Monday, October 13, 2008

Dear Cat Lovers,

I need your help. I've never had a cat or a dog for that matter and I am currently taking care of my neighbors cat, dog, hamster and fish! Just for the record, this is NOT my thing. This is an act of sheer brotherly love. These are the same neighbors whose daughter died earlier this year and now they have had a grandparent/mother pass away. They're struggling on so many levels, so it was the least I could do to volunteer to watch their pets, right? Now I'm not so sure. The cat is sick and I have no idea what to do. The cat is not eating. It hasn't eaten since Saturday night. We've found cat vomit in the house twice and the cat has pooped on the rug three times now. Totally gross! I used to think we might have a dog one day, now I'm saying NO WAY! So all you cat lovers out there, what do I do?????? Could it be possible that the cat doesn't want to poop in the litter box because it needs to be emptied? They didn't tell me how to empty the litter box, so I have no idea what to do. I called my neighbor yesterday and told her that the cat wouldn't come out from under the kitchen table and I told her the cat wasn't eating. She told me not to worry about it that the cat is moody sometimes when they're gone. Hmmm...Do I call them again and bug them about their cat on the night of the viewing? Good grief this is a hassle! So help me out here people! I need some advice!

Sincerely,
The fish lover (the only pet we'll ever have :)

P.S. I just read back over this post and it totally sounds so negative. Really I don't hate cats, this one is just causing some issues, so I'm frustrated. Truth be told, we will probably have pets other than fish in our lives at some point, just not right now. Christian actually just asked me for a hamster at dinner tonight!

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Judy,

I don't know much about cats other than when I take care of Ryan and Steff's. All I know is that they like a clean litter box. If they have a scooper thing, use that to try to dig out the junk. Other than that I'm not much help. You might want to try and call Ryan and Steff. They could help you out.

Kevin Reid

Anonymous said...

You totally have to clean the litter box. Most cats are super moody especially when the owners are gone so they are probably (1)pooping on carpet and not eating to be spiteful and (2) WON'T POO IN THE LITTER BOX BECAUSE IT IS DIRTY! Just use a scoop and add new litter. Baking soda in the box may help with the smell too. Hope this helps. I love cats but they are moody creatures!

Wendy

Anonymous said...

The litter box might need cleaning, but yes cat's are prima donnas and get on bent out of shape when left alone. Rosy used to throw up and poo on the flour if we went away. I don't envy you this. Anna

the mccollums... said...

yeah, well, i am NOT a cat lover either...clean the cat box and thats it. :) Let us know how it goes...thats why I will never get a cat, super moody and you have to maintain them...not my thing. :) How bout some blog pics of the thing? JK :)

Millicent said...

lol...clean the litter box. either dump it totally and put new litter in, or scoop it (if you see a scooper).
And lots of animals won't eat when their owners are gone. if it still isn't eating then see if they have any canned food. If they will be gone much longer then it wouldn't hurt to call and ask if you could give it some chicken broth over it's food to help.
good luck!

Lori said...

Oh, Judy...we have a cat that is EXACTLY like that...he is quite the moody little boy and will only drink out of the bathtub faucet. Anyway...everytime Doug goes out of town, the puking begins...it's not lovely. Being woken up in the middle of the night to the sounds of a cat wretching is not fun...and then worrying about where it is and do I get up and find it or pray I don't step in it in the morning.

Anyway...canned food usually makes Moses worse. He has slowed down a lot on the puking since we stopped giving it to him. Cats are like infants, they won't starve themselves...they will eat when they get hungry.