Cat to live in laundry room: do I have a choice? :(

[Anonymous]

Wow this is an extreme way to live.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I work in animal welfare, and I think it would be kinder to euthanize your cat than to leave him locked in a laundry room.

If you have truly exhausted every option - speaking with your vet, and perhaps also a behaviorist - and your family is unwilling to live with the pee and poop in the wrong places, then I don't see much other choice. You can try to rehome your cat, to a family who understands that he has special needs now. But that isn't easy to do.

I'm sorry you're going through this. Frankly, your husband is an asshole. But you probably already know that.

No, you are the asshole, are you kidding? He is not even a cat person and he has had to deal with pee and poop from this cat for 5 years. Plus, no carpets and everything covered in plastic. He is much better than me, and I'm plenty patient. I'm sorry OP, it's a tough situation. We euthanized a pet and I still get sad about it, even if our dog was suffering, it was terrible. You are a really good person <3

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I work in animal welfare, and I think it would be kinder to euthanize your cat than to leave him locked in a laundry room.

If you have truly exhausted every option - speaking with your vet, and perhaps also a behaviorist - and your family is unwilling to live with the pee and poop in the wrong places, then I don't see much other choice. You can try to rehome your cat, to a family who understands that he has special needs now. But that isn't easy to do.

I'm sorry you're going through this. Frankly, your husband is an asshole. But you probably already know that.

No, you are the asshole, are you kidding? He is not even a cat person and he has had to deal with pee and poop from this cat for 5 years. Plus, no carpets and everything covered in plastic. He is much better than me, and I'm plenty patient. I'm sorry OP, it's a tough situation. We euthanized a pet and I still get sad about it, even if our dog was suffering, it was terrible. You are a really good person <3

This is the PP. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be a jerk about it. I just feel awful at the thought of this elderly cat being locked up away from the rest of the family like this. My brother in law and his wife did this with their elderly cat when she got to be incontinent, and it was terrible to see. She'd been a family pet for many years, and then was banished alone to the basement. That is not a good quality of life for a cat.

OP - you got some good advice. I would strongly advice seeking out a cat behaviorist, who will tell you that the number one reason cats are given up and euthanized is because they don't use the litterbox. They will hopefully be able to give you some strategies for working with your cat, and your family, and your couch, that will let the cat and you live peacefully.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP again - only other option is to keep a plastic drop cloth over the sofa, and just change it if he pees on it (and hope his behavior calms down in time now that we're home from vacation). Would that be totally nuts? I figure he has a year or two max left to live.

No more pets for us after this, sadly.

OP, you and I both know,that forcing a 15yo cat to live in a laundry room is cruel. This is like making your grandpa live in the laundry room.

Put the plastic drop cloth over the sofa and just change it if/when he pees on it. It could calm down. He was probably freaked that you guys were away.

Come on now. A plastic cloth over the couch (buy multiples so you can swap them out easily) is NOT that difficult.

Hubby only has to deal with it for another year or so. Good grief, he sounds like a baby. When my DH pulls stuff like this, I tell him, "Too bad, you are the human here. You have the superior brain power. Use it."

. Sorry, but gee whiz.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thank you all. I see that I'm definitely not alone, and I'm impressed with what people will do for their cats. I just talked to my mom, who told me my kids are getting a lesson in love - that made me feel better. My DH is also touched by how protective the kids are of the cat, which is partly why he has backed off a bit.

My mom suggested getting a tarp from Home Depot and throwing it over the sofa at night and when we're out. My cat is peeing when we're home now too, but I can keep an eye on him.

I'm grateful that my cat is 15 and not younger - I know this won't last forever. He's had a very good, happy life.

Thank you all, for the feedback.

PP here. Absolutely. Do this, OP. Listen to your mom. : )

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP again - only other option is to keep a plastic drop cloth over the sofa, and just change it if he pees on it (and hope his behavior calms down in time now that we're home from vacation). Would that be totally nuts? I figure he has a year or two max left to live.

No more pets for us after this, sadly.

That's what I'd do. Living alone in a basement is no quality of life. He needs more time with you, not less.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have you taken your cat to the vet to discuss this at length? Sometimes this issue is a result of pain. At 15, euthanization is something any loving pet owner should be open to, as it is kinder to the animal. Just keeping him alive for your feelings is not kind. Really. Not saying this issue is that issue, but at some point soon it could be. I also have a 15 yo cat, and I sympathize greatly.

Omg, 15 is not old for a cat.
My 15 year old kitty still climbs trees.

15 is pretty old for a cat. Most in my experience live to be 15-17. My parents have a 20 year old Siamese right now, but he's been old for a long time.

Well, I'd call it 60 maybe.
We had cats who ate crappy corn meal wheat gluten laden crap food who lived to be 18 & 19 and then they died of kidney failure suddenly (previously they had been happy cats) .
Our cats now get shredded chicken and fish entrees with no fillers and they'll probably outlive me.

OP, can you give kitty some nice new food? Good food and a regular full belly can go a long way to a happy cat.
Also, can you fit a nice kitty tree in the laundry room? Let kitty have done house time and then night time & nap time in the kitty hut room?
I regularly get my kitties to go 'in' places with special treats (I just yell treats & they come running).

