I'm sorry to hear about Stripes. :( I had a cat like that too, named Gilligan. I'm at least glad to hear that Stripes got a peaceful end.

I suppose one answer you can give family members asking about your plans is that you're "exploring your options". Given the current economy, that's actually a reasonable answer! ;P I know what you mean about that frustration... at best, people ask that sort of thing out of genuine concern, but it just ends up causing more stress than one started with. :-/