Hurricane Rita Evacuee Family Staying with us

[LaRana]

Well It looks like we will have a full apartment this weekend. My cousin, her husband & daughter and their 2 cats will be staying with us possibly, and my husband's grandmother will be staying with us. Thank god we have a 1200 sq ft 2 bed 2 bath apartment. Mr. Loki will have company!

My only concern is that one of the 2 cats visiting is an older gentleman, (everyone's been fixed), and he's got a urinary problem. My cousin said he peed on her mattress and ruined it. So I think we'll have to ban him to the 2nd bathroom during their visit. Their other cat ... well I'm just not sure how she'll react. She is typically a bit standoffish, and Loki is so sweet and friendly with everyone and every pet that comes to see him. This will be an interesting weekend!

6 people in one apartment, 3 cats. Oh, and did I mention my husband's grandmother talks A LOT and is obsessed with curing everything (including cancer) with vitamins? She's a sweet heart, but oh man I won't have any ears.....

Apparently they're evacuating Victoria (My In laws live around there, as does my Grandmother-in-law) and everybody's freakin out there and all the store shelves are empty. Ambulances are FLYING around there.

[LaRana]

On a side note... My cousins have been trying to find a home for their older cat, Socks. He's been having some urinary problems, and here recently he ruined my cousin's mattress. He's banned to the garage pretty much all day, and he's declawed. All the shelters around where they live (Houston area) are full of Hurricane Katrina cats and they won't accept ole Socks. Does anyone have any ideas on what they could do for this lil guy? He's turned into a grumpy old man in his old age, and he's not a very friendly cat either unfortunately, so he probably wouldn't be very adoptable any way :(

[Craftlady]

Has Sock's been seen by a vet for the potty problems?
Grumpy, unfriendly could mean ... I'm not feeling good????

Good Luck with Grandma.

[LaRana]

He's always been grumpy & unfriendly to everyone but his owners. I'm pretty sure they've taken him to the vet too because the vet told them that he cannot eat anymore canned food because he doesn't tolerate it very well.

[catmandu]

YOUN ARE VERY GOOD HEARTED,TO TAKE IN,THOSE EXTRA PEOPLE,AND CATS,AND HOPEFULLY,NOW THAT RITA,WAS NOT AS BAD,AS THE FORECASTERS THOUGHT,THEY CAN GO HOME,VERY SOON.
AND WE HOPE,THAT SOCKS,CAN FIND A FURREVER HOME,WHERE A GRUMPY OLD CAT,CAN FIND LOVE!!!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v621/catmandu/Picture781.jpg

[LaRana]

Oh Socks is loved by my 16 year old 2nd Cousin, and has always been loved by his family. But when he ruined my Cousin's mattress.. well she can't afford to have him peeing and ruining all of her belongings. He was bottle-fed, never has been outdoors, and he's declawed. It's a tough situation.

We actually didn't have to take in my family because they couldn't get out of the Houston area because of all the traffic :( But next time they are getting out of there sooner before a big hurricane like that hits, and they are coming to my place (and bringing their fur-babies with them!! They lost power from 2:30 am Saturday till 1:30 pm on Sunday, had some limbs down in the yard, and lost 1 gutter on their house. Considering they had an above ground pool, they are very lucky that they got away with JUST that. The local officials told people with above ground pools to fill them to the top so they wouldn't blow away or be stressed to break. So it looks like following those instructions saved them from a small flood.

[mruffruff]

The mattress is salvagable. Pour enough Simple Solution on the spot to soak as deep and wide as the pee. Let it dry; this could take a few days unless you can put it in the sun. When it's dry, the odor will be gone.

It does sound like a UTI. Can you find out if the vet ruled it out?

[carole]

I don't fancy your chances at getting Socks adopted with his problems, after the vet rules out anything, I think the original owners will just have to keep him, it would be unkind and unfair just to give him up because he is old and has incontinence problems, happens to humans as well ya know, please try and persuade them to keep him, as he really stands no chance of being re-homed , more like being PTS.