Elderly cat, laminate flooring guilt :(

[catsofa]

I'm feeling so guilty already...

...I'm getting laminate flooring put down on Monday. My cat is going to hate it. She's 15 years old and her back legs have really started to "go", much weaker than they were and lost a lot of muscle so she's quite floppy. She's racing up and down the flat as usual this evening, but on Monday night she's going to slide around all over the place and possibly not be able to race around at all any more as she won't be able to grip it. She won't be able to use the floor as a scratching post either.

Is there any way I can make laminate flooring a bit more grippy, maybe with some sort of wax or something? I will be getting a big rug eventually but I'm waiting til I find something very big and very cheap as it's a huge room - the small temporary ones I have in storage will all just slide around too much I think.

I expect she will destroy the sofa, which is the only other thing she likes to scratch. It will serve me right for getting rid of her carpet.

(The carpet absolutely has to go BTW, it has an infestation, otherwise I actually would have kept it just for the cat.)

What on earth am I going to say to her when she figures out what I've done, and LOOKS at me?

[RubbishMantra]

How about some rug grippy stuff? A bit like double sided sticky-tape, but for rugs. Like this

Then she can prance, scamper and scratch to her heart's content

[cozietoesie]

I reckon she'll be fine. Seniorboy has bad arthritis and manages quite the thing on laminate flooring in the kitchen and polished floorboards (with rugs) everywhere else. She'll have maybe an hour or two of adjustment to the new surface but just let her get on with it.

I'd get yourself a vintage eastern rug if finances are tight. It will help once winter comes round and they're relatively inexpensive. (Cleaned beforehand if you go to one of the firms who sell them.) Unless your main room is castle sized of course - I'm never quite sure what people mean when they say they have large rooms because it can depend where in the country you live.

(By the way, if you have rugs on a wooden floor, it's quite OK to have more than one down - and, indeed, to have them overlapping. The cats don't mind at all.)

If her back legs are starting to go, have you had her to the vets recently? Seniorboy is on meds from his vet and they've really helped him.

[catsofa]

RubbishMantra I know what you mean, but also my imagination wants to pretend you're recommending basically sellotaping the cat firmly to the floor with big sellotape . Will the tape definitely be ok on the laminate? I've no idea how easily it marks or peels off.

cozietoesie yeah she's been to the vets, they say she's fine, I went on and on about her ageing and losing muscle tone so they did blood tests which say she's fine. Bit of arthritis maybe but not much can be done about that.

The room is about 20 square metres, which is big enough that I'm struggling to find rugs on ebay that will cover about 2m x 2.8m of it (as big as I think it can get without being in the way of doors etc).

I thought I would trip on the edges of smaller ones but maybe not if I tape them down, and I expect madam would then enjoy prising the edges up again off the floor. They could also be washed more easily when anybody vomits or pees or dismantles small mouse corpses on them. Which funnily enough only one of us ever actually does.

[cozietoesie]

There's plenty that can be done about arthritis - and if she's got it now, it's not going to improve. Maybe have a read of Lone's post in \link{http://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/the_litter_tray/2071069-Cost-of-arthritis-medication-for-cat-can-someone-give-me-a-guideline-please?msgid=46837645\this thread} for example? Might be thought provoking.

It's also pretty easy to get a reasonably priced vintage/Persian rug of that size. In fact, I would always buy a vintage Eastern rug if I had wooden floors: they don't lose their value much, can easily be taken with you if you move house (done it myself) and are more easily cleaned than fitted carpets, especially if you have some sort of garden or yard.

[catsofa]

Thanks, where would I look for a Persian rug? I have no transport so would need somewhere that delivers.

The cat and I currently have about the same amount of arthritis I reckon, so I'm going on what both her vet and my doctor have told me. I was prescribed glucosamine but my vet pointed out that there's no actual evidence that it works so (after researching and confirming this) I stopped taking it. The cat and I share cod liver oil drops and the occasional bit of oily fish, for which there is evidence.

We both do ok, she galumphs about all the time and still catches mice, but just is a little less steady on her feet than she used to be and I think a slippy floor will be quite annoying for her.

OTOH if I get a big rug, make a tunnel out of it and tell her there is something lurking in the tunnel, that will probably keep her entertained for weeks and weeks.

