Comment on Rehoming a pet: How to cope with the grief by Pat.

Thank you so much for this article and also, thank you everyone for sharing your own experiences with regards to rehoming your beloved pets.

I adopted a cat when he was 12 weeks old. I’m a huge cat lover and was stoked to have my very first indoor cat (only had cats who could come into the house when I was a kid and lived on a land). He started having behavioral issues about 2 months in. I tried everything I could, played with him a lot, and even sought help from a pet behavioral therapist. Nothing worked. He had loads of energy, so no matter how much we’d play, it wasn’t enough. Then he got bored and pushed all the buttons you can imagine. We got to a point where my mental health suffered. I couldn’t hang the laundry in the apartment, couldn’t cook or have a meal in peace because he’d attack me. Regardless, I loved him very much. He was an affectionate cat, would follow me everywhere, and always wanted to be close. 1.5 years after his adoption, I decided to rehome him and yesterday took him back to the same sanctuary I got him from. My heart broke. I couldn’t stop crying.
I’m at the stage of wondering if he is ok or if he misses me too. Unfortunately getting updates about him is not possible.
I feel a lot of guilt for not being able to provide him with an environment that would make him happy.
I never imagined rehoming a pet would be so hard and heartbreaking. I hope it gets better.