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

OP, do you think you can cope when the inevitable dead animals come home? Or not quite dead ones?

Rehome the kitten responsibly

Tell your kids the truth

Never get another living, breathing animal, that acts like a perfectly normal living, breathing animal

Grow up

Just a warning OP, Guinea pigs are also hard work. I have 3 and I do all the looking after. They are lovely and I would never not want them, but they are still hard work (cleaning out, feeding, washing, grooming etc)

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

FFS. OP has already said she is getting it spayed next week.

You made a mistake, it's a shame, but just rehome whilst it's a kitten and it'll be fine.

Some of the responses here are well OTT.

Not to be awful but really why the fuck did you think getting a pet (of any kind except possibly a fish) was a good idea when you have OCD? Cats aren't known for giving a shit about upholstery. Surely you must have had some kind of an idea what a kitten would be like before you got one?

What you've described is entirely normal kitten behaviour. The problem by the sounds of it is your OCD, that's not the cats fault.

If you're going to rehome it make sure you find someone who's not going to get sick of it after a few weeks.

Oh, and don't lie to your children.

please rehome this kitten while shes still young, i foster kittens for a rescue till they are more or less the same age as yours and they go happily back to the centre to find their new homes, meanwhile the curtains if you have top opening windows put the curtains over the top bit handles while the kitten is awake she wont be able to reach and cant climb them thats what i do during the day,

encourage your younger son to be gentle rather than giddy, give your older children an incentive IE pocket money to clean out the litter tray,
please dont wash her paws as cats have scent glands on their paws which gives them security if they can smell their own scent where they have walked she will be a very anxious kitten if she feels her home isnt her territory which will make her go the litter tray more often

, if she has a mucky bum wet cotton wool is better than bathing her cats hate been very wet, royal canin while excellent biscuits are not neccesary aldi own or pets at home purely are both wheat free so better, and aldi wet food and asda wet food are also wheat free so better for the kittens digestion

your dining chairs add some pure lemon juice to some veg oli and rub it into the chairs with a soft cloth and it should discourage her from clawing them as cats dont like citrus this is what i did with my leather sofa and mine havent damaged it

and if rehoming is the best option please get in touch with a reputable cat rescue they can rehome kittens you may have to wait a couple of weeks till they have a space or fosterer but they will ensure the best outcome for her,

and dont beat yourself up we have had people who have adopted a kitten and brought them back one or two days later because they didnt research how giddy kittens can be at least you have tried for a while,

Get a grip and sort yourself put

What a sympathetic post to someone with OCD!

kali all mine too, my cat lived to be 17 (Rescue) and all my guinea-pigs (we're up to number eight) all Rescue.
Just because people are there to pick up doesn't mean the OP should just turf the kitten out for being a kitten

Poor little thing being chased around the house by your Ds and put in the bath by you

Do everyone a favour, get it rehomed and buy yourself an ornament - they don't make a mess or carry any germs

If you are in Pembrokeshire I will take the kitten. This is normal kitten behaviour, I have 4 cats one is a kitten he is the best cat ever. Kittens get everywhere but this doesn't change when they become an adult cat. Just a few days ago one of my adult cats had runny poo all over my sons bed. I had to get a new mattress, duvet etc but I would never be without any of them. Seriously if you are local to me my Malcolm kitten would love a pal

Binky I know my cat's previous owners CBA spaying her then got rid of her because they had dogs. (She was surrendered to Rescue )

I know the OP is having hers spayed , but for the love of God, this is 2016. People surely know , yes?

I was assuming from the op that she bathed the arse area rather than bathed the kitten fully. If it's the latter the kitten is probably a bag of nerves which would explain it shitting everywhere.

Jesus h Christ. What is wrong with people?! Lay off the op, a lot of you are being fairly ugly.

Op, you made a mistake, YANBU to rehome it. I guess mumsnetters never make a mistake

OP,

Rehome the cat while it is still young. Tell the truth to your DCs: Mummy cannot have pets.
Do not say "The kitten was not good" and ffs, do not say it ran away. The moment the DCs realize the truth, they will be tremendously hurt.

