I'm getting out of the Navy in 90 days and I'm moving back home to Florida to go to college. I will be staying at my parent's house for about a month, maybe two at the most until I find an apartment/job. When I asked my dad if having the cat there with me would be ok (he let my brother keep his cats at their house while he was moving...they stayed there for a like a month) he said ''ABSOLUTELY NOT!" When I asked him why he kept giving me really lame excuses: Cats smell (and their three labradors don't?), she might attack the dogs (even though she's been around dogs before and could care less about them), the dogs might attack her (my brother's cats were safe there staying in one blocked off section of the house), she might attack the bird (they have a cockatoo...the loud noises he makes would be enough to scare her away from him)... after I tried to convince him that his dogs/the bird/my cat would be safe, all he said was "Regardless.. we're not keeping any cats here, you'll have to get rid of her." I keep trying to tell him that she's already been re-homed once in her life (when I adopted her) and I just think it would be mean to give away an 8 year old cat, or any cat for that matter unless there were extenuating circumstances (and dad saying I can't keep my kitty isn't an extenuating circumstance). I told him it would be like someone telling him that he wasn't allowed to live with his family and couldn't stay at the house anymore, but he still didn't understand. I know that him and my stepmother would like for me to stay with them for a little while since i've been gone for so long (six years!) but I'm really upset with him for telling me to give my cat away like she's an old unwanted piece of furniture or something. I don't know what to do...

But giving away my precious furbaby isn't an option :)

Would it help if you kept the cat confined to your room if it really is going to be a short term stay? I know that's not ideal, but considering what the option is, having to give her away, I think I might opt for that. Of course, if he just doesn't want the cat in the house, and it sounds like this might be the case, it probably won't make a difference to him. The only other thing I can think of is to find someone who would be willing to take her temporarily, until you get your own place, then you can take her back. Sorry. I hope it works out for you. It would be awful if you had to give her up. :(

What about boarding the cat while you look for a new place?

It might sound silly, but could you keep her in their garage or an outbuilding of some kind? I know it wouldn't be brilliant but as karenlovessnow said, it would be better than giving her away.
Hope you work something out :)

actually, a friend of mine just offered to let me keep her at his house while I'm getting settled. I might end up staying at a friend's (she's allergic to cats, otherwise I'd ask to bring my kitty there with me) instead of staying with my folks. I'm so freakin mad right now. My dad just doesn't want a cat in the house. I just can't understand why he's being such a jerk about this! Ugh!!!!

Could you stay with the friend that offered to watch your kitty?

It's not very nice to call someone a jerk because they don't want an extra animal around their house. He's not obligated to have your animal live there just because he's letting you stay there.

Well I guess we should be glad she doesn't have a kid, because he might make her get rid of that too if he didn't feel like having it around. It's his house, afterall.

Well I guess we should be glad she doesn't have a kid, because he might make her get rid of that too if he didn't feel like having it around. It's his house, afterall.
:lol:

actually, a friend of mine just offered to let me keep her at his house while I'm getting settled.

This to me sounds like a good solution, if not the perfect solution. At least you know your cat would be well cared for until you and she can be together again. Let your friend take care of your cat and you stay with your parents until you can find a place of your own (preferably one that allows cats). Say nothing to them about your cat. If your dad asks you where the cat is, simply say you gave her to a friend, which is true.

It's bad enough to hear or read about people who think of animals as nothing more than unfeeling, inconvenient, disposable creatures, but even harder to deal with when encountering this attitude from people you know. I'm sorry you have to deal with this, :hug: and I hope everything works out for the best. :hug:

Well I guess we should be glad she doesn't have a kid, because he might make her get rid of that too if he didn't feel like having it around. It's his house, afterall.

Bad analogy. The kid would be his grandchild.. the cat is not is his grandchild.

It's not very nice to call someone a jerk because they don't want an extra animal around their house. He's not obligated to have your animal live there just because he's letting you stay there. I think he's being a jerk because he allowed my brother to have his not one but TWO cats at the house when he was getting settled into his new place. My brother wasn't even staying at the house at the time either.. my parents were the ones who had to take care of them. They know that I would be the one taking care of her if I had her there with me. I just don't understand what his problem is... I asked him if it was because he thought I would try to leave her there or something and he just said no, he didn't want a cat in the house...and the way he said it wasn't very nice either. I don't know what his deal is :/Bad analogy. The kid would be his grandchild.. the cat is not is his grandchild.
You know, I wouldn't put it past him to make a fuss if I were staying at his house with a child. He's just so grumpy about EVERYTHING... and then he wonders why I don't visit often. He even made a fuss once about me being vegetarian because I wouldn't eat meat during dinner, yet now he's starting to eat more vegetarian stuff because his cholesterol is way out of control..

I swear he makes me want to rip my hair out in frustration sometimes.. confronting him usually doesn't work. Any suggestions?

Maybe he had a bad experience with your brother's cats?

My suggestion is to not rip your hair out. :p You can't control his grumpiness.. he is the way he is. Sometimes you just have to let it go at that. Visit him now and then (once you get your own place) and live your life in a way that makes you happy.

What about boarding the cat while you look for a new place?
That was my first thought too. One month is ultimately not a long period of time. But glad to hear your friend can take him.

I am just astonished that he told me to get rid of her when he was the one who taught me that animals are like family; you don't just get rid of them because they are "inconvenient."

This isn't very helpful, but know that if you were coming to my area, I'd let her live with me for a month or two! :)

I think that you should look around and see if you can find somebody to take care of her for some time. Offer to pay for the food/litter/etc. If that won't work, then look into boarding her somewhere.

If you dad is as much of a pet lover as he comes off to be (3 labs and a cockatiel) you'd think that he'd understand your problem! That's pretty horrible of him.:down:

If you dad is as much of a pet lover as he comes off to be (3 labs and a cockatiel) you'd think that he'd understand your problem! That's pretty horrible of him.:down:

You know, I'm kinda glad that I'm not going to stay with them now.. The cockatoo (I wish they had a cockatiel instead...less noisy) likes to start the jungle bird calls during the wee hours of the morning.

I revised my moving plan... I'm going to fly down before I move and get an apartment and drop off the kitty at my friend's house. That way, when I get there, I have a place to live and the kitty doesn't have to ride in my car for 3000 miles. I can put her under my seat on the plane :) Hopefully this plan will work out well. I really don't want to have to stay with anyone. I'd hate to be a burden.

Congrats on getting everything worked out! Tell us how the plan goes

How old is your dad? Has his behavior changed recently? You say he's grumpy. Is this a recent thing? Is he on cholesterol lowering drugs or high blood pressure meds? It seems to me that his attitude is different enough that you might have reason to be concerned about drug side effects or other health issues with him.

I'm glad you got your living arrangements worked out, BTW.