You don't have to live with anyone you don't want to. And no living situations are permanent as long as you are ablebodied and smart.
The country--especially these days--is FULL of people looking to rent out a room or two, even in nice neighborhoods. And if you look you should be able to find someone who will let you have your cats.
As for your fears of being left with nothing, tomorrow talk to an atty and find out what's most likely. Or go online and look at divorce laws in your state on the issues that concern you most.
Nobody who wants to be with others will have no one. There are 6 billion people on this earth, SOMEONE surely wants to be your friend, SOMEONE will love you.
I'm a well padded, 49 year old middle aged woman, of average looks, who's something of a bookworm. I am facing foreclosure and bankruptcy, but I swear to God that I am profoundly happy. I'm not a cute young thing, I'm not one of those funny charming people everyone likes instantly, I'm rather boring, intellectual and quiet and have odd hobbies (like genealogy and history and writing), I've got two kids in college and one in HS, and after the experience with TWO alcoholic nasty ex husbands, and divorces that wiped out my financial security, I wasn't even sure I ever wanted to date, much less fall in love and have another relationship. And to my surprise, I'm sought after. This well paded almost 50 year old bookworm is getting a lot of quality attention. I'm having FUN. Who'd have thunk it?
Get the negative out of your life, clean up your street and see what happens. You think I'm special, heck no. You think those sort of things don't happen to you, you're wrong. Read some of the other posts here, many women say this. There's one woman here who just wrote about how in a week's time she went from absolutely NOTHING to in a week's time through a series of coincidences got her life rebuilt in a fabulous way.
It will happen to you too.
Nothing's forever, we can count on change. If things seem rotten now, there's one thing you can count on: THEY WILL CHANGE, and if they are about as rotten as can be, they HAVE TO change for the better.
It will get better.
