apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

CAT LITTER ON THE BATHROOM FLOOR!

First, a certain small cat learned to aim her urine at the seam in the covered litter box, guaranteeing that the bathroom would be a wretched place of stinking horror.

Upon being presented with a top-entry litter box, she has switched to clenching litter in her paws so that she can distribute it generously across the (white) bathroom floor.

We are now trying litter crystals, to see if that takes the fun out of it all.

This same cat, when using the other cat's lidless litter box, manages to show exemplary neatness in all ways.

My gf and I just moved in together about 4 months ago and I inherited her 1 dog and 2 cats. I love them all, but coming from a sleek loft of my own to a smaller place with more mammals has been an adjustment.

I'm a neat-freak and I ended up getting a quiet series ShopVac from the hardware store. I love it. It has been a great way to get at the roaming tumble weeds of pet hair and to check the spreading of the kitty litter. I use it about every other day or when I know I have guests coming (takes about 10 minutes to do a thorough job).

With the hair in check and Arm-and-Hammer’s litter neutralizer, it’s really just the litter boxes themselves that kill me. So ugly. At least the domed ones hide the feces.

Cats on the dining table and kitchen counter.

Cat fur. In the carpet, on the furniture, under the furniture, in my bed, on my clothes.... We put "fur guards" (blankets) on every surface where the cats like to sleep, but the fur still gets *everywhere*. The carpet is only good for about a day after vaccumming. We have really thick nasty carpet in the bedrooms. My husband keeps threatening to shave the cats.

Also, little granules of cat litter in the bed. Ew.

Oh, and why do they always insist on barfing on the carpet when there's tons of wood and tile floor available??

-litter that gets tracked everywhere. we vacuum twice a day.

-the fact that within minutes she can find any soft item (clothes, bags,etc. that we have left on the floor and mark it.

-the fact that she INSISTS on ice cubes in her water at all times. this is hard to maintiain, but she's old and I feel obligated to indulge her.

Dog park on-leash off-leash confusion.

The park by our house doesn't allow dogs at all (since dogs aren't allowed in ANY Oakland city parks) yet all the dogowners use it in our hood anyway and all the dogs get along fine. Yet I'm paranoid someday I'll get a ticket for having my dog there.

Also, dog owners who don't pick up poop. They give us all a bad name.

Noisy, quarrelsome cats. The dog is nigh-silent. The cats enjoy opera. And they ARE fixed. Besides, the one who most sounds "in heat" is a BOY. He's just that evil.

Laura - I thought my cat was just being spiteful barfing dark brown cat food on my white shag rug!
He would even avoid the dark brown rug in favor of it. If you have light carpet, Woolite Oxy Deep makes it look like it never happened.

And I also end up with litter in the bed even though the box is at the exact opposite end of the house. I think he's grown thumbs to grip the litter better.

While I'm blessed with a cat with impeccable litter manners and who never has hairballs, she's seriously annoying at night, sometimes just deciding to attack my legs or jumping from the window ledge ... right onto my face or suddenly deciding that my forehead just has to be cleaned right now.

When I brought my baby girl home ( 2 cats) to keep her away from the male I put her in the bathroom for a couple of days with the door cracked so they could smell each other. Gracie somehow got into the habit of using my bathtub (in spite of the fact that I provided her with her own box) for her restroom and now I have to do a poop check before I can take a shower.

LITTER & ALL IT'S EVILS

small apartments never have a good place to put them. it's always visible & (near somewhere you'll smell it). also, when they kick litter all over the floor. i prefer hardwood, so you notice it faster.

Weekdays: alarm clock goes off, snooze, meow, snooze, meow meow, snooze, meeeeooow meeeeeooow. Get up. Check food, water, litterbox. Full, clean, clean. Get back into bed for another 10. Meeeoooow...pet me, pet me...NOW!

Weekends: sleeping in is not an option

I know this is a pet peeve thread, but it has just illustrated why I don't like cats. I just don't get it. Could I hear some of their virtues?