The thing is, you do not want them to miss out, but no kid can have everything, and I would be more worried about the consequences of your OCD than the ones of not having a pet.

How exactly can you mistakenly get a kitten, when you know you've got ocd.

Presumably op is going to mistakenly lie about its whereabouts to her children once she's got rid.

Aoibhe other posters have kids and ocd too? Pets also.
Op could be making herself sicker and the cat nervous as someone has mentioned by constantly hovering by it.
If she doesn't think it's something she overcome ( i have ocd btw) then she may need to rehome as it's not going to get any better!
Not all cats when they're let outside only poo outside.
It's not just the poo.
Some can bring dead animals in, which i don't think op is going to like either. ( it's also 10 times worse if the cats has the smell on them!)
If the cat gets hurt is she going to be able to give the animal the medication?
Not just pills but cream?
Ie abscess? Infection? Will you be able to clean the wound?
Things to consider.

Adalliance fuck off correcting my spelling this isn't a grammar post.

I'm not thick I just see it for what it is, op got a kitten to make dc's happy, dc's don't help out as promised and op can't cope with kitten so is thinking of re-homing it. As long as it goes to a loving caring family it will be fine, she isn't going to dump it in a fucking skip and we aren't talking about getting a child adopted because it shit on the floor. People make mistakes!

Op I am going against the grain here, and I will tell you to suck it up, and treat the kitten like you would your child. Would you abandon it, no? Would you give it away, no! Right you need to take the very good advice on here and deal with your cats health. If you had a child you would take it to the Dr right! So take your cat to the Vet, to see if there is anything wrong that is causing her stomach upset. Look into the diet and teach your child to be gentle and careful with your cat. Like babies, they need work, so you put it in! You go to the Dr and get help for yourself, see into therapy and counselling.

Mabey go to a course for cat training. It is good that your kitten is using the litter tray, mabey invest in some long plastic garden gloves that you could use whilst bathing her so you don't get scratched. Really it is not joke. You have this kitten here, you have to look after it!

Please do not lie that's it's run away.
From losing a pet, it's heartbreaking.

But 70 it seems as though you are using your experience to pile in on the OP when it's not the same situation at all.

OCD is a very serious condition - OP thought she could do it for her kids, but she can't it turns out. Given this, I think people are being quite unpleasant.

I guess mumsnetters never make a mistake

Not with getting an animal, no. I currently have 15 rescue cats and 2 rescue dogs. I do the best for them I can, every day

An animal should never be where it's not wanted

Just some thoughts if you do decide to rehome:

Check with Cat's Protection and other no-kill rescues, they will almost certainly be full to bursting but my MIL who used to volunteer several days a week with Cats Protection did say the kittens were generally re-homed quickly, so there is a chance.

If you decide to rehome privately ask one of these organisations for advice on how to go about it. I would strongly suggest that you should neuter the cat before re-homing, ensure that vaccinations are up to date and worm and de-flea the cat according to your vet's advice. You will have then done your best for the kitten's future health and prevented any further unwanted kittens being created.

Please do not rehome the kitten free to a good home unless you really know the people well and know they are experienced and responsible cat owners. Nasty things can happen to free to a good home cats and kittens.

Don't lie to your children. My DD now 13 still worries occasionally about our cat who genuinely disappeared without a trace when she was five.

My MIL, no longer fit enough to make the regular journey to volunteer, lives surrounded by nine cats all of whom, except one, were abandoned or turned into Cat's protection by people who underestimated what they were getting themselves into. The exception came from an acquaintance who thought getting an energetic, madcap kitten would solve her children's fear of all animals. It didn't. You're not the only person to make this mistake, what matters is what you do now.

So to the people saying it is only a kitten, are only human lives worth treating well

Of course not, but rehoming an animal - especially such a young one - isn't mistreating the animal provided it is done in the most responsible way. Rather it is doing quite the best for the animal.

Few harsh posts here, I don't have OCD but found the first few months with new kitten extremely difficult, contemplated returning it etc.

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