Need to Get Rid of Cat

When we got rid of our cat, we gave him to the neighbors across the street. They had an 8 year old boy with Downs Syndrome, and it was pretty serious. I questioned the boys quality of life for a while, BUT, when our cat (who thought he was a dog) was outside and they were outside, the boy would light up (to the point it brought his mother to tears, she had never seen him so happy and excited). When we moved, I asked the mother if they would like our cat (we couldn't take him to the new house). She cried again.... she was so afraid of picking a 'bad animal' but she knew of her son's love of cats. She was elated. So Harley (the cat) got a new home, we made a little boy VERY VERY happy, and the girls were happy to help a little boy who couldn't do the things they do regularly. Helping him helped them let go. They still miss their kitty, but their hearts are warm :)

Okay I am not going to badger you for wanting to get rid of the cat however I'm going to tell you what a neighbor of mine had happen to her daughter. She went through series of testing and come to find out she was allergic to the cat. However the allergy center she was taking her daughter to had numerous other things there and one was a pschologist which informed her getting rid of the cat would do more psychological damage to her. He actually suggested for her NOT to rid of the cat. I never found out what she did in order to help with her daughter's allergy's but she seems to be fine now. I'm not going to sit here and say that you will damage your son but have you explored your options? It is usually the cat dander that causes the reaction and there are these daily wipes you can purchase or maybe it's a spray that you can put on the cat on a daily basis to keep the allergies at bay. You might want to contact your vet and seek their opinion before just handing over the poor cat that your son seems so attached to. I agree for some people who are severely allergic they have no choice but to live without a cat and might even have to give up an animal once they discover the issue-sometimes its just avoidable but there are things you can do now days so that you all can live a happy healthy life. However it might require too much care on your part and you may decide you just can't do it and if you can't well you can't at least you are honest enough to admit that-lol! Good Luck this has got to be a bad decision but I would surely try to explain to my son that he has allergies but be careful with that too because you could make him feel as though its all his fault that the cat has to go.......tough one momma!

Be honest.
Tell him that you cannot have the cat becasue it prevents him from being healthy and breathing.
Dont make excuses.
Don;t say "and we have a baby coming so ....." that lays blame in the baby.
He willl see pictures and remember what having an animal was like. He will also ask for one in the future. If you are honest and up front about it he will understand, maybe not now but soon enough.
Don't think he will forget about the cat. If kitty was one of his favorite loveys, he will remember him. My daughter was 3 when our dog died and she remembers riding him like a horse. She remembers he was big, black and fluffy. She remembers loving him. Soemtimes she would nap on the couch with him, he was an old black lab (and much more spoiled than my 3 dogs now). My daughter is 13 now.

Your son will need to know he has allergies, so just explain what that means and how he can sometimes be around cats, but they cannot live with all of you, because your son needs to be able to breath.

We had to explain Asthma to our daughter at about 3. She got the concept.

I don't have a recommendation on you for what to do about your cat but your statement that "I know that in a few weeks he will soon forget" completely disturbed me. You have made the decision to get rid of the cat but you must deal with the consequences of that decision--your son WILL remember, and if you have treated your cat as a valued little member of your family, he WILL be upset. My sons were 4 and 1 (only 1!) when both of our dogs needed to be put down within the year due to cancer. They are now 4 and 8. They still remember the dogs and my 8 year old still misses the dogs at times. You need to help your son with the transition. I would tell him that your cat is going to a new place that will take care of him. I think your son may be able to grasp "being allergic" and you'll need to reinforce that it's not his fault and that many people are born with allergies and now someone else is going to be taking care of the kitty. Good luck.

See if you can find a rescue that will take your cat.. Shelters sometimes aren't as "comfy" as a rescue would be.. I know this because I volunteer at a rescue.. You donate to the rescue, and they take your pet if your surrendering it.. Call your vets office and see if they can take him/her...
I am allergic also, but it's not severe..I have 1 cat and 2 dogs. Is your son having a lot of issues with being allergic? Many times ALL of us are allergic to something and unless we're showing some type of restraint, we wouldn't of even known we were allergic...
Good luck!