Hi all, I'm finally working on adopting my first cat. But there's a potential issue I'd like some friendly input on as I decide whether or not to adopt this one and see if she works out. The shelter in question accepts cats back if they don't work out, but I'd hate to return her, too. I would hate hate hate to return a cat, but if a litterbox problem is very likely to be chronic and caused by environment, she'd be better off in somebody else's house.
Apparently - this is what the former owners told the shelter - the owner's roommate's kids were around, and the cat started missing the litterbox. Whether just peeing (maybe marking?) or pooping, I don't know. Are cats very prone to having litterbox issues when stressed? Or does it seem more likely that other litterbox issues (maybe not clean, or maybe the visitors were spending time in the same room) were there?
My situation: I have a roommate, her kids (8 and 10, boys) do sleep over once a month; they are only in the house if the weather's bad, and to sleep, and we've got over 1100sf... and they will leave the cat alone if told to, but they still sound like kids and move like kids. So it could be a very different situation than the prior one. I just have no way of knowing because of how little the shelter knows!
It's tough to make a decision based on so little information, which (of course) may or may not even be accurate... As somebody who likes decisions based on logic, the intuitive/emotional sides have me torn. I got inexplicably attached to this girl; she's apparently usually kind of standoffish, but came up so I'd pet her and went as far as rolling over. Same thing next time I visited; some say the cat picks you. I've never had a cat before. I don't know. But I sure like her... after visiting a couple other shelters, none held a candle though two were attractive to me in their own right. So that's my experience.
Thoughts toward either direction are welcome. More information is welcome. I read the info here on marking and peeing, it was informative but didn't help my dillemma. So it's part qustion about behavior problem, part wanting friendly encouragement (toward either decision).
Thanks for reading my rambling!
Apparently - this is what the former owners told the shelter - the owner's roommate's kids were around, and the cat started missing the litterbox. Whether just peeing (maybe marking?) or pooping, I don't know. Are cats very prone to having litterbox issues when stressed? Or does it seem more likely that other litterbox issues (maybe not clean, or maybe the visitors were spending time in the same room) were there?
My situation: I have a roommate, her kids (8 and 10, boys) do sleep over once a month; they are only in the house if the weather's bad, and to sleep, and we've got over 1100sf... and they will leave the cat alone if told to, but they still sound like kids and move like kids. So it could be a very different situation than the prior one. I just have no way of knowing because of how little the shelter knows!
It's tough to make a decision based on so little information, which (of course) may or may not even be accurate... As somebody who likes decisions based on logic, the intuitive/emotional sides have me torn. I got inexplicably attached to this girl; she's apparently usually kind of standoffish, but came up so I'd pet her and went as far as rolling over. Same thing next time I visited; some say the cat picks you. I've never had a cat before. I don't know. But I sure like her... after visiting a couple other shelters, none held a candle though two were attractive to me in their own right. So that's my experience.
Thoughts toward either direction are welcome. More information is welcome. I read the info here on marking and peeing, it was informative but didn't help my dillemma. So it's part qustion about behavior problem, part wanting friendly encouragement (toward either decision).
Thanks for reading my rambling!