We adopted a bonded pair (two beautiful boys) from a rescue organization last spring to act as companions for my wife during the day to help with the isolation. She has severe health issues that keep her primarily house bound and I work very long hours as the sole earner. When we got them, her health had been stable for quite some time and was slowly improving.
Her health issues have been getting worse since the summer. Pain, anxiety, and insomnia issues have reached a point that she could not actively care for them and, while I took over the bulk of the work (feeding, play time, litter), we're not able to give them the love and attention they need.
They are young (approx. 2 yrs old) and very active. We live in a small space and the noise of their play also contributed to her sleeping issues which we believe is severely impacting her overall health. Obviously this is not the fault of the cats as it's simply their nature and we're not able to give them the love and affection they need. We did not plan on her health regressing to the point that having them around is actively harming her overall wellness.
Both boys were amazing to have around and we (still) love them enormously which is what makes the whole situation so difficult. My wife and I both come from families that owned multiple cats and are "cat people". These came to us from the rescue after they were found in a hoarding/neglectful situation. We were able to turn them from cats that would hide in the smallest corner/under the bed into friendly, loving, lap cats after several months of love and reassurance.
We gave them back to the rescue yesterday and, though I know it is best for the boys, I cannot help but feel like I have betrayed them utterly.
The rescue is a no-kill, foster-based program and I've spent the last few weeks in direct communication with the head of the organization to organize the return. She assured me that they find homes for all of their cats, was very happy to hear of the progress they've made, and believe they'll bounce back quickly. Having gone through the extensive interview process I do trust them fully to find a new, loving home.
Crating them was heart breaking. The way they cried when they saw me taking apart their cat trees and realized they were getting crated killed me. I've cried on and off for weeks knowing they would have to go back but once they left yesterday I utterly broke down.
When I lived with my parents, I was at the vet with two family cats when they passed and this infinitely worse. At least those were after long, happy lives and there was a finality to it. Right now we have no idea where they are right now or how they are handling the change and it fills me with so much anxiety. The rescue promised to keep us updated but it hurts so much.
I know they will be taken care of and find someone who will absolutely love them but I hate the situation. I hate myself for doing this to them. My wife feels shattered and blames herself and her health issues. We are devastated and I feel like we've just traumatized our boys after dangling love and security in front of them for almost a year.
[link] [comments]
from Pets https://www.reddit.com/r/Pets/comments/ee70hz/we_gave_up_our_two_cats_yesterday_and_i_hate/
No comments:
Post a Comment