# Re-homing help in Cheshire



## SarahBee (Jun 2, 2013)

My Granddad is a man of 87 and recently has got to the stage where he has to leave his home and go into a residential care home for the elderly.

His constant companion for the last 7 years has been a large, black cat named Tom but he is unable to take him there.

Tom is of an unknown age, we think perhaps about 10 years old and has not been spayed (although we are now looking in to this). He is used to spending the entire day sleeping on my Granddad's lap and being the only cat in the house. 

He is such a gorgeous animal that I would love to adopt him myself but the combination of my boisterous puppy and a landlord who has a real dislike of cats means that this wouldn't be a very good long term option. Tom would have to be contained in a room indoors most of the time as we can't put in a cat flat and I think there would be some problems between him and Lottie the dog, who has been known to try and attack cats in the past. 

He has been a bit of a brawler in the past himself, but he's mellowed in to such a lovely animal and my Granddad is distraught at having to leave him behind. 

Granddad is currently having a 'taster week' in the home before he decides to move in permanently and for now I can go round to feed Tom and spend a bit of time with him. However, it's not ideal.

We have contacted a number of shelters but not found one with any room. 

Does anyone know of any in the Cheshire area who might have some space? We would travel to neighboring counties if needs be.


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## Paddypaws (May 4, 2010)

Aww, he is a gorgeous hunk of a cat. Your poor Grandad must be very sad not to be able to keep him.
I do think that getting him neutered should be an immediate priority as entire males can be a little _pungent_ for many people's taste.
After that....could you ask around in local Seniors clubs, or church groups and see if there is another older person who would take him on. It may help if your family were perhaps to offer to 'sponsor' the cat in some way, ie take care of vet bills and pay towards food etc
Your vet might be willing to advertise him or keep a look out for an older person who loses their own cat.
Good luck.


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## SarahBee (Jun 2, 2013)

Thank you for your reply.

The only thing holding us back from neutering is that my Granddad hasn't 100% decided that the home he's trialing is the one for him and he's absolutely against neutering Tom. Once he has said he's happy to stay then we plan to go ahead as a priority.

The sponsoring situation is a bit awkward as I believe he would be happy to, but doesn't want to advertise it as such in case someone offers to take the cat for the cash and doesn't look after him properly.
When my Granddad found him he wasn't in a good condition and was missing patches of his fur through stress which really upset him at the time.

It's a fantastic idea to ask our vet, thank you. I will give them a call


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## Paddypaws (May 4, 2010)

I understand that you would not want to go ahead your Grandad's wishes.....but do not really understand why anyone would want to keep a male cat entire.
I agree with you about the issue of the 'sponsorship' and it would have to be broached delicately, and at a certain stage in the process. I certainly would not go around broadcasting it. My thought is that as Tom ages he may well incur vet bills and the worry of this may put some elderly people off if they are on a limited income. The ideal (in my mind) would be for you or another family member to maintain contact with any new owner and thus be able to help out, but also check that Tom is doing well. I am sure that regular updates would make your GD very happy too.


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## SarahBee (Jun 2, 2013)

Please don't worry, I am in absolute agreement on your opinion of neutering male cats!

My granddad is just a bit set in his ways and when he found him decided that he'd been through enough. We wouldn't expect anyone to want him un-neutered, so that part is just a matter of time. (Poor Tom!)

Regular up dates would be wonderful, so hopefully we can do down the sponsorship route.


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## welshjet (Mar 31, 2011)

Thats a fab idea from PP


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