I love house cats, but I'm done!

[eyoungren]

While I like cats, I'm mildly allergic and can't stand the smell of their litter box. As a result I'm dog only.

I developed severe allergies and had to put my pets up for adoption—2 airedales, a husky, and 3 cats. I miss them like crazy.

My father had allergies to cats as well. Up until the time I was 11 all we had was a dog, and that dog had been there with my parents as a puppy before I was born. The rule from my dad was that there would be no cats.

But we ended up renting a home from some missionaries that were going to be gone for a year in 1982-83. The house was rural and came with a cat. I guess since it wasn't his cat and it was an outdoor cat my dad was able to accept it.

But it was rural and cats are cats and in between them and me bringing home 'strays' by the time we moved in 1983 that house had 23 cats. I must stress that this was rural and while some of them came inside, the majority of them were all outside cats. I am not the cat lady (guy).

We did take one cat with us, the granddaughter of the original cat. That was 1984 and she lived until around 1997/1998 I think. By that point my dad had given up on trying to enforce his rule - despite still being allergic. But that cat was still an outside cat so I guess it was okay somehow.

 

[MisterSavage]

There's a kind of litter that's called "Pretty Litter," and it's just amazing. The smells are almost non-existent, it's easy to clean, and so on. It's expensive, though.

What about dust? I don't mind the price but it has to not kick up those damn dust clouds.

 

[Herdfan]

I live in a rather isolated location, surrounded by state forests and in 2020 a hungry feral cat showed up and I couldn't resist the urge to feed her. Since then, I have made big strides domesticating her, a pretty long-haired female who is either neutered or infertile. She spends lots of time inside the house now but also goes out. Still too afraid to allow me to touch her, but I think that is about to change.

A feral cat showed up here about 5 years ago. If you managed to see him, he would bolt. Then my daughter started putting food out when she saw him and then she would watch him come and eat. It got to the point that she could see him and he wouldn't run. Then she started approaching him when he ate and could stroke his back.

Then one day my wife gets a text to come look on the back deck. The formerly feral cat is sitting in my daughter's lap being petted. He now lives with her in her college apartment and is quite content to no longer be outside.

 

[philosopherdog]

you can't properly live without cats! they are a bit of work when they get older. i had one that i gave daily subq fluids to for 3 years. but for the small effort and expense they deliver a lot of love and tranquility. also when you're 60 who knows how you'll feel.

 

[monokakata]

What about dust? I don't mind the price but it has to not kick up those damn dust clouds.

Absolutely no dust.

 

[jagolden]

I've had cats since 1982, the first year my dad actually allowed them. But because of the area I lived in until 1997, I never had to deal with cat boxes. You just let the cat out and they meowed or scratched at the door when they wanted back in.

But since 1997 it's been litter boxes. In 2003, with my wife's first pregnancy, the duty to empty the thing became my job in perpetuem. Her second pregnancy made this ironclad. Despite my children now being 18 and a half and almost 14, it is still my job.

I just spent 10 minutes getting cat puke out of the carpet. A regular occurrence because our cat likes to do that I guess. We are down to just the one cat. We got him in around 2010 I think. Some family was moving and they were going door to door trying to get someone to take their cat because they weren't taking him with them. They'd already tried to dump him off in a park and he found his way home.

Due to miscommunication between my wife and I, he became ours. They said he was neutered. My vet bill to get that done said different.

I love cats, always have, always will, especially kittens. But I am done. When this cat finally departs there will be no more. I'm 51 and I refuse to be bending over a litter box when I'm 60, no matter how much I like cats.

Thanks for listening, vent/rant over.

Christ! My fathers 93 and still bending over a litter box.
Certainly your choice but weak argument,

 

[eyoungren]

you can't properly live without cats! they are a bit of work when they get older. i had one that i gave daily subq fluids to for 3 years. but for the small effort and expense they deliver a lot of love and tranquility. also when you're 60 who knows how you'll feel.

I adore cats and always will, but my need for love and companionship has been fulfilled by my wife for the last 25 years. No cat can match that as wonderful as they are.

I will not say there won't be another cat in the house - just that I am done cleaning up after them. I'm looking forward to the kids being out of the house and not having to clean up after anyone (including a cat) except for me and my wife. We've both been waiting to get that life back since 2003 when my son was born.

 

[eyoungren]

Christ! My fathers 93 and still bending over a litter box.
Certainly your choice but weak argument,

Well, it wasn't an argument. It was a vent/rant.

I'm tired of cleaning up after other people (and cats) or trying to get others to pick up after themselves.

