All the people I know with horrible cats adamently claim that their cat is friendly, harmless, and adorable. My friend claims her cat loves her, despite the fact that she perpetually has claw marks down both arms. My sister claims her cat is clean, despite the fact that the entire house smells like Boot’s anus. My step-mother claims her cat is socialized, despite the fact that it attacked my sister and injured her. (And before someone suggests that my sister somehow “provoked” the cat, she was asleep when the cat jumped on her and began scratching her face) My aunt claims her cat is sweet, though it hisses and bites at the ankles of anyone who walks by the box spring it hides in. My uncle believes his cat is adorable, but guests in his home are unable to place their drinks on any surface without the cat darting out and knocking it onto the floor. My other friend’s roommate claims that cats can be trained, but my friend’s sofa has been shredded. I humbly propose that cat-love is blind, and reality is on the side of the “dog person”.
Why would someone aquire something they don’t want?
You sound just like my husband. He is the same way. He actually really likes animals he just wants them at a distance. I think he allows the indoor pets mainly because he knows that he’s not home much, and since the kids and I like them he puts up with it. Nothing at all wrong with the way you see things. If I had my own place in the country I would only have outdoor animals myself. I think it is much better for the animals to have their place to be animals instead if having to live the way we people think they should. One reason so many pets end up abandoned or in shelter is because people don’t understand that they are animals and not people. They do things like animals do them not as people do. It’s funny, I’ve noticed all the comments about pets being destructive and expensive, but I have never run into that with any of ours. My kids are way more destructive than any cat I’ve ever own, and I’ve never had a dog destroy anything either. Their food is cheap and vet care isn’t bad. We do shots and check ups, and for 4 pets it’s never been more than $100 a year for vet bills. Most years, now that they are all grown and fixed, we get the rabies shot for $5.00 each–total vet care for the year is $20 for all 4, not a piece. Food is about $20 a month for all of them. Our pets are happy and healthy–the youngest is 7 years old now (a stray cat we found with his eyes still closed that we had to bottle feed) and the oldest is 16 years old (a golden retriever/yellow lab mix) so I guess we are caring for them well enough. Never has a single pet destroyed anything we have, but if they did I would teach them not to. Squirt bottles are a huge help when training
The cat that injured my sister was totally a ferral cat before they brought it in. My step-mother thinks it is just misunderstood.
Oh, that is a problem. A feral cat is not a misunderstood cat is a cat that has not been domesticated. I don’t agree with your step mother. No one should bring a feral cat home if they don’t know what they are doing (I don’t think your stepmother knows how to handle a cat little less after what you just mentioned). I brought two almost feral cats to my home and I can tell you feral cats are going to attack and bite. If you deny the problem it would get worst. My feral cat was very aggressive and I always warned people not to go near the cat and kept the cat away until the cat became domesticated. And yes my feral cat did bite attack and misbehave and was destructive but I know what to do and after four years the cat became a very good cat. Again I think the problem with that cat is mostly your stepmother taking something she can’t handle.
I don’t think I have to tell you that there are people with dogs who are in all the same kinds of denial as you describe–friendly though the hair stands up all the way down their back when they confront any human they don’t live with, loving even though they don’t go near a human being unless they’re on a leash, socialized even though you can’t get them near a person without the paws going to their shoulders and can’t get them near another dog without a fight breaking out, and clean although their home stinks as if there were five dogs and no people living there. Denial is a powerful thing, I guess.
Yup.
So, if kitty has litterbox issues there is probably a fix for it.This is not quite true. There are cats with neurological and mental health issues just as surely as there are people with these issues. Some cats simply should not be in the same home with a child, because the child can hardly breathe without “provoking” it. While a normal adult cat with an appropriate living situation will not make an unprovoked attack, there are cats with quirks that will do these things. Also, a child cannot understand what constitutes a “provocation.” If the child is making herself or the plaything in her hand into some kind of a toy that provokes the cat’s chase instinct, for instance, there can be trouble.