[cozietoesie]

I think Google would be your friend on this one - doing a UK search on 'oriental carpets'. I've got a couple of firms I use (one does my carpet cleaning) and both arrange delivery/pick up in the case of cleaning but it wouldn't be fair to advertise on their behalf especially when you mighj find one that's even better. Do some extensive looking even though it isn't easy because your brain becomes fuddled with pattern and colour. I'd start off by forming an idea in your mind of the colour, pattern and size you want so that you can cut out some of the competition - otherwise you'll want to buy them all. Much depends on available funds of course.

As to the arthritis? Your vet sounds a bit negative to me I must say. Your girl isn't quite as old as my old boy but she's no kitten. My own vet is very active for the care of older animals and has always been concerned to help give Seniorboy as fun a life as she can. Maybe do some more research there so that you can discuss the matter more confidently at her next vetting? I can't see that there isn't going to be some point when some intervention might be necessary for her comfort.

I think she'll be fine but best of luck anyway.



(PS - if you're already using ebay, look up some of the ebay sellers and get their B&M shops. Frequently much better prices and terms.)

[RubbishMantra]

Yup, you can use the grippy tape on laminate flooring. You can remove it with some white spirit. Wouldn't recommend using it to stick your cat to the floor though...

cozie, what is a B&M site?

[cozietoesie]

Bricks & Mortar

[catsofa]

I have removed the carpet, ready for installation day tomorrow.

She has had a very good look around and is not impressed.

She will hide under the bed until they're gone tomorrow, and then there will be catswearing and looks.

[RubbishMantra]

Actually, mine seems to like sliding around on the wood floor. When playing with his toys, he does some very impressive hand-brake turn type maneuvers. Also some hilarious running on the spot moments.

[catsofa]

Whoop! It is installed AND I have put the computer back together again. I love it.

I keep thinking something is dripping somewhere and then realising it's the sound of little tippy tappy claws wandering around the place.

She's had a tiring day hiding from the fitter and trying to sit on the very thing I'm going to move next, so no gallivanting this evening. I've had a couple of slippy moments myself but also not had a good slide around on it yet.

Tomorrow we will see which of us can do the best handbrake turn and whether the cat will let me slide her around on some sort of little toboggan. Also I may need to buy a small remote controlled car of some kind for us both to play with .

[cozietoesie]

So she's not freaked out by it or slithering much?

[catsofa]

Not sure yet, the bit I'm worried about is when she gets all funny after dinner and suddenly bolts from one end of the flat to the other pretending a big monster is chasing her etc etc.

She's ok plodding around, I just don't want her to lose confidence in being able to run and jump and generally bounce around when she wants to, since she's getting a little frail and floppy and doesn't really get any other exercise.

She'll probably get the hang of it though.

The only tape I could find today called Carpet Tape said PERMANENT on it, and I was too scared to stick it to my brand new floor. Will it really be ok?

[catsofa]

HAHAHAHA ok the sort of thing I imagined happening has just happened!

Cat tried to jump up on the low chair she likes to sit on. There was a cushion on the chair and instead of pulling herself onto the seat, because her back legs had no grip on the floor she sort of slid under the chair and pulled the cushion down on top of her instead.

It looked hilarious and would have been a youtube classic if I'd caught it on camera.

But the poor cat is starting to miss her grip on the floor. This time tomorrow will she just be sitting next to this chair crying and demanding that I lift her onto it? It is about 1ft high.

[cozietoesie]

She'll have to learn her new evironment and you may be required also to make the odd adjustment to living arrangements. (eg putting away loose things that she can't now grip as you mentioned.)

She should be able to adjust but I think you'll also have to recognise that at 15, she'll likely be starting to want a helping hand with some things - such as the climbing on to the chair. Seniorboy, for example, now seeks a hand lift (under his bum) for certain things which were previously straight jumps. I suspect I'm being played a little but Hey Ho - he's entitled as an old cat. And there are some things that he won't tolerate help on - eg jumping on to the bed or his scratching chair - and insists on doing himself although I've tried to leave stools around to act as staging posts.

I would really be thinking about also speaking to the vet now if I were you. Pain meds have made such a difference to my old boy that I would definitely consider it for your girl if you're seeing jumping hesitancy and some muscle loss. Sure, there are some cats that may not need them when they age but - like humans - there are also some cats who have sore bones at an earlier age and need a little help to be content.

[RubbishMantra]

catsofa, I've used rug tape on laminate floor before. I removed it with spirit. Don't take my word for it though, maybe visit your local carpet emporium for advice?

My cat likes to be spun around like a breakdancer on our slidey wooden floor.