LOVING home desperately needed for 10 yr old male

[MrsAdams]

This is incredibly difficult but I really need help.

I am American and moved here 10 years ago as I married a lovely English man. I have always had cats and my husband didnt have any pets at all (not even a plant!) so it followed that after I had been here for a month, we got a kitten.

On our first trip to the vet to get the kitten checked out and all of its jabs etc, we were advised it was a girl. So we named her Lyra.

On the next visit for boosters a few weeks later it was determined she was actually a boy. But it was too late to change her name. So our little lad stayed "Lyra" (lie-rah). He was a normal happy, strictly indoor kitten. Lots of rough housing and sleeping and eating and just living a happy indoor life. He was neutered when the time came and his health has always been fine (although he has a bit of a tummy on him). So about 6 years ago, the flat we were living in became quite interesting to a particular rat. For a period of a year or so, we could hear it running about under the floors and scratching. This was very interesting to our boy Lyra. About a year later, the rat decided to try to come up (via a hole in the floor/door frame we didnt know we had!) and Lyra hunted it and caught it. I was 8 months pregnant with our first child at the time, so we promptly moved house.

Since then, we have moved house a further 3 times, and had another child. All of this contributing to Lyra's current discontent. Our daughters are 4.5 years old and 23 months old. Lyra, our cat, is stressed out by them and has just gotten more and more grumpy over the last few years. He isnt a "family" cat. My girls would love to cuddle him, but if they even look like they might be thinking about approaching him, he is on the defensive. We have tried feliway, herbal remedy (pet rescue), and bought him a new, higher cat play station tower thingy. None of this has helped him at all. We have taken him to the vet to make sure there isnt an underlying health issue and he is healthy...just...not a family kind of boy.

So now, we are planning to move to the USA in September or October of this year. We have looked into pet relocation companies but thus far the quotes have been ridiculous. The airlines that we can use are Delta and Virgin, but this would mean a 3 hour train ride to london from Newcastle...followed by an overnight stay in a hotel...followed by a long-haul flight, stopping over at Port Of Entry and being shipped out the following day on yet another flight. And in the case of Virgin, they dont fly to Vegas (where we are going) ...only into Los Angeles so there is yet another flight, more expense and moreso, even more stress and worry for him (and us!). Delta only have 2 flights a week that can ship pets as cargo and only during the summer months. Its all incredibly long and drawn out and really, a bit much for a 10 year old cat. Not to mention we will also be travelling with our 2 daughters, both under 5 years old.

I have tried every rescue in the area and even gone out a bit further into county durham (we are in north tyneside!) as I would do anything I could to ensure that our boy gets into a genuine LOVING home....but sadly, no luck.

This brings me to my plea.

If anyone is willing to offer our Lyra a safe, loving home please get in touch. He is, as Ive said, 10 years old (he will be 10 in sept), in good health. Has been very well looked after his whole life and loved very very much. He is strictly indoor (as we have always lived in flats and near busy roads) and is not suitable for a family with small children. He has not been around other cats so I dont know how he would do with them, honestly. I cannot bare the thought of sending him off to live in a kennel for the rest of his life, because no one wants an "old" cat so it would be very unlikely he would ever be adopted. He isnt a lap cat. Hes not one for cuddles. But he's a lovely boy. He sleeps a lot and potters about doing his own thing. He needs somewhere that will just let him live out his days and someone who will just look after him.

[MrsAdams]

this is lyra....hope this works!