NWR-leaving pets behind

catwine

my fiance and i are living together for the first time when we get married and i'm so excited!  except for the small part about maybe leaving my kitty behind at my parent's house.  my fiance has a dog that woul;d get depressed without him (she is about 7 years old) and my cat really doesn't like me much. 
but i loooove my cat!  i miss her when i'm on trips but she never  seems to miss me.  she loves my brothers a alot and is always hanging around them. 
so, the other day we (my bros and i) were talking about me leaving the cat behind.  they would love that and i think it may be best for her.  i'd be nervous about leaving her alone with the dog while we are at work becuase our new house is a bungalow with not many places for her to hide.

has anybody else been in a similar situation?

nitecheese

I have, but it has quite the happy ending!  My FI and I moved in together two years ago. He has a dog (rott/lab/german shepard mix) who was 8 at the time, and I had a year-old kitten. Before the move-in date, he started bringing the dog over to my apartment to see how they'd get along.  My kitty hissed at the dog exactly once, and after that, they were best buds.  I found the especially surprising, since FIs dog can be very posessive of him and his belongings, being that he is part rottweiler. Kitty and Pup would snuggle together every night. When we had to put kitty down (which, ugh, heartbreaking), the dog knew something was off. He moped around the house looking for his friend.  We have a new kitten now and, same story, they get along wonderfully.

Long story short - introduce the two animals, they may bring out the best in one another.

catwine

I tried to bring his dog to my place but she just went nuts and started panting like a psycho and racing around like a maniac.  my cat was terrified and ran away.  for the rest of the day she was so nervous and jumpy.

nitecheese

That's sad to hear. Maybe give it another shot? I'd keep the pup on a leash and see if kitty calms down if he is restrained? Also, was your FI with you? I think it helps to have both owners present.

If that doesn't work, then it may be best to leave kitty with your parents. It sounds like your family would love to have her, as heartbreaking as that can be.  I hope you guys find a solution.

achiduck

I would definitely try to introduce them again. It's never a "love at first sight" thing. My cat came from a home with dogs (I adopted her from my SM's neice) so when I moved in with FI it took about a week for her to warm up and now they're good friends.

She was always kind of indifferent with my rabbit, but I think that's because she had never seen one before and he was alwys trying to chase and hump her. I ended up developing allergies to the rabbit so he was adopted by a friend of mine.

catwine

the dog was restrained!!  i think i will end up leaving my kitty behind.  my fiance said i can get another one but i'll probably just wait until his dog dies because we plan to get another dog and cat at the same time.

leaving my kitty is sad:(  i used to have a fluffy white kitty who lived outside but he got sick adn went away to die...then i got this new kitty.

violakat03

I left one of my cats with my mom. He didn't get along at all with my other cats and was always picking fights with them. He also liked my mom a lot better. He'd literally leap out of my arms to her if I was holding him and she walked by. So after some thought and discussion, she decided to adopt him. It's been two months now, and I still have my other kitties that are happier without him causing them trouble, and my mom loves having him around. She's never had a pet before so she's really glad to have adopted him.

nitecheese

I'm sorry this is so stressful for you, christinavy!  I wasn't trying to make you feel bad - only offer suggestions that helped our pets get used to one another.  I guess, like people, they have their own personalities and desires.  Good luck!

catwine

thanks for the help, jenna:)  i know you were being helpful!
i told my brothers, fiance and my mom about my decision and got mixed responses.
my bros were happy, my fiance was hard to read through a text and my mom said NO WAY, she's your animal!

i know its best for my kitty, sloan...but i will miss her!