Hello Again, COTD May '09 Update

[Momto4FemaleFelines]

I accidently posted this in Pets General late last night when I was probably too sleepy to be posting so I am re-posting it here in Cats General.....


Hi everyone,

I thought I'd pop in to say hello again.
I had the honor and pleasure of having my Tiger Lily be Cat of the Day in May of '09.
Unfortunately, shortly after that, Tiger Lily became ill with yet another bout of the sterile cystitis we'd had trouble with in the past.
Thus a 4 month long period of medicines, diet change, segregating her from the other 4 cats, vet appts., x-rays and ultra-sounds ensued, not to mention a lot of stress and heart ache.
After a lot of soul searching and talking with the vet and ultra-sound specialist, it was decided that Tiger Lily just wasn't meant to be part of a multi-cat home. We made the difficult-for-we-humans decision to re-home Tiger Lily.
Although we miss her like crazy and would've given anything to be able to keep her with us, she is now an only-cat in a loving home. No more cystitis, no more medicines, no more stress of having to share a home with other cats.

So, I am now just Momto4FemaleFelines.

The difference in our household is amazing. The stress with Tiger Lily here was more far reaching than I ever realized. It had caused my Molly to start marking the house, which all pet owners know is not a pleasant thing.

Molly no longer marks. My oldest cat (she's only approaching 5 but is the oldest), Philly, no longer stays hiding out in 'her' room by herself 95% of the time. She is out and about, playing more with the other 3 cats, developing a relationship with my husband. My sister cats, Kit & Molly, are spending more time togehter. Piper, Tiger Lily's baby, is the only one that hasn't seemed to change...she's her 'loves to sleep' self/ceiling Gremlin watcher self. I was worried she'd get depressed over her Momma leaving, but she seems just fine.

Anyway, that's what has happened here at my house....I had hoped to become a more regular member here after Tiger Lily had been chosen as Cat of the Day, but between all the emotional stuff of Tiger Lily's illness and the decision making process and ultimately her leaving us, and then the Holidays, I just never got back here.

We still miss Tiger Lily like crazy, but as one of my friends said, "rescuing does not mean they all have to live with you". In my mind, I know I made the right decision to get Tiger Lily into an only-pet home, but my heart still aches at times.

[catmandu]

That is sad that Tiger Lily had to move, but thats the best thing for her to be the Alpha Cat, and is better for her former roomates as well.
At least shes where hopefully you can visit.

There are some Cats who have to reiign as Top Cat

[Freedom]

Hard as it is, this does sound like the right decision -- and not only for Tiger Lily but for your entire clowder.

It is nice to have you back; I love your siggy pic!

[Pinot's Mom]

Some of these decisions are heartwrenching, but you did all you could, and it worked out for the best. Welcome back! I love the siggy, too!

[Momto4FemaleFelines]

Thank you for your kind words and compliments on my siggy pic!

We tried for over a year to make it work with Tiger Lily. Pretty much her whole story is told here:
http://cats.about.com/od/feralcatsre...ersey-Kitties/

At first, it seemed Tiger Lily was going to fit in okay. But then after several months it seemed she and especially Molly were fighting for alpha position, and sometimes Kit would get in on the skirmishes as well. We were kind of hoping the ultra sound would've shown a kidney stone and that if there was one, removal would stop the health issues and we could just tackle the behavior part, but alas it just wasn't to be.

Unfortunately, Tiger Lily is not close enough for us to visit, but I have heard from her new family and she's doing well.

[krazyaboutkatz]

Welcome back. I'm sorry to hear that you had to rehome Tiger Lily but you did the right thing. Some cats need to be only cats. I had to rehome my cat Cirrus several years ago because he also wanted to be the alpha cat but my Storm wasn't going to back down. Now he's in a wonderful home that even has an outdoor cat run. He does share it with 3 other cats and a pug but there's plenty of room for him to have his own space. I hope that you'll be able to keep posting on PT and I look forward to hearing more about your cats and seeing many pictures of your cats too.