My cat needs a new home
Oct. 3rd, 2006 08:11 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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davis_squareHi again,
We are looking for a home for our 8-year-old male cat.
We've added children to our home in the last 2 years and he's super child friendly -- but he really, really needs more attention than we can give him. He would do best in a household without children and would do fine with other animals as we've had other cats most of the time we've had him.
The problem we are having is peeing outside the litter box. The problem he is having is that he's just not happy. I can't promise he won't ever do it under perfect circumstances, but he definitely started doing this when our daughter was born and his world got turned upside down. All cat supplies we have can come with him; litter box, some litter, some food and treats. If you or anyone you know is interested, please email me at karen@mkmiller.org .
We are looking for a home for our 8-year-old male cat.
We've added children to our home in the last 2 years and he's super child friendly -- but he really, really needs more attention than we can give him. He would do best in a household without children and would do fine with other animals as we've had other cats most of the time we've had him.
The problem we are having is peeing outside the litter box. The problem he is having is that he's just not happy. I can't promise he won't ever do it under perfect circumstances, but he definitely started doing this when our daughter was born and his world got turned upside down. All cat supplies we have can come with him; litter box, some litter, some food and treats. If you or anyone you know is interested, please email me at karen@mkmiller.org .
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My cat needs a new home
Date: 2006-10-04 12:34 am (UTC)Re: My cat needs a new home
Date: 2006-10-04 12:58 am (UTC)Re: My cat needs a new home
Date: 2006-10-04 01:29 am (UTC)Re: My cat needs a new home
Date: 2006-10-04 01:34 am (UTC)Aw, what a cute kittie! But I think your kid needs a dog. :)
more
Date: 2006-10-04 01:17 am (UTC)He's really a wonderful, super-friendly cat. He's just used to being the king of the house, and isn't able to cope with a toddler giving him huge, clumsy hugs or sit on him when he's trying to nap, or eat, or walk, or stretch, or lick his paws, or pretty much all the time.
He's just not happy. And I don't think he'd need a whole lot of attention to be happy again -- just more than "zero". He's always loved every person he's met -- purr, purr, purr.
no subject
Date: 2006-10-04 02:56 am (UTC)Poor, poor nameless kitty...
name
Date: 2006-10-04 04:41 am (UTC)okay, sheesh.
Date: 2006-10-04 04:57 am (UTC)- At the times the pictures were taken, the cat considerably outweighs the kid.
- He can move.
- She's actually very ginger with her sitting down. It's not like she's bouncing.
- Ever stepped on a cat's tail? If something is hurting them, they let you know.
- She also tries to pull his tail -- *that* we hear about, because it hurts him.
- We've actually done a pretty good job of stopping both the sitting and the
tail-pulling, but the hugging is more difficult.
- No, not pro-wrestling style death hugs from a 20-month old. But the cat thinks so.
I'm *really* not worried about physical harm. But the cat obviously doesn't like it. Nor the loudness. Actually, I think *more* the loudness.
Re: okay, sheesh.
Date: 2006-10-04 05:05 am (UTC)The middle picture has this implication that poor Red dragged himself across the entire kitchen floor with the baby on his back... just to reach the food bowl... only to find it... EMPTY!!! NOOO!!!!
From where I sit, the cat looks darn mellow, given the lack of blood or scars on the baby. But clearly your daughter wants a dog. If you are any kind of decent parent, you'll get her one.
Re: okay, sheesh.
Date: 2006-10-04 05:18 am (UTC)> scars on the baby.
He's really very sweet. He did hiss and nip at her once when she had cornered him and was getting his tail and we couldn't intervene fast enough, but he wasn't doing it to draw blood (and didn't) -- just signifying that he as the end of his rope. Most of the time if he's reached his limit he makes a whining meow and gives up his spot. (When he lived with other cats, he was always the one pushing the others from *their* places.)
Actually, I think he'd be a wonderful cat with somewhat older children.
> But clearly your daughter wants a dog. If you are any kind of decent parent,
> you'll get her one.
Oh dear. When she's old enough to do the dog-walking. :)
Re: okay, sheesh.
Date: 2006-10-04 03:37 pm (UTC)Apparently, this also needs to be said
Date: 2006-10-04 06:11 am (UTC)But he really doesn't seem to be physically hurt by it. In the top picture, I walked into the room, and there they were, sitting like that for who-knows-how-long. (Well, less than a few minutes, because she's not really left alone by herself.) He looked at me and gave a sad little meow -- but not an in-pain cry.
In the second picture, I already had the camera in my hand because she was actually feeding him from his cat food bowl seconds before, and I wanted to get a picture of that cuteness.
Like many new parents, the camera is almost affixed to my hand, so I don't miss things -- even short-lived ones. If he *were* being hurt, don't think for a second we wouldn't have stopped that without taking the five seconds to take a picture. Note a lack of tail-pulling pictures, and until we taught her that that was forbidden, that was a much more serious problem.
The problem is not actually physical abuse. It's that she doesn't respect his personal space. I thought these pictures illustrated that pretty well, but apparently they're freaking people out. I'm sorry about that, because it's clearly a distraction.
Re: Apparently, this also needs to be said
Date: 2006-10-04 06:51 am (UTC)I can't believe I continue to allow myself to be baited
Date: 2006-10-04 12:30 pm (UTC)Re: I can't believe I continue to allow myself to be baited
Date: 2006-10-04 02:50 pm (UTC)If you're seeing blur in those, maybe it's your own eyes.
Re: I can't believe I continue to allow myself to be baited
From:Re: I can't believe I continue to allow myself to be baited
From:Re: I can't believe I continue to allow myself to be baited
From:Re: Apparently, this also needs to be said
Date: 2006-10-04 03:19 pm (UTC)The pictures actually do illustrate that pretty well, but how is she going to learn how to respect his personal space if no one teaches her that she needs to?
