Plus, that damn cat!

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Ann2011
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23 Nov 2013, 4:10 pm

OliveOilMom wrote:

My household cannot revolve around this.

So true.
I don't know about where you live but if they have a local Humane Society, call them. There are cheap/free spay and neutering clinics sometimes where I live.
Animal societies are motivated to support spaying.

AnnettaMarie
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23 Nov 2013, 4:22 pm

Ugh, that sounds really annoying. I have three cats, used to have five. One time, all five of them started spraying around the house, they were all fixed. They started to pick on one of the cats and were trying to kill it, so we gave her to the Humane Society with a note of when she started spraying and why we thought she was doing it. We paid the adoption fee for her, to take her back if they had no room or couldn't adopt her out, but she was adopted within three days.

Another time, it turned out that one of our cats had a UTI. It started in really slowly, the cat would drink more water than usual, then she started peeing on the laundry, then on the linoleum floor. We thought maybe it was the litter at first, and changed brands but later found out that a UTI was the problem.

Another cat still sprays a lot, but it's mostly down by my room. I don't let the cat in my room, but the hallway reeks. I know once I move out with my cat, that she will stop spraying so I just clean it up and don't let my family know, I don't wanna lose that cat. She's a sweetie.

Four months seems kind of young for a UTI though, but who knows? IMO, I would wait and see how she acts after getting spayed, but if she's still going crazy, you gotta think about how much you can spend on that cat. I mean, if she's peeing and scratching all your stuff up, and won't give you peace of mind then there's probably not a whole lot you can do and she's still young and would probably find a home somewhere else.

It would be great if solutions were cheaper. In the past, for spraying cats I've tried those calming collars, pheromone sprays, kitty xanax, nothing worked and the cat scent removing stuff was like 30 bucks for a half gallon!

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leafplant
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23 Nov 2013, 4:22 pm

how do you expect a small kitten to learn what is acceptable and what isn't acceptable behaviour without another adult cat around to keep it in line? I mean, you wouldn't put a small child in a jungle and expect it to know how to behave appropriately?

Have you tried this: http://spayusa.org/

what did you do with your children when they were teething, being toilet trained, getting into teenage strops, being ill, etc etc.

Why shouldn't your household revolve around helping one of it's members get through a rough patch?

I am afraid you view animals as something just barely over inanimate objects - they are not toys for amusement, they are live beings with specific needs and if you are not prepared to endure and support them through the rough times then you are not entitled to the good times either.

OliveOilMom
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23 Nov 2013, 5:52 pm

leafplant wrote:

how do you expect a small kitten to learn what is acceptable and what isn't acceptable behaviour without another adult cat around to keep it in line? I mean, you wouldn't put a small child in a jungle and expect it to know how to behave appropriately?

I've had several single cats over the years that I had gotten as a kitten and they were fine. They were normal kittens. Did things they weren't supposed to do and then stopped after being sprayed with a water bottle and told no and moved from the situation several times. Many, many people have just one cat that they got as a kitten without having other cats around.

As for a small child in a jungle, well that's totally different than a kitten in a house with adults who take care of it and try to teach it how to act.

I basically expect it to learn to behave because that's pretty much how every vet I've ever talked to or worked with has said you train a kitten. All the books say so too. If there was a "Cat Whisperer", I bet he'd agree too.

Have you tried this: http://spayusa.org/

No, I have not. Getting the cat fixed is not top priority right this second. I don't think that's it anyway. I told you when I had planned on taking her and since she's an inside cat, as other cats have been and not yet fixed, she would be ok with that until we can get her there. Talking to you in these posts was the first time that's come up since I said "I'll take her in and get her fixed when I take the dogs for shots"

what did you do with your children when they were teething, being toilet trained, getting into teenage strops, being ill, etc etc.

Being their mother, I took care of them. I pushed them out of my vagina after they had lived in my uterus for 40 weeks and they were made from genetic material supplied by my husband and myself. If you can't see how that is different than my daughters friend's cat having kittens and her saying "Want one?" and me telling my daughter "Sure, you can have one", then I don't even know where to begin with the explanation.

My child. A kitten we got.

Kind of a difference there. At least to most people.

Why shouldn't your household revolve around helping one of it's members get through a rough patch?

It would, depending on who they were, how they were related to us, etc. Also it would depend on whether or not they were human beings or our pets. If they were a pet we had and who we loved and who had become a member of the family by then, we certainly would do everything within reason for them. However, a kitten that we have had for a few months does not meet those requirements.

