Rescue owner wants cats euthanized

Dear Amy: My wife, “Betty” and I (both retired) do volunteer work at a cat rescue place.

The “Cat Ranch” is a fenced area on a property owned by an elderly lady, “Sophie,” who had seven cats of her own living with her in her trailer, and others on the property.

Sophie has moved into a retirement facility and will NOT be returning to her house. The property is being sold.

The Cat Ranch is being closed down, the cats are being distributed to other individuals who will take care of them and find homes for them.

Here is the problem: Sophie wants to have her own cats euthanized. She is angry with my wife (and “Tracy,” the other volunteer) because they refuse to euthanize the cats.

I don’t think, at this point, that it is a legal question, but rather, a question of compassion for animals.

Do you think there would be anything wrong with distributing her cats along with the others (we plan to keep three of them with our cats) and just not telling her?

Or would it be better to just firmly refuse to have them euthanized and let her continue to deal with her feelings? Cat Man

Dear Cat Man: “Sophie” has moved on to the next phase of her life, and it is unfair and cruel for her to choose to have her house cats euthanized, rather than rehomed. But you could safely assume that she simply cannot handle the reality of what is happening.

Tell her the truth about her cats, and reassure her that all will be well. Yes, she will have to cope with her feelings.

Please get all of these cats spayed, neutered, inoculated and safely relocated.

Dear Amy: “Caring Husband” said his wife often complained that he didn’t listen! He should get his hearing tested.

My caring husband did, and it turned out he had a hearing loss that was limited to the range of women’s voices. (He could hear lower pitched sounds, which is typical in age-related hearing loss).

My daughters and I found that this explained a lot of what was happening in our household.

Been There: “I can’t hear women’s voices!” is classic. All the same, this explanation makes sense, and hearing aids can be life-changing.