Virtues of Feline-Americans:
--Warm and cuddly
--Happy to tell you about their week
--Always interested in world affairs, particularly those involving passing pigeons
--Will do something about any mice or gross bugs in the home, though not necessarily kill them
--Look devastatingly cute while picking their toes (find a boyfriend or girlfriend who achieves that, I dare you!)
--Chase catnip mice, feathers, and invisible things
--Will watch television with you and are not embarrassed by the most frivolous programming
--Work well as art when they decide to hold completely still and stare at you
--Always available to help with projects

Same as any pet -
She's very good company. I swear we sometimes have actual conversations. She has this way of looking at us as though we are the most wonderful things on the earth. This is pure gold when you've had a bad day.

Cat specific -
Low maintenance. I can go out of town for a day or two and not worry about her. She won't eat all of her food within five minutes and she knows where the litter box is. Also,they clean themselves (although as she ages she's not so good at this).

Independant. I don't like needy/whimpering people and I don't like needy/whimpering pets. She doesn't beg, she demands. I respect that.

Well my cats absolutely DON'T have the classic virtues of grace, elegance, aloofness, or self-sufficiency.

They DO:

1) Show warm and boundless affection to all humans in the home even when they don't necessarily like each other.

2) Entertain through elaborate physical comedy, individually and as a feline community.

3) Run to the door when you come in, come when called by name, and sit for treats like a puppy that never needs to be walked.

4) Purr. A purr is a very soothing thing to have lying on or next to you in bed at night.

5) Enjoy being cuddled and carried around, while clearly visualizing themselves as badasses.

Cats are like Carole Lombard -- elegance, with a screwball streak. I have occasionally wished we had a dog, as they always seem so darn happy to see you, but really like the portable, self-cleaning, absurdist comedy features on the cat.

It is weird, though, how they don't like barfing on bare wooden floors. Our place is all hardwood floors, so the one hairball-horfing cat does all her Karen Carpenter moves on the two throw rugs we have ... or the bed. Good thing I have duvet covers!

Cats like to throw up on rugs instead of hardwood floors because they like to be comfortable while being sick. Why suffer on a hardwood floor if the obedient human will clean it up from the rug anyway?

All this roving kitty litter and cats-leaping-onto-the-face stories are making me miss my kitties.

To the person who wonders why we like cats: Everytime I think about getting a dog, the only thing I can come up with that would be different about having a canine is having to take it outside to pee and poo, no matter what the weather is like. And that's not a good thing so I'll be sticking to cats. Plus I think it's awesome how cats are often snobs. They LOVE their owners, but friends? Who needs 'em! ha ha.

Drinking from the toilet isn't a peeve. It's quite convenient. You don't have to replace that cat water each day, you just flush as usual.

I'm sitting here laughing my a$$ off at some of these posts, and missing my kitties. I'm house/dog sitting for a friend who's out of town and remembering why I prefer cats to dogs.

There's my long-haired 12 year old who barfs on the carpet and sheds everywhere, but who hears me drive up and is waiting on the back of the loveseat (used as a divider between the living room and entry) and who follows me into the kitchen and tells me about his day as I put my lunch things and to-go cup by the sink, then demands his treat. Now.

Then there's my son's cat who still lives with me even tho my son doesn't. I call him El Gato Diablo because one look can freeze your blood, but who got mightly upset Saturday morning when I wasn't up at 5:30. I had to explain to him that it was Saturday and I didn't have to go to work, so he walked to the foot of the bed, curled up against my legs and went to sleep. Of course, I was throughly awake by then.

I'll admit it's my own fault; but my 33 LB. Pug (yes, he's a big boy, slightly overweight but is just not the petite variety of today's more popular Pugs) and my 44 Lb. Bulldog both insist on sleeping with me. And with a sleeping sausauge on each side, on top of my down comfoter, I am mummified for the next 8 hours or whenever they decide it's time to wake up. Then it's doggy spit on my face, doggy spit on my neck, even doggy spit in my hair until I give in and get out of bed. Potty. Cookies. And if I should decide to go back to bed afterward, repeat cycle. The Dog Whisperer will probably have a field day with me

