Worst Mommy Ever

Monday, June 2, 2008

Something has been happening in the La Costa household that has me frustrated, sad and angry. I don't know what to do. Well, I think I do but I don't want to do it.

My head knows the right decision, but my heart says otherwise. It will affect the whole family, particularly my son, who will be devastated. And I will forever be THE BAD GUY. The worst Mommy in the whole world.

I think I have to get rid of our cat. You can stop with the hate mail. I hear your pet loving fingers typing away. I mean I think we have to give Zoe away. I don't want to, but she's peeing all over the house and I've tried everything and we
didn't mortgage ourselves to the hilt for her to use the house as a litterbox! Aghhhhhh!

She didn't start peeing until we'd already been in the house awhile, or maybe we were too busy with the kitchen remodel to notice. But now, I catch her pawing the carpet upstairs by the TV or on the landing and I just want to strangle her!


She knows she's done something wrong too. She'll freeze for half a second then hightail her little fatty ass down the stairs and under our bed where she knows I can't reach her.


I spend so much time trying to keep the carpet clean so our house doesn't reek (neighbors have told me they don't notice any pee smells so either my efforts are paying off or they're lying). My cleaning arsenal has grown over the months. Febreeze should give me stock or elect me to the board. And we rent a shampoo machine from the grocery store every other month.



I even bought puppy training pads. She uses them, and I give her a treat each time, but she still goes in the house. She has two litterboxes, the puppy pads and spends time outside, where she used to go all the time at our last place.



The advice I read online about cleaning the pee zone is so conflicting: use vinegar, don't use vinegar because it's acidic like the pee. Stand on the pee spot and use body weight to absorb as much as possible, don't stand on the spot because that only presses the pee further into the padding.


Other than the peeing, she's an awesome cat. I got her as a kitten as a present for hubby. Zoe is so sweet, loving and patient. My son smothers her but she's so good with him. She loves people, not like some cats who have no time for us besides the occasional leg rub. If I point out a spider or bug, she'll eat it. Even though she's 11, she's still really playful.


I'm embarrassed to have anyone over except our closest friends and family. And before they come I'm cleaning, spraying and lighting candles like crazy.


We could buy a cat tree and make her live in the garage, but Zoe hates it there and she's such a people cat I couldn't imagine forcing her to stay out there.
I really don't know what to do. I think Zoe needs a new home but who's going to want a fat, 11 year old cat with litterbox issues?

add to kirtsy

10 comments:

  1. I don't know the answer. I'm not a cat person at all, but we inherited 2 cats 6 years ago when my mom died. I swear it took them 5 years to adjust to the move.

    Apparently cats don't deal well with change. I hope someone has a solution for you. That's a very tough spot to be in.

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  2. Oh no. So sad. For all of you. I don't even have anything snarky to say. I would really struggle with cat pee, but I also am itching for a cat that my husband doesn't want, so you've got me rethinking that.

    Whatever you do, find a no kill pet place. Is Helen Woodward no kill?

    Good luck. Ugh.

    (I have the Spot Bot too, LOVE it! )

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  3. I can't blame Zoe entirely. Several months after we moved in, we had our neighbors over for Happy Hour. They told us the renters who lived here (and their animals) treated the place like crap. The carpet and pad were brand new so I didn't think we'd have any problems but obviously I was wrong. At first she was just marking her territory, now she's just lazy.

    Jamie- If your new house was cat free you won't have any problems. Get a kitten and then you can toilet train it. I SO regret not doing that. Just the $$ savings in litter alone would have been worth it.

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  4. I've been through this with our dog. Could it be a bladder infection?

    When our dog gets a bladder infection, she starts pottying in the house. The vet told me the alternative to antibiotics for urinary infections is Vitamin C.

    Google it for cats. She if you can pop a Vitamin C tablet down her throat.

    Don't get rid of her yet.... what it it's a simple fix???

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  5. Oh that's a really tough one. We "have" a stray we've taken care of for about a year and a half. She's SO sweet but stays outdoors. The only problem is that she lives under the house.

    It stays nice and toasty in the winter, but when it's snowy and cold outside, she doesn't want to come out. And she pees under the house. And now, the smell is seeping from the heating/air conditioning vents. Eechh.

    I think I have to give her away too. :(

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  6. Soliloquy- (Could that be ANY harder to spell? LOL!) I took her to the vet, she's in perfect health. I was wishing it was something like her bladder.

    Mommypie- Eeeww! That must be frustrating. Eau de kitty has tobe one of the WORST smells on earth. Good luck!

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  7. OMG I have this same problem! I live in fear that our house reeks. The worst room is my son's room, the previous owners MUST have had a cat in there! I clean and clean, but I think it's gonna take new carpet and pads and perhaps some new baseboard to make his room cat free again.

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  8. I hope that I can possibly give you a couple of suggestions. Our spayed female cat was fine in the house, until the birth of our first son! Then, she began to urinate on my wood furniture, upholstered sofa, etc.
    My brother was a veterinarian and he checked her urine and did a blood work up! The conclusion was that it was a psychological jealousy thing!
    For quite awhile we kept her in her own room with her food, water and litter box. She did fine in their! Eventually, we started to let her out of the room and she was fine. I have also heard of putting them in a cage for awhile with the necessities. There is always the old squirt gun technique. Cindi
    jchoppes[at]hotmail[dot]com Good luck......:)

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  9. Oh man, that really is the pits! I feel for you, you're in a difficult situation!

    If it does come down to giving the kitty away, do like someone said previously, or try giving it away on craigslist. Im sure you are doing a wonderful job at keeping your home smell free.

    There is also another pet product for cleaning, I learned about it because I had to puppy sit at the college, i am a student work study in the art department and so I get to do whatever the professors want me to. Anyway, an art teacher just recently got a puppy! And well, he peed and poo'd on the carpet and man did it smell but she had this cleaner called something like, 'nature's cure' or something. It cleaned really well and got the smell too! Maybe you could look into that?

    http://scrappin-a-rose.blogspot.com/

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  10. Adrienne- I tried Nature's Miracle. We'd basically need to soak the carpet in the spots she uses then go on vaction while waiting for it to dry.

    The puppy pads are definitley helping. She'll go then come to me meowing for her treat!

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