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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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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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kali110 · 25/09/2016 15:37

Odfod randomer Hmm

70isaLimitNotaTarget · 25/09/2016 15:37

Well, now you know why the advice is don't buy a pet for a child eh?

Stop your 6yo chasing round with it.
Get it spayed and innoculated.

Man the F*ck up and be responsible for the unsuspecting animal you chose YOU CHOSE to bring into your house.

Give it a few weeks and your kitten will become a cat, then she'll treat you with the contempt that 90% of cats hold for their owners.

Hmm
timeforabrewnow · 25/09/2016 15:38

What zaraw said.

Ilovewineandcrisps · 25/09/2016 15:38

I sympathise, we have 2 cats and I can't stand them Angry. They leave hair everywhere, make the house smell and scratch things.

Soubriquet · 25/09/2016 15:38

Oh and do look at the food

Just because it's Royal Canin doesn't mean it agrees with the cat.

My own cat has problems with certain foods. She can't have Lily's kitchen for example. A very good high quality food

70isaLimitNotaTarget · 25/09/2016 15:39

My Rescue cat was shot with a pellet (air rifle) and on her 4th pregnancy when I got her BTW.

No doubt she started off as a sweet kitten that was bought on a whim, but her previous 'owners' CBA spaying her.

titchy · 25/09/2016 15:40

I got a pet as I did not want my DC to miss out due to my issues.

Well if you rehome they will have missed out because of your issues. It was very irresponsible of you, both getting a pet you cannot cope with, and unfair to your children as you will be taking it away.

But agree with others kitty shouldn't live with in a home where their presence is resented and they're not treated appropriately.

Also bear in mind once it's allowed outside it'll be bringing you birds and mice carcasses

Doggity · 25/09/2016 15:41

YABU purely for the reason that you seem to think it's a kind of joke. Not sure what you were expecting us to say?! I'm not a militant animal lover but I did make a commitment when I got my dog and think it's sad that people see pets as commodities.

It would be kinder to rehome the cat but very wrong to lie to your children.

adalliance · 25/09/2016 15:41

Wilberforce "millitant animal lovers" eh?! You sound vile. And a bit thick.

kali110 · 25/09/2016 15:41

Yep, mine have james well beloved, applaws, encore, gourmet and the one will only eat felix Grin

AdaLovelacesCat · 25/09/2016 15:41

I just paid £80 to have the cat spayed !! I was gutted really - but it was that or have hordes of unwanted kittens...

CauliflowerSqueeze · 25/09/2016 15:42

I think (hope) that you're just a bit frustrated with the whole cat poo situation, and the way you've expressed it on here wasn't the best because it gave the impression you didn't like it.

I would say that kittens are cute but do need a lot of rest and sleep - maybe if it's being played with too much when it's eaten, the food is not digesting properly?

JenLindleyShitMom · 25/09/2016 15:42

You say "Militant cat lovers" like its a bad thing. If only more people were.

kali110 · 25/09/2016 15:42

70's ours are all people's unwanted pets Hmm

adalliance · 25/09/2016 15:43

Militant*

Whocansay · 25/09/2016 15:43

I think you've bitten of more than you can chew. As such it's sensible to rehome the kitten. I love pets but wouldn't get one as I don't have the time or energy to look after one. I am getting pestered about a puppy by my kids, so understand how hard it is to say no.

Maybe you could look at getting another cat when the kids are older and can help you look after it?

There's a lot of crazy talk on this thread. Your children will be in no way harmed if you rehome the cat. The cat will also be quite happy if it is cared for somewhere else (fickle creatures!). Be honest with your kids and explain it was too much work for you and the cat will be loved by another family.

ghostyslovesheep · 25/09/2016 15:44

4 of mine eat Harringtons but the smallest will only eat wet food - he's an asshat but I love him

LynetteScavo · 25/09/2016 15:45

Well m, you made a mistake but you now have to deal with that mistake. And that means cleaning up after the cat and teaching it not to scratch furniture and climb curtains.

It doesn't want to be dirty, cats are clean animals, but it's a baby.

If you re-home find some one you trust for it to live with- don't sell it or dump at a rescue. And be honest with your DC. I imagine a six yo would spend a long time hoping for a "lost" cat to return Sad

astormgivenflesh · 25/09/2016 15:45

Please don't let your children chase the kitten, it's really cruel and mean.

She might be scared of the tray if you are hovering about waiting to huff and sigh and wipe her paws every time she needs to go - cats are super clean and you don't need to wipe her paws.

If she accidentally gets poo anywhere it might be because she's scared to properly 'bury' and clean herself after each time, again because you are about making her nervous? Maybe just accept that it's going to smell a little bit until she's allowed out but that it will be fine.

You can get odour control litter and powder to sprinkle that might help.

If you're children promised to help perhaps tell them to step up and actually help, to take some pressure off you? Reward them for doing it or make it a chore to be done at specific time - you can't have dinner/watch tv/go outside until you've emptied tray and washed your hands type thing?!

I'm sorry you feel so stressed, sharing responsibility for litter tray will help. Also look online for food as it will be cheaper to buy in bulk (what we do!)

Good luck xxx

ghostyslovesheep · 25/09/2016 15:45

yes Cat 1 was rescued from a pet horder

cat's 2 and 3 thrown in a car park in a box with 2 other kittens and a starving mum (aged about 7 months)

Cat 4 - unwanted litter - rescued by charity

Cat 5 - as with cat 4

TSSDNCOP · 25/09/2016 15:46

I'm various whether you've taken the kitten to a vet about its stomach problems, or whether it's just a kitten trying to digest the type of food you're feeding.

The thing is the cat will likely live at least 10 years. Whether you were right to get it or not is not the point, before it gets much older you need to decide if you will be able to live with it that long and if not call one of the agencies to re home it.

Other posters are right, wiping its paws, bathing it and allowing your son to chase it are all things that will impact the cats development and instead of it being an affectionate family pet will likely turn it into either a nervous wreck or one that shuns human contact through fear.

So whether you like the comments or not you need to act fast and sort out the problem, part of which is going to entail being honest with your children.

Aoibhe · 25/09/2016 15:47

Some really OTT replies here. FFS, It's a well cared for kitten. OP has 4 (?) kids and ocd. Cut her some slack. You won't be the first person OP to get the kids a pet and discover the stress and the work involved.

I suggest you talk to the DC and suggest re homing unless they all pull their weight with cleaning up after her.

Twogoats · 25/09/2016 15:47

How did you cope with poo when your dc were little? Baby human poo is much worse than kitten poo.

gettingitwrongputingitright · 25/09/2016 15:47

If you didn't have ocd I'd day ubu but as you do urnbu. But you should have thought of this before you got dcat.Sad good luck whatever you decide.

OhTheRoses · 25/09/2016 15:48

You should not have got a pet. You need to rehome the kitten responsibly and be honest with your children. Pets are commitments for all of their lives. Cats will scratch furniture. Dogs will chew shoes/furniture. I hope you wouldn't want to get rid of your dc if they break stuff, puke on their beds, etc.

If I were your adult child, I'd keep the kitten. Get a grip and sort yourself put. Of course there isn't cat poo all over your home.

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