to have cats put to sleep

[WakeUpRosemary]

Hi

I haven't posted here much but have lurked a lot so please be gentle.

I have three cats at the moment, two of which I took in as kittens, socialised and have looked after for about six/seven years now. Since then I've had a son and as I live in a small house things are getting crowded. I wouldn't mind this so much if these two cats didn't urinate in various parts of the house. They have access to the outside and a litter tray. One in particular has been doing it for years and I've just had enough. It's stinking up the house, it's unhygienic and I'm sick of it. They have no physical problems, they don''t have UTIs: it's a behavioural problem. One of them doesn't get on well with the other two cats but I'm not prepared to play cat psychologist. I haven't the time or the energy. I'm beginning to think that I have to have them put to sleep. I feel there's no point putting them up for re-homing because who would want a six/seven-year-old cats with piss problems? It would also be upsetting to them if they were uprooted and probably brought back again. They're both skittish and not particularly fond of anyone but me and my DH.

So far this week I've found piss on a hand-towel in the kitchen, a chair and my son's toy garage. Fortunately, my son is particularly fond of the cat who doesn't pee everywhere and he's only three and a half so I doubt he'll be upset if the other two disappear. He may not even notice. I feel so bad though. I used to do quite of a lot of rescue work with cats and never dreamt I'd be considering this. I worry when people come to visit because I'm nervous a cat will piss on their bag, or they'll find a previously-undiscovered pool of piss or try to dry their hands on a pissy towel. It's gotten so I'm not that nice to any of the cats anymore and I think we'd be happier as a one-cat household.

sorry I've rambled. Am I being unreasonable?

lesley33 - I would disagree that more than one cat in a house and you'll always have a permanent state of war over territory. That's not the case.

Cats can live harmoniously in groups and DO make friends and can and they DO grieve/pine when their friend dies/gets taken away. I have 8 cats and whilst I will say I do get squabbling and arguments (a bit like kids really), they also have very clear friendship groups and they will deliberately chose to cuddle up to/groom a particular friend or friends. I've noticed this in large feral colonies too.

However, Multicat households have a loose hierarchal structure regarding territory. This can lead to bullying/being bullied and nervous/timid/bottom of the pecking order cats trying to establish their rights by peeing inappropriately, fear of using the litter box, etc. Also, because in an urban setting the cats are "packed in" (say you have a street with one or more cats in most houses, which is common) that can also lead to territory disputes - so it may be that your cat is afraid to go outside because he's being bullied by next doors thug of a cat and so he's peeing to try and make his territory a safe place and to send a message. That is why you provide extra resources in a multicat household - 2 or 3 feeding areas, multiple litter boxes, areas where cats can get away from each other. As an example, I feed my cats in 3 seperate places around the house. They have 3 seperate dried food stations, which stops squabbling over food resources because my 2 nervous cats can eat without being bullied and they have mulitiple litter boxes for the same reason as well as outside access through the cat flap.

The OP needs to look at the behaviour of her cats. A litterbox outside the back door for 3 cats is completely unrealisitic. She also needs to spend time working out what it is that is making her cats pee inappropriately. IF she has ruled out a medical issue, it is behavioural and that means there is some sort of stress trigger causing it. You need to work out what that stress trigger is and stop it.

It may be that rehoming the cats is the answer. Murdering them because you can't be bothered is NOT.

A lot of hostility towards the OP.

YANBU for wanting rid of your cats and as a parent your son has to come first, it must be revolting for your son playing surrounded by cat piss. I agree that you should at least try re-homing first but I understand your situation.

We took our adopted cat to the vet to have her put down just before DS started crawling as she used to shit everywhere indoors. We didnt think it would be possible to have her re-homed (who'd want an old cat that's terrified of people and shits everywhere?) but the vets assistant took her and said she'd have her re-homed.

YABVU.
Surely there are other measures you can take such as confining the cats to one room with access to the outdoors or trying the various cat deterrent sprays/plug ins that are available to stop this behaviour. Your vet or even an Internet search would advise you of the options.
I believe that if you take on the responsibility of an animal it is for the duration of their life (unless you are willing to rehome them).
Animals shouldn't be seen as objects that you can just get rid of if they don't live up to your expectations.

A kennel of some sort is perfect, mine love to be outdoors as much as possible in summer, even if it rains, i have this

sparkly wasnt on last night when you asked about dynamics of my mob, two of mine are girls and definitely the bosses in the house the 4 boys do as they are told or get a quick swipe, all of them are neutered or spayed, and yes generally speaking apart from the lunatic dashes up and down the stairs by the boys they are more laid back than the girly cats

issey, I have had girls before, and yes, they are little madams

Funny you say about the dashes up and down stairs, 2 of my boys do that, always at night, never in the day , think something comes over them in the evening!

I've never had a girl cat!! However my old boy does his stair dashing in between his second and third breakfast of the morning!! (he has 3 breakfasts - between breakfast 1 and 2 he goes out to do his business, between 2 and 3 he has his mad half hour and after breakfast 3 he has a 7 hour nap!!)

He then has 3 dinners, and at 9pm he takes over the armchair in the living room for the night. He sits and stares at whoever is sitting in it until they are so freaked out that they vacate it for him.

Our lives are dominated by the cat and his 'needs' But he is lovely, he's like bagpuss!!

Alistron - We have one like that - he has his own chair in the lounge and if anyone dares to sit on it human or feline, he smacks them to move! They usually do!

YABVVVVVVVVVU

you're too idle to take time out & put in some effort to sort out your Cats behavioural problems & you think having them killed is the answer - NICE - lets just hope your DCs are little angels then

I've only read the first page, but YABU to have them put down. I understand how much of a problem their behaviour is, and also understand that you don't have the time / energy to try and change their behaviour if all previous attempts have failed, but I don't understand why you can't rehome them?

saw your update - so apologies for being so harsh - I can understand in the heat of the moment, glad you don't really hate them that much & are finding a home for one:)

my old girl was very old & also epileptic, later thyroid too, which made her jumpy - which could set off fits, which meant wee sprayed everywhere if I didn't get a towel over her quick enough - so I do remember it could be difficult coping with cats wee & little ones, but would never dream of having her put down - DD loved her anyway, so did I & she saw out her days with us

as you've worked with Cats, I might be teaching you to suck eggs, but as I've known other experienced cat owners not know, it might be worth sharing anyway...

Do you clean up the wee with household cleaners?? - if so, they tend to contain ammonia - which actually attracts the cats to wee there even more so - you need to use ammonia free stuff to clean & disinfect with vinegar

& whoever advised to use cayenne - please ignore - DON"T that can cause them real problems & is cruel - if they get it on there paws - & then into there eyes, cats have been know to claw there own eyes out with chilli, cayenne etc :( - citronella aromatherapy is the best cat repellant - hope you manage to get it sorted once & for all :)

citronella or citrus is good for keeping cats away. i used orange and lemon and orange peel in areas i didnt want my cat in. also if they pee anywhere high up either cover the area in tinfoil or double sided sticky tape they dont like walking on foil cuz of the noise and they dont like the feel of the sticky tape. maybe try foil in the areas they pee most