Cat Issues: Part 206
If you follow this column, you might remember that about six months ago, I discovered that my cat, Jazz, had taken to using the fireplace for things other than what fireplaces are designed for. So when I again found that her litter box was suspiciously empty, I knew it was only a matter of time before I found her…ahem…stuff someplace else.
That someplace else turned out to be the Shag Room, so called because it still has the horrendous red shag carpeting that I swore I would replace immediately when I bought my house three years ago. As they say, the best laid plans…
Actually, I can't take credit for making this discovery. My son has a basketball hoop in the Shag Room, and one afternoon after he had been playing for two minutes, I heard, "Ah, Mommy. I found something gross."
Sure enough, the deep shag had hidden the cat's business. So I cleaned that up, disinfected the entire area, and went about my day. Five minutes later, I heard another call: "There's more." Three piles in all. Let me tell you, there's not enough disinfectant in the world to get that smell out of shag carpet. But the final straw was when she started spraying perfectly innocent blankets left on the backs of couches.
It was time to call the vet. Because either something was wrong with her, or it would be shortly if she didn't stop stinking up my house.
They advised me to bring her in to rule out a urinary tract infection, which seemed odd to me because she's a celibate, indoor cat. But from what I could gather, they thought it was probably a behavioral issue. Wonderful. I had to take a kicking and screaming cat into the vet's office and pay them to tell me-in all likelihood-that my cat had some serious issues.
As it turned out, however, she did have a UTI (I have no idea how they collected a urine sample from her, and I don't want to be filled in). The remedy for this situation is three weeks of antibiotics, which are pills that I have to stuff down her throat twice a day. Let me reiterate: for three weeks.
While she was at the vet's office, they called to tell me the good news and also to ask if I wanted them to give her two shots that she was due for. I figured, why not? She's there anyway. One of the shots was a rabies booster, and to prove to the county that she'd had it done, they gave me a certificate with her mug shot on it.
Based on the photo, she'd had the worst day of her life. And to make sure I knew it, upon returning home, she went upstairs and peed in the back of my closet.
The good news is that my procrastination about getting new carpet for the Shag Room actually paid off. Anyone who's sniffed anything that comes out of a cat knows that Febreeze isn't going to cut it. So I'm trying to time the new carpet installation with the completion of her course of antibiotics, but this isn't an exact science. And while I'm a little grateful to her for forcing me to revamp the horrible Shag Room, I might not be so forgiving if the people at the carpet store begin to greet me by name. TPW
That someplace else turned out to be the Shag Room, so called because it still has the horrendous red shag carpeting that I swore I would replace immediately when I bought my house three years ago. As they say, the best laid plans…
Actually, I can't take credit for making this discovery. My son has a basketball hoop in the Shag Room, and one afternoon after he had been playing for two minutes, I heard, "Ah, Mommy. I found something gross."
Sure enough, the deep shag had hidden the cat's business. So I cleaned that up, disinfected the entire area, and went about my day. Five minutes later, I heard another call: "There's more." Three piles in all. Let me tell you, there's not enough disinfectant in the world to get that smell out of shag carpet. But the final straw was when she started spraying perfectly innocent blankets left on the backs of couches.
It was time to call the vet. Because either something was wrong with her, or it would be shortly if she didn't stop stinking up my house.
They advised me to bring her in to rule out a urinary tract infection, which seemed odd to me because she's a celibate, indoor cat. But from what I could gather, they thought it was probably a behavioral issue. Wonderful. I had to take a kicking and screaming cat into the vet's office and pay them to tell me-in all likelihood-that my cat had some serious issues. As it turned out, however, she did have a UTI (I have no idea how they collected a urine sample from her, and I don't want to be filled in). The remedy for this situation is three weeks of antibiotics, which are pills that I have to stuff down her throat twice a day. Let me reiterate: for three weeks.
While she was at the vet's office, they called to tell me the good news and also to ask if I wanted them to give her two shots that she was due for. I figured, why not? She's there anyway. One of the shots was a rabies booster, and to prove to the county that she'd had it done, they gave me a certificate with her mug shot on it.
Based on the photo, she'd had the worst day of her life. And to make sure I knew it, upon returning home, she went upstairs and peed in the back of my closet.
The good news is that my procrastination about getting new carpet for the Shag Room actually paid off. Anyone who's sniffed anything that comes out of a cat knows that Febreeze isn't going to cut it. So I'm trying to time the new carpet installation with the completion of her course of antibiotics, but this isn't an exact science. And while I'm a little grateful to her for forcing me to revamp the horrible Shag Room, I might not be so forgiving if the people at the carpet store begin to greet me by name. TPW