So, two weeks ago, an elderly friend of mine passed away. She had two cats. One, Emma, was put down because she had cancer of the throat. The other, Charlotte, had no home, so we took her in. She was always very nice, and extremely friendly. Until Saturday night. We like to put our cats in a room (they had separate rooms) for the night, so we had been doing this with Charlotte for a bout a week, the length of time we had had her. Then, Saturday night, she attacked my mother as she tried to get her into her room. We had to put her outside for the night. My mother still can't do much with her right hand, that's how badly scratched it is. Well, yesterday, we lured her in with some food, forced her into a cat carrier, and took her to the Animal Rescue League (basically the animal shelter). I am very sad about this, as she was (and still is) a very nice cat, and I was very attached to her. They only euthanise when there is a behavior problem or if the cat has a disease, so we don't have to worry about that. We think the reason she attacked was because she was used to not having to live by many rules, or used to being the 'queen of the house.' We have strict rules, and our other cat is well behaved.
Today, Margret's (the elderly woman who died) neighbors have agreed to take her, which is great because now Charlotte will have a home again. Sadly, that's not the end of it. The two members of Margret's family who were at her house for the week after she died have been calling us and telling us that we are horrible people and that we shouldn't have taken her to the shelter. We had no alternative, because she would have attacked my mother every time she had to be put in her room for the night. Not viable. Anyway, it gets worse. Today, we called the vet that Charlotte had been taken to, and, contrary to what Margret's relatives had told us, she had not had any vaccinations for any diseases. Then, the receptionist at the vet's office started telling us how horrible we were for abandoning this cat. I can't believe this. Why don't people realise that you can't live with a cat who attacks you? I feel terrible, because I loved this cat, but it had to be done.