Advice on Shadow, Pls

Marina wrote:
Yowie wrote:

She would have had to leave the kitchen, and walk the length of the
house, going past the dining room, lounge room, two other bedrooms,
the bathroom, toilet and laundry (where the cat boxes are) and
running the gamut of the other two cats (which she doesn't like) and
then get into Cary's bedroom and take a dump on his bed rather than
somewhere more discreet like *under* it, and then return to the
kitchen again.
This makes me wonder if it even *was* Shadow that did it. What if it
was Pickle or Suki who got an attack of 'the runs' while ob Cary's
bed, and you just assumed it was Shadow because she's the one who has
been going in inappriopriate places?

The smell, oddly enough. Her poop smells different to the other two. It was
definatley Shadow poop.

Yowie

As far as cats being vindictive goes, usually they make it obvious if
that's really what they intend.

When Nox ate the cactus, for example, she waited until we came home
from our trip before brazenly jumping up onto the entertainment centre
and eating it right in front of us, glaring at us the whole while to
make it clear she was doing it expressly to **** us off.

The phantom piddling, though, one time DP caught her peeing and picked
her up to make her stop, yelling--and she just kept on going, like she
wasn't doing anything wrong, looking all confused.

She was just bloody stubborn at ignoring the tinfoil, the sticky tape,
the food, everything we put to stop her peeing there. It was like she
believed with a religious fervor that that spot was a toilet.

If Shadow is repeatedly aggressive towards Cary, then I could see the
pooping being an act of vindictiveness/disfavor. If not, then it may
have been an accident and unless you catch her in the act, she
deserves the benefit of the doubt.

--Fil

The smell, oddly enough. Her poop smells different to the other two. It was
definatley Shadow poop.

Enfilade wrote:
As far as cats being vindictive goes, usually they make it obvious if
that's really what they intend.

When Nox ate the cactus, for example, she waited until we came home
from our trip before brazenly jumping up onto the entertainment centre
and eating it right in front of us, glaring at us the whole while to
make it clear she was doing it expressly to **** us off.

The phantom piddling, though, one time DP caught her peeing and picked
her up to make her stop, yelling--and she just kept on going, like she
wasn't doing anything wrong, looking all confused.

She was just bloody stubborn at ignoring the tinfoil, the sticky tape,
the food, everything we put to stop her peeing there. It was like she
believed with a religious fervor that that spot was a toilet.

If Shadow is repeatedly aggressive towards Cary, then I could see the
pooping being an act of vindictiveness/disfavor. If not, then it may
have been an accident and unless you catch her in the act, she
deserves the benefit of the doubt.

Either way, we needed to change something to stop her pooping innapropriate
(the kitchen sink is better than a bed, but still far from ideal)

So, now, freshly installed in the 'nook' in the kitchen (where the
dishwasher should be, if we had a working dishwasher) there is a
top-of-the-line, really big, covered litterbox, with door flap, filled not
with the cheap clay or gravelly silica stuff that Pickle & Suki (and Shmogg
& IBKFergus) all liked, but with the most expensive soft clumping litter
that I could find. With the top off, I put her in there twice, she sniffed
around and hopped out without doing anything (maybe she doesn't like an
audience) and I shooed Pickle away from it several times over the course of
the evening.

Will have to wait until I get home to see a) if its been used and b) if its
been used by Shadow. I hope this in itself with solve the major problem with
Shadow - failing that I guess there's drugs but they're only an option if
they aren't pricey. Our budget is stretched pretty taught right about now,
with Joel being put on a cocktail of pharmceuticals, there isn't much left
in the way of full-cost drugs left in it. (Note that even though our
phrameceuticals are subsidised - if they're on the list - its still $30 a
script, and if you need three scripts a fortnight thats still $90 to pay
each fortnight. Joel's medical bills have taken up the small amount of 'fat'
that we had in our budget)

Still looking for a suitable home from her. She's a lovebug and would make
someone who wants lots of lovebug company very happy.

Yowie

On Jun 17, 11:08*pm, "Yowie"
wrote:
Granby wrote:
Cats are wonderful but, the Yowlet comes first. *Mess up his safety at
night, from his point of view and you all pay.

