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Original poster

Please help me sort out my cat...

28 replies

FrayedKnot · 25/05/2006 14:35

Before I kill her..

And before your read this, PLEASE DON'T, if you are of a sensitive disposition...

And yes before anyone says it I know cats are horrible creatures who kill things for fun etc etc.

Dead mice on the doormat - I can cope with
Half dead birds with feathers all over the house - I can just about cope with
Jumping on the worktops at night with muddy feet so I have to hose them down with bleach every morning - I can just about cope with

But this morning I came down to find the kitchen covered in blood. I mean bloodbath. It was all over the floor, with ehr footprints in, all over the worktop (the bit where I do all the food prep), up the wall, over the window etc.

It took me about an hour of scrubbing with disinfectant to sort it.

I don;t know whetehr it was from a poor victim or even if another cat had been in and they were fighting (I assume the victim tbh).

I don;t know what to do..feeling very pathetic about it.

I really want her to become an outdoor cat but not if it means she gets run over or dies of frostbite.

OP posts:
Iklboo · 25/05/2006 14:36

Has she been 'done'? I've heard it can calm down lady cats cos they don't feel the need to protect their kittens (eg you). Don't know how true that is though

Original poster
FrayedKnot · 25/05/2006 14:37

Yes she was spayed before her first season.

She's coming up for 4 and I had hoped she would calm down with age but she seems to be getting worse.

OP posts:
Jessajam · 25/05/2006 14:50

I knew a family with 3 outdoor-only cats - it was rural location and they had a big garden - but they also had sheds with catflaps and blankets so the cats could have somewhere to shelter if it was too cold/wet for them. Nothing fancy, they kept the lawn mower etc in there too...cats seemed fairly happy. They were fed outside too.

tissy · 25/05/2006 14:58

surely you would hear a cat fight in your kitchen?

how about keeping her in at night, with a litter tray?

Original poster
FrayedKnot · 25/05/2006 14:58

That's the kind of thing i was thinking of Jessajam. Only we have quite a small garden and live in a semi-urban area.

Just wondering if it could work.

There are a lot of otehr cats around and i'm concerned she won;t have anywhere to hide if she can't get inside, as a couple are bullying her.

I'm so torn. I can't put up with what happened last night but I do feel a duty to protect and look after her obviously.

OP posts:
SaintGeorge · 25/05/2006 15:03

Our cat voluntarily became an outdoor one.

To be honest i think it was a combination of her age (16 or so) and the number of kids coming in the house. She was just pig sick of all the noise and fuss and gradually spent more and more time away from home.

She has a cat-flap into the garage plus one in a neighbours shed. She flits between us and the neighbours as the mood takes her. She hasn't been inside the house for over 6 months now.

expatinscotland · 25/05/2006 15:05

Ours are indoors-only.

expatinscotland · 25/05/2006 15:06

Also, keep your kitchen door closed.

Jessajam · 25/05/2006 15:07

so are ours expat. I am haunted by litter trays...and so looking forward to ds crawling into one...

expatinscotland · 25/05/2006 15:15

Jess,
I cleared floor space in the hall cupboard, then put one of those chain locks on the door, so it's held open at a distance small enough for a cat to squeeze through, but not a baby on all fours.

Jessajam · 25/05/2006 15:19

spookily enough expat I have a cupboard on the landing in mind for just the same thing! I explained concept to DH who agreed it was good idea but has so far failed to empty said cupboard of all his defunct music gear to allow any progress! And no, i can't do it myslef cos they are gurtbighuge amplifier cabs that weigh more than I do...maybe I'll 'mention' it again!
would also mean we would no longer be able to hear the cats using the litter tray while lying in bed ...ahhh how romantic that is !!

expatinscotland · 25/05/2006 15:21

Oh, and the pong!

This is not a very large living space, so we had to be creative when it came to the cats. This has worked for us.

Their food and water are behind a rattan screen in a corner - one that's attached to wall, but w/enough space so cats can get in. But NOT curious baby.

Jessajam · 25/05/2006 15:35

yup...the scent greets us as we come in through the front door! And all our friends know when the cats have just done something nuclear cos they house smells of incense sticks!!!!

Original poster
FrayedKnot · 25/05/2006 15:41

I know keeping her in at night won't stop the killing completely because she has done it in the day before now. So she would have to be in 100% of the time.

At night she only has access to teh kitchen (too many episodes of prey being brought upstairs at dawn and her barfing on the carpet by my bed), with flap to outside.

We did live in a rented house for a while when she was inside because there was no cat flap, and she wouldn;t go out, but it was winter and she is a wuss in winter and hibernates.

So how to do I persuade her that a shed (we'll have to get one) is her new home...

OP posts:
SaintGeorge · 25/05/2006 15:44

Start by feeding her in there.

Try putting the litter tray there too, or at least gradually moving it outside and then closer to the shed.

When you get the shed of course.

madmarchhare · 25/05/2006 15:50

I definately wouldnt be having anymore of that crap in my kitchen if I were you. Out out out.

Original poster
FrayedKnot · 25/05/2006 15:54

The shed will have to named "Project DH" I think.

He hates the cat anyway so he will be keen.

OP posts:
nicnack2 · 25/05/2006 16:06

i have a cat that was an indoor cat as she is missing a leg. DH hates it with a passion and the feeling is mutual with cat. Howev with the Birth of ds1 we had to let her out as we felt the she needed space away form babe. Since the 3yo ago is has spent more and more time out and now she is more or less an outdoor cat. She is fed outdoors and sleeps in a shed and a little hut DH made. She does come in on wet and cold nights but stays out the rest of the time. There other problem that was occuring was she may well of been feral befors i got her from the sspca and with the result of her accident is a bit strange and her toilet ettique in the house often did not involve her tray!.

lorina · 25/05/2006 16:56

It always happens at the wrong time of day.Everyone rushing to get up and get off the school and work but first you have to clean up a feline re-enactment of the battle of the somme.
Getting in the clean ironing with his muddy paws is one trick I really hate.
But I would never get rid of him or expect him to live outside .He is a member of our family. None of us is sent to live in isolation in a freezing shed.
They do calm down alot after the age of about 8. Also the spring is the main time for them catching things.
If you really cant cope with him then maybe its kindest to get him a new home.

DumbledoresGirl · 25/05/2006 17:03

Has someone suggested getting a cat flap that can be locked either so the cat can only come in or so they can only go out. That way you can decide to have your cat in all night, or out all night.

CarlK · 25/05/2006 17:31

Put a bell on her collar

Piffle · 25/05/2006 17:32

WE had this oncek, Charlie must have caught an artery with his teeth, blood everywhere.
Put the cat flap onto out only, they soon twig.

NoPearls · 25/05/2006 18:02

You could get your cat one of \link{http://www.robharvey.com/domestic/cat-chalets.htm\these} (and probably a mortgage to pay for it)!

suejonez · 25/05/2006 18:07

Put a bell on her collar - she won't be able to stalk anything close enough to catch.

suejonez · 25/05/2006 18:08

Sorry CarlK - great minds think alike!

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