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AIBU?

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Original poster

to secretly get rid of our kitten and tell the DC that it ran away?

723 replies

SaggyBaggyPuss · 25/09/2016 14:37

Have had kitten for around 6 weeks now. DC have wanted a pet for a long time and I gave in and got one for them. Cats are easier to deal with than dogs right?

Well today, I have had enough. I had have to scoop 3 lots of shit out of the litter box and there was a piece of shit on the floor that must have come off her paws and which means that the whole house, and sofa is now covered in cat shit germs Envy puke!

It also runs up the curtains which are now all pulled. My leather --look- dining chairs have scratch marks where it keeps jumping up the back of them and it has pulled up the carpet on the stairs.

DS (6) is constantly chasing it round the house with an incessant cackle (over excited, not cruelly, the cat loves him) which does my head in and keeps taking it upstairs to lie on his bed.

Last week, it has a runny arse and I still have the wounds where I had to bath it, not before it spread kitty shit germs everywhere again.

As a side note, I also suffer from OCD. Not 'a bit' but actually diagnosed.

I love my DCs to bits but they also love the kitty a lot. I am not sure I can put them first this time!

WIBU to find a good home for it and tell them it ran off into the forest and I couldn't find it

OP posts:
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PoppyBirdOnAWire · 25/09/2016 17:43

If this thread is an attempt to upset posters you should be reported. I had my suspicions early on which is why I did wade through your stuff or the responses of others.

PoppyBirdOnAWire · 25/09/2016 17:43

...did not wade through...

MoonfaceAndSilky · 25/09/2016 17:44

In fact my OCD is more around the DC picking up germs from kitten than me

You know that research has shown that children growing up with pets are healthier? All that filth is actually good for them Grin

imnotreally · 25/09/2016 17:47

Take it off the Royal canin stuff. It's probably too rich for it. Tescos own kitten food is perfectly satisfactory.

Maybe this is a chance for you to face your OCD head on.

I had a friend in a similar situation to you. She used to get up an hour early to sanitise the kitchen because the kitten had been in it all night.

Oddly enough her kids are the sickest kids I know.

Yep cats poo. Get a covered cat litter tray so it's less offending. And you don't need to empty it every single time. Once a day will do.

She will be going outside soon at which point the pooing and madness will be lessened.

Be brave OP. you can do this.

Oh, and don't try and bath a cat....

Isitjustmeorisiteveryoneelse · 25/09/2016 17:51

Yes surrender the kitten to a reputable re-homing charity, you're clearly not happy about dealing with normal kitten/cat behaviour, but I'm not going to flame you for that. Yes, you should have thought of all of these issues (they're not out of the ordinary) before you got the kitten BUT if you do the right thing now and get it re-homed through the right people, then you've behaved responsibly. However, do not tell your kids that it ran away. What good will that do? They'll just want another one. Tell them the truth, you got rid of it because it wasn't as easy to look after as you thought and you were not up to taking on the responsibility, which even for a tiny kitten, is a big one. At least teach your kids something out of this.

Liiinoo · 25/09/2016 17:52

I would agree with the people that are saying rehouse her quickly, but do be honest with the children.

And on no account get an older cat. We had two house trained cats aged 7. We moved house and the stress of the move led to them spraying and pooing in random places. That was 10 years ago and although they are better than they were when we first moved they still sometimes (well, the one that is still with us) go in the wrong places. The carpet in one room is utterly destroyed - eaten away with wee acid right down to the underlay. In the same room wooden cabinets are rotting from wee. Luckily it is a big enough house that we can afford to pretty much shut that room up and ignore it , apart from the regular cleaning up (until she dies when it will be gutted and refitted and I will have my work room back), but it is unpleasant, time consuming and distressing - and I don't have OCD.

With the best will in the world OP you don't sound cut out for pets. They are not for everyone. Accept it and move on.

RestlessTraveller · 25/09/2016 17:54

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Parker231 · 25/09/2016 17:56

I don't understand what your problem is with the kitten. We've had kittens/cats for all our married life and brought up DT's. Cats can be messy in the same way as children. You just get on with it. Yes pets can stratch furniture but they give back so much. When our DT's come home from Uni their first question is 'where's the cat?'. Sometimes the cat gets ill and you stay up all night, just as you would with an ill child. You take your ill children to the doctors and an ill cat to the vets. It doesn't like you thought properly about the responsibility associated with being a cat owner.

SouthWestmom · 25/09/2016 17:57

Hi op,

I wish I'd never got our cat.

I have OCD and she was litter trained. So that was fine.

But, dead creatures, skin stuff, fur all over the place etc - I am finding it really really hard. I hate touching her, I rewash clean clothes she has laid on, I anti back hard surfaces and I am constantly hand washing.

The cat cares not. She is fed, watered, has the garden and conservatory to herself, sleeps on the sofa at night and avoids the children.

I have now developed an allergy to cats which is making my life miserable.

Please find a new home for her soon.

SouthWestmom · 25/09/2016 17:58

Oh dear traveller. Maybe you should avoid the internet for a while? Learn how to get things in perspective?

