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Thanks, I just hit up the Nutrition board asking for recommendations. And thanks again to everyone. I hope to come back with better news about my living situation.
We never had good success with Nature's Miracle. I've never tried Nature's Miracle Advanced.Originally Posted by streambeck
I'll definitely look into the black light. As for what I've been trying to use, has anyone heard of Nature's Miracle Advanced? Comes in a red bottle? It's tough to tell if it's having the desired effect just because the cat continues to pee in the same places, but if the second litter box has the desired effect, I'll try and go to town on the carpet, I just want to know if I have the right stuff (one of the ingredients is Bio-Enzymatic Odor-Lock).
Originally Posted by streambeck
Well, with the second litter box and mats in place, I went out last night, then came home and went straight to bed without doing further cleaning. When I woke up this morning, there wasn't a single grain of litter on my bed or on the carpet. Chandler used both litter boxes liberally last night, and the mats prevented the litter from getting around, and I guess Zeppy had room to avoid stepping in anything, so it worked like a dream. Both of the litter boxes were pretty full up though, the ideal would be to have a third one, honestly, but I just can't figure a way to have enough room for one, having two in my kitchen is already taking up a bunch of space, and I'd prefer not to have one in the living area.
One thing though, Chan clearly used the litter boxes for peeing last night, and I can tell there weren't any new surprises on the carpet, but this morning, after I cleaned out both litter boxes, and he knew they were clean, he just decided to pee on one of the mats. I mean, it's definitely ideal to the carpets and kitchen floor, I just thought it was odd because he happily used the boxes last night, and they were cleaned this morning.
Also, Zep won't use the steps, I think he prefers waking me to get my attention. He didn't used to have a problem getting up, but I think he depended on his claws a lot, and I had to get them trimmed because he kept getting caught on things.
Anyway, thanks to the advice I've gotten here, there's already been a noticeable increase in mine and the cats' quality of life, at least so far, so I just wanna share my gratitude with everyone. Less smell, less mess, everything is definitely more manageable, and now I'm less scared to leave my apartment for chunks of time, so thanks again.
I am writing this with a bit of hesitation but I couldn't help but notice a few comments in your post. Please allow me to preface by saying that while I am a newbie on this site, I've had a kitty family for over 20 years. FWIW, I also have a PhD in Psychology and for those who are not aware, much of human research began with the study of animal behavior. I feel therefore, I am humbly qualified to make the following observations regarding your difficult situation. And so that you are aware, I am presently having challenges with a new rescue and have sought help thru the collective wisdom of this site's participants too. I presently have 9 cats.Originally Posted by streambeck
So for the last year I've lived with a roommate, but I spent the entire time saving up for my own place and searching for something affordable. At pretty much the exact same time as I finally moved into my own place, my family moved from their house to the east coast, and not wanting to risk the cats not making the trip, I got stuck with them. I'm good with pets, and these two cats have been in my family for an eternity, so I didn't mind.
Anyway, one of the cats is 19, the other is 14, and although the landlord liked me enough to bend the rules and let them stay with me, he was very clear that I wasn't to let them out, so as not to give the impression that he'd be okay with anyone having pets.
The 14 year old eats as if every meal is his last, so I have to sit with him every time I feed them so that the older one can get some before he finishes the job. He also has an eat to poo ratio of 1:1. If he uses the litter box (which he does literally about 6 or 7 times a day) and I don't clean it before the older one uses it, the older one will step in it and track it everywhere.
14 urinates where he pleases, 19 tracks the litter and poo all over the carpet and all over my bed. 19 can't get on the bed on his own, so he'll scream at me until I pick him up, which happens maybe 8 times every night when I sleep. I have to set my alarm for all hours of the night to clean the litter box so as to try and avoid the poo tracking, which always ends up happening anyway. Both make a point, when they throw up or cough up a hairball, to do it on the carpet instead of in the easily cleaned kitchen. I spend hours every day cleaning, and I'm too embarrassed to have friends or a girl over.
This weekend I spent the night out. I made sure the cats had eaten, used the litter box, and everything was impeccably clean. I was gone for 14 hours, and when I came back, I returned to a complete wreck. I spent eight hours and a few hundred dollars cleaning. Since then, I've literally been sapped. I can't imagine having to do that, having to spend hours every day cleaning, to be too embarrassed to have people over.
Since the eight hour clean-a-thon, I got one nights sleep, and woke up to the same old mess. Since then, I just kind of collapsed. I stopped cleaning, I've slept maybe an hour in the past few days, I've hardly eaten, I've barely left my place for fear of new messes, and since I live in filth anyway, I've even found the need to shower less pressing. It all feels so futile. I clean for hours, every day, and then it's just the same story. My bedding will always have crappy litter on it, there will always be the smell of pee I can't find, I'll always need to pick 19 up on the bed, always have to clean the litter box several times a day. I'm just losing it, I don't know what I can do. I don't want to give the cats that have been in my family for years to some random stranger, I don't feel justified putting them down. I'm just, I don't know, I'm losing my mind. What can I do?
Just as a note, both cats have gone to the vet recently, and I give them their medication. They don't have any pressing medical issues, and the medicine is mostly preventative.
No worries!Originally Posted by LDG
Obviously I didn't read through all the posts as thoroughly as I thought I did.
On the suggestion of giving them up, I am sure he has considered that option, as it seems to be the first consideration in this society...most people will easily give up under circumstances like this. He is trying to make a serious effort, and here he is on a cat board seeking advice and trying to make this work out for him and the cats. And I respect him a great deal for that. That is more than a lot of people try to do, so many people just give up their pets left and right for much more trivial reasons, that is why petfinder, rescues, shelters, etc. are filled with so many pets oftentimes they get put to sleep due to lack of good forever caring homes. Just because something is a a bit of an undue burden doesn't mean many people won't rise to the challenge in life when living beings are involved, even it is not convenient for them to do so.Originally Posted by Bunchie62
What struck me is that while you kindly agreed to take on your family cats, it seemed like it an undue burden.