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

[SaggyBaggyPuss]

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 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

As this thread rumbles on I feel more and more sad for the poor little kitten!
just re home it. You quite frankly sound like an idiot, your DH pretty much the same and your DC seem to be picking up your OCD tendencies pretty well.

It is going to end up one very confused and upset kitten, just take it back.

As for the people saying stuff like "FFS it's only a kitten, it's not like it's a child" - nice illustration there of what's wrong with human beings really.

Whether owning and appropriately looking after a pet seems worthwhile will wary wildly from individual to individual - I am sure there are more placid kittens and more wild ones, just like children
I think, on balance, no living, breathing, entirely normal kitten or puppy or guinea pig or any other small furry will tip the balance of poo/germs/active behaviour/bind in favour towards pet ownership for the OP - no matter how cute or affectionate or rewarding pet ownership might be otherwise for some of us.

And that's fair enough.
Pets are not for everyone nor are children
What I find worryingly lacking is a sense of regret that that level of self-reflection was not present before the kitten was acquired.

Well, I'm off to scrub some more at the stains left behind by dog diarrhoea the other night

Tbh i had no idea how hard a kitten would be untill i got some myself. Love em to bits but they can be destructive. Leather sofa.... gone! Litter tray.. boak! Mice heads eveywhere.. double boak. Love em to bits though. Easy for me as i have no ocd. If you do, best to rehome.

Oh fantastic! Glad you enjoyed yourselves :)

"Leather sofa.... gone!"

We have rips and bare patches in both our leather sofas, courtesy of the hound. I just cover them up with cushions or throws now. And not forgetting the teeth marks in the dining table pedestal, and on the banister. I've also cleaned a fair amount of canine puke in my time.

Yes, pets are luvverly, aren't they.

malificent - it's true. Contrary to up-thread I think if anyone's put off buying a kitten by this thread it'd be a good thing actually!

It's obvious by the amount of unwanted animals in shelters right now that animal ownership is being taken way too lightly in this country at the moment. Until you're really sure it's best not to start. Better to be wary and that it turns out easier than you thought than harder, surely?

My eldest DD (23) found a tiny kitten on a walk one evening in August. (She's animal mad, Animal Management at college, worked in stables for years ect. Grew up with lots of pets) It literally ran out of a bush at her. It was only about 6 weeks old. She has a tiny house of her own and she took this little kitten home, fed it, loved it, contacted vet next morning to report it missing. Knocked on doors in the area. No one claimed kitten. DD's taken it on, going to get her spayed soon. She loves her to bits but animal mad DD is finding it a challenge! Yes, it scratches the furniture, poos a lot, trails litter about, scratches her (and everyone's) ankles, bounces on her head/back when she's at her desk. Plays noisily at night. She'll be paying for jabs and neutering plus the cattery when they go away. She brings it with her to me when she comes for the weekend (my cats aren't keen!) and this is it for the next 10+ years. My first cat lived till 19. It is a big responsibility.

sorry for ramble

Best for you, your DD and the kitten if you rehome it asap.
I understand your PoV but you are old enough to know a kitten is not a toy and you should've taught your DD to treat the cat as the living creature that it is.

Back up a minute.

OP has OCD and got this kitten for her children, and the older children are refusing to do the litter tray?

Holy fucknuggets! I understand why the OP struggles- she has OCD. However, any catloving kid over 10 (and that may be an overly high threshold!) should be able to handle a litter-tray.

No because people continuously make this same mistake everyday and more animals suffer.
The same people then think they will be ok with a different animal.
It's sad.

crimson my friends have inside cats and ours mainly only goes as far as the path.

Hate the thought of losing them.
They're def not missing out.
They're just happy they have a warm bed and full bellies

As this thread rumbles on I feel more and more sad for the poor little kitten!
just re home it. You quite frankly sound like an idiot, your DH pretty much the same and your DC seem to be picking up your OCD tendencies pretty well.

indeed. Pretty stupid to get a god dam kitten and then complain about having to scoop poo out of a litter tray. Like, what the fuck did you think would happen? It would go in the toilet and flush afterwards??

Laiste yes! Shelters should show some of the wounds cats can get after they've scrapped that you then have to clean

PacificDogwod yes! We have rather strange bunnies too who think they are other spieces

Yes but any sensible adult knows that they will realistically always end up doing the majority of the animal
Care as they are the adult.

Yes 10 years old is quite old enough to sort out s litter tray but 10 becomes 15 and they out a lot then.

Kids leave home and parents are left with the animal.

It's a huge responsibility and shouldn't be undertaken lightly.

I think the difficulty of kittens depends partially on the kitten's health and personality, and partially on your own experience of cats.

I have a kitten. She is the best cat in the world. That's partially her personality- she is genuinely unusually amiable. It's also partially down to me being fully prepared to patch-clean the carpet if necessary.

After having children and the horrors of D&V bugs that spread through the whole reception class, I'm even better at clearing up poo and sick than I was as a young carefree childless pet-owner and I love cats enough that I don't find it much more disgusting than clearing up after a poorly toddler.

this thread has made me really sad.

if you can't cope with an animal, don't take it on, for Christ's sake. it's totally dependent on you and it's just not fair to do it on a whim or because you didn't do your research properly and then to change your mind when reality bites.

gah.

Here's my guy. He's only 9 months, he'll be massive. He had a bath and blow dry yesterday. He's Persian so it keeps his coat separated and avoids him becoming matted, you can see dead coat flying off and all the hairs separating as he dries. Nothing to do with hygiene but he's had a monthly bath his whole life, starting at the breeders and we've kept it going. He's fine with it, okay he hasn't said thanks yet but far less stressful than trying to tug or snip out a matted coat. He's sexy and he knows it...

Oh god he's stunning tatt

He is a beauty

This is my horrible cat. She's a total pain in the arse. But she's mine!

Oooh he's too cute Tatty

I need to go and squidge him again

Tatt he is gorgeous and so is yours Soubriquet

I would upload a pic of mine but on phone and not on phone - he is a Siamese cross (snowshoe and chocolate point mix) with moggy - almost pure silky black with white 'scarf' and socks... has amber eyes... but has the triangle siamese face and 'lion' nose... everyone remarks how handsome he is! will try to upload a good pic of him!

Here's my beauty.

Beautiful