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Animal shelter refused to take the cat bec with aggression, they can't rehome it. Ive posted on social media, called let's office, reached out to a rehome cat agency. No takers. Shelter said to euthanized it. I feel guilty. My oldest grandchild wants the cat, but my daughter refuses it due to behavioral problems. My mom wants visits home to see the cat. The cat has been aggressive for almost a decade, not medical issues. Advice

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I would take the advice of the shelter, after all they work with animals daily and have the breadth of experience to make a wise recommendation. Euthanasia is the best option. Mom can be told her cat has died, minus the details. Certainly at her age she’s experienced the loss of pets before and can cope as we all have to with the sadness of loss
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Reply to Daughterof1930
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I had a cat who took meds for anxiety. As long as she took meds, she was a fine pet. Also, when I lived in a rural area in the South, cats who weren't good pets were often given to people who had farms. The cats lived around and in the barns and kept the rodent population down. The farmers fed them and provided vet visits. It's best to have them neutered before they become barn cats.
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Reply to Fawnby
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I have a female cat that is mean. I won't allow her to sit in my lap anymore. She bit me a few days ago, and that was the end of it for me. I'm tempted to re-home her. Today she peed on the floor for no good reason. Some cats have challenging personalities and you have to handle them in ways to reduce harm to yourself. You can keep the cat, but don't expect any changes. This means no petting or trying to get close just to be swatted at by a mean feline or getting too close to be scratched by her.
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Reply to Scampie1
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JoAnn29 Sep 18, 2025
Is the cat old? Are these sudden changes? She maybe sick.
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Well I doubt you will take your mother home to see the cat since that is usually a very bad idea.
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Reply to Bulldog54321
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As dear Dr Laura says, not everything can be fixed. It would be negligent to place an aggressive, combative cat. The shelter is correct. The choice to euthanize the cat is the correct, if very sad, choice. I am so sorry. Your mother will have faced down through a long long life many very sad things. This is another. This is life. Guilt isn't an option for you; what you feel is the other g-word, which is GRIEF. For your mother, for the cat, for what it means at the end of a life to have to make these hard choices and stand witness to the hurt. You cannot be responsible for the many vagaries of life for those you love. Again, this is very painful. Try to remember that the cat will know nothing of life and death issues. THOSE are OUR burdens, alone among the species inhabiting this earth. I am a pet lover all my life, and have fostered and loved many pets and volunteered in shelters. No one can sympathize more with your mom, but this is part of a long life.
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Reply to AlvaDeer
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Ask the Vet if there is anything that this cat can be given. My cat had anxiety and had meds for it.
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Reply to JoAnn29
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Chances are granddaughter got too close. Any small children need to be kept away from a territorial pet.
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Reply to LoopyLoo
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I would try to contact Action Jackson, the cat whisperer from the TV show My Cat From Hell.
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Reply to jwellsy
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lkdrymom Sep 17, 2025
Isn’t that Jackson Galaxy?
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Let it outside and provide it with shelter with a bed and food/water. It's acting feral so it might as well live like it is. Cats have instincts and survival skills. This would be better than euthanizing it. Cats can have mental breakdowns and even dementia -- I have relatives with all sorts of those stories.

Do not tell your Mom what you end up doing with the cat. Tell her a therapeutic fib that she will accept.

I'm sorry, I know this is a hard decision but there's no point in waiting for this cat to keep attacking and getting worse over time. Plus, euthanasia costs money.
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Reply to Geaton777
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LoopyLoo Sep 17, 2025
No. Putting an indoor cat outside is giving it a death sentence. And a cruel one at that.

”Euthanasia costs money” is no excuse to not administer it if it’s needed.
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