I don't know what to do with new cat

My dear cat Coco died early this month and it was a devastating 2 weeks waiting to see if she would make it. Sadly she did not.
So there was a hole in my heart that needed to be filled.
There was a girl on Kijiji who wanted someone to adopt her 2 year old female cat because she was moving to Mexico.
I was excited to rescue her since she was a rescue before, so I re-rescued her.
She is not vaccinated or sterilized.

Here is where I'm deeply conflicted. I admit, I did not do any research until she was in my possession.
The cat meowed all day all night for 1 week. I researched and concluded that she was in heat.
Called SPCA, vets and the fees are through the roof.
All vets wanted a consultation fee of approx. $75 and about $25 for vaccination.
The lowest sterilization was $210 to over $400.
We are talking about $350 including tax.
If I adopt a kitten less than 5 months at the SPCA, it's $195, older than 5 months, it's $125.
Adoption fees includes sterilization, first set of vaccinations, deworming, and microchipping.

The SPCA will not sterilize my cat unless we are low income family. We have to go to a vet.
I don't know if I should give her up to be re-adopted, and adopt a new kitten/cat at the SPCA.

I am feeling so guilty right now.

I am so sorry about the loss of your beloved kitty, Coco. It is so hard to lose a precious furbaby.

I'm not going to give advice about how you ought to handle the situation with your new kitty. It is your decision to make, and frankly, I have strong feelings about this topic.

Coco passed very recently. I would like to gently suggest that, if you decide to rehome your current kitty that you take some time - a good amount of time - to really think about what kind of cat you want to have (Kitten? Adult? Short-haired? Long-haired? Gorgeous but a lot of care involved), and how much you are really willing and able to spend on caring for a new pet (this can include unexpected vet care, as you know).

Whatever you decide, I wish you and the kitty involved the very best. May she find a loving, safe, permanent home that is perfect for her. :-)

Hoping you will keep us all posted on how things go! :typing:

im so sorry about coco.

you sure have a dilemma . true north gave some good advice, don't feel guilty about giving up the cat until u know for sure what you want.

good luck.

Thank you all.

I can't read all your stories without crying. Linda, I'm sorry about your fur baby.

Coco was with us for 17 years, the kids grew up with her.

I just don't understand why the SPCA won't sterilize other cats that are not in their care. We are willing to pay the same price as if we adopted from them.

We found a cheaper place outside of town. My DD will loan us the money and then we will pay her back later.

We have named her Muffin. Muffy for short.

I just ordered some cat treats and catnip toy from amazon.

Also, what kind of chew thing for dental do you guys buy? There are Matatabi sticks and Kesoto catnip balls.

So very sorry about the loss of your furball...

Glad you could find what you needed for Muffy - what a great name.

We lost a kitty two years ago - Taffy, a Ragdoll cross, who was 12.
I still think of her almost daily, sometimes to tears because she was so special and I miss her ever so much. We still have her daughter, Vader, so that's wonderful.

Enjoy your kitty, give her scritches behind her ears from me!

🐈

@couponmummy thanks for the update. How lucky is sweet Muffy? She got herself an angel as an adoptive Mom!! Blessings to your DD for helping out with the loan......I'll bet she understood how sad you were saying goodbye to Coco. Enjoy the antics of Muffy every day, they really do intertwine themselves in our day to day life.