Should I rehome?
Posted: Tue Jan 22, 2019 9:12 am
I have a black and white moggie, Freddie, that I rescued six years ago from RSPCA(he was a stray). I love him to bits, but our household lifestyle has changed over the past year and I am wondering if it is cruel to keep him. We are spending up to two months away from home at a time, with further short breaks away. My son looked after him then as he lives at home, so it worked, but he has recently started working irregular hours, mainly out of the house from midday until 2am, so my cat is on his own, a lot, and his mealtimes were very irregular. He is a very greedy cat due to him being a stray and he always asks for food. Last time we came back after a trip he was much more vocal and his fur was quite matted (he doesn't like washing himself at the best of times). My son admits that he can't give Freddie the care he wants and that he wasn't happy. We have invested in an automatic feeder so this isn't so much of a problem now. We have been away recently and now he is very vocal and follows me around everywhere. I don't mind this so much and I ignore him if he shouts and give him an occasional treat when he's quiet, but he is starting to swipe out at us when giving him affection. We are away again at the end of April and I am wondering if it is fair to Freddie to leave him alone so much or whether I should try and rehome him. I don't want to give him away, but I want him to be happy. I also worry about the stress of rehoming. It took him a while to settle with us. What do you think?