I feel bad, but I really want to get rid of our cats

[Anonymous]

we adopted these two cats as kittens about eight years ago. they've never outgrown their kitten phase. they're very energetic and mischievous. they have their annoying habits, as any pets do. one of them likes to scratch up our arm chair. one of them howls if we shut him out of our bedroom. (sometimes you just don't want a cat in your bedroom, you know?) We have child locks on our cabinets and doors not for our kids, but for our cats, who can open both and pull stuff out. when they puke (as cats do), it's always in the worst places -- on our couch and the area rugs, where it is the hardest to clean. (why can't they go for the hardwood or tile floors?) they track litter everywhere. and no amount of brushing their fur prevents huge amounts of fur coating everything we own.

I know this is normal cat behavior. and it's not the cats' fault. but I am sick of it. I spent hours per week cleaning up after the cats -- between the fur, litter box, litter all over the house and puke. I've really begun to resent them. I'd rather spend quality time with my kids than use up any free time cleaning up after the cats. when I get home from a long day of work, the last thing I want to do is clean a big gooey hairball off the couch.

in my dreams some nice family comes along and takes the cats away.

thanks for letting me vent.

[Anonymous]

I don't begrudge you the vent. I really don't.

But what the heck kind of cats do you have? I've had cats my whole life and hours per week on cat care is WAAAY too much.

Did you get long hair cats? Or some sort of super high maintenance cat? How big is your house?

In all seriousness, I cannot imagine spending this much time on a cat. Something is wrong with this picture.

[Anonymous]

Yuck. Sounds awful.

[Anonymous]

Right now will be a really rough time to try to find a new owner for them. It's kitten season, so that's a lot of competition for 8 year old cats...

I just read an article today about how Fairfax county's animal shelter is completely full and any more cats will need to be euthanized.

http://www.wtop.com/149/2886338/No-more-room-at-Fairfax-Co-shelter

[Anonymous]

I am sorry, OP. I know you didn't say you were going to do this, so please know I am not really targeting you when I pass this along. But I got an email today from the Fairfax County Animal Shelter today that said they are SLAMMED with cats and kittens, and they urge anyone who may need to turn in a cat or kitten to do anything else possible to take care of them some other way. This is the info I got (pls see below). Anyway, like I said, I know you personally didn't say you were going to do this. Good luck to you. We have 3 so I know it's kind of a pain sometimes but, overall, it's worth it for the love and companionship they give back to us. Good luck!

http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/police/news-releases/2012/053112kittens.htm

"
Too Many Kittens!
Cat, Kitten Volume High at Fairfax County Animal Shelter

The Fairfax County Animal Shelter is experiencing an extremely high volume of cats and kittens being brought to the shelter and is asking for the public’s assistance to help save animals’ lives. Currently, all of the cat cages at the shelter are full and the shelter is leveraging its foster program to house an additional 100 animals outside the facility.

Often when people see a mother cat run off from her kittens, they will be tempted to bring the young kittens into the shelter. Female cats will usually return to their litter and these kittens have a better chance of survival if raised by their mother. Citizens are encouraged to leave kittens where they are. Adult stray cats should also be left in place to potentially go back to their homes.

The rapid influx of cats and kittens is the result of several issues including the atypical warm winter temperatures causing more cats to go into heat and become pregnant. More people become aware of the kittens’ existence as the warmer spring and summer temperatures bring people outdoors.

The huge increase in the volume of kittens entering the shelter is coupled with the increase in volume that the shelter typically sees during the busy summer months as people surrender their adult cats when they are moving, traveling or develop allergies. Citizens are encouraged to keep a cat they are considering surrendering in the home until the volume of cats and kittens decreases at the shelter or to re-home the cat on their own. This helps provide the animal with a greater opportunity for a positive outcome.

“We have held special adoption events, appealed to our rescue partners and have been recruiting additional foster homes to help these animals have positive outcomes, but we are hearing from shelters and rescues around the region that they are also overwhelmed with the volume of cats and kittens currently being taken in,” says Dr. Karen P. Diviney, director, Fairfax County Animal Shelter. “We are appealing to citizens to help us save the lives of countless cats and kittens this busy summer season. This is one instance where it truly will take a village to help us save more lives.”

Citizens who are thinking about bringing a cat or kittens to the shelter have several options:

If you are thinking about surrendering an adult cat or kittens, consider keeping it for the summer until the volume of cats and kittens entering shelters and rescues slows down.

Consider finding homes for cats or kittens through alternative reputable means, such as through friends, family, neighbors or coworkers.


• If you see a stray cat, leave it in place so that it can potentially find its way home.


• Leave kittens in place with their mother, especially if they are too young to eat on their own.


• If you must intervene with kittens, offer to help the shelter by providing in-home foster care in your home until the kittens are 8 - 10 weeks of age.


• Spay or neuter all tame cats you currently own.


• If you have a cat who is pregnant, keep the mother and babies until the kittens are 8 - 10 weeks of age to help the shelter conserve foster homes for kittens who otherwise have no place to go. Keep the mother cat in your home after the kittens are adopted and ask the shelter about its spay program for female cats so no more unwanted kittens are born.


• Get involved with the shelter’s trap, neuter and return program to have outdoor cats spayed or neutered.



For more information about the shelter’s low-cost spay/neuter program, please visit http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/living/animals/spay.htm.

Sick or injured cats may still be referred by phone to animal control at 703-691-2131."

