tobermory's Diaryland Diary

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The last straw

Steve and I had to make a hard decision. Our not-so-little cat pee problem was starting to get out of hand again. For whatever reason, it seems that Ivy gets herself a case of spring fever and this triggers the crossed wire in her tiny brain and she starts peeing on things again. We tried to figure out what it is that brings on the episodes and it wasn�t:

Other cats spraying outside our home � we don�t have a stray cat problem in the �hood.
Urinary infection � we had her tested three separate times.
Lack of litterboxes � three cats, three boxes.
Clean litterboxes � I clean them at least once a day, usually twice.
Lack of attention � we lavished her with treats and attention and it didn�t help.

The best we can figure is that she hates Wendy with a passion and wants to pee wherever Wendy sleeps. We had a little help in figuring this out back when we weren�t sure exactly who was peeing out of the box and thought it might be Wendy. We went on a weekend trip and isolated Wendy in the bathroom. When we came home � yay! Pee-free house. But, when we let Wendy out of the bathroom, Ivy ran right in and pissed about a gallon of pee onto the bathmat that Wendy had been sleeping on the whole weekend. Culprit found. By this time Wendy began to feel persecuted and she has overgroomed all the hair off her stomach.

In trying to solve the problem we have tried:

Valium � expensive ($80/month) and didn�t work at all.
Elavil � cheaper ($10/month) and slightly more effective, but still �accidents�

To modify our home we:

Make the bed every morning with a shower curtain under an ugly blanket.
Have plastic tarps draped over our couch and chair in the living room.
Have bottles of FON (feline odor neutralizer) conveniently located through the house.
Have plastic garbage bags placed under all the litterboxes.

Last night was the final straw. Steve and I were in bed reading and Ivy came in and peed on the floor right in front of us. I just can�t take it anymore and if it was just Steve, Ivy would have been gone along time ago. We can�t re-home her because:

Who wants a cat that pees on furniture?
She hates everyone (she tolerates me and Steve but never wants any affection). She only hisses at women, but she�ll actively go after men and children.

So, today I made the hardest call. Thank god my vet is a nice person who knows I�ve tried and tried to work this out, but the problem is still there and it�s affecting me, my other cats, Steve�.. I feel a little like I�ve failed Ivy, but the vet assured me that some cats are just hard-wired in a bad way. So tomorrow morning I take her in for her last vet visit. It makes me feel like shit, so if you�re thinking of sending me a nasty note or e-mail to make me feel shittier please think twice.
New Resolution Diary:
Breakfast: Greek yogurt
Lunch: McDonald�s salad (no chicken), small yogurt parfait, diet coke, mini Reece�s pb cup for dessert.
Snack: small banana
Exercise: I have to clean the house tonight, so a couple of hours of vigorous housework.
Reading: Running With Scissors, by Augusten Burroughs.

2:31 p.m. - 2006-04-20

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