I'm Desperate And May Need To Keep My Cats In My Bedroom

[carosylics]

First, please understand I have two year old cats who I love very dearly and would love to give them free roam of (most) of the house if I could.

HOWEVER I am still a highschooler, and no matter what I have done in the last few months my mom insists on keeping the cats out of the house and instead in the (empty) garage. This is something I really don't feel comfortable with, since like most garages, it is a room that's not fitted with an AC and it gets both really hot and really cold depending on the weather. Also, they're really not getting much love and social interaction. Both me and my brother make sure to go in and spend time with them every day, but I doubt its enough time.

Honestly I didn't expect this to be the situation when we first adopted them a few months back. My mom has had a cat before, and from the stories my grandma has told that cat has literally joined them at the dinner table. But now, she seems completely hypocritical and both complains we don't love the cats enough and gets upset when we spend too much time in the garage that she insists we keep the cats in (my dad just seem mostly apathetic tbh). I've spent the months we've had these cats trying to get her to let them in the house. She's pretty much ignored everything I've said and it makes me so s a d.

(Now onto the actual topic in the title lol) The solution I've come to is trying to get her to let me keep the cats in my room. She still doesn't have to see them, and they won't be "messing up her stuff". I use that phrase lightly because the only misbehaving I've seen them do is jump onto counters (normal cat behavior as far as I know) and getting into the trashcan (we've recently gotten trashcans with lids so I don't see how it can still be a problem). And for the cats, they get a temperature controlled environment, more time with people, and a better chance of not being cooped up in one room in the future (I'm hoping with time, my mom can see the cats aren't destroying my room and be more open to letting them out). Granted, its smaller, but I'm hoping the better environment and more attention they'd be getting will make up for it.

But despite my mom not being a first time cat owner, I am a first time owner, and I really want help on how to do this. I know this is far from the perfect solution, but it's the only solution I have right now. I chose to adopt these cats and I do not want to fail them so soon after, so any solution seems better than no solution, but I do appreciate guidance on how to do it in a way that is the least upsetting for them.

(Alternatively, if anyone has a way to address the problem directly, that'd be even more appreciated)

Sorry for the longish post, but as the title says, I'm pretty desperate right now

 

[2tuxedo]

Hey, I'm sorry this is happening to you. You might see some unpleasant replies based on your situation, I hope not.

This is a really tough situation, a single bedroom is really small for a couple cats. You could do it with a very well-tended litterbox and lots of interaction, toys/window perches etc to minimize boredom. But it's not really something that can go on all that long.

What about having them as indoor/outdoor cats? Some will probably disagree with that. But it's better than them going to the shelter.

Sorry about your mom.

 

[carosylics]

Hey, I'm sorry this is happening to you. You might see some unpleasant replies based on your situation, I hope not.

This is a really tough situation, a single bedroom is really small for a couple cats. You could do it with a very well-tended litterbox and lots of interaction, toys/window perches etc to minimize boredom. But it's not really something that can go on all that long.

What about having them as indoor/outdoor cats? Some will probably disagree with that. But it's better than them going to the shelter.

Sorry about your mom.

I've thought about having them as indoor/outdoor, but I really don't believe I live in a safe enough place to let them outside, with coyotes and everything. (Now that I think about it, I don't think I've seen any cats wandering around outside in the area at all lol) I'll probably consider it more if my mom ever thinks about putting them back into a shelter though.
But yeah I don't want to keep them in my room for long either - the idea is to have them inside the house where my mom can hopefully see they won't destroy the house and home and thus be convinced our two cats aren't nearly as bad as she somehow thinks they are. If she sees that my room won't explode or whatever she believes will happen I'm hoping she can see her fears are all irrational.

 

[aradasky]

What is it that is the reason that she is unhappy? Is it that there are two cats? Do you think she would have been okay with one? If that is true, maybe you can do research to show her that two sometimes are less work than one. Is it the cats getting on the counters? You can find ways to stop that. Getting into trash? You buy closed containers. Need more toys/play? Are you buying hte food? You create a schedule that you promise to follow to play and be with them, and make some pull toys. Prove to your mom that she will not have to take any responsibility for the cats. They are your cats. How about vet visits, can you pay for them? Is your brother able to help you, maybe take a time or day to play with them?
Two in a bedroom sounds hard. I hope there are places to put trees or make places for them to rest and look out a window. And you are going to have to be very conscious of cleaning your room and litter boxes a lot and being very careful when you open your bedroom door.
I really hope this works out for you.

 

[Ardina]

I had to keep my cat in my bedroom for about a year and half (it's a long story), and she did okay. She's always had pica, and being cooped up in one room did make it worse, but I did my best to keep her happy. Lots of high places and cat trees + bird feeder so she could look out the window and watch the birds. I think having two cats would be better since they can keep each other from getting bored, but it's important that they get along well and are okay with sharing a small territory. With one room, you may only be able to fit one litterbox, and that might be problematic, so watch out for iltterbox issues.

I hope that you're right and that you can convince your mom to let them eventually be the in the whole house. Might be worth a try to have another conversation and get to the root of what's bothering her about having them in the house.