See, where I live and probably where most people live, humans and their needs trump animals and their needs. That isn't to say that your pet dog or cat that you love and would do anything you could to take care of, wouldn't get whatever care and help he needed when he was sick or old. That basically means that our home and family, our things that we have bought and paid for and can't replace, our comfort, our having a halfway decent home that isn't torn up or covered in cat pee, our humans who live here and our two dogs who live here and have for years, our needs are more important than this kittens. It's not like if I don't keep her we sell her to a Chinese restaurant to go on tonights take out menu. It's not like she is thrown out into a cold, cruel world populated by cat hating Ninjas who pelt her with throwing stars until she dies a slow and painful death, with a little kitten tear dripping down her cheek and her last thoughts are "Why won't they just love me..... I hate Ninjas" She will go back to the girl she came from. At her house. With her cat mother and probably a whole new set of cat siblings by now.

Because see, where I live is out in the country. People are people. We are the ones who run things. We have the cars, the money, and the thumbs. We make the laws. We have the cops, the courts and the dog catcher. We have the grocery store. We even have the freaking Chinese restaurant. We come first because of that. Not equal, first. Pets are considered property. Even the dog that you may have had for ten years and has grown up with you. Property. You love the dog, you would give the dog a kidney if that actually worked and he wouldn't eat it first. But property. Even the best hunting dog anybody has ever seen. If the hunting dog could load the shotgun, climb into the stand, site the deer and bring it down all without the use of the all powerful thumb, he would still be property. Because he's a dog. Therefore, we are more important than them. Our needs and lives are more important than them. While I might very well go back into a burning house to try and save my dog because I think he deserves to be saved, if the fireman thinks it's too dangerous to go back for a pet he won't. Even if he would go back into that same building for a child. I might, but the fireman won't. Because he's a dog.

This doesn't mean we should get all kinds of dogs and cats all over the place and not take care of them. This doesn't give us the right to walk around town kicking those wild ass feral cats that are all over the place. This simply means that when we bring an animal into our home we have responsibilities to the animal and to our families and ourselves. We are responsible for giving the animal food and shelter and attention. We are responsible for getting him reasonable medical care or having him humanely put down if we can't afford whatever expensive treatment might just save him. We are responsible for teaching him not to act an ass and tear up the house just because he see's that boxer he hates across the street and wants to chew through the window and go after him. We are also responsible to our families who we have a prior commitment to. We are responsible to them for making sure we don't mortgage the house and hock the car to pay for the pets treatment and put their home in jeopardy. We are responsible to our children for providing them a clean and safe and not completely torn up by animals and actually presentable home, kept in basically the same state it was before we brought the animal home. We are responsible for hygiene in our home and that includes not having carpet that cats, or any animal, "occasionally pee on". We are responsible to our neighbors to not allow our animals to hurt their animals or them. We are responsible to ourselves, especially if we have people who depend on us, to meet our own needs so we are able to take care of those who need us. We are responsible for keeping our homes safe, clean, peaceful, happy, and healthy, and that family and home comes first, before any animal or before any human being who isn't part of it or pushed out of someone in it's vagina to be part of it.

So. within the parameters of normally functioning society and relationships, yes I would do what I could to help a family member over a rough patch. However, a kitten that we got a few months ago and who is peeing on furniture, tearing up curtains, breaking things, etc, does not qualify as family in the same way my husband, my daughter and her fiancé, my son, my other daughter, our two dogs, and myself qualify as family.

I hope you can understand that, but I'm sure you'll just dismiss me as some kind of horrid animal hater. I might feel the same way if I grew up with lots of cats like you said you did. But I'm teaching my children what I was taught; our home and our cleanliness and our health is more important than worrying about why Fluffy peed on the carpet again today.

I am afraid you view animals as something just barely over inanimate objects - they are not toys for amusement, they are live beings with specific needs and if you are not prepared to endure and support them through the rough times then you are not entitled to the good times either.

No, I view animals as living, breathing beings who can share our lives and we can share theirs. I do not view them as important as humans, although I view my dogs more important than quite a few humans I've met. No, they aren't toys and they are also not the be all and end all of everything, nor are they the center of the household in a functional family. Yes, I'm prepared to endure and support them, moreso with each passing year they spend with me, but I am certainly not going to allow this kitten, who can easily go back to the house she came from, to wreak havoc in my home. This is a kitten I'm probably giving back to the girl who gave it to us. This is not some Russian (human) orphan child that I brought home and kept for a few months and then decided I just didn't want anymore because he was too much trouble or left handed or looks like he might have an overbite when he grows up.

So, I'll deal with this issue myself and I don't really think I'm going to bother with your comments about what a horrible person I am because I don't want my kids sleeping on beds that a cat peed on.

Later tater!

meems
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23 Nov 2013, 8:29 pm

Oh my god it's a CAT, not a person, not an animal she's had for five years, it's perfectly reasonable to send this cat elsewhere.

You have no responsibility to pretend this is a little kid or something you have to make ANY commitment to whatsoever.

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