Venting!!!!

I have to vent.....

Im very upset with one of my friends. She was given the responsiblity of taking care of 2 cats while her mom's friend goes out of town for a week, and shes keeping them locked up in her tiny, dirty bedroom with a litterbox and not letting them out to roam. She doesnt get why this is bad. She says "I dont let them out, they will fight with my other cats and I dont want to go out looking for them", I said "then i'd lock my OWN cats in my room for a few minutes, just so the cats im babysitting can get out of my room for a while". I cant believe shes keeping those cats cooped up in her room...believe me, ive seen her room, its super small and can barely fit 1 other person in it, theres pop cans and dirty bowls of old icecream everywhere...clothes...ect... I feel bad for those cats. SORRRRRY had to vent lol

Just remember, they're in a bigger space than if they were at a "pet hotel". It may not be the cleanest place, but they'll be ok.

Seems like inprisionment to me, I think its horrible for pets to be locked in a room. I dont care if they will be fine, I know they will be FINE. But im sure they dont LIKE it, I feel for those cats.

A small room for a week wouldn't be so bad if it were set up for the cats. Doesn't sound like the case here. At least she is taking care of them so they will be safe until their people return. It is better than letting them outside. Too bad they have second class citizenship though.

Daw I cant believe you people dont think of it as a bad thing....I guess im the only one who feels for those cats. Im not talking about letting them outside..but letting them outside of her room for a while. You guys havent seen her room, it barely fits HER, and its filthy. I dunno, im just sensitive when it comes to animals.

Well it's hard for us to judge...

Surely none of us want to see any animal treated badly, but we also have never seen her room.

Originally Posted by MuttigreeMom

Well it's hard for us to judge...

Surely none of us want to see any animal treated badly, but we also have never seen her room.

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true lol but still....a cat locked up in ANY room for a week, aww, it saddens me.

No, I didn't make myself clear, I'm sorry. I do know what you mean.

No cat should have to live in poor conditions. I just meant that some people, when left with other's animals, wouldn't care enough to even keep them inside. If the room they are in was clean, had cat-friendly furniture, cat TV (windows) then that would be best. However, it doesn't sound like this person is going to change, so the cats are "safe" if not ideally comfortable for the week.

I think many people are so used to hearing stories of cats caged for eons while waiting for homes, cats in hoarder situations, cats tossed from cars, beaten by kids and so forth that when they hear that cats are kept in a messy room (even a pigsty) that it is better than being tossed outside and uncared for. That is where I was coming from.

for your big heart

edit: think of it this way - if she were adopting the cats, they would need to be isolated for awhile anyway. Usually that is done in a smaller room so they feel more secure.

Haha, me and my big ol heart. If I were babysitting those cats, id treat them like my own cats. Sighhh

Originally Posted by Roimata

Daw I cant believe you people dont think of it as a bad thing....I guess im the only one who feels for those cats. Im not talking about letting them outside..but letting them outside of her room for a while. You guys havent seen her room, it barely fits HER, and its filthy. I dunno, im just sensitive when it comes to animals.

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"Us people"? You don't think we care about cats???!?!?!

My point is that a dirty room where they can sleep with her at night is probably preferable to a small cage at a cattery where do you don't know how well they're being taken care of.

I'd certainly prefer that for my girls. Sure, I'd prefer it even more if her room was clean and the cats were able to explore the house, but as long as they're getting love, food, water, and their litter box is being changed - that's the main thing. I'm sure whoever asked her to take care of the cats knew where and how she'd be keeping them, and decided it was preferable to a cattery, and preferable to them being home alone.

And yes - I agree with Bonnie - as far as "mistreated" animals go, and the things I've seen and heard of, this is NOT that bad, and it's only for a week.

They have enough room to stretch, maybe can bat some of your friends junk around as a toy, that is good for the cats.

as Sarahp siad, as long as they are getting food, water and their toilets cleaned, it is only for 7 days.

The fact that she sleeps in the room is good for the cats because it is a new environment and perhaps stressful, so having your friends company is a plus.

I understand where you are coming from, they should be let out of the room to explore the house and have a wee run around. However the situation is still better than leaving them at a cattery.

My

Originally Posted by Roimata

Daw I cant believe you people dont think of it as a bad thing....I guess im the only one who feels for those cats.