That said, my mother was married to my dad for 50+ years. Until he died, she was the one bending over the litter box. She's in her 80s now, my dad died in 2019. The cat provided the companionship, attention, love and fulfillment she never got from my dad.

So, my choice yes. See my above post.

 

[Herdfan]

you can't properly live without cats! they are a bit of work when they get older. i had one that i gave daily subq fluids to for 3 years. but for the small effort and expense they deliver a lot of love and tranquility. also when you're 60 who knows how you'll feel.

Had to do that for two of ours. One didn't mind, the other minded quite a bit.

 

[Herdfan]

I will not say there won't be another cat in the house - just that I am done cleaning up after them.

Some of the new automatic litter boxes look interesting. We tried one with an existing cat and she didn't like the sounds it made and wouldn't go near it.

Maybe if you get them used to it as a kitten.............

 

[eyoungren]

Some of the new automatic litter boxes look interesting. We tried one with an existing cat and she didn't like the sounds it made and wouldn't go near it.

Maybe if you get them used to it as a kitten.............

We had a Littermaid from 1998 to 2007 I believe. At the time there were three cats. They all adjusted, but they sure didn't wait around after they were done because the machine started making noises.



The problem with these is all the waste tends to get stuck in the mechanism. You have to buy their plastic bins to continue using it. They aren't expensive, but not cheap either (the plastic bins).

In 1998 it was around $300 I think. Other problems were that the device itself doesn't prevent your cat from making the litter go everywhere when they try to bury their waste. You're still sweeping litter up outside the box. And if the cat sent some of the waste flying when doing that the machine doesn't recover that.

I know there have been advances since 1998, but I haven't been willing to put out for one.

 

[AlumaMac]

We had a Littermaid from 1998 to 2007 I believe. At the time there were three cats. They all adjusted, but they sure didn't wait around after they were done because the machine started making noises.

View attachment 1996912

The problem with these is all the waste tends to get stuck in the mechanism. You have to buy their plastic bins to continue using it. They aren't expensive, but not cheap either (the plastic bins).

In 1998 it was around $300 I think. Other problems were that the device itself doesn't prevent your cat from making the litter go everywhere when they try to bury their waste. You're still sweeping litter up outside the box. And if the cat sent some of the waste flying when doing that the machine doesn't recover that.

I know there have been advances since 1998, but I haven't been willing to put out for one.

Oh man, hated that thing!

 

[Allyance]

How could you not love a guy like him? Only with me for about a year, but never forgotten.

 

[MisterSavage]

We had a Littermaid from 1998 to 2007 I believe. At the time there were three cats. They all adjusted, but they sure didn't wait around after they were done because the machine started making noises.

View attachment 1996912

The problem with these is all the waste tends to get stuck in the mechanism. You have to buy their plastic bins to continue using it. They aren't expensive, but not cheap either (the plastic bins).

In 1998 it was around $300 I think. Other problems were that the device itself doesn't prevent your cat from making the litter go everywhere when they try to bury their waste. You're still sweeping litter up outside the box. And if the cat sent some of the waste flying when doing that the machine doesn't recover that.

I know there have been advances since 1998, but I haven't been willing to put out for one.

That is exactly the one I had also!

 

[eyoungren]

View attachment 1996973
How could you not love a guy like him? Only with me for about a year, but never forgotten.

The cat that belonged to the couple we rented the house from in '82 had a shorthair like your cat. We called him Stripe. Stripe had a lot of offspring, including a shorthair female version (again like your cat). She had white paws so we called her Little White Paws. Her firstborn was a black cat with white paws (again shorthair) which I called PC (short for 'Personal Cat'). That's the cat we took with us when we moved in 1984.

PC was a devout fanatic of french fries. She lived long enough for my wife (who I met in 1995) to get to know her well.

 

[Allyance]

I was not looking for another cat. I had one indoor guy, Bear, a Russian Blue and several outdoor cats that come and go. Squeak showed up in my neighbors driveway, and I took him in immediately. He took right over and made himself at home. He and Bear would have play fights, but nothing serious. The both slept on my bed, then scrap during the day. I called him Squeak because even though he was a big burly cat, he had the highest pitched cry. After about a year, he developed crystals in his urine and that breed of cat had very small urinary plumbing, nothing the vets could do after $3600 of surgeries and treatments. Had to put him to sleep.

 

[monokakata]

My cat Pippin requested that his most valiant (or reckless) moment be added to this thread. Yes, he ran off a fox.

