Somebody PLEASE give me just 2 good reasons why I shouldn't........

**Craftlady** · 01-07-2006, 03:23 PM

I would go with ripping up the carpet. Your fightening a losing battle with just cleaning the carpets because you cant get past the padding to the floor area that really is place that needs most attention and its holding in the urine & it's smell. There are so many discount places out there that have very reasonable flooring (do it your self). If the flooring just needs cleaned up and coat of poly all you would need is couple large area rugs throughout the house.
If I were doing fostering work on scale you do, I wouldnt have carpet in a house.

**kimlovescats** · 01-07-2006, 03:39 PM

Originally Posted by Craftlady

I would go with ripping up the carpet. Your fightening a losing battle with just cleaning the carpets because you cant get past the padding to the floor area that really is place that needs most attention and its holding in the urine & it's smell. There are so many discount places out there that have very reasonable flooring (do it your self). If the flooring just needs cleaned up and coat of poly all you would need is couple large area rugs throughout the house.
If I were doing fostering work on scale you do, I wouldnt have carpet in a house.

That's what I want to do ... but still trying to convince my hubby!

**jenluckenbach** · 01-07-2006, 04:48 PM

Thanks guys. Of course, most of the time I accept the cats for who they are, but sometimes it is too much all at once.

As for ripping up the carpet......I have thought about it. 4 of the 5 bedrooms just have an area rug, not wall to wall. But I wouldn't know hard wood from sawdust if I looked at the floor underneath.

I figured I could live with the bare floors for a while, but I am fairly certain they are UGLY!! I know the floor is painted around the perimiter of some of the rooms.

as for do it yourself.......LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL......it would have to be as easy as laying down an area rug.

As for this.

Get a gang of friends together for pizza and carpet ripping

Sadly, I do not KNOW a gang of people, let alone anyone who would help with WORK!

But I guess the bottom line is, I LIKE my carpet. It make my home feel good to me. I could not imagine living on wood, or tile, or laminate, or vinyl......... I like SOFT.

And the poop is what is on the carpet, the pee is on the COUCH!

but I admit to having it covered in plastic with a sheet over it. So I wash the sheet and place a new one on the couch. (I am just tired of doing that!)

ACK! They are still my brats, and I love them.

**kimlovescats** · 01-07-2006, 05:50 PM

Jen, I do understand and feel your pain. Keep in mind, like Catnapper, I LOVE to decorate and am constantly changing the decor in my house. I used to also be a neat / clean house freak. The past four years have drastically changed all of that. I do still enjoy decorating to an extent, but I have had to give up the aspirations of ever having a truly neat OR clean home again. Trust me, there are days I get very depressed and disgusted with how bad things have gotten around here... like all the torn doorways on my carpet, and all the many, many, many stains on it as well!

Thankfully my hubby and I are content with our home and the companionship of our furry family, over that of worrying with entertaining guests who might expect a formal and perfect environment. I have found that just doing the best we can and accepting the rest, is easiest on the nerves, and having the love of our kitties over friendships is easiest on the HEART!

BIG HUGS!
Kim

**NoahsMommy** · 01-07-2006, 08:03 PM

(((Jen)))

That has to be sooooo frustrating!! I remember the day when David literally spent ALL DAY cleaning the couch Livvy chose for her cat box. He spent all day with our carpet vac upholstery attachment. Hot water, soap, hot water, soap, bleach, hot water, soap....all day. The cushions, the arms, the pads, the entire thing.

That night, Livvy pooped and pee'd on the couch and he was livid!! Its frustrating!!

Noah is my little barfer. I wash my blankies from my bed weekly and it seems that he picks the day after I wash them to upchuck at 3 in the morning. It soooo gross to roll over and get your arm in wet, cold cat barf. Eww....

I'm sorry about the poop and pee. I hope it'll get better for you.

I live with my friend CiCi. She has four kitties, one uses the couch for peeing.

She bought special couch covers for her couch, pillows and cushions. Before putting the covers on, she wrapped it all in black trash bags, added dryer sheets (kind of deters the cats) and then puts the covers on. She also puts dog training pads on the cushions so when he pee's she can just throw them away. He still pee's, about once a week and she just washes the couch covers, but still, its a huge job to wask all the covers and redo all that each time that little orange bratty cat wants to pee.

The only thing...he's so darned CUTE!!!

Cats....

**Lizzie** · 01-07-2006, 11:21 PM

I discovered this site and then this thread only an hour ago, but already I feel "at home" because I'm reading about other crazy cat ladies who live in virtual cat toilets and somehow cope. I too have furniture wrapped in plastic under washable covers, and in places I have plastic taped up against the floors and walls. Just before finding this site I was in my daylight basement, nearly in tears because I just found more places with cat pee to clean up. Even after nearly 20 years of doing this, it still gets to me. Visiting places like this with a mug of tea and a few chocolate hobnobs (I'll work them off later when I go on a cleaning blitz) at my elbow is the way to restore my sense of balance.

I did once "punish" a male cat (I shouldn't have named him Loki, it was asking for some kind of trouble) for peeing on some saucepans and packets of food - he peed on everything, including up in my face a few times. I thought I was about to go crazy and was actually afraid I'd hurt him, so I got a pan of tepid water, snuck up on him and upended it. As you can imagine, only a very small amount hit Loki and I spent an hour cleaning water out of the carpet.

**Catty1** · 01-08-2006, 12:12 AM

No, not for cleaning - put it in a spray bottle and try spraying the area. Cats do NOT like the smell of vinegar...

And it can't hurt the floor or furniture any more than it already is....

**jenluckenbach** · 01-08-2006, 06:17 AM

Originally Posted by Lizzie

I discovered this site and then this thread only an hour ago, but already I feel "at home" because I'm reading about other crazy cat ladies .........

WELCOME to Pet Talk. You are definitley in the right place. I'll have to check the board and see if you wrote an introduction thread. (this is my first thread of the day).

Well, I am off to clean up my first poop of the day.

Seroiusly though, I think it is time to take Lucas BACK to the vet. Mind you, we tried a host of things for him, and even the vet is running out of ideas, but his pooping is getting worse again. He can't seem to hold it long enough to make the litter box. I will wait until business hours tomorrow as it is certainly not life threatening (unless of course you consider my threat.