My cat needs a new home

[trtls.livejournal.com]

Hi 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 .

Comments

[mattdm [typekey.com] (from livejournal.com)]

Yeah, and indeed he had major surgery for such a problem several years ago (costing, sigh, thousands of dollars -- not just clearing the blockage but some actual rerouting of, um, plumbing). After that surgery, it's less likely that he'd have the same problem again (otherwise, we might not have spent the money, which we could barely afford), but it's within the realm of possibility that it's a new UT problem. He's on an old-male-cat-urinary-tract-health diet, which should help.

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!

[four-thorns.livejournal.com]

"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."

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...

[mattdm [typekey.com] (from livejournal.com)]

Yeah, I know, we can't promise that. :(

However, he *has* spent weekends (and even a week here and there) at friends' houses over the years, and has never had a problem.