Mom rehomes daughter's cat despite protests because of financial issues, but the unhappy cat finds his way back to his forever home, and the mother realizes she made a mistake: 'I genuinely couldn't believe what I was seeing'

It might be hard sometimes, but you don't give up on family - and that includes cats.

So many times, we have come across stories of people abandoning cats when those cats suddenly became "difficult". If those cats got sick, or if the cat got prognant, or other reasons… those people decide that this is not what they signed up for and just abandon the kitties. If they are lucky, those cats get found by other kind humans and rescued from the streets. But if they're not… We'd rather not think about it.

We, at ICHC, always complain when we see these stories. We say that abandoning the cat should have been a last resort, that there are always options that are better. If you really feel like you can't take care of the cat anymore, take the cat to a shelter or find them a different home. To this mom's credit, she did do that. She saw her financial situation, knew that she and her family were about to move, and decided that the cat would be better off elsewhere, with other people. So, she found him a new home. But that doesn't mean that he had to agree with her. And he didn't. And then he took his fate into his own paws.

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"One of my cats found their way back home after my mom gave them away."

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The cat knew better, in this situation… He knew that financial issues or moves are an obstacle but not an insurmountable one. And he knew that you don't just “rehome” family. That house was not his home. The people in it were. And it seems like he was going to find his way back to you no matter where you ended up, or he would have at least done everything in his power to make that happen. The fact that you kept him simply means that he was right - there was a way to keep going with him still there, even if it meant some more financial difficulties.
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Our heart breaks for the other cat, but more because of her separation from him than anything else. We don't know what happened to her, but we hope… we choose to believe that she is still with the person you gave her to. One of them may have run away, but that doesn't mean that the other one did as well. Maybe for her, the judgment of the mother was right, and the new place was appropriate. And as for why the person has stopped answering… There could be multiple reasons, and again, we choose to believe in the innocent ones.
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