Hysterics

Well, that sucked for both of us. I sat in the parking lot petting Lucy for about 15 minutes until i could get it together enough to bring her in. The process was less than 5 minutes. It seemed remarkably mundane for something so emotionally charged and life altering. And then she was gone to a cage in the back and i was carrying the empty carrier back to the car. I couldn't drive right away. I was crying too hard. She was a good girl, but she just couldn't find a way to relax here or tolerate the presence of the other cats in "her" space. It was all about dominance and territoriality. I understand why her forever home hasn't found her yet, but i feel betrayed by the shelter for saying she got along well with other cats and i feel that we all betrayed and let her down. This is going to take a while to get over. For both of us. I did do some Buddhist stuff for her before she left. I really hope they guard her and find her the perfect place. Even if i asked for her.
Time to go get busy before i get all hysterical again. Be well, readers.

And then there were two

The pheromones and behaviorist strategies have failed with Lucy. Any time any of the other cats enter "her" room, she defecates (middening is the technical term) or sprays the room. There are no words for the stench. So far we have managed to contain it by keeping the room closed, even when in use, but all other means have failed. The other cats have taken to the group scent and the pheromone diffuser and even try to groom her sometimes. She dislikes this a lot. The biting is no big deal. She is actually starting to like being pet, but she simply can not tolerate the other cats. It is too much stress. So, after striking out with the rescues, she goes back to the shelter. I sincerely hope she gets back to the Annex and gets the human she deserves. I am crushed. But, it is getting worse, not better, even after following all the behavioral techniques i can find.
I will miss her. She really deserves better.
If you have no other pets and have patience and know that all beings deserve a chance, let me know. I will be trying to check in on her from time to time.
Tomorrow will be a long sad day for both of us.

Go for Broke

After coming within a minute of returning her, I spent $100 I don't have on pheromone crap that seems to be helping. I still avoid being in the house. Sorry bout that, other cats. I just hate being there. Too much mess and vomit from Cleo and too much anxiety from Lucie to have any reason to feel at home. But, she didn't go to the shelter. Dave is talking about replacements when they die. I may have to kill him if he tries.

Because they are not worth this. Because they are stinky messy things. Because I can't afford them. Because one was iffy, two was bad and three is hell. 

No whisperer in the world has written anything to change my opinion of them yet. All books do is tell me I did try everything and none of it works when you have two jobs, a house and a garden and a husband who won't work on the animals he says he wants. 

So, I give up and so does the blog. When the pheromones run out, we'll see who stays.