Indefinite Imprisonment

Last night my mother-in-law took the third cat of the house to the vet. While there, she explained the situation between Minnie and Sasha. According to my MIL, the vet said it will never get better until one of the cats is gone.

I am in utter turmoil. My stomach keeps churning. I feel terrible. I know she's just a cat, but Minnie is a part of my little family. Living here is supposed to be temporary, but could still be lengthy - possibly over a year. We firmly intend for Minnie to be the fourth member of the home we will someday own.

I hate to fail at my endeavors. If we moved out now, we may not get approved for a mortgage, because I wasn't working most of this year. We could rent, but then we'd never be better off.

In the meantime, Minnie is locked in the basement. The door is just beyond the kitchen and living room, so she hears us and meows and meows to be let out. It's just awful.

I try to bring her upstairs during the day, worried all the while that she will pee somewhere else. When she's out with us, she purrs like there's no tomorrow.  When I put her back, she gazes forlornly at me while I shut the door.

This is breaking Bruce and I. Our emotions are all over the place because of this.  What should we do?  Are we overreacting?

Minnie hides out to avoid returning to jail.