A Serious Question, I Need Your Input Please!

[catmandu]

MY DEAR AUNT JOAN SUGGESTED THAT IF I PREDECEASE MY OLDER CATS, MICHAEL, AND PRINCESS 16, JOSEPH 13 AND BO BO 13, THAT I SHOULD HAVE THEM PTS, AS IT WOULD BE CRUEL FOR THEM TO TRY AND ADJUST TO THE LIFE IN PAMPERED FELINE WHERE THEY WOULD BE WITH STRANGERS AND CAGED AT LEAST PART OF THE DAY.
BUT I THINK THT THEY WOULD BE ALL RIGHT AND THEY DO HAVE OUTDOOR RUNS AND THE PEOPLE THERE ARE CAT LOVERS.
I CANT SEE HAVING THEM PTS IF THEY ARE STILL HEALTHY.
I WONDER WHAT THE POOR PORCH CATS WOULD DO???

YOUR OPINIONS PLEASE!

[cassiesmom]

If it should ever come to that, heaven forbid, I think there will be people tripping over each other trying to care for your cats. Your shoes are awfully gi-normous to fill, though so don't let's think about that happening any time soon.

[jenluckenbach]

At 16 and 13 years old, I would not be worrying about YOU predeceasing them.

Now, add the fact that your cats are all very bonded. I say that as long as they have each other, they could make the transition OK.

I will add though, that I know of people who have cats that this WOULD be the correct plan of action. Semi-ferals, for example, cats who have only learned to trust their one and only human, would probably have a very difficult time adjusting.

So in your case.....NO, but there are cases where I would suggest differently.

[G535]

If they're going to be together they should be ok. If they have to be separated then you would have to really think about how it's going to affect them and try to come to the right decision.

I would not have let my Finnigan go to someone else as he was always just my cat only. My new cat is a totally different critter, he loves everyone, he even likes going to the vet.

[Medusa]

in your case.....NO, but there are cases where I would suggest differently.

I agree w/this, albeit reluctantly, because the idealist in me says that every cat deserves a chance. They are, after all, wild creatures but we've domesticated them and now they must pay the price if they can't adapt. My uncle passed away leaving behind 6 cats and they were all rescues who bonded to him only so, sadly, they were PTS.

[moosmom]

Like Emeraldgreen, I have a Will that has very specific instructions when it comes to my cats, who they go with, making it perfectly clear that Maya Linn and Mollie Rose MUST stay together (although I doubt Mollie Rose will be around since she's going to be 15).

Gary, you're gonna live FOREVER, dude.

[Laura's Babies]

We had a elderly friend that had cancer and knew it would kill him. He had no family, except for his lovely, 14 year old Cat, Jenny. He had it written that she was to be PTS when he died. We talked him out of doing that, promising him she would have more years ahead and we would look after her because we loved her already. He agreed so when he died, he left Jenny and his house to my friend so Jenny got to stay in the only house she ever knew until her time to go came which was a few years later. She was buried in the back yard of the only home she ever knew..

If you only had someone who could move in and take over your hotel for you, that would be the perfect answer for them. I agree with everyone else, as close as they all are, I think they will be fine as long as they have each other and a place to pile.

I'd like to leave my house to mine and some money for their care. I think they would be alright here in the only home they have known with someone to take care of them. I don't think they would like it anywhere else.

However, I would want Boo PTS IF they couldn't stay here after all she has already been through because it would take someone so very, very special to take her and understand. I do question how Samantha would be with someone else because she is so devoted to me. It would also take someone understanding and special to take Amy but they JOY they would get from her will amaze them. I think Giz wouldn't care as long as she had her TOYS with her.

[Freedom]

i agree with Jen. All you indoor cats are bonded and as long as they stay together, the younger ones will pull the older ones along and help with the transition. I wouldn't worry about it.

The porch cats? Would the rescue group which helps you with them now take over their care?

A friend of mine has a feral colony just now that we are working to relocate. The caretaker died unexpectedly; she was found dead in her home in mid October. Her only living relative is her deceased husband's brother. He has made it clear to us that the cats must go. We will trap them, relocate them, keep them confined for 2 weeks in the new location so they get used to the sounds, sights and smells, then release them. The hard part is not trapping them; it is finding a place where they can go. We are working on it.

[Emeraldgreen]

Last year I typed up written instructions along with photographs of each my cats just in case something happened to us (car accident or whatever). All of my cats do not get along so I wrote a page for each cat and wrote down who they got along with and who they want to kill (i.e. my cat George wants to murder my cat Jimmy for some reason and they can never be in the same room, ever) and if they were particularily close to another cat, (my cat Tiny would be lost without my other cat Teenie) if they could somehow be adopted out together. I also included a few lines regarding the health and age of each cat and what meds if any that they are on and what food they eat. I even wrote down some of the endearing things about each cat in the hopes that it would help them if they ever needed to find new homes. For my cat Stinky, I put that her favorite thing on the planet is a little tiny stuffed bear in a ladybug suit and that she often carries it around in her mouth making a meowling sound for a few minutes each day. I figured, how could someone resist her if they knew that!
Maybe you could put something like that together. I felt so relieved after I did this because I felt like at least now, a shelter would have a good idea of who is who and what they're personalities are like and who should not be adopted out by themselves etc.. I also included the names of a few friends who happen to be partial to a few of our cats and I put their phone numbers and addresses and requested that they be contacted and given first dibs.
Of course, I hope that you and I both outlive our cats so we can rescue even more of them down the road!