Wellness tru food or any of their wet Foids are good.
Soulistic or Weruva (cans or packets) are loved by our kitties too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank you all. I see that I'm definitely not alone, and I'm impressed with what people will do for their cats. I just talked to my mom, who told me my kids are getting a lesson in love - that made me feel better. My DH is also touched by how protective the kids are of the cat, which is partly why he has backed off a bit.

My mom suggested getting a tarp from Home Depot and throwing it over the sofa at night and when we're out. My cat is peeing when we're home now too, but I can keep an eye on him.

I'm grateful that my cat is 15 and not younger - I know this won't last forever. He's had a very good, happy life.

Thank you all, for the feedback.

PP here. Absolutely. Do this, OP. Listen to your mom. : )

+1.

My relatively young cat has recently gone blind. Sometimes, she finds the litter box, and sometimes she doesn't. I know she tries, just like I see her try to jump up on the couch or find her favorite toy. While I can easily get annoyed at having to lay out tarps and towels and clean up after her, I can't confine her to a small place. Every morning, she finds herself a lovely spot in the sun and I can't take that away from her. For me, when I took her in, I promised her the best life for her, not necessarily the best life for me. So, we have tarps and bought stock in the those sprays that clean up and remember that the love we get from her is so much greater than the irritation of this problem.

Your DH sounds like a kind and generous partner and I hope you both can work out a way to help your cat have a wonderful, remaining life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have you taken your cat to the vet to discuss this at length? Sometimes this issue is a result of pain. At 15, euthanization is something any loving pet owner should be open to, as it is kinder to the animal. Just keeping him alive for your feelings is not kind. Really. Not saying this issue is that issue, but at some point soon it could be. I also have a 15 yo cat, and I sympathize greatly.

Omg, 15 is not old for a cat.
My 15 year old kitty still climbs trees.

My 24 year old kitty chased dogs and climbed trees until the day she passed... terror of the neighborhood!

[Anonymous]

I put an otherwise healthy 3 year old cat down after struggling with the same thing for 3 years. Ruined our couch, peed on everything soft, and if he jumped on our bed, even in the middle of the night, I'd wake right up from a dead sleep and try to grab him mid-pee. Because jumping on our bed always led to peeing. Peed on my mother in law in the middle of the night. Would stop for a month or so, then do it again. Had him on Prozac, then a miss of 2 drugs, saw a cat therapist behaviorist (didn't do any good, she was useless), and had scat mats on the couches. Finally decided we couldn't live under seine any longer. He was anxious, so we couldn't make him and odor ir barn cat, couldnt give him to someone else as I knew he'd do it there, etc. Vet came to the house and peacefully put him to sleep.

In your case, OP, you've had him for years, he's very elderly now and you will need to put him down in a year or so, and I think it's time now.

How would you ever think to put him in a windowless basement? Even stuck in the laundry room, it's away from his people, and he's a social cat. Time to do it, he won't know anything after its done, you're going to lose him in a year, it'll just be a bit sooner. I'm really sorry, OP, this is a hard decision. But living in a tiny room with no human contact isn't really living. Why not let him go? You'd do it if he was in physical pain, well.... he's in emotional pain.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I put an otherwise healthy 3 year old cat down after struggling with the same thing for 3 years. Ruined our couch, peed on everything soft, and if he jumped on our bed, even in the middle of the night, I'd wake right up from a dead sleep and try to grab him mid-pee. Because jumping on our bed always led to peeing. Peed on my mother in law in the middle of the night. Would stop for a month or so, then do it again. Had him on Prozac, then a miss of 2 drugs, saw a cat therapist behaviorist (didn't do any good, she was useless), and had scat mats on the couches. Finally decided we couldn't live under seine any longer. He was anxious, so we couldn't make him and odor ir barn cat, couldnt give him to someone else as I knew he'd do it there, etc. Vet came to the house and peacefully put him to sleep.

In your case, OP, you've had him for years, he's very elderly now and you will need to put him down in a year or so, and I think it's time now.

How would you ever think to put him in a windowless basement? Even stuck in the laundry room, it's away from his people, and he's a social cat. Time to do it, he won't know anything after its done, you're going to lose him in a year, it'll just be a bit sooner. I'm really sorry, OP, this is a hard decision. But living in a tiny room with no human contact isn't really living. Why not let him go? You'd do it if he was in physical pain, well.... he's in emotional pain.

Omg, next time just try to adopt the cat out to someone with problem solving skills instead of killing him.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I put an otherwise healthy 3 year old cat down after struggling with the same thing for 3 years. Ruined our couch, peed on everything soft, and if he jumped on our bed, even in the middle of the night, I'd wake right up from a dead sleep and try to grab him mid-pee. Because jumping on our bed always led to peeing. Peed on my mother in law in the middle of the night. Would stop for a month or so, then do it again. Had him on Prozac, then a miss of 2 drugs, saw a cat therapist behaviorist (didn't do any good, she was useless), and had scat mats on the couches. Finally decided we couldn't live under seine any longer. He was anxious, so we couldn't make him and odor ir barn cat, couldnt give him to someone else as I knew he'd do it there, etc. Vet came to the house and peacefully put him to sleep.

