I wish I knew how to help you, cat

[purplebob]

I've been having some rather irreconcilable problems with a friend of mine, a friend who is an a pretty bad life situation and that just makes me feel worse about the whole thing. I am referring to my cat, Alex

Comments

[anonymous]

sorry for your cat, but i am sure he must have enjoyed last two years. Thus taking him out of shelter wasn't a bad decision irrespective of your future action.

[lakmiseiru]

Hmm. I wonder if moving the couch into the storeroom (and leaving the door open a crack so he can come and go) will help? If he still likes the couch, that would give him a target without having cat-smell in your living room. I have a downstairs neighbor whose cats spray, and the smell isn't too noticeable in our place, and we're just separated by a door. If you get a new couch, I'd suggest putting plastic sheeting down on it (perhaps covered by some cover you can dispose of).

If the litter box issue is a problem of aim, put the litter box in the storeroom (or some other place) in a kiddie pool (the kind that's about 1' deep and maybe 5' in diameter, which will solve that reasonably well (my dad used that on his geriatric cat to good success).

I wish I could offer more suggestions; you're in a very hard situation, and I'm glad you're thinking about Alex's welfare as well as your own.

[marcusmarcusrc]

Certainly, getting rid of the couch is important. My housemate's cat had some urination issues early after adoption, and adopted my housemate's papasan as an appropriate target... once the papasan was gone, the cat went back to using the litterbox. (I think the cat hit 3 or 4 other objects once or twice, but we were able to address those in other ways)

I've heard that kitty prozac can help with things like this if part of the problem is emotional.

[zwilichkl]

I notice you don't mention having him put down as an option. If he really is in chronic pain, and has health problems that can't be addressed, and is impossible to live with... it seems like it would be more humane to have the end be with someone who loves him instead of having to go through another major living situation change or two.

[purplebob]

It's not an option I face very well, but I think you may be right.

Alex

[pamspeer]

Rob-are you letting him out of the storeroom to spend time with you and if so, does he appreciate it or not? He may not be able to be a loving cat any more. It seems like he has some health problems that are making him act the way he does. If Alex does have a bladder problem an infection is imminent. Both Sylvester and Sammy (our first cat) had kidney failure at the end and we had them put down. I respect your sensitivity on the "end of life' issues. When we learned that Toby had feline leukemia (which turned out to be a false positive) we decided to give him the best life we could for the time he had remaining. Fortunately, that situation turned out OK. I would say keep observing his actions- you'll be able to tell if he's in serious pain.