A plea from a father (of pets)
So, for those who might not know, Emily and I moved into her mother's basement. Her mother is not a fan of cats. So, we asked Bruce to take care of our cats. Unfortunately, they haven't much cared for Bruce's place. I think it's the combination of a few things.
First, we're not there. I KNOW that this is a problem for Chaz, as he was a stray cat and he took some time to warm up to us, and once he did, he was IN LOVE. However, since we're not around, I believe he feels abandoned. Baumer is just afraid of everything, and thus, is afraid of being in a place without us and then another cat he doesn't know.
Second, it's a smaller space than they have gotten used to. Our place was considerably larger than Bruce's apartment and I think they are a bit stir crazy in there. I know they were a bit stir crazy in Blormal, but since they had both known each other for a while, they weren't as agitated as they are with Icarus (Bruce's cat).
Thirdly, there's a new cat. Chaz was the dominant cat of our place, now there is a cat around that knows all the hiding places and the whole place smells like him. This I know freaks Chaz out, he's used to being the dominant one. I do think he's making inroads here, but Baumer is still not excited to see him. Baumer didn't like Chaz too much when we first got him, but now they are brothers. We had them fixed separately (Chaz's was paid for by PAWS) so we kept them apart while healing and they cried so much outside the bathroom when the other was in there. They wanted to be in there with their brother.
Unfortunately, the current situation is not going well. They have peed outside their litter box twice (once on the box the litter comes from and once in their cat bed). They are considerate when peeing outside the box, it's always on something that is easy to clean up. They would knock over the garbage and pee in there for us, or once Chaz peed on a plastic bag. The only times they would pee outside the box when we had them was when their litter box was full (there were times we would just completely forget). However, once we cleaned it they would go back there. They may be peeing in protest (Bruce kept them in the entertainment room while at work), or they may be marking their territory. I would suspect bladder infection if they hadn't moved the box of litter over to where they peed that time. We don't really know exactly why, otherwise we would certainly remedy that situation and stop the peeing. This is an especially bad problem for Bruce as it gives him a very bad reaction (I don't know if it's allergic or what but it's not good) so not only is it inconvenient but actually unhealthy for Bruce to keep our cats.
The reason we chose Bruce is because he only had one pet, was someone we felt we could visit often to see our cats and someone who we knew would give them the care we would want to give. However, the final decision is the cats' not ours'. So, we are looking for a new home for them. I've asked my mom but she already has three indoor cats who are crazy (one just stopped chewing her fur off from OCD). As outdoor cats at my mom's, we could do that, but my mom says they have a ton of coyotes and I really want them to both be alive, and Baumer doesn't see well anyway, with it being dark and him being chased by a coyote, I have a hard time believing he'd make it, and that breaks my heart. I've thought about Andy and Liz but they have two cats and a dog. I have a feeling that would be a worse situation than just having Icarus around. I can't imagine either of them getting along with Tybalt either, and Dax is getting so old I'd hate to have our cats driving him nuts. We thought about Dannie taking them, but especially with now having a wedding to plan, she's not going to have time to take care of them, and we don't have the time to be able to go out to someone's house everyday and make sure the cats are being fed and their litter being cleaned/changed.
So, does anyone know anyone who could possibly take care of two cats who are really great pets for about a year? I'm thinking July is when we'll be moving back into our own place. I've mentioned all the things we'd like to have above, if we need to adjust one of our expectations, we may be able to do that. I just want to make sure they are in a place that they can live in some peace until we can take them back. Thanks ahead of time.
First, we're not there. I KNOW that this is a problem for Chaz, as he was a stray cat and he took some time to warm up to us, and once he did, he was IN LOVE. However, since we're not around, I believe he feels abandoned. Baumer is just afraid of everything, and thus, is afraid of being in a place without us and then another cat he doesn't know.
Second, it's a smaller space than they have gotten used to. Our place was considerably larger than Bruce's apartment and I think they are a bit stir crazy in there. I know they were a bit stir crazy in Blormal, but since they had both known each other for a while, they weren't as agitated as they are with Icarus (Bruce's cat).
Thirdly, there's a new cat. Chaz was the dominant cat of our place, now there is a cat around that knows all the hiding places and the whole place smells like him. This I know freaks Chaz out, he's used to being the dominant one. I do think he's making inroads here, but Baumer is still not excited to see him. Baumer didn't like Chaz too much when we first got him, but now they are brothers. We had them fixed separately (Chaz's was paid for by PAWS) so we kept them apart while healing and they cried so much outside the bathroom when the other was in there. They wanted to be in there with their brother.
Unfortunately, the current situation is not going well. They have peed outside their litter box twice (once on the box the litter comes from and once in their cat bed). They are considerate when peeing outside the box, it's always on something that is easy to clean up. They would knock over the garbage and pee in there for us, or once Chaz peed on a plastic bag. The only times they would pee outside the box when we had them was when their litter box was full (there were times we would just completely forget). However, once we cleaned it they would go back there. They may be peeing in protest (Bruce kept them in the entertainment room while at work), or they may be marking their territory. I would suspect bladder infection if they hadn't moved the box of litter over to where they peed that time. We don't really know exactly why, otherwise we would certainly remedy that situation and stop the peeing. This is an especially bad problem for Bruce as it gives him a very bad reaction (I don't know if it's allergic or what but it's not good) so not only is it inconvenient but actually unhealthy for Bruce to keep our cats.
The reason we chose Bruce is because he only had one pet, was someone we felt we could visit often to see our cats and someone who we knew would give them the care we would want to give. However, the final decision is the cats' not ours'. So, we are looking for a new home for them. I've asked my mom but she already has three indoor cats who are crazy (one just stopped chewing her fur off from OCD). As outdoor cats at my mom's, we could do that, but my mom says they have a ton of coyotes and I really want them to both be alive, and Baumer doesn't see well anyway, with it being dark and him being chased by a coyote, I have a hard time believing he'd make it, and that breaks my heart. I've thought about Andy and Liz but they have two cats and a dog. I have a feeling that would be a worse situation than just having Icarus around. I can't imagine either of them getting along with Tybalt either, and Dax is getting so old I'd hate to have our cats driving him nuts. We thought about Dannie taking them, but especially with now having a wedding to plan, she's not going to have time to take care of them, and we don't have the time to be able to go out to someone's house everyday and make sure the cats are being fed and their litter being cleaned/changed.
So, does anyone know anyone who could possibly take care of two cats who are really great pets for about a year? I'm thinking July is when we'll be moving back into our own place. I've mentioned all the things we'd like to have above, if we need to adjust one of our expectations, we may be able to do that. I just want to make sure they are in a place that they can live in some peace until we can take them back. Thanks ahead of time.