Shruti gives up kitten

Actress makes tough decision after developing severe allergies

Actress Shruti Haasan’s decision to adopt a Persian kitten was meant to bring more love into her home. Instead, it led to a health battle she never saw coming. After developing severe allergies that continued despite multiple attempts to manage them, the actor and singer eventually had to say goodbye to Aslan, calling it one of the hardest decisions of her life.

In a deeply personal post on Substack on August 9, Shruti explained that she had recently been trying to find the right words to talk about a decision that had left her heartbroken. Three months ago, she adopted a Persian kitten named Aslan, something she described as a particularly joyful experience because she has been a cat lover throughout her adult life.

But just two days after Aslan came home, Shruti developed a severe skin reaction. Shruti described developing a rash and boils across her face and sought help from her dermatologist to understand what was happening. The possibility that Aslan could be triggering the reaction was particularly difficult for her to accept. Shruti tried several ways to make the situation work. However, none of these measures resolved the problem, and allergy medication wasn't enough to control the reaction.

Shruti said the allergy began interfering with her work, physical health, and state of mind, making it harder to maintain the kind of relationship with Aslan that she felt he deserved.

“I had to make one of the hardest decisions of my life,” she wrote.

Shruti eventually contacted Aslan’s foster mother, who had cared for him before his adoption, and made the painful decision to put him up for adoption again.