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I keep Rosie and Sophie in my spare room while i'm at workand their both fine, and like Sarahp has said, her room will be a lot bigger than a cage that is at the shelters.

Originally Posted by Roimata

You guys havent seen her room, it barely fits HER, and its filthy. I dunno, im just sensitive when it comes to animals.

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We all care for animals here, so if she's a friend why don't you offer to clean her room up, if only for the cats?

I agree with everyone as well. As long as they have food, water, and their litterbox is being changed, it's only for a week.......

Originally Posted by sarahp

"Us people"? You don't think we care about cats???!?!?!

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lmao I knew someone would comment on that. I didnt mean "you people", I ment it like "you guys" HAHA sorry.

and yeah it IS better than a cage......but being able to roam the house is better than a tiny bedroom. Believe me.....her room is small....and when I say small....when you walk into her room your forced to sit on her bunkbed because thats all that fits in there....there is no room for those cats to "roam" in her room. Im sure all they can do is lay on her bed. They cant even go under it, its too messy.

And I think 7 days cooped up in ANY room is a long time. She wont let them out of her room, not even for a few minutes.....her room must stink with that litter box. Plus she has a tiny window you cant access.

I just think its irresponsible, shes given cats to take care of and shes locking them in her room....yes shes feeding them, but she can also let them out.....I dont know it just makes me sad. I wouldnt let someone babysit my cats if I knew they would be locked up in a room.

Like I said I was just venting.
Either way they go home today or tomorrow.

I kept 5 kitties locked in our bathroom, and they were totally fine with it.When we had a Cocker, he was locked up in a crate, and again was fine.
They don't care about space....they only care about love/food/water/and etc.

Wow.. um.. I didn't know keeping cats in a small area was viewed so harshly.

No offense, Roimata, but I don't think it's harsh. The bedroom is CERTAINLY not an ideal condition for them, and I would never do that, but it could be impossible to keep them anywhere else for the week.

I have a friends' TWO cats in one of the rooms in our house. Now, it's not dirty/disgusting/dark/THAT small but it's not free roam of the house, either. I take them out onto my screened-in porch , and let them out in our living room (sorry, but at MY house you must EARN the privilege of access to all the rooms, it took two of my cats months to do that, and one of her kitties has a PEEING issue) when I have the energy to run around frantically behind them to make sure they're not getting into things.

It took them nearly two days to get comfortable in their room, and I'm not eager to push things with them and give them free, unsupervised access to my house. That would be crazy, IMO, especially since Tiz has peed on me before because my sleeping bag smelled like my kitties.

The good news is that they are going to their (hopefully) clean home.

Originally Posted by Roimata

I just think its irresponsible, shes given cats to take care of and shes locking them in her room.... I wouldnt let someone babysit my cats if I knew they would be locked up in a room.

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Like i said earlier, my girls stay in the spare room while i'm at work and i don't think i'm irresponsible, infact i know i'm not because i've just been approved by one of the biggest cast shelters throughout the UK to adopt one of their kittens.

And if her room is as filthy as you've described i would have been asking if i could clean out the litterboxes for the cats.

Well these arnt kittens, they are full grown cats. She has a HUGE basement/laundry room they could of been kept in, but she didnt. I'm not saying let them roam free all day, but atleast for maybe a half hour a day. I guess you guys arnt thinking about JUST how small her room is, I guess youd have to see it.

Originally Posted by Rosiemac

Like i said earlier, my girls stay in the spare room while i'm at work and i don't think i'm irrisponsible, infact i know i'm not because i've just been approved by one of the biggest cast shelters throughout the UK to adopt one of their kittens.

And if her room is as filthy as you've described i would have been asking if i could clean out the litterboxes for the cats.

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Thats fine....but shes keeping them in her room for a full week......not letting them out even for a moment. Thats completely different than keeping your cats locked up while you go to work.

And its not the litterboxes.....her ROOM is filthy, I wouldnt offer to clean it.....1) she would be offended. 2) She wouldnt let me. 3) I only learned about this like 2 days ago.........ect...

Originally Posted by Rosiemac

Like i said earlier, my girls stay in the spare room while i'm at work and i don't think i'm irresponsible, infact i know i'm not because i've just been approved by one of the biggest cast shelters throughout the UK to adopt one of their kittens.

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A bit off topic, but if I were a cat, your home is on my list as one I want to live in Even your "spare" room is sure to be kitty-friendly