Re: Apparently, this also needs to be said
Date: 2006-10-04 03:33 pm (UTC)However, a toddler really doesn't have the emotional development to properly learn something like this yet. She can learn "no pulling cat's tail! no!" but not "the kitty doesn't want to play right now" or "I know that's your favorite chair, but the kitty was sitting there first". This isn't a matter of parenting skill or style but simple human development.
no subject
Date: 2006-10-04 04:12 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-10-04 04:37 am (UTC)As I understand it from the previous episode, in most cases, UT attacks in cats resolve themselves without intervention. (Relatively few are bacterial infections, for example.) Unfortunately, the major recommendation other than diet is "keep stress to a minimum". So it's possible that the direct cause of the bad behavior isn't "bad cat" but actually a medical problem, but that our situation is directly causing that problem. So my hope is that in a more favorable environment any possible medical issue would be better resolved. (Assuming that it is in fact not just an anger/marking/dominance behavior.)
In any case, while the behavior is clearly a triggering factor, the main issue for me at least is that the poor cat isn't really getting the love he deserves from us and isn't as happy as he could be. And, although it's nice to think that he loves us best, since he is naturally inclined to be incredibly friendly to everyone, I think he'd quickly get attached to new owners and be much better off.
Anyway, thanks for your input!
no subject
Date: 2006-10-04 06:09 am (UTC)I'm not so sure about that... my cat is super friendly to everyone and very easygoing, but when I've left him with my parents (who he knows and loves), they tell me he watches the front door at night for weeks on end, waiting for me to come home. For the first few days, he was upset enough that he did the occasional #2 on the couch, even. So finding your cat new owners may not solve the litter box problem...
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Date: 2006-10-04 06:14 am (UTC)However, he *has* spent weekends (and even a week here and there) at friends' houses over the years, and has never had a problem.
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Date: 2006-10-04 06:50 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-10-04 12:19 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-10-04 03:36 pm (UTC)There have been no strawman arguments. I don't care what your excuses are - if you allow your child to sit on your cat long enough to take a picture (a picture, I should add, that is NOT at all blurry because of your alleged attempts to quickly take it and get the kid off, as a lack of sharpness or perfect focus is NOT the same as motion blur), which you clearly have done at least twice, not to mention however many times the kid's sat on him and you DIDN'T have your camera handy, that leads me to one conclusion:
You're a bad parent, and a bad pet owner.
It's a shame your lack of responsibility has led to you needing to find the cat a new home. It's a shame that the cat has to suffer for it, but it's obviously the right thing to do now.
you = trash
Date: 2006-10-09 12:40 am (UTC)OK, so I know that won't happen, but I can cross my fingers.
Grow up and leave the poor mother, child, and cat alone.
Re: you = trash
Date: 2006-10-09 12:51 am (UTC)Grow up? From where I sit, I'm merely showing the truth of the matter. It seems you have a problem with someone being asked to take more personal responsibility instead of making excuses.
no subject
Date: 2006-10-04 12:24 pm (UTC)Exactly.
Date: 2006-10-04 02:20 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-10-04 05:30 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-10-04 03:20 pm (UTC)I wish I could take your cat; he's beautiful...but likely wouldn't be happy with my 4 year old male cat. :-( I hope you find a home for him soon.
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Date: 2006-10-04 03:45 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-10-04 03:49 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-10-04 03:52 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-10-05 02:41 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-10-09 12:52 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-10-04 03:35 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-10-04 04:43 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-10-04 11:04 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-10-04 11:47 pm (UTC)good grief
Date: 2006-10-05 09:29 am (UTC)I cannot help but think of the gazillion fliers I've seen where someone is "moving to France/Brooklyn/a really cool penthouse" and needs a new home for their cat(s). That strikes me as more irresponsible, but I'm certain that those pet owners would mostly garner sympathy.
The answer? Let's send our two year-olds over to run wild in their homes and see how able they are to lavish heaps of love on your cat or my dog. Or to get much of anything else done, for that matter. LOL. (My dog/irritating pet person related rant was listed with yours on the Universal Hub.)
If you do not have children yet,I can see how easy it is to say "Oh just teach her to leave kitty alone. That's what MY parents did, blah, blah, blah" If you do, like me, you're laughing your ass off at the idea of strictly enforcing that kind of rule with a two year-old.
Re: good grief
Date: 2006-10-06 02:05 am (UTC)i TOTALLY agree. jesus. i am a nanny, and it's impossible to get these kids to stop ripping off their clothes & start running around the house, let alone act civily to each other (or animals). kids love animals, and kids show animals that they love them in not-so-gentle ways. and shit, if a kid wants to sit on a cat, a kid is going to sit on a damn cat.
no subject
Date: 2006-10-06 02:02 am (UTC)if you do not want to keep your cat, i really hope you find a good home for it. i would love to take him, but i have two FurKids already, and it's almost impossible to keep up with the pet hair tumbleweeds as it is. if you don't find anyone via livejournal, look into Buddy Dog Humane Society. they always had really awesome folks there (when i was looking for a dog), and they have a ton of people there to play with & take care of the animals.
also, craigslist was where i found my dog. i couldn't be happier with him. :)
oh! if you are looking for the best product to get rid of cat pee stains & smell, go buy Nature's Miracle. you can find it at Petsmart, it comes in a big white bottle with red lettering. seriously, all the smell & stains came out of my futon, it's incredible.
good luck. i hope you find a good home for him.
(also, this is weird, but i'm the heather you called for a reference for chistina today. ha!)
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Date: 2006-10-06 03:10 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-10-08 01:43 pm (UTC)My cat just likes peeing on leather couches. *sigh*