Thursday, February 01, 2007

The trouble with cats....


We've got two cats. Mostly, we like them. We got them because my wife moved to York, PA to be with me, but quickly found herself lonely. The following week we found out she (my wife, and one of the newly adopted cats) was pregnant.

Two years and two kids later, we're growing less fond of them. One of them is a moron. He cries for no reason. He walks into walls. He panics every time we feed him. If you sit down, he sits on you--every time. It's annoying (but tolerable).

The other cat can be bothersome, but she's more fun. She fetches like a dog, generally leaves you alone unless you feel like cuddling, and is seldom caught clawing our outrageously expensive bed. She just....can't...quite....figure out the litter box.

Most cats that don't use the litter box piss wherever they feel like it. Or in one particular spot that they are comfortable with. The trouble with my cat is she uses the litter box. She just misses. Every time, she hangs her ass over the side and pisses all over my bathroom floor. Let me tell you how pleasant it is to step in cat piss when you're bleary-eyed at 6 am. And yelling at her would only exacerbate the problem, as she would likely stop using the box entirely.

Anyone know how to smarten up cats? I thought they were supposed to be brighter and more independent than dogs. Silly me...

5 comments:

Jennifer said...

One of my cats does something similar. He stands to pee and sprays it all over the back wall of whatever he's peeing in... so, to solve that problem, I got a HUGE Rubbermaid storage tub, cut a dip in it on one side, dumped litter in it, and called it a litter box. He still pees all over the back wall of it... but it's over 2 feet tall, so it doesn't make a mess.

For her, that would probably not work, since she'd probably hang her ass over the edge that the dip is in. BUT it might work to combine that method with another...

If you put your current litter box INSIDE another larger, more shallow litter pan (with about 4" extra space on all sides), you might be able to get her piss to land in the "moat" the larger pan creates around the outer perimeter of the smaller box. Dig?

Cats are peculiar with their litter habits. Just be glad she uses the damn box. One of my cats never poops in the box. It drives me nutty.

And you're right that yelling will never help with a cat. Even if they're caught in the act.

Tisha! said...

oh our 'gato' is a wiz and of course i would say that but maybe it's because he goes and comes as he wishes from the garden and is not cooped up - are yours domesticated?

Anonymous said...

hahahaha! That is really funny... People get upset when their pets dont use the litter, but ur case is totally different. U r disturbed bcoz ur cat never misses the litter.. and it is so sweet of u to think that cats are supposed to be brighter and more independent than dogs. frankly speaking , even I feel the same way.. lol!!

Ben said...

Jennifer Both of those are reasonable solutions. I'm not sure my cat would hang her ass over the side because she always goes in the same place. So perhaps an insanely deep litter box is the answer.

I'm not sure a 'moat of urine' is any better, although at least I'd no longer step in it.

Tisha, by the way, I'm totally ripping off your method of responding to posters. It's nice to personally respond to everyone, and bolding the name makes it easy to find.

Both of our cats have never been outside. The always seem tempted, but just aren't brave enough to see the big, big world.

Hey, I've been meaning to ask you--do you live in Belgium?

Justin, you freaked me out for a minute there. Thought you were my buddy in Georgia. Clearly, you have two different writing styles, however.

I wouldn't say my cat never misses the litter. I'd say she thinks she's in, but then misses quite badly. Yeah...hilarious.

Trish Ess said...

Blogmad hit! :)

I have two cats. I also have a Boxer. The dog may be goofy, but he's smart. The cats have taught me that everyone might think they can't be trained because they're independent but they're wrong. So very wrong. They're really just f**kwits. That's all there is to it.