It's people like you that make me want to stop coming to Pet Talk, one of my favourite forums ever. In all honesty, your comment made me burst into tears and I don't deserve it.Quote:
Originally Posted by moosmom
I came here for help, I didn't come here for you to scream at me and call me names. I'm a well respected member here at PT, and I take good care of my animals and always have. I don't need you to tell me otherwise, which is a baldface lie.
You're a 50-something year old woman, and you're acting like a 4 year old with your retaliation. That's not deserved either - I thought YOU of all people were better than that.
I never said that I wouldn't take Jill to vet, although it's not an option right now considering I don't have an appointment. I said I highly doubt it is a medical problem, for several reasons. Her behaviour hasn't really "changed" towards the cats since she's been here. She's always (ALWAYS) smacked around the other cats, and some of them just take it, and some fight back.
When she lived at my grandmother's, she could go in and out as she pleased. My grandmother lived in an area that was populated by strays, and that's what these cats were. Their mom was a feral cat, and these kittens (10 litters from the mama cat) were bred and raised at her house - and most of the kittens became very personable. Jill, Jack, and Callie were the last 3 kittens that my grandfather saw (and thought were beautiful) before he died, and my grandmother decided to have them spayed/neutered and have their shots, and then brought them inside, with her already existing 3-legged Trey, who was also a stray who showed up at her door many years ago with his back leg dangling. After Jill/Jack/Callie, the mama cat had another litter, and this litter was the one that Jessie and Jake were in. There were a couple of other cats, but my uncle took those to his farm. My grandmother soon brought in Jessie and Jake after she had them fixed and shots were given to them. She kept up their shots, and their vet visits, flea applications, etc etc. She took good care of them, and took extra precautions because they spent half of their time outside.
Jack, Jilll, Callie and sometimes Jake were the only ones to go outside at any major length of time. Jessie didn't want to, and Trey was always on a leash. So, my guess is that Jill did most of her business outside because she spent a lot of time outside. If she ever wanted out, she just sat at a door and cried, and my grandmother tended to them.
So, now that Jill is inside all of the time, my only guess was that she didn't like to use the litterbox (she liked to go outside and go potty) and now that she only has that option, she chooses to go somewhere else. What I'm trying to do is STOP this behaviour.
One of my friends suggested tin foil, but frankly, I don't have enough tin foil to cover our entire living room. So that's a no go, I think.
If I had more places to put the litterboxes, I would. But I've already lost my bathroom to one of them, what do you want me to do? Lose my bedroom to them by having 3 of them in here? My mom doesn't like the idea of having one in the living room, just because there's a reason that human bathrooms have their own private section of the house - we don't want to do our business in the middle of where we're sleeping and eating. But because we don't use the living room for anything, she's "okay" with it. The family room is a no go, and the kitchen is a no go (from the above reason, we wouldn't want to use the restroom where we eat or sleep or live). The two bathrooms already have one in them. My parents bathroom is far too small for it - and if we put one in there, no one would be able to shower. I can't shower in my bathroom because of the mess they make in there with the litter. My bedroom has one, my mom doesn't want one in her bedroom. So, I'm not trying to "ignore all of your suggestions", as catnapper put it, I'm merely stating that I don't know where else I CAN put a litterbox.
Speaking of having extras - they all seem to just go in 2 of the 4 anyways. Sometimes I go days without having to clean out some of the boxes.. but I understand that it's the fact that if they go at least once in a blue mood, it's worth it.
I appreciate the way you commented catnapper, K & L, catmandu, and Lizzie. You expressed your concern for Jill's wellbeing without being nasty about it, and that's all I expected - I didn't expect anyone to attack me for it.
moosmom, I can't tell you how many times I've bitten my tongue on this board when you've said something. It's not because of the "rules", it's because I was always taught to respect my elders, but I was also taught to not take any crap off of anybody. So if you have the audacity to treat me like a little kid who gets pets because they're pretty and then don't take care of them, then stop it right now, because I don't want to hear it. I took these 6 cats on without particularly "wanting them" - I'm not a cat person, but I'm doing the best I can. I could've taken them all to a shelter, but I decided it wasn't right because of my promise to my grandmother. I didn't ASK for these cats. My life has been turned upside down with these cats, and so has my dog's life. My family and my dog has allowed so much for these cats and we spend a lot of money on them, but we haven't complained yet, until now, when Jill is destroying our house by peeing and pooping everywhere. So don't even go there, Donna, I don't want to hear it.
