I’ve just moved into an apartment for the first time as I’m back in college now after staying home for most of the pandemic. I’m living with the same roommate I had my first year of college - and she hates cats (well, she’s terrified of them really. And allergic).
While I was living at my parents’ home, however, I ended up with a cat. That was never the plan, but my mom adopted a kitten born to a neighborhood stray and she ended up bonding with me. I’ve pretty much raised her (she was definitely taken from her mom too young, but she’s a little over a year old now) and I love her like crazy.
This past spring we had to start thinking about going back to school and I was planning on getting an apartment by myself since my former roommate hates cats. However, she didn’t like the thought of finding her own living situation. She kept asking me if I really had to keep the cat, if there was no one I could give her away to, etc. I kept trying to explain that I needed to take care of the cat but I was a little embarrassed about saying how much I love her [the cat] because I’m not great with emotions and I love her [the cat] like a STUPID amount. Like I would die for her. Easily.
SO I just sort of explained how I’m the only one who cares for her at home, which is true. My family loves animals, but my cat doesn’t really like the rest of my family. She doesn’t hate them (not all of them at least), but she doesn’t headbutt them, or snuggle up to take naps with them, or wake them up in the middle of the night by jumping on their face and demanding food, etc. She won’t even interact with my sister, and she’s a bit scared of my mom. She does, however, like to play with my sister’s cat (they also fight sometimes though, like more than in a playful way).
So anyway, my roommate decided to put up with the cat rather than find a new living situation. And now here we are with the fall semester about to start: me, my roommate, and my cat. I moved in five days before my roommate did, and after a little bit of hesitation my cat was fine in the new apartment. She likes the big windows, she likes the big space to run around in, she likes the nice new bed in the corner to nap on. BUT once my roommate moves in, the cat is freaked out again. And this time she’s not warming up to the situation (it’s been a week). She hides under the bed all day. Only when my roommate goes out is the cat willing to come out and eat and drink and play. She won’t sleep on the bed anymore, only under it, and if she hears my roommate move at all she sprints under the bed again.
I feel like if I could just get my roommate to sit patiently across the room and wait for my cat to walk up and sniff her then everything would be fine. The poor cat’s hardly gotten a glimpse of my roommate, let alone a sniff of her. She’s scared because there’s a total stranger bumping around in a home she’s not entirely comfortable in yet! But my roommate would definitely not consent to that. She is TERRIFIED of cats, so the thought of one walking up and sniffing her is way more than she can handle. I mentioned it and she said something like “yeah …. I would but … my allergies right now …” and looked nervous.
I’m miserable. I just want my little baby to be happy in our new home.
My family is visiting this weekend to drop off some stuff I forgot, and I’m considering sending my cat home with them. I think it would be a relief for her to be back with my sister’s cat, in a place she’s familiar with, where there are no strangers. But, then again, I wouldn’t be there. Who would she meow at for food? Who would play with her? She’d definitely be alone for the vast majority of the day. She’s also overweight and I’m sure my family wouldn’t be as vigilant about feeding her the correct amount, and she would get significantly less playtime. Her litter box would also usually be filthy. My sister is a very busy person (and is also very depressed). She struggles to clean her own cat’s litter box so I can’t see her cleaning two litter boxes on any sort of regular basis (and my parents hate that chore).
More than that, the thought of parting with her kills me. If it’ll make her happy I’ll gladly do it, 100%, but I’m literally tearing up just thinking about it. I would be so lonely without her.
ESSENTIALLY: is it better for a cat to live in a SPACE they’re familiar with, or with a PERSON they’re familiar with?
And if you think I should keep her with me: how do I try to fix the situation with my roommate??
Thank you :(
[link] [comments]
from Pets https://www.reddit.com/r/Pets/comments/p7tswc/should_i_send_my_cat_back_to_my_parents_house/
No comments:
Post a Comment