First of all,I have asthma,so I hate the bastards.All of them.Cats are selfish,needy,whiney creatures that get on my last nerve...not to mention they're far and away the most disgusting animals I have ever had the displeasure of putting up with.Kitty litter gets everywhere,they whine all the damn time,hair gets everywhere,and they want to rub against you after they had just gotten done licking themselves.Ew.My Girfrield has a cat and I wish it would just go ahead and die.Like yesterday.I'm a real clean freak,and if I were to leave my girlfriend now there's no way in heaven or hell I'd date a woman with a cat.There's no possible way to get up all the hair ( you can't see it all ) and cats scatter their litter everywhere.....then they want to " cuddle " in bed with you ? Gross,man.Disgusting.There is a reason we built homes,to get away from the animals outside - so why the hell would anyone want to invite those nasty suckers in their nice clean house ??? May they all die.

ALong with people who talk like this! Charming

I was just re-reading the posts here, and laughing again, and realized that I'd forgotten to mention in my previous note that I'd paid $25/month 'pet rent' on top of my pet deposit when I lived in Phoenix. And those apartments were one of the very few that even allowed pets.

Poor Gary! Although I love my cats, this month has brought home to me even more how much I prefer cats (even with the attendent litter tracking and shedding) to dogs, as my mom's little dustmop type has been staying with me while my mom recovers from a recent heart attack. For various reasons (my mom's age and arthritis being paramount), she trained the dog to use potty training papers instead of letting the dog in and out of her house. Since I'm gone 10 hours a day, my apartment smells like dog pee, when it never smells like a dirty litter box. (I know because my best friend has been charged with the duty of sniffing around when she comes in and telling me). I'd probably never consider seriously dating a man who has a dog.

Gary, my advise to you would be to not move in with your girlfriend (if you haven't already done so) until the cat is gone, since you'll only become more frustrated with the situation. And please believe I'm being very sincere, not sarcastic. Some people don't like animals, and that's ok. Some don't like children, either. Thank goodness mine is already grown ;-).

Folks, I used to brush my cats with a coat brush every day, every chance I got. And ALMOST NO SHEDDING! They loved it, rolled over and purred and presented whichever furry part needed it next, and I got to do my work with my other hand, didn't even have to look. Try it.

Gary, I feel for you, but I think you are equating the particular with the universal. One cat is not all cats, nor all owners, nor all animals.

AND I cannot agree when you say we built houses to get away from animals. Shelter from the elements does NOT equal shelter from animals smaller than us who do not prey on us. If the 'human' and 'nature' are to separated , let's not pollute animal habitats, eh, by putting toxic stuff down the drain, using trees for our needs, and eating animals or animal products or using leather for our fancy sofas, shoes and belts? I'm sure all farm and wild animals are wishing us the same with fondness right now, "May all humans die!"

I'm kinda scared both wishes (yours and theirs) will come true, not just one.

Now I love me a nice dog, don't get me wrong, I grew up with big dogs, but here's the great thing about cats: they don't bark! Currently there are 6 dogs within 3 doors of me in all directions. 5 big ones that bark, and a little one that yaps. Here's the news, dog owners: happy, well-socialized dogs don't bark! It is not rocket science to train a dog to be quiet, what it takes is for the OWNER to suck it up and exercise a little discipline and take the poor creature to classes. Oh, and when you're out and leave the dog at home? Espec. when you leave him in the yard? And you think the dog isn't barking? Trust me, he is.

Cat owners: put a piece of that fake grass/astroturf stuff under the littler box so the cat has to step on it on his way out. Gets rid of most litter. Also the corn-based flushable litter doesn't track much in the first place.

True story: woman I knew once had two tiny toy-breed dogs. She trained them to do their business in a tea cup. I'm not lying. She taught them to come to her when they need to go. She went and got their teacups, held them under them while they went, dumped and washed out the cups. Cat litter box for when she was going to be out. Can't decide if this is insane or brilliant.

Gary: so you love a super-clean house. That's ok. But seriously, what are you going to do if you have children one day? Kid-dirt makes pet-dirt look like a sanitary room in an electronics assembly facility. The decent thing to do is tell her right out how seriously you don't like her having a pet. She needs to know exactly what she's dealing with. with you There is of course a risk here, she might dump your prissy-pants ass, which is what I would be, but whatever, both of you to get this out in the open.