FWIW I would let him be an indoor/outdoor cat. *It is clearly what he
wants and a patient husband is a rare thing so don't fool with that.

Other cats around survive that way so there must be safety for them.

I know it won't be easy but I can't imagine the horror of Cary being
in that kind of a mess. *Poor baby.

Well, its not the first time he's woken up covered in poo, but it is the
first time he's been covered in poo that doesn't belong to him.

I'm wavering between Shadow becoming and indoor/outdoor cat and just plain
rehoming her.

If I can control her 'outdoor' time to early mornings and late afternoons,
then the UV risk would be lower - the neighbourhood is boring suburbia and I
think cats pose more of a danger to the wildlife and environement than the
risk the environment poses to the cat (other than the UV risk, the only cars
we get are the ones that live in our street, we are not a 'through' road.
There are dogs in the area, but dogs can't jump onto the top of 5' and 6'
fences like cats). Of course, that does raise the problem of letting her out
and keeping Pickle in (Suki has no interest in the place without a ceiling
at all) but I"m sure we can deal with that one.

An enclosure sounds great, but that will take time to build and neither of
us are handy people. If indoor/outdoor is a solution, then perhaps an
enclosure for all the cats would eventuate in the future. However, its not a
short term solution.

Rehoming her would, at this point, be the kinder option I think. The home
needs to be a special home, though, because if the crapping all over the
place is related more to not being allowed outside than the situation of a
more dominant cat in the hosue plus child, she'll continue to crap all over
the place wherever she is, as we're all told that white cats should not be
allowed outside at all. Whoever they may be, they'll have to be willing to
forgive a phantom crapper.

They'll also have to be able to cope with her angry outbursts, because she
gets pretty darn violent when she's peeved, and goes into full
street-fighting mode (including caterwailing) very quickly. She does *not*
back down or run way (and I wish she would, because then she & Pickle
wouldn't have to fight), but does have the good sense to growl a warning
first.

That beign said, though, she is a total love bug when she's in a good mood
and thinks being brushed is awesome (she needs to be brushed). I suspect
she'd like to have slaves that are home all day and have nothing better to
do than dote on their one and only fluffy white cat. This home will be hard
to find.

The only other drawback to rehoming will be explaining where Shadow has gone
to Cary. Cary loves all his critters very much, even if he doesn't play with
Shadow he talks to her alot and does alot of roleplaying with toys with all
the critters featured.

Gonna have to talk to the family tonight and decide, I guess.

Yowie

Yowie, forgive me this suggestion is redundant, I haven't read every
post in this thread but....wanted to pass this info. along to you.
I have had two cats who went #2 out of the box. Both were relatively
new to the
household, and both were timid. Even the best "introduction" plans
don't always
completely prevent a scrap or two between cats in a multi-cat
household.
Anyway. Biskit started going in the bathtub of the guest bath, which
we never use,
so it's really not such a big issue.
Here's the (my) theory. When she's toileting, she is at her most
vulnerable. She does not feel safe from Boots on the litterbox. Either
that, or Boots has her so
intimidated that she won't "go" where the other cats' scent is.
She *still* does this. Since it's just DH & Me here, no problem. If it
were my
bed, big problem.
I think allowing her outdoors might help, but only in the theory that
she goes
outside to poop every time. If you do re-home her, I would guess that
if there
are other cats in THAT household, the same behavior is going to
reoccur.
Good luck with whatever you decide.

Sherry

Yowie wrote:
Shadow has been here a while now, and only once has she used a litterbox,
and that was forNo.1s. She won't go in any box either of the other cats use,
and Pickle thinks its his Bast given right to 'christen' every clean box. I
thought she'd taken to doing her business in the small side of the kitchen
sink. gross, yes, but dealable with.

But no.

Last night we were awoken by wails of terror and horror from Cary.

He had woken up to discover he was smothered in cat poo.

She had gone in his bed and slyly covered the mess (a particularly slurpy
one) she'd made with his blanket.
snip
Advice on what do, and purrs that she'll mellow and use the boxes provided
wouldn't go astray either.

Yowie


Lots and lots of purrs,
Polonca and Soncek