn’t pee outside her box. She just stops eating or drinking for a week at a time if you bring her to the vet or try to change her food to the prescription diet to help the crystals. :banghead :ph She seems super chill otherwise unless I consider that she took over two months to be okay with our other cats. I’m thinking of asking the vet for some Prozac for her.

Ask around locally. I think a lot depends on your area and the specific rescue. Here I think they would be pretty understanding if a pet just can’t handle children in the home. Where I grew up, they would probably be pretty snotty about it.

Thank you :heart I'll see if I can get my hands on something to calm her as we prepare to transition her.

Quiteria 10-30-2018 06:56 PM

Re: Advice on Rehoming
 
Would any of your teacher friends be willing to post a flyer or message? I'm thinking that's a good location for finding some people without kids, compared to somewhere like homeschool group.

Virginia 10-30-2018 07:07 PM

Re: Advice on Rehoming
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by Quiteria (Post 6160829)
Would any of your teacher friends be willing to post a flyer or message? I'm thinking that's a good location for finding some people without kids, compared to somewhere like homeschool group.

That's a good idea :yes Yeah... I definitely need someone without kids :( I'm thinking about local coffee shops and gyms and stuff, too, on their community boards :think But social media is my go-to :giggle

marbles 10-30-2018 07:52 PM

Re: Advice on Rehoming
 
Have you looked if there are any rescues/adoption centers for senior cats anywhere near you?

MegMarch 10-30-2018 09:43 PM

Re: Advice on Rehoming
 
Our vet is also a mother of a young child and is pro-Feliway.

For the litter issue, I didn't see, is the box covered? If so, I'd take the cover off since that is very stressful for some cats. Cat Attract brand litter or additive to current litter should both be helpful.

Nature's Miracle or another enzyme based cleaner will be your best bet for cleaning but for the infant seat, if you aren't discarding, ask the manufacturer for their protocol so warranty and whatnot isn't voided.

For rehoming - FB groups will be great for getting word out. But you might get some ugly backlash so perhaps use an alternate account :shrug3

I would suggest a criteria of: no small children or dogs, ideally no other pets, paying a fee that you will return to them as credit at a vet of their choice.

I would also suggest scooping the box 2x a day (I know this is usually your H's task) so that she's less likely to make messes for you guys to clean and less likely to get in the habit and then be rejected by a new family. Also, consider a second box in another location. We have three cats and adding a box in another room to our current set up has pretty much ended our dumb/stressed/weird cat's inappropriate peeing. It's a drag having a box in our hall bathtub, but it's better than finding stuff that's been peed on.

lavenlove 10-31-2018 03:56 AM

Re: Advice on Rehoming
 
We tried to rehome one of our cats a few years ago. Long story short, she had a terrible breakdown when we moved into our current house. She was absolutely miserable. We tried two different meds, and ended up having kore success with Buspar, which we had compounded at a local pharmacy. We were able to eventually wean her off of it. We tried a “calming collar” that released pheromones but didn’t notice a difference for her.

I reached out to one or two rescue agencies suggested by our vet and they were not helpful. They considered her a senior cat at the age of 6-7 years old and told me it would be nearly impossible to find a home for her. I tried posting on our neighborhood fb page and no one responded. I avoided our “city neighborhood” fb page Bc there are some extremely harsh people there.

Ultimately, she did get better and she’s now fine - no meds, no collars, no special food, etc. However, it took our other cat dying for her to fully recover. That’s obviously very different than your situation. So my recommendation is try meds if you’re able to, and see if any rescue agencies around you are more helpful. I’m sorry your cat isn’t adjusting to your baby. It’s tough!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

mamacat 10-31-2018 09:25 AM

Re: Advice on Rehoming
 
Are there any senior apartments near you? You might check and see if you could post on their bulletin board


All times are GMT -7. The time now is 01:04 PM.

Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.3
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.

X vBulletin 3.8.3 Debug Information
  • Page Generation 0.04264 seconds
  • Memory Usage 6,953KB
  • Queries Executed 11 (?)
More Information
Template Usage:
  • (1)ad_footer_end
  • (1)ad_footer_start
  • (1)ad_header_end
  • (1)ad_header_logo
  • (1)ad_navbar_below
  • (5)bbcode_quote_printable
  • (1)cyb_flashimagebanners
  • (1)footer
  • (1)gobutton
  • (1)header
  • (1)headinclude
  • (19)option
  • (1)pagenav
  • (1)pagenav_curpage
  • (1)pagenav_pagelink
  • (1)post_groan_navbar_search
  • (1)post_thanks_navbar_search
  • (1)printthread
  • (15)printthreadbit
  • (1)spacer_close
  • (1)spacer_open 

Phrase Groups Available:
  • global
  • postbit
  • showthread
Included Files:
  • ./printthread.php
  • ./global.php
  • ./includes/init.php
  • ./includes/class_core.php
  • ./includes/config.php
  • ./includes/functions.php
  • ./includes/class_hook.php
  • ./includes/functions_notice.php
  • ./mobiquo/smartbanner.php
  • ./includes/class_bbcode_alt.php
  • ./includes/class_bbcode.php
  • ./includes/functions_bigthree.php 

Hooks Called:
  • init_startup
  • cache_permissions
  • fetch_threadinfo_query
  • fetch_threadinfo
  • fetch_foruminfo
  • style_fetch
  • cache_templates
  • global_start
  • parse_templates
  • fetch_musername
  • notices_check_start
  • global_setup_complete
  • printthread_start
  • pagenav_page
  • pagenav_complete
  • bbcode_fetch_tags
  • bbcode_create
  • bbcode_parse_start
  • bbcode_parse_complete_precache
  • bbcode_parse_complete
  • printthread_post
  • printthread_complete