In your case, OP, you've had him for years, he's very elderly now and you will need to put him down in a year or so, and I think it's time now.

How would you ever think to put him in a windowless basement? Even stuck in the laundry room, it's away from his people, and he's a social cat. Time to do it, he won't know anything after its done, you're going to lose him in a year, it'll just be a bit sooner. I'm really sorry, OP, this is a hard decision. But living in a tiny room with no human contact isn't really living. Why not let him go? You'd do it if he was in physical pain, well.... he's in emotional pain.

OMG! There are organizations that take cats like this. I'm so sad.

[Anonymous]

OP - our two cats live in the finished basement now because the one has to be separated from the new dog or the cat pees all over. We tried Feliway, etc. Aside from a leash, I don't know how you'd keep a cat confined to one area, since they roam. Every time we try "supervised visitation" upstairs, he sneaks away and pees on something. It's hard because our cats are only 11 and 12, so we could potentially have years more of this.

It's a little different because the cats are bonded to each other, so they're not alone, BUT I understand that it's also not an option to have your house permanently smell like cat urine. I will say one cat cries for attention (my husband works from home downstairs sometimes, so it's not like we never spend time down there), but the other cat has no interest in coming upstairs. So maybe try it and see which camp your cat falls into. Maybe your cat wouldn't mind the break?

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I put an otherwise healthy 3 year old cat down after struggling with the same thing for 3 years. Ruined our couch, peed on everything soft, and if he jumped on our bed, even in the middle of the night, I'd wake right up from a dead sleep and try to grab him mid-pee. Because jumping on our bed always led to peeing. Peed on my mother in law in the middle of the night. Would stop for a month or so, then do it again. Had him on Prozac, then a miss of 2 drugs, saw a cat therapist behaviorist (didn't do any good, she was useless), and had scat mats on the couches. Finally decided we couldn't live under seine any longer. He was anxious, so we couldn't make him and odor ir barn cat, couldnt give him to someone else as I knew he'd do it there, etc. Vet came to the house and peacefully put him to sleep.

In your case, OP, you've had him for years, he's very elderly now and you will need to put him down in a year or so, and I think it's time now.

How would you ever think to put him in a windowless basement? Even stuck in the laundry room, it's away from his people, and he's a social cat. Time to do it, he won't know anything after its done, you're going to lose him in a year, it'll just be a bit sooner. I'm really sorry, OP, this is a hard decision. But living in a tiny room with no human contact isn't really living. Why not let him go? You'd do it if he was in physical pain, well.... he's in emotional pain.

Omg, next time just try to adopt the cat out to someone with problem solving skills instead of killing him.

You're a jerk. Did you not read the highlighted parts where she TRIED the problem-solving skills?

Not all cats are good pets. Not even with all the problem-solving in the world. Behavioral peeing problems are extraordinarily difficult to solve -- this is way beyond the "just add another litter box and scoop it every day" litter box strike issue. We have had two cats with peeing problems -- one started as a physical bladder/urinary tract problem, and the other was pure anxiety -- and we tried ABSOLUTELY everything and spent thousands of dollars on expert veterinary medical evaluations, drugs, behaviorists, etc. Sometimes no matter what you try you can't solve the problem. And the idea that there are people out there just begging to adopt your peeing cat is ridiculous -- we know. We looked.

For the OP -- the fact that your cat has had this issue for 5+ years and is now 15 years old means in my mind that you are very unlikely to solve this problem. Your cat is not going to change. So your options are:

1) Cover the furniture all the time and be extra-vigilant about soft stuff. We did this with one of our peeing cats. It's crazy but only you and your family can decide whether you can live like this.

2) Lock your cat in the laundry room. Frankly I don't know why you think this is a humane option. To me it sounds like torture and no way to treat a pet. At that point you're valuing quantity of life over quality as there is no way to justify locking your cat in the laundry room as the best way to treat your pet.

3) Try to rehome the cat. Also sounds like a great idea in theory but it's practically impossible in practice. You also have to ask yourself whether you can trust someone else to take care of your pet, especially an old cat with peeing problems, and whether your cat will survive the move and adjust well to a new home at age 15.

4) Or you can euthanize your cat, which to me sounds like the adult and humane option. 15 years old is a ripe old age for a cat. 14-16 years is the average lifespan for a neutered indoor-only cat. Just because some cats live longer (and some die sooner) is not a meaningful comparison -- your cat is an old cat who has spent a long life with you.

I think you have to ask yourself the hard question -- are you considering locking your cat in the laundry room, rehoming him, etc. because you can't bear to take the responsibility for his death? Are you truly considering his best interests or are you prioritizing your own emotional fears? Are you in denial about how old he is, or what his quality of life is like? What is truly in your cat's best interest in terms of quality of life, not quantity? Because he neither fears death nor anticipates it, but you do.

[Anonymous]

OMG! There are organizations that take cats like this. I'm so sad.

Name one. Post a list with links.