Ask Amy: Missing cat takes its toll on a friendship
This is from the ASPCA (aspca.org): “ Please keep your cat indoors. Outdoor cats do not live as long as indoor cats. Outdoor cats are at risk of trauma from cars, or from fights with other cats, raccoons and free-roaming dogs. Coyotes are known to eat cats. Outdoor cats are more likely to become infested with fleas or ticks, as well as contract infectious diseases.”
Your friend is ignoring this commonsense advice, and her young cats are paying the price.
Tell her that you are hoping for the very best outcome and that you will do everything you can to help.
You don’t want her to feel worse than she currently does, but you can hope to encourage her to treat her animals differently.
Once there is some resolution to this, I do think you should tell her that you find it upsetting that she allows her cats to freely roam outside, given the many risks they face.
And yes, depending on how she responds to you and her animals, this would be a tough thing to get beyond.
Dear Amy: My husband and I have an adult daughter who currently lives at home.
She has been dating “Tony” ever since they met in college. They’ve been together for almost six years and frankly, we all just love him.
We’ve welcomed Tony into our family with open arms, spending many holidays and weeks in the summer together. He and my husband have developed a really nice, close relationship.
Tony and our daughter seem like a really great couple and have been talking about moving in together. We’re honestly thrilled.
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