- Joined
- Oct 12, 2016
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My housemate and I have been living together for 6 months. When we moved in together, I brought my adult cat to live with us (she'd been staying at my boyfriend's house). Everything was going well; so well, in fact, that she and I agreed to adopt two kittens from the shelter. She had never had a pet cat before, whereas I grew up with cats and kittens. We decided it would be best to get two kittens at the same time so they could at least spend the first 6 months growing up together.
I told my housemate that raising cats was very easy. Even indoor cats. Give them fresh food and water. Give them a clean place to poo. Give them toys and a scratch tower. Give them love and affection. Poof! The perfect cat dwelling. Keep in mind, shortly after adopting these babies, my housemate is suddenly short on cash... Throughout the duration of my story, I'm the one who's buying the food and litter, and I'm the one keeping them fed. If I don't nag the crap out of my housemate, she would never even scoop the litter box, let alone purchase/change the litter.
The cat my housemate adopted proved to be a bit more challenging than any other cat I'd tried to raise. He continuously pooped on the floor in the living room, day after day, in the same spot. My housemate? Did nothing about it. I cleaned it up, I called the animal shelter for advice. I took their advice and got a second litter box.
Her cat continued to poop on the floor... in the same spot as before, and now on the floor right next to the new litter box. My housemate? Did nothing. I cleaned it up. I called the animal shelter for advice. I took their advice to separate her cat; give him his own room with his own food/water and litter until he could manage using the litter box. Now the housemate gets involved... She was so mad at me and accused me of abusing her cat!!
Now she finally calls the animal shelter for advice. They recommend getting a pheromone diffuser. So somehow she whips up $50 for this thing, and using packing tape to stick it to the living room wall... Ugly, but it seems to be doing the trick. No accidents. (Whew!)
Now, every weekend we alternate whose turn it is to do the housework (scrubbing the toilet, changing the litter in both boxes, vacuuming, etc). This weekend my housemate says to me, "Oh, I forgot to tell you, the animal shelter folks also advised we stop changing the litter every week. They think it's too often." Now, having had cats my whole life, I did raise an eyebrow at that because, especially when living with multiple cats, it's a necessity to change the litter so often. I told her I didn't think that was right, based also in the fact that as we continue to scoop the boxes, the sand level is dropping. If we don't refill the box, there won't be enough sand to be of any use to the kittens. Sure enough... she ignores me and leaves about 1" of sand in the boxes. Guess what happened last night? Her cat freaked out and tipped the box, making a huge mess in the room.
Where's my housemate for this? She's dog-sitting at her brother's. She "can't cross town to take care of her cat."
So I cleaned it up. While I'm cleaning the mess, her cat comes into the room, looks and me and starts to pee on the floor right in front of me. An obvious protest to the litter box situation. So I call my housemate and tell her she has to buy some new litter. Regardless of what the animal shelter folks said, the litter box was tipped and is empty now, and it's definitely her turn to get litter.
She says, "Dude, I'm broke. That's why I couldn't pay rent this month, my check was a lot smaller than expected. You'll have to buy the litter again."
So now it's the morning after all this. Her cat has been in my care this whole time. (My cats have been stress-free this whole time somehow!) My housemate's neglect might cost us our home, and someone still needs to care for these kitties.
I've already determined that while she may love this cat, she is not fit to care for him. I can't really afford to take him in, but I have been doing OK so far...
My question is: do I
a) take him to the shelter
b) keep him when the lease is up and we go our separate ways (or when she gets us kicked out)
c) leave him in her "care"
d) call someone (who?)
Please help... It breaks my heart to think of separating these little kitties from one another, even though I know it's bound to happen someday...
I told my housemate that raising cats was very easy. Even indoor cats. Give them fresh food and water. Give them a clean place to poo. Give them toys and a scratch tower. Give them love and affection. Poof! The perfect cat dwelling. Keep in mind, shortly after adopting these babies, my housemate is suddenly short on cash... Throughout the duration of my story, I'm the one who's buying the food and litter, and I'm the one keeping them fed. If I don't nag the crap out of my housemate, she would never even scoop the litter box, let alone purchase/change the litter.
The cat my housemate adopted proved to be a bit more challenging than any other cat I'd tried to raise. He continuously pooped on the floor in the living room, day after day, in the same spot. My housemate? Did nothing about it. I cleaned it up, I called the animal shelter for advice. I took their advice and got a second litter box.
Her cat continued to poop on the floor... in the same spot as before, and now on the floor right next to the new litter box. My housemate? Did nothing. I cleaned it up. I called the animal shelter for advice. I took their advice to separate her cat; give him his own room with his own food/water and litter until he could manage using the litter box. Now the housemate gets involved... She was so mad at me and accused me of abusing her cat!!
Now she finally calls the animal shelter for advice. They recommend getting a pheromone diffuser. So somehow she whips up $50 for this thing, and using packing tape to stick it to the living room wall... Ugly, but it seems to be doing the trick. No accidents. (Whew!)
Now, every weekend we alternate whose turn it is to do the housework (scrubbing the toilet, changing the litter in both boxes, vacuuming, etc). This weekend my housemate says to me, "Oh, I forgot to tell you, the animal shelter folks also advised we stop changing the litter every week. They think it's too often." Now, having had cats my whole life, I did raise an eyebrow at that because, especially when living with multiple cats, it's a necessity to change the litter so often. I told her I didn't think that was right, based also in the fact that as we continue to scoop the boxes, the sand level is dropping. If we don't refill the box, there won't be enough sand to be of any use to the kittens. Sure enough... she ignores me and leaves about 1" of sand in the boxes. Guess what happened last night? Her cat freaked out and tipped the box, making a huge mess in the room.
Where's my housemate for this? She's dog-sitting at her brother's. She "can't cross town to take care of her cat."
So I cleaned it up. While I'm cleaning the mess, her cat comes into the room, looks and me and starts to pee on the floor right in front of me. An obvious protest to the litter box situation. So I call my housemate and tell her she has to buy some new litter. Regardless of what the animal shelter folks said, the litter box was tipped and is empty now, and it's definitely her turn to get litter.
She says, "Dude, I'm broke. That's why I couldn't pay rent this month, my check was a lot smaller than expected. You'll have to buy the litter again."
So now it's the morning after all this. Her cat has been in my care this whole time. (My cats have been stress-free this whole time somehow!) My housemate's neglect might cost us our home, and someone still needs to care for these kitties.
I've already determined that while she may love this cat, she is not fit to care for him. I can't really afford to take him in, but I have been doing OK so far...
My question is: do I
a) take him to the shelter
b) keep him when the lease is up and we go our separate ways (or when she gets us kicked out)
c) leave him in her "care"
d) call someone (who?)
Please help... It breaks my heart to think of separating these little kitties from one another, even though I know it's bound to happen someday...
