Selfish cat owner

Mankysteve

This is isn't a moan about cat owners but one particular. I over heard on the train three ladies talking about dragging her three cats from Huddersfield to Southampton. If you use this site you know who you are and you've really annoyed me/need a kick in the bottom.

While I'm not against taking cat on long distances if they good travellers.

She was moaning about her vet not being willing to give her sedatives for two of the cats when she regular took her three cats to Southampton from Huddersfield.

Apparently two of them suffered badly being sick/crying the hole way there and back.

How selfish do you have to be to subject you cat to that your cat. If your cats are not good travellers then you need to
A) Put them in a good cattery while you away
Give them up

She also said there were indoor cat which is another pet hate(pardon the pun) of mine(medical circumstance withholding) buts that a different argument and not as half as offensive as what she talking about.





I was really annoyed at her

EmptyPockets

How very judgemental you are!

What business was it of yours how or why this lady transports her cats when she feels necessary?

I'm glad it annoyed you - that's what you get for eavesdropping. It's rude, and I'm sure if this lady had known you were listening in on her conversation she'd have told you the same thing.

sarabe

I used to suffer terribly from travel sickness as a child but my parents didn't give me away rather than take me on a journey with them.

I'm not a vet but I believe that sedatives can sometimes make things worse for cats. I'm prepared to be corrected if I'm wrong.

And I agree with EP it is a little rude to eavesdrop and very rude to relay it to the nation.

no1catman

I agree with the poster. The cats will get stressed with the journey, they will get stressed with the destination and its strange surroundings. At the 'destination' does it remain in the carrier - if so seems unfair on the cat, and where does it do its 'business'; if not how will the owner manage if it escapes!?

My late cat lived to twenty, she didn't like travelling - cried & crapped! Always preferred the security of a cattery when going away, or travel 330 miles (total mileage) in one day - certainly wouldn't risk bringing her, since she passed we stop-over two days.

Eavesdropping? It's a public place - if they didn't want others to hear, they shouldn't have talked so loud. If you heard someone talking of some foul dead - e.g. robbery - wouldn't you pass the info on ...

newleaf

In my experience, cats do not like to travel and would rather stay home alone, with someone popping in to feed them.
We put ours in a cattery if we have to be away for more than a couple of days, and he howls in complete terror all the way there (5 miles at most). We have a petmate automatic feeder which can cover 2 days, and a microchip reading catflap which will only let our puss in, these mean we can safely leave him to his own devices for the occasional weekend.

EmptyPockets

no1catman wrote: »

I agree with the poster. The cats will get stressed with the journey, they will get stressed with the destination and its strange surroundings. At the 'destination' does it remain in the carrier - if so seems unfair on the cat, and where does it do its 'business'; if not how will the owner manage if it escapes!?

My late cat lived to twenty, she didn't like travelling - cried & crapped! Always preferred the security of a cattery when going away, or travel 330 miles (total mileage) in one day - certainly wouldn't risk bringing her, since she passed we stop-over two days.

Eavesdropping? It's a public place - if they didn't want others to hear, they shouldn't have talked so loud. If you heard someone talking of some foul dead - e.g. robbery - wouldn't you pass the info on ...

Listening in on somebody's conversation is eavesdropping, being nosey, it doesn't matter where you are! Mind you, I never have liked nosey-parkers.

The fact that this woman had even been concerned enough to talk to her vet, to look into ways of calming her cat down... clearly indicates that she is not a selfish owner. And without knowing the lady's circumstances, without knowing the destination, the reason for the trip, her personal situation etc etc... who are we as total strangers to judge her and her choices?

I can't stand judgemental, self-righteous, whiter-than-white people who think they know it all.

birduk

Crikey!

I have a cat that does not travel well- in fact over 1 mile he will p00 himself because he is that stressed. Does that mean I should never take him anywhere? No, I take him out of the box, clean him up and pop him back. I have tried absolutely everything with him (except tranquilisers).

What do you suggest I do when I go away for a week at a time? I have tried cat sitters- found one I could trust who did a good job, but then decided I was too far away. Others don't normally manage to get my babies in at night- which I like them to be for safety reasons. So I take them to my sister who lives an hour away. Yes it is a very stressful hour and sometimes it makes me cry to do it because he is so upset. But five minutes after his bath he is happy again and I know that the cats will be safe for a week. Putting him in a cattery does not even compare. All catteries are over a mile away from me, so I would be turning up with a p00 covered cat for a week. Not nice for anyone.

My other cat just falls asleep by the way as she has travelled since she was a kitten.

Just because you travel doesn't mean you should give your cats up. I find that very harsh. There are plenty of cats looking for good homes at the moment and I wouldn't want to wish any cats in that situation.

elfen

My cat loves travelling, sit her in her carrier, make sure she can see out of the train window and she falls asleep on the train. When we get there, we get her out and leave her in one room to acclimatise (with food and a litter tray)

eamon

My first cat loved travelling. He would get into the open car by himself and sit on the headrest. The woes of Cat 2 have been discribed in another thread.

gettingready

With EmptyPockets on this one... 100%

OP, if you were so disturbed by this conversation - why did you not say anything to those 2 women there and then?

I never have liked nosey-parkers.

Me neither, always more harm than good....

bratz81

I'm afraid I agree with gettingready and EmptyPockets, this woman doesn't sounds selfish to me if she's trying ways to make things better for her cat.

My cat also hates travelling, I think it's the motion of the car more than anything. He cries and cries when I'm driving and it breaks my heart, but there's times I have to take him, to the vets for example, or if I move house or something. Mostly if I go on holiday my friend moves in and looks after him, but if this isn't possible I have to take him round to my dads for minding, nothing I can do about that.

Much as we might try to never upset our pets in any way, unfortunately that's not always 100% possible, and at least she's trying to help her cat. A true selfish owner wouldn't care.