Am I being cruel to one of my cats?

[Retiredguy2]

Query here....back in mid winter of 2010 we had a cat yowling at our door, it was bitterly cold outside so we let him in and sheltered him overnight. Appears that someone dumped him off in the country...he was very tame around us and about a year old...obviously someone's pet. We tried to find his owners without success. So, he became OUR cat...with one issue: We have four others who have grown up together and get along well, but no matter how hard we have tried to get them accustomed to each other, this cat is not able to get along with our others. He will attack all of them without the slightest provocation and because he is a big boy he can do a lot of damage to the others. We have tried so hard to get him to accept them to no avail.

As a result, we have to keep him in another part of the house and away from the others. He gets outdoors every day of the year except when weather is extreme and he loves to roam. About two nights a week we close the doors to our living room and shut out the other four cats so this one can spend time with us. He gets premium food and vet care and is well taken care of.

Yet another cat owning friend of ours decries our treatment and says we are selfish and we should take this cat to the local shelter to quote: "Give him a chance to be an ONLY (emphasis added here) cat for someone else"...

And given the odds against him being adopted, are we being cruel and/or selfish to continue to keep him? Given his careless roaming habits, I am amazed he is still surviving. Am I wrong to continue keeping him or not? Thank you for any input.

 

[flyerdan]

I wouldn't give it to a shelter, but if after five years it hasn't accepted the existing cats, chances are it never will. Perhaps if you know someone who would like to give it a good home, it would work out.
Last summer I acquired another kitten (through no fault of my own, neighbor kids lost it and replaced it before it was found) and I wound up rescuing it. My cats were pretty upset for about a week or so, but they all get on fine now.

 

[kf4uda]

So you take a cat in out of the cold. Give him a warm house to live in with freedom to roam outdoors,provide it with quality food and vet care and you friend says you are mis-treating it and should take it to a shelter.

Your friend must have a little drug problem or something. If you want the cat I say keep it. If the cat thinks it is being mistreated, it will go elsewhere on its on.

 

[Retiredguy2]

Oh....just wanted you to know that the cat owning friend of ours has 3 of her own, she keeps them in a cluttered and squalid 500 square foot apartment with a single litterbox in a bathtub, and she is a chain smoker and her place simply REEKS, while ours are in a huge nonsmoking home and all four plus the aggressive guy get a big separate litterbox. And the four who get along well are let out supervised during the better weather months. Who is being cruel?

 

[Looking4new]

Oh....just wanted you to know that the cat owning friend of ours has 3 of her own, she keeps them in a cluttered and squalid 500 square foot apartment with a single litterbox in a bathtub, and she is a chain smoker and her place simply REEKS, while ours are in a huge nonsmoking home and all four plus the aggressive guy get a big separate litterbox. And the four who get along well are let out supervised during the better weather months. Who is being cruel?

Not you that is for sure! I think I would keep on doing what you are doing.

 

[2LaneCruzer]

Not you that is for sure! I think I would keep on doing what you are doing.

Ditto. Someone needs to mind her own business.

 

[MossRoad]

Oh....just wanted you to know that the cat owning friend of ours has 3 of her own, she keeps them in a cluttered and squalid 500 square foot apartment with a single litterbox in a bathtub, and she is a chain smoker and her place simply REEKS, while ours are in a huge nonsmoking home and all four plus the aggressive guy get a big separate litterbox. And the four who get along well are let out supervised during the better weather months. Who is being cruel?

If this is the case, why are you even asking?

 

[Looking4new]

If this is the case, why are you even asking?

He is probably looking for a second opinion.

 

[Retiredguy2]

He is probably looking for a second opinion.

Indeed....and a third or fourth....since the lady who says I am being cruel is a primary relative I am sincerely seeking input here...

 

[devildog1]

You did good keep the cat, he loves you, brush off the lady neighbor.
DdevilDog