 

[ileen]

Do you have the food and the litter boxes in your room? How large is your room? Are you and your brother good about feeding them regularly and cleaning the litter boxes once a day? Can you bring the litter box clumps directly to outside trash cans in a bag so it's not in the house with your mom? Do you clean your own room well aside from the cats? If there is carpet, to you vacuum it yourself? If the answer to all of these questions are yes, you definitely have a case for keeping them in your room.

How old is your brother? Could they go to his room sometimes? Is his room clean? How many years until you go to college and what will happen to the cats then? Sorry for the huge barrage of questions.

 

[carosylics]

What is it that is the reason that she is unhappy? Is it that there are two cats? Do you think she would have been okay with one? If that is true, maybe you can do research to show her that two sometimes are less work than one. Is it the cats getting on the counters? You can find ways to stop that. Getting into trash? You buy closed containers. Need more toys/play? Are you buying hte food? You create a schedule that you promise to follow to play and be with them, and make some pull toys. Prove to your mom that she will not have to take any responsibility for the cats. They are your cats. How about vet visits, can you pay for them? Is your brother able to help you, maybe take a time or day to play with them?
Two in a bedroom sounds hard. I hope there are places to put trees or make places for them to rest and look out a window. And you are going to have to be very conscious of cleaning your room and litter boxes a lot and being very careful when you open your bedroom door.
I really hope this works out for you.

Sorry for the late reply! She doesn't seem to outright hate them by any means (shes okay with buying food and litter and the like), as far as I know its more of a blatant denial for the issues of locking cats into a garage I think a main issue is that she doesnt want the cats anywhere near food in general, and our entire kitchen area is doorless. I wouldve suggested a baby gate or something but im pretty sure they can jump over that.
(I have been cleaning my bedroom and visually rearranging things though, trying to see if i can fit stuff in lol)

 

[carosylics]

I had to keep my cat in my bedroom for about a year and half (it's a long story), and she did okay. She's always had pica, and being cooped up in one room did make it worse, but I did my best to keep her happy. Lots of high places and cat trees + bird feeder so she could look out the window and watch the birds. I think having two cats would be better since they can keep each other from getting bored, but it's important that they get along well and are okay with sharing a small territory. With one room, you may only be able to fit one litterbox, and that might be problematic, so watch out for iltterbox issues.

I hope that you're right and that you can convince your mom to let them eventually be the in the whole house. Might be worth a try to have another conversation and get to the root of what's bothering her about having them in the house.

I haven't noticed any behavior issues while they're in the garage so I guess that's one less thing to worry about. Any tips on sticking a bird feeder on the second floor would be appreciated too :')
I have a lot of empty wall space so I was thinking of seeing if I can install some shelves onto those to give them more spaces to climb in addition to their cat tree if they do end up coming here for a while.

 

[carosylics]

Do you have the food and the litter boxes in your room? How large is your room? Are you and your brother good about feeding them regularly and cleaning the litter boxes once a day? Can you bring the litter box clumps directly to outside trash cans in a bag so it's not in the house with your mom? Do you clean your own room well aside from the cats? If there is carpet, to you vacuum it yourself? If the answer to all of these questions are yes, you definitely have a case for keeping them in your room.

How old is your brother? Could they go to his room sometimes? Is his room clean? How many years until you go to college and what will happen to the cats then? Sorry for the huge barrage of questions.

Me and my brother already do the cat chores, so I doubt that would be an issue. Cleaning my room is something I definitely had been working on this summer. I guess vacuuming my room's the next step.

I've been planning around and if I rearrange things a bit I'm fairly confident I can fit the cat stuff in the garage in here. My rooms not necessarily a small room, but it'll still be a bit more cramped. If I do get the cats in here though I'm planning on getting some wall shelves for them to play on.

I'm not entirely sure what happens when I go to college. The plan's to get the cats in the house asap lol so I'm hoping it'll happen before I leave. If not I guess my brother will have to care for them in his room or I am magically able to afford a pet friendly apartment in my freshman year:c

 

[Ardina]

I haven't noticed any behavior issues while they're in the garage so I guess that's one less thing to worry about. Any tips on sticking a bird feeder on the second floor would be appreciated too :')
I have a lot of empty wall space so I was thinking of seeing if I can install some shelves onto those to give them more spaces to climb in addition to their cat tree if they do end up coming here for a while.

I used a birdfeeder with suction cups so it could attach directly to the glass. I can't remember the exact brand, but it was something like this one:
Edit: Can't get the link to work, but if you search bird feeder with suction cups, you'll find it.

 

[2tuxedo]

Maybe I can get the link to work. My mom had one identical to this, it was well made - bird feeder with extra suction cups

 

[kittylove14]

Maybe you could dress up the garage to make it warmer/cooler? I'm not sure exactly what this would entail. Do you have a basement? Maybe they can live down there. It's a tough situation for everyone but i'm glad your mom is at least allowing their presence. It doesn't sound like she's onboard with making the cats her own though.