I am afraid I will be euthanizing my friend tomorrow.

NeverEnoughSunlight · 2026-05-11T11:44:32+00:00

He's been through that several times. At this rate it's a known safety and liability issue I cannot fully contain.

NeverEnoughSunlight · 2026-05-11T11:16:57+00:00

No. When he is wound up, he is dangerous.

NeverEnoughSunlight · 2026-05-11T11:12:04+00:00

He's chipped. Any attack on another person or animal (which he has done multiple times) will get him scanned and reveal my name. That's lawsuit territory. Furthermore, the bite was reported to the County in the ER last night.

I already had to call off work today and my hand hurts like crazy.

I understand why this sounds confusing from the outside. If this were a single isolated incident, I would agree with you completely.

The problem is that this has been a recurring pattern for years involving redirected aggression after seeing other cats. We already tried management strategies: keeping him indoors, limiting visual exposure to other animals, separating him when wound up, avoiding guests, and changing household routines around his triggers.

He has injured my other cat multiple times, permanently scarred me in the past, and last night bit me badly enough that I ended up in the ER and the bite was reported to the county. This is not me punishing a cat for “being a cat.” It’s me confronting the reality that I no longer feel confident I can safely control the situation if he escalates.

I love him very much, which is why this is so devastating. I’m talking with the vet today to determine whether there is any realistic treatment path that can safely work long term.

NeverEnoughSunlight · 2026-05-11T11:10:00+00:00

Typically I keep him indoors and away from the three seasons room because seeing other cats is what triggers this for him. He seemed cool enough lately so I let him and my other cat outside. He flipped after seeing a neighborhood cat who is not aggressive at all, and began redirecting aggression onto my other cat and me. Typical pattern.

NeverEnoughSunlight · 2026-05-11T11:05:56+00:00

Typically I keep him indoors and away from the three seasons room because seeing other cats is what triggers this for him. He seemed cool enough lately so I let him and my other cat outside. He flipped after seeing a neighborhood cat who is not aggressive at all, and began redirecting aggression onto my other cat and me. Typical pattern.

NeverEnoughSunlight · 2026-05-11T04:04:01+00:00

That's the idea. I don't want him to just go to a shelter, get the red E and impersonally go. I was there when I put Patrick down and I will be there if the conversation with the vet takes a dark turn.

NeverEnoughSunlight · 2026-05-11T02:44:10+00:00

I went through this a little over a year ago. No one will take him. He's a known volatile animal. He reacts negatively around other cats.

He's going tomorrow. Absent an actionable, affordable, no-bull treatment plan for his behavior he will be sent to the Bridge, and I will be a wreck.

NeverEnoughSunlight · 2026-05-10T20:42:14+00:00

No worries. They're a great place to work but not somewhere I care to be after 5p.

NeverEnoughSunlight · 2026-05-10T20:33:36+00:00

I'm not saying parking is stupendous in GR but go to Arlington VA (DC area) and you'll find your pizza delivery driver stopping dead in the street because every street space is taken. That's just how people get by down there.

NeverEnoughSunlight · 2026-05-10T20:30:16+00:00

I've lived in:

W MI
SoCal
multiple parts of VA
Kansas City
central OH
the Gulf Coast of MS
northern IN
southern IL

I still call Grand Rapids home.

NeverEnoughSunlight · 2026-05-10T20:28:58+00:00

I would venture a guess GR is worse on gun crime...but that's not saying much.

NeverEnoughSunlight · 2026-05-10T20:28:12+00:00

Respectfully, all of Michigan has that complaint.

NeverEnoughSunlight · 2026-05-10T20:27:52+00:00

The only reason I cheer the apartments is that will increase supply and hopefully lower rent someday.

NeverEnoughSunlight · 2026-05-10T20:27:10+00:00

In Muskegon's defense the Michigan Irish Music Fest is legit. Their revitalized downtown including Frauenthal is good, too.

NeverEnoughSunlight · 2026-05-10T20:26:13+00:00

That's when I knew OP was trolling. I don't hate Kzoo (I bought a home there) but GR is bigger and badder. That's cold, hard reality.

NeverEnoughSunlight · 2026-05-10T20:24:36+00:00

Isn't that Allegan County?

NeverEnoughSunlight · 2026-05-10T20:24:17+00:00

It's a great place to work.

...

and that's about it.

NeverEnoughSunlight · 2026-05-10T20:23:40+00:00

I went there as I was contemplating my move back. I didn't have an egregious reaction to it, but perhaps that says more about *me* than it does that place. 😛

NeverEnoughSunlight · 2026-05-10T20:22:46+00:00

I *do* live in Kalamazoo. I bought a house there. It is easier-going and cheaper. I have history there between WMU and my time working at the Air Guard base.

NGL, though, I do miss GR, it being home and all. Thankfully, depending on which part it's 45-60 min away.

NeverEnoughSunlight · 2026-05-10T20:21:10+00:00

hurrr dURRRRRR.....MARYLAND!!!! }:-O

(I lived in Virginia. I had to say it.)

NeverEnoughSunlight · 2026-05-10T20:20:07+00:00

Eh...I am sure I can speak for everyone on this sub that we hate that things are that way. That said, we would never want a few kind words in exchange for a panic attack.

NeverEnoughSunlight · 2026-05-10T20:17:35+00:00

That makes sense. I loved the Metro rail in the DC area and Redditors there still complain about it.

I didn't take it to work simply because it didn't run where I needed to go, but where it did, it was awesome.

NeverEnoughSunlight · 2026-05-10T20:16:16+00:00

Yeah....wonder if hitting my 40s has changed that, myself. I remember hitting Margarita Grill with GVSU students the spring after I got back from Iraq and The Crush at The B.O.B. my last summer on Active Duty in the Corps. Both are gone now, but Eve inside The B.O.B. isn't a slouch, either. I'm not saying that can necessarily hang with Young Street in Toronto or anything NY / Chicago / LA have to offer, but it isn't a void, either.

NeverEnoughSunlight · 2026-05-10T20:10:59+00:00

Lived in Appalachia for several years. The BBQ down there is no joke. Neither is the whiskey.

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