 

[DaveFromCampbelltown]

Our first cat was called Puff, and was a faux siamese (shape of a standard moggy, but with siamese colouring), in the early 1960s. We have had cats ever since. Current kitty (avatar, see left) was acquired by son and his girlfriend ("We'll look after her, promise...."). Then they split up, and son left home. Didn't take the kitty.
Wife is adamant that this is the last pet we will have.
However, son is returning home soon (to cut down on rent money), so we will see what happens in the future.

I would like to get her a friend (ferret, alpaca, whatever...).

 

[Miat]

I have a big old floof ball. Getting old, but still in very good health.

Fortunately I am in a situation where there is both plenty of space outside for a toilet, and he can be let outside safely.

But he also likes hanging out with his human inside, especially in the air-con in hot weather because he has a very thick coat.

Which is the one big problem with him: He sheds like a mofo, heavily and continuously, all year round. Cat hair everywhere, all the time, and endless cleaning. ?

Price I pay for his otherwise friendly easy-going company. *shrugs*

But if I ever get another one after him, it is going to be a low shedder. Never doing the cat hair patrol again.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

Our litter tray is quite easy to maintain as it’s tiered to help all the saw dust fall through. My wife tends to change it more than me because I have other responsibilities in the house like cooking as she hasn’t got a clue about anything to do with that lol. Not my favourite job cleaning a litter tray if I am honest and ours is stored in the boiler room away from the living space of our house. The cat was 9 weeks old when we had her and she’s been going to it since the moment she arrived, never any issues.

Gwen.

 

[philosopherdog]

they're brothers

 

[jagolden]

Well, it wasn't an argument. It was a vent/rant.

I'm tired of cleaning up after other people (and cats) or trying to get others to pick up after themselves.

That said, my mother was married to my dad for 50+ years. Until he died, she was the one bending over the litter box. She's in her 80s now, my dad died in 2019. The cat provided the companionship, attention, love and fulfillment she never got from my dad.

So, my choice yes. See my above post.

I understand. I give animals more leeway because, well, they’re animals.
But people, they really **** me off when they won’t even do basic clean-up after themselves.
Even life in general, still having to wipe the *** of someone 7 years older than me - there’s a limit though.

 

[indychris]

Litter Robot. Buy once, cry once. Yes, it is RIDICULOUSLY expensive, but I've been using mine for 4 years now and it's wonderful. Change the bag once every 5-7 days. I'm still a dog guy, but don't mind the cats. The automated litter box makes them quite tolerable and they are VASTLY less work than a dog.

 

[eyoungren]

So, he's gone now.

Died some time between 11pm August 5th, 2022 and 3:40am August 6th, 2022.

Near as we can tell he was 15. We got him in 2011 and he was already 3 or 4 years old then. There was a family in our old neighborhood that was moving and they simply dumped him in a park. He followed them home, so to appease her children, the mother was going door to door with the cat to see if anyone would take him.

My wife and I had already agreed at the time, 'no more animals', so when the woman knocked and asked my wife turned to me. I misunderstood her, thinking she wanted the cat. So, we ended up with him. The kids lied to us and told us he'd already been neutered. That lie cost me $40 when I paid to make it real.

So, 11 years and one move with us. My daughter used to follow him incessantly with an iPhone 3GS, taking pictures. She was only three or four at the time we got him. So there are lots of pictures to remember him by.

But…I've had cats in the house for 40 years now and before I was born until 1983 there was a dog in the house.

Yesterday the litterbox, food and water bowl and the remaining cat litter were removed.

We finished burying him in the back yard about two hours ago. It's interesting because he was always an inside cat. He absolutely refused to ever go outside. Yet now…he's outside.

My wife and I have agreed yet again, no more animals. We cannot do them justice. One kid is in his sophmore year of college and another just started her first year of high school. They have their own lives. My wife is starting her second year of teaching and after so many years of staying home and taking care of young children is focused on her career and getting her master's degree.

No one's here during the day except me (I work from home) and I'm not interested in giving the time and attention necessary anymore after so many years.

Farewell JJ, rest in peace. You were a great cat.

 

[Allyance]

Bear is still going strong, but a bit ornery now that a 5 month old kitten has moved in. Neighbor's older son across the street brought home this lovable kitten. I saw it eating on their front porch, so I went over to see it. Kids wanted to keep her but the mother said she didn't want it in the house and was just going to put it out on the street, so I said I would take her and try and find a home for her. Didn't take long for her to butter me up.

She tries to make friends, but Bear barely tolerates her!