NantucketNightbird · 25/09/2016 18:01

This is my youngest (just because I need to share his photo Wink )
Please rehome soon there could be someone who is happy to open their home and heart to a kitten. Mine live in the beds and the smallest sleeps on my pillow.

to secretly get rid of our kitten and tell the DC that it ran away?
to secretly get rid of our kitten and tell the DC that it ran away?
Pollyanna9 · 25/09/2016 18:03

I'd have gone for an older rescue cat. My old puss was so ancient all she did all day was sit around, sleep and use her litter box (perfectly I might add). She was too knackered to even jump on a kitchen counter - about as exciting as it got was that she would sit on the back of the sofa. She only ever went in the living room and the kitchen.

I'd NEVER get a kitten myself just because I know how much work they take, how manic they can be and what damage they can do.

I also won't have a dog because it would be unfair to leave it on its own all day while everyone's out at work/college/school.

Hope you can sort it out.

RestlessTraveller · 25/09/2016 18:04

noeuf I think having issues with people who think living things are disposable is having things completely in perpective. Every animal I have had has been a rescue, dumped for various reasons but mostly
because people are arseholes.

elfies · 25/09/2016 18:06

Please get rid of it and tell your child why , otherwise they'll search and worry about its safety and whereabouts ..

Its better for the cat if you truly can't cope with it , and it will be happier with an owner who loves and cares about it .
why oh why didn't you research training problems and cleanliness issues before you took the poor cat on

Sallystyle · 25/09/2016 18:06

My Mum did this to us when we were kids. We're NC now...

You don't talk to your mum because she re-homed a pet? I am sure there is more to it than that and not at all relevant to the OP.

OP, don't lie to the kids, be honest. You tried to give it a go, you wanted your kids to have a pet and hoped that you would handle it. I have OCD and while I haven't done it with pets I have underestimated how hard something would be on me because I was so desperate to be 'normal'

You made a bad decision. Re-home it, the kitten will find a home. Your kids will be upset for a while but they will get over it eventually.

You sound like a complete and utter cunt to be fair.

No, YOU sound like an utter cunt, to be fair.

SouthWestmom · 25/09/2016 18:07

That's a bit different to calling someone a cunt for considering rehoming a kitten due to her mental illness.

Ausernotanumber · 25/09/2016 18:07

My cat is a rescue kitten. Was a rescue kitten. I don't understand why you'd take a cat on and not expect to have to deal with litter trays and shit and fur balls and scratching and all the rest of the totally normal cat things that cats do.

cingolimama · 25/09/2016 18:07

OP, I know others have said this, but to echo the sentiment - you have made a mistake. You're not cut out for pet ownership. Doesn't mean you're a terrible person. Your DC will be disappointed but will recover. And don't beat up on yourself.

There's far too much bloody drama on this thread. And spite.

Get the kitten re-homed soon while it's still little and cute - they will get a new home quickly. Good luck!

Myredrose · 25/09/2016 18:08

I agree with restlesstraveller, I too am sick of dealing with other people's dumped animals. Why do people not think things through? Animals aren't sterile.

Sallystyle · 25/09/2016 18:09

I think having issues with people who think living things are disposable is having things completely in perpective

Many feel the same.

Most don't feel the need to call the OP an utter cunt, because they have a bit more maturity and class than you.

RubbishMantra · 25/09/2016 18:09

I hope so Poppy. Otherwise this would make v. sad reading, esp. this:

"Said it shits a lot. They are solid! Three separate occasions between breakfast and lunch today. She's taking the piss IMO!"

So OP your kitten is taking the piss by evacuating her bowels when necessary? Should she store it up and shit on command? Kittens have tiny stomachs, eat more than an adult neutered cat = more shit.

Not sure why advice wasn't asked for in the Litter Tray board. I suspect because you knew it would attract more attention on AIBU.

People have taken time to post some sound and reasonable advice for you, which you've repeatedly chosen to ignore.

Carry on with your [grins] about how funny it all is. I'm hiding this thread.

BTW OP, I had 2 shits this morning. Am I taking the piss?

ghostyslovesheep · 25/09/2016 18:09

this is my tiny hamster killing ass hat of a kitten

to secretly get rid of our kitten and tell the DC that it ran away?
Pollyanna9 · 25/09/2016 18:10

Traveller - a bit excessive language and name calling if you don't mind me saying. I agree the OP has made a massive gaffe but seriously, don't think you need to call her a cunt (it's a severe term generally reserved for utter bastard twats who do things on purpose with no care just to ride roughshod over others), not someone who daftly and with a certain lack of forethought and responsibility, got a kitten and now wishes she hadn't. She could make a large donation and try and rehome it through proper channels. Yes, she shouldn't have done it but there you go, she did and now she has to man up to the steps she's going to have to take if she decides getting rid is the right thing to do.

Of course, kitty will turn into an adult cat shortly and will undoubtedly become calmer etc. If she can stand waiting for that to happen of course!

RestlessTraveller · 25/09/2016 18:11

May I suggest Gumtree, that's where all the other arseholes who don't give a shit about animals seem to get rid of them. Maybe she'll be snatched up to be used as bait for dog-fighting.

KondosSecretJunkRoom · 25/09/2016 18:14

Right, I haven't read the whole thread, so...

You knew this was going to be a problem but you powered through because you felt that it would be too much for your children to bear to live without a pet.

That's some guilt complex you have there.

I'm highly allergic to most of the usual pet suspects and the leftovers are as ugly as fuck. My kids will have to leave home before they get a pet. That's life. That's just how it is.

Martyrdom is not necessary or preferable. So rehouse the cat, tell your kids the truth and leave the Disney perfect parenting for the movies.