You are here:

Cats/Giving cats away

Advertisement

Expert: - 9/13/2011


Question
i just moved into an 800 sq ft apartment where my previously indoor outdoor cats are confined to. i work long hours and barely have time to spend with them. i'm worried they are miserable but scared they wouldn't adjust i i give them away. what should i do? i just wan what's best, i found a nice family with a stay at home parent who would take them.. but my heart would be broken, and i worry theirs would be too. They began as strays an their mother left them to early so I started taking care of them and we just became family. They are very attached 2 year olds who are also very smart. I am working to toilet train them, but they used to be able to run a bell and go outside when they needed to potty. I cannot let them outside where I'm at. I have tried and they can't find their way back. They are my everything and I am so worried about what's best for them. But my job is very very stressful, and at the end of the day I can't mentally afford to be stressing about them as well as everything else in my life. Please help. I'm lost.
Heather

Answer
Heather,

Cats are very practical, resourceful creatures and can usually adjust to anything. In the long run, if you are unhappy with their plight and they are not doing so well, the best thing you can do for them is to give them to the nice family. If you cannot be there most of the time, it sounds as if you really do not have time to devote to the adjustments they will have to make to get along in the new environment.

What you might consider is getting a kitten who is used to indoors only, litter pan trained, etc. and starting over.

The two current cats will adjust to a new home where there is much less stress.

I do not know what else to tell you!

Good luck and best regards... Norm.

Cats

All Answers

Answers by Expert:

Ask Experts

Volunteer

Norman Auspitz

Expertise

I can answer most non-veterinary questions about cats. My particular expertise is pedigree cats, breeding and showing. However, I am versed in feline behavior, cat breeds and their characteristics, general feline husbandry, and the like.

Experience

I judged for the Canadian Cat Association from 1975 until 1982. I am currently an approved allbreed judge for the Cat Fanciers'' Association (the world''s largets cat registry), and have been judging for them since 1991. I have been breeding pedigreed cats since 1971 and have been exhibiting pedigreed cats in shows since 1970. I obtained my first pedigreed cat in 1970 and have never looked back. In 1971, I obtained my first Abyssinian which has become my primary breed. In addition, I have bred Manx and Persians. Currently, besides the Abyssinians, I am also breeding Maine Coons.


Organizations
Cat Fanciers'' Association, inc. (CFA) and the Manx, Maine Coon, and Abyssinian breed councils. I am currently Abyssinian breed council secretary.

Publications
Cat Fancy Magazine, The Abyssinian Chapter in The Cat Fanciers'' Association Complete Cat Book, and Articles for various editions of The Cat Fanciers'' Association Yearbook

Education/Credentials
I received a B.S. from Drexel University in 1968, a M.Math from University of Waterloo, in 1970, a Ph.D. from University of Waterloo in 1975, and a MBA from McMaster University in 1980. I received my approved allbreed judging status in the Cat Fanciers'' Association in 1999.

Awards and Honors
We have produced a number of Cat Fanciers'' Association (CFA) National winning Abyssinian and Maine Coons. We have produced a number of Abyssinian and Maine Coon Distinguished Merit females (an award for a top producing cat), including the first Distinguished Merit Abyssinian in the red (sorrel) color. I am the CFA Abyssinian breed council secretary and belong and/or hold office in a number of cat clubs. I am also a member of the CFA Judges Association.

©2012 About.com, a part of The New York Times Company. All rights reserved.