Like most families, we had furry children before we had real children. We got our two kitties about nine years ago. One is huge & fluffy & not too bright, while the other one is just plain fat & grumpy & very intelligent. Over the years, we’ve had issues with Big Fluffy peeing outside of the litter box. It turns out, he has had bladder infections. You’d think I’d know that by now…
A few months ago, I was cleaning the dining room and noticed a familiar foul odor. Cat pee!!! Ahhhhh! If you have ever had a cat that peed on the carpet, you know this is a horrible ordeal. You can never fully get rid of that gross smell and once a cat smells it on the rug, he will pee there forever.
I instantly blamed Big Fluffy for this pee fiasco and took him to the vet right away. It turns out he DIDN’T have an infection. What?! Tell me it isn’t so! The vet uttered those scary words, “It means it’s a behavioral problem.” Oh super. Trying to figure out the behavioral issues of a cat is like trying to figure out why old people care about the cost of a cup of coffee. $1.35? Why that’s highway robbery!
Anyway, I’ve tried every kind of trick to get them off the carpet. New litter boxes, lavender litter, new locations, bribery, crying, begging, etc. Small victories here & there, but nothing has worked. I was entertaining the idea of some kind of motion-activated scarecrow for the dining room and then I spotted the true crime being committed. It wasn’t Big Fluffy cat at all. It was Angry Fat Cat. I couldn’t believe my eyes! Angry Fat Cat may be angry and he may be fat, but he ALWAYS uses the litter box.
Today I finally took Angry Fat Cat to the vet and he has small crystals in his urine. All this time I was ignoring him and blaming Big Fluffy. I feel like a horrible cat mom. We got his meds and he should be feeling better in a few days. Hopefully the random pee attacks will cease as well. This has taught me a valuable lesson I can apply to my real children. Don’t blame anyone until you see the crime being committed with your own eyes. You may think you’ve got those little personalities figured out, but you don’t. And I have about 2 feet of ruined carpet to prove it!