Any advice? I'm at a loss..

Welcome to TCS. I'm so glad you're looking for help before you got to the point of actually giving your kitties away.

If you click on the links at the top of the page you'll find a number of articles that address the problems you're having, specifically under "Cat Behavior", "Cat Health", and "Cat Care".

What are you feeding your cats? I found that the shedding was greatly reduced when I changed to a high quality grain-free food. I also use a furminator on my cats a couple of times a weeks during shedding seasons. Mine are all short hairs. I don't know if the furminator is good for longhair kitties.

Make sure you have plenty of scratching surfaces for them. It may take some time to train them to use the legal scratching areas instead of the furniture, but it can be done. You can also clip claws or use Soft Paws caps on their claws. I catch one of my cats scratching at the couch once in a while, but I keep all their claws short enough that it doesn't do any damage.

You said the carpets are being destroyed. Do you mean the cats are clawing them up or are they peeing on the carpets? Two totally different problems with different solutions.

What kind of litter and litter boxes are you using? I have six cats and four large high-sided boxes with Walmart's Special Kitty clumping litter. I scoop once a day mostly, occasionally twice a day. People who come into my home say that they wouldn't know I had cats by the smell, only because they see cat toys all over the place.

Kitty burn out? People get it from caring from their family/kids, too. I have moments of it, when I just want to run through the house pulling my hair out - I've only went so far as to yell "aahh" a couple times. The cats were not amused and just looked at me like I was stupid.

Is there anything else going on in your life that has made it harder on you lately? (not prying, you don't have to answer beyond yes or no) If so, working on that can help some, too.

I think everyone gets this way over things sometimes.

Not being there to witness first hand what you are dealing with- I will hazard a few guesses:


You have three cats how many litter boxes are there? How often do you clean the boxes and change the litter? The cats are bigger now so instead of buying regular size litter pans, go to Walmart and buy bigger rubbermaid containers. Don't worry if the sides are tall- they love to jump and it keeps the litter from spreading all over your home. Buy several and use plain clay or clumping litter in them. Three cats- each one needs their own box an extra one is also beneficial. Ideally, the cats need two boxes apiece but the bigger boxes do take some of the pressure off.

When you have more than three cats, there are territorial issues. Cats solve territorial issues with urine. That is just how they instinctively act. Purchase a black light and turn it on in the middle of the night and be prepared to be amazed at all the urine glow you see around you. Use a good enzyme knock-out cleaner- Urine-Off is good and mark the places with masking tape. Turn the light on and get to work.

About the cat fur- do you brush your cats? If they don't tolerate the wire brush then the zoom groom is the best tool to help cats who are shedding. Groom them at least once a day especially now as it is shedding season. It is a great bonding time as well and all my cats love the zoom groom.

Seriously, you have pulled these cats through some really tough times. It would be a shame for you to place them in a home when you don't even have a clue how they will be treated. Under your home at least you know they will be loved and cared for-

i get kitty burn out sometimes too when i see what goes on around my house with 14 cats.. what blinds? i use scoopable tidy cat and scoop daily sometimes twice, that keeps the smell down.. i brush my cats alot and trim their nails.. some dont like being brushed and some wont get their nails done.. i have a good vacum that i should use daily but its more like twice a week.. they have cat scratching couches that i get at walmart that come with catnip.. so they really are attracted to them couches these days