The cat owners who are the most satisfied with their cats are the ones who go to the trouble to learn where some faithful effort and investment is necessary. A cat may not need lots of time every day, but it does no good to “spoil” your cat and yet neglect his litter box. Pets require care, and deserve care. Cats are no exception. With that care, they can be very enjoyable companions and can even give health benefits to the members of the household they live in.
Also try not to use a dusty litter. That can sometimes cause problems for male cats, the dust can cause problems with their urethra.Yup.
I’d like to add that if you do not like the wet food smell or mess you can soak kitty kibble in a bit of water to soften it up if your cat likes softer food and to add hydration.
Also, sometimes cats have weird impulses like suddenly rejecting the litter box. If this happens, first do not blame the cat. Cats are generally clean creatures and love going potty in their box. That said, they are quirky critters. They won’t go in the box if it hasn’t been cleaned recently, for example. One cat I lived with didn’t like to poo and pee in the same box, so he had to have 2 boxes all for him. Another cat suddenly decided he didn’t like the texture of his litter, so he pooped elsewhere once. I went online and found that cats are particular about their litter texture and to try either smaller and softer litter or harder and larger litter. It worked. He likes softer/finer litter and refuses to use anything else
I hope you enjoy your new cat! Many years ago, I sent my husband to the grocery store for a loaf of bread and he brought home a puppy instead; the last thing I wanted at the time. We kept her, and she turned out to be the best dog EVER. She was almost 15 when she died, one of the saddest days of my life, eighteen years ago.I had a talk with my husband and we’ve decided to at least keep the kitten for the time being.
The kitten is 12 weeks old. He’s a lovely little orange tabby.
We’ll be making a vet appointment to get him checked and given shots. I’ll also talk to my doctor about it to make sure there won’t be any problems.
The kitten will live indoors so he doesn’t pick up any diseases or anything, and also because I don’t want him to run away or be hit by a car. Hubby will be cleaning the litter box and everything.
Hubby just went out to buy some toys for the cat and a scratching post. We already have a cat bed for him and obviously food and a litter box. Anything else we’ll need?
Thank you, everyone. You’ve all been very helpful
Completely agree. As a Family Nurse Practitioner, if you plan on becoming pregnant or are pregnant, just don’t touch the litter box. It’s also important to understand that you can also get this from raw or undercooked meat and also gardening… but people blame cats more often.He really should have thought it through better, but I would assume your husband was trying to do something sweet. Perhaps because whatever he took as your reasons for not getting a dog wouldn’t apply to a kitten, he thought he’d found a good compromise; I don’t know. In any case, I’d suggest forgiving him and giving it a chance, but also gently letting him know that you felt left out and disrespected because he didn’t ask for your (name removed by moderator)ut–and that in future, you’d appreciate him asking you how you feel about it before making a final decision on similar things.
Overall, though, I agree with Corki. As long as hubby is willing to keep the litter box clean (and you should probably talk about how often this should be done to be sure you’re on the same page here–if there’s disagreement, maybe check with your local veterinarian for recommended guidelines), I’d give it a little time and see how it goes. Of course, if he’s not willing to completely take care of litter box duty, then yes, kitty should go back or hubby needs to find it a new home.
Cats, even kittens, are pretty independent and generally don’t require a lot of attention other than food, water, litter box, and occasional snuggles (though it does vary by kitty). They can be very entertaining, too. The cats we’ve had usually liked to cuddle or simply sit nearby when I was feeding the baby or reading to a toddler (though our current cat prefers to stay outdoors, and mostly ignores the kids and the dog, lol). And if anyone happens to be allergic, you’ll discover it early enough and can deal with it then.
My kids have been raised with both dogs and cats (as well as a few other pets), and I’ve found that cats are usually much easier to deal with than dogs when you have little ones–but I do suggest making sure the cat has a place it can hide and/or climb up to when it wants to get a break from little grabby hands once the baby becomes mobile.
Best of luck!
P.S. The risk is pretty small, so hubby keeping the litter box clean should be enough, but if you’re concerned about toxoplasmosis, you might ask the vet about testing your cat for it.
