DOB 4/1/05 appx. Male
We get these calls all the time: “I have a _____ hybrid cat and he’s not happy. He needs to live outside.” Usually, the caller has purchased a very expensive designer cat, and now that the cat has reached sexual maturity (regardless of which sex or how soon they were fixed) and the cat is spraying urine all over the house and being aggressive to the people and pets in the family.
Simba’s case was pretty unique, in that his owner tried for 13 years before making that call. She called in May and we’ve tried, for weeks to talk her out of sending Simba to us because exotic cats and hybrids really only ever bond to that person who raised them. Even though they may bite and scratch that person, it’s the only person they really ever let themselves get to know, so they are usually not happy going somewhere to “live outside.”
We always advise on ways to make the situation tenable, such as building on an indoor/outdoor room, or even a cage like ours in their backyard, but Simba lived in a New York apartment, so that wasn’t an option.
Like Beacher, Simba is another hybrid that was pumped out by the Drinkwater Cats mill. He surely cost a lot of money and probably was pitched as a perfect cheetah for the couch for fancy apartment living. No exotic hybrid cat could ever live up to the hype.
Simba’s mom told rescuers there were a lot of factors in her life that were changing. Her son had graduated so the nest was empty now. She was moving somewhere Simba couldn’t go and there was a boyfriend in the picture. She really loved Simba and was pretty upset about sending him away. She says she will come to visit. However, most owners say this, but never do.
Liz Vitale
April 23, 2019 at 6:56 pm
Being in domesticated cat rescue, I can tell you that anytime there is a boyfriend in the picture, by red flags go up.