Help me to not be the person who gets rid of her cats now kids have come along...

[yankiedoodledandy]

I always swore I would never do this having worked at animal sanctuaries in the past. Always made me really mad the number of pets given up because had children. We've had our rescue moggies for 9 years (they are nearly 12) but they are really really testing my patience since DS has started walking and toddling.

Female - scratches bed posts, so we shut bedroom door, scratches up (brand new) carpet. Now they are relegated to the kitchen/ dining room & utility room where we have hard floors and no wooden furniture!

Male - where to start... used to spray all over the house at our old house even with a feliway diffuser, has settled more since we moved 2 yrs ago in this respect but now sleeps on the kitchen work-surface (he has a cat bed but refuses to use) so there is hair all over it and all over the toaster, sink and kettle every morning. He is also vomiting regularly, I changed the food to the 'Senior' brand recently as I was wondering if it could be too rich for him but tonight we've come home from a day out to 6 separate piles of sick (most of them just clear spit).

DH is a real cat lover (it was him who wanted them in the first place) but he is at the end of his tether and now saying get rid. Its just too much with a toddler crawling round, so unhygienic.

I've said no way, its not fair we have to work it out but I don't know what to do. Last time I took them to the vets about vomiting he said it was furballs but there's no fur in the vomit.

We can't face another 6/7/8+ years of this - Help!

Well the males not well so he can't help being sick, have you tried him on chicken for a week to settle his tummy?

As for hygiene we are constantly bombarded with viruses and bacteria, everytime we eat, breathe or open our eyes and your dc has thus far survived. I listened to a radio 4 program about it Thursday morning and they said it's a wonder were not ill constantly.

If you can then confine them to one room overnight with a litter tray.

Our cat was really ill with vomiting but it was the maize in the tinned food he had. I'm just thinking will the male get vet care in a rescue centre? If he's getting on he could be getting poorly.

Re the cleaning you have to wipe down before breakfast anyway and if you comb them with a furminator they moult less.

If you do re home them how long will it take for them to find a new owner? There not young cats. Do you have a no kill rescue who will take them? I can see it's all too much for you now but things get easier/you get more used to dealing with it.

Male Cat - put tin foil on the surface where he sleeps and see if that will discourage him. Change food to a completely different brand. It may be intolerance to that particular brand (is it Hills?). Go back to the vets.

Would the female take to using a scratching post? Try several placing a few around the house that have been sprinkled with catnip.

What have you tried to do about these issues already?

Never thought of tin foil or chicken for male, will try those. We have a scratch post which she uses, but also goes for anything else. I know I wipe down surfaces, it's just frustrating as it's hard to gets hairs off (stick to wall tiles like a bugger!) I know DS will be ok - just hate the fact I have to do a sick recce before letting him loose in his own house!

I know they would struggle to be rehomed even tho they have such lovely temperaments, that's why I'm trying to sort out the problems. I just feed them on mainstream cat food (felix senior pouches at the mo although he's just puked one up and it looked a little pink).

Think a vet trip is in order asap to determine if he needs a special diet. Oh and I'd never send them anywhere that would put them down if they couldn't be rehomed, and if it came to the crunch, neither would DH.

Thanks for the suggestions x

My cat took to scratching a post in my rented flat so I fixed it by putting a temporary piece of cardboard around the post and then attaching double sided tape onto the cardboard. She didn't like the feel of it so stopped going there to do it and went back to her post. After a month I removed it and she hasn't done it since and that was over a year ago.

You can get a catnip spray in pets at home if you spray it on a scratch post she would be drawn to it.

I feed my Bengal on aldi premium pouches and he's fine on that he had royal canin prescription before.

I'd be tempted to put them both in a room with a tray, food water overnight just to contain them and the mess, if they got on well that is.

We had 3 Persians when I was little and lots of furballs and we used to put talc on them which absorbed it all till we could clean it up.

Have you tried squeezed lemons in a spay bottle they hate the smell