[Anonymous]

Try craigslist for a week and if no interest vets can usually put them to sleep for a couple hundred dollars. In the end its more humane to put them to sleep rather than release them to the outdoors or have them be pent up in some shelter for years until they die.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't begrudge you the vent. I really don't.

But what the heck kind of cats do you have? I've had cats my whole life and hours per week on cat care is WAAAY too much.

Did you get long hair cats? Or some sort of super high maintenance cat? How big is your house?

In all seriousness, I cannot imagine spending this much time on a cat. Something is wrong with this picture.

I agree with this. I have had two cats for 11 years and other than feeding them twice a day, giving my diabetic cat his insulin shot twice a day, and cleaning their litter boxes once a day, I really don't do anything else with them (except pet them of course!). Our litter box is in the basement so the tile right by the washing machine gets messy, but I usually just sweep it every couple of days. Yes, they do throw up occasionally (maybe once a week) and that is gross, but it is something that comes with having pets. I am sorry for your cats because it sounds like you really resent them. you might try contacting the Feline Foundation - ffgw.org. We got two cats from there and they will put them in foster homes while they try to find new owners.

[Anonymous]

OP - I'm right there with you. I have a 13 YO and an 11YO. They have emotional 'issues' and basically crap and pee all over our basement, ruining it for use by our child. I have been to plenty of vets, tried all sorts of calming STUFF, and none of it works. They don't like having a toddler in the house. They don't like when their 4 water dishes aren't completely full in the middle of the day(of course we change their water daily). They don't like if their food isn't constantly topped off. They don't like if there are loud noises. They don't like it if they don't get their outside time. Heaven forbid we go on vacation. All of this leads to running downstairs and going outside the box. My next step is prozac. It has a pretty devastating affect on my DH, who is a very patient person, but can't handle what is happening to our house. Although I would NEVER want to put the cats down, I asked DH if he would. He also said no. It is horrid. Anyway, I feel you PP. Thanks for the opportunity to vent as well.

[Anonymous]

I wish my cat were dead. He is 12 and still the picture of health. Some people love a house full of 4 types of pets, 2+ kids, and a ton of plants, etc. It translates to chaos and resentment for me..you have my utter sympathy. Consider getting a cat door and turning them into indoor/outdoor cats and ditch the litter box. Might make it a bit more tolerable. Yes, I let my cat poop outside.

On the bright side, at least it's not a dog that needs to be walked in the middle of a snowstorm, monsoon, sweltering heat. Talk about eternal children...

[Anonymous]

I hear you, OP (and PPs who want to get rid of their cats). My cats are 13 years old and show no signs of slowing down, but they are for sure irritating. The worst was a few years ago when they were using the entire house as their litter box for their endless bouts of diarrhea. I'll take a hairball on the couch any day over that (because let me tell you, diarrhea on the couch is far, far worse).

The thing that helped our litter situation was getting the litterboxes into a basement bathroom that is rarely used, and putting a cat door in the door in order to keep it closed. At least this way, I am not dealing with them kicking/tracking litter everywhere, and the smell stays away better.

[Anonymous]

Such a group of animal lovers. PP, maybe your cat will get your first.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Such a group of animal lovers. PP, maybe your cat will get your first.

It's a vent, get over it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP - I'm right there with you. I have a 13 YO and an 11YO. They have emotional 'issues' and basically crap and pee all over our basement, ruining it for use by our child. I have been to plenty of vets, tried all sorts of calming STUFF, and none of it works. They don't like having a toddler in the house. They don't like when their 4 water dishes aren't completely full in the middle of the day(of course we change their water daily). They don't like if their food isn't constantly topped off. They don't like if there are loud noises. They don't like it if they don't get their outside time. Heaven forbid we go on vacation. All of this leads to running downstairs and going outside the box. My next step is prozac. It has a pretty devastating affect on my DH, who is a very patient person, but can't handle what is happening to our house. Although I would NEVER want to put the cats down, I asked DH if he would. He also said no. It is horrid. Anyway, I feel you PP. Thanks for the opportunity to vent as well.

PP, I know you were kind of joking re the Prozac, but we seriously did put one of our pooping and peeing kitties on Prozac (after trying all the other calming things, multiple vet visits to rule out medical causes, etc.) and it has worked!! She has been on it now for like 3-4 years and it made her a diff. cat. She is happy, we are happy. No more pee pee accidents in little corners around the house. I try to tell everyone about it. It is also cheap and inexpensive. We just fill it at the regular Giant pharmacy (in pill form) and she gets it in a Pill Pocket http://www.greenies.com/cats.aspx#/products/cat-pill-pockets every single day, and she thinks she is getting a treat. (We give the other 2 treats at the same time, so everyone thinks they are getting a treat.) It seriously has made a huge difference in all our lives. If you feel like trying this route, it may help you too. Anyway, I just offer this info for whatever it may be worth!

[Anonymous]

Wait until they get sick. I just spent $1,500 on my 17-year-old cat, who had kidney failure and eventually died. I feel for you OP, but as you note, your cats are just being cats, giving them up is more than likely putting them to sleep once removed. Of course, I empathize. I was sad to see my cat go. And then I wasn't.

[Anonymous]

How much outside time to they get a day? We used to let ours out as soon as we got up, and get them inside just before we went to bed. They spent nearly all the time in our back yard climbing trees and just lazing about.