I Can't Live with My Cat: How to Rehome a Cat
If you have a persian or any other cat that you have tried everything to work with and still it's not working, then maybe rehoming is the answer. Here's some options based on my years of working in rescue and with top-level breeders.
1) Open the door and let the cat out. Yes, people do that. For a persian, unless they are taken in by someone in short order, they will die from hunger, injury, or disease. Persians are NOT designed to be a feral cat.
2) Take the cat to a public kill shelter. In many shelters, purebreds do get a bit longer and a bit more attention from rescues, so their odds are a bit better provided the cat is healthy and under 10 yrs. A persian over 10 yrs will have little appeal to most rescues. A persian with an illness or behavior issues MAYBE be euthanized -- some SoCal shelters will euthanize for even a slight URI. A persian that is aggressive will MOST likely be euthanized shortly, especially is it exhibits fear of the workers. The longer a persian is in a public shelter, the greater the risk for URIs, not eating and hepatic lipidosis, and being traumatized to the point of death. Sadly many public shelters are overwhelmed and even persians are euthanized.
3) Take the cat to a no kill shelter. If the no kill shelter accepts it, they will work with it in terms of illnesses and some behavior. An aggressive cat will still be euthanized by many no kill shelters. Also, many no kill shelters in my area accept very few animals as they are chronically full. Again, the longer the cat is in the shelter, the more likely for a negative outcome.
4) Give the cat to a rescue. The local persian rescue is very picky as to the cats they take -- must be young and healthy without behavior issues. Other persian rescues are more accomodating. Rescues have more flexibility in terms of care and rehoming, but many will turn away behavior issues such as aggression or not using the litterbox.
5) Try rehoming the cat yourself. You would have to do the screening and this takes time and skills, so if the cat needs being gone now, this is not an option.
6) Contact the breeder. Most ethical breeders will take back their own cats even years later. A friend recently took back a cat that she bred 11 yrs ago.
I have gotten cats from 1-5 because often I was the only fool willing to take on a difficult cat. But with love and understanding, each one of those cats has turned into snuggle buddies. So, are there cats that need rehoming? Yes. Probably more because of the people than the cat.
The photo is Penelope -- described as viciously attacking owner, not using the litterbox for either urination or defecation, having chronic diarrhea, and destroying furniture. She was 5 months at the time! 3 local rescues said no -- give her to a shelter and have her destroyed. Owner thankfully contacted someone who contacted me and she's been perfect since... literally NO problems.
