To the woman who surrendered the beautiful purebred declawed cat to the shelter today:

Really? Nearly 11 years old, but he peed on your husband's side of the bed and acted "temperamental", so he ended up on death row?

Please get this straight. I was not caught up in the personal tragedy you must have felt at the time you handed him over to the executioner. Because sending a senior cat with behavior issues to public shelter is a DEATH sentence. No, I was so stung by the fact that you would let go of this beautiful, devoted companion that has shared your home for more than 6 years because he urinated on your husband's side of the bed. I bet your husband made you surrender him.

I pray to God that when your body begins to break down from age and menopause or Alzheimer's disease or a host of other infirmities, this husband of yours doesn't find himself a trophy wife and leave you in a nursing home. I don't know how old you are, but Madame, might I suggest that you might need to let the husband go before it gets ugly for you?

Your feline has a raging urinary tract infection - blood in the urine, visible in the paper under him in the Wild Cat room. Whaat? He isn't on display to be adopted? No, he is cranky and he is sick. He was scheduled to be put to sleep tomorrow morning, perhaps less than 24 hours from the time you brought him in, WALKING him on his dapper harness and leash (how many cats are leash trained?)! Too cranky for the shelter staff to expend the resources to take him to a vet to find out what is wrong. And yes, too cranky and hissy spitty to put him in the cat room for public display. Who wants to adopt an OLD cat with a temperamental difficulty? So for overnight tonight he would have had to go back into the cage in the Wild Cat room (which I have already established makes him even more freaked-out and snappy than if he were allowed to just be left alone in a comfy chair).

Can you even imagine what those last hours tomorrow morning would have been like for him after a night in that cage? I can promise you this, for a cat with behavior problems serious enough to preclude a visit to the vet, the process of euthanasia isn't all light and angels either. It is NOTHING like the way they do it at the vet when a beloved pet is gently helped up onto the Rainbow Bridge. Aside from using the same "Fatal Plus" or "Sleepaway"cocktail - the blue juice- your best hope is that he would have drawn a euthanasia tech that is compassionate. I have been told not all of them are..

So let's look a little more closely at what happened. You are this boy's second owner, I see he has been faithfully vetted, has gotten every vaccination. He has never had to live outside. He is friendly to small children, big kids, other dogs, other cats, in fact, just about everyone except your husband. But he hisses and strikes at a hand if the hand pets him too long or touches his backside. The husband....what is wrong with this picture? From his vet records, I see you moved him and the rest of your household across the country less than 4 months ago. Didn't anyone ever tell you how attached cats can become to their surroundings, how sensitive some can be if lots of things are even moved within the home?

Your old fellow sat in the office in a chair at the shelter most of the day with people and a dog wandering in and out. He was OK with that, so long as he wasn't confined to a cage. He may only need a simple Convenia shot to improve his physical well-being 100-fold. If he has bladder stones, that can be corrected with a prescription diet. I took him from the shelter and into SAFETY only ten minutes before they closed for the day. I couldn't bear the thought of him having to spend the night alone in a cage. Your husband's hubris should not be the end of his sweet life. Tomorrow he will see the vet and will be on his way to recovery. No telling how long it will take him to trust us after all he has been through. 

I write this not to make you feel better, but hopefully to cause those who read it to share with others and to remember that companion animals are not throw-away items. They have feelings, and I believe your boy here has a soul as well. May God have mercy on people like you. Since I am only trying to be less of a mess every day, I will pray I can soon forgive you for abandoning him.