I truly am in misery. Well, it comes and goes. Earlier it was full fledged misery. Now it's muted. I think I'm in denial. I'm also tyring to come up with other solutions... that I don't think will work out.
We got rid of our couch and chair that Emily had peed on/clawed up. We're planning on declawing Maxie and Emily if we end up keeping her. I know, it's a horrible thing to do to a cat, but all my cats growing up were declawed and they didn't seem to even notice.
So Emily did good all weekend. No peeing on anything. I was hopeful. Then, this morning she peed on our suede loveseat that she had never peed on before. She had just finished going in the litter box when it happened. So it's not an illness. It's entirely behavioral. We don't want her ruining any more of our things or the baby's things. So... we decided to take her to the Humane Society tomorrow.
Matt and I talked about it while I was at work because he was home when she peed. I couldn't stop crying at work for almost an hour. Good thing all the guys in my department are on vacation or that would have been real embarrassing. My male boss came back to see how my Christmas was and I was crying. That definitely helped me to stop though. The mixture of taking my mind off it and being embarrassed about crying in public snapped me out of it.
I mean, look at her? She's beautiful! And such a good kitty otherwise.
This is one of my favorite pictures of her. She loved looking out the front door window at our old house.
This is her pengi. It has been her favorite toy ever since we first brought her home. In this picture she went and found it, brought it with her, and then lay down next to me in bed! Adorable! I still hear pengi jingling as she carries him places with her.
If we do take her to the pound (Matt would take her. I wouldn't be able to handle that) then Pengi will definitely make me sad. I'll probably snuggle with him for the next few weeks.
A friend mentioned hormone pills that helped her cats stop peeing on things in the house. I called the vet to see about it. We'd need a behavioral assessment with the vet and then we could try a few different drugs depending on their success. I got the breakdown of costs for the various options. I don't think that's something we should do at this point since there's no guarantee it'll work. Of course, if it did work it would be worth it. I just don't want to put $50-200 into this cat and then have to get rid of her anyways. Plus, by that time she could ruin this loveseat if she keeps peeing. One accident won't ruin it. Matt cleaned it and the couch should be fine. But if she keeps doing it then the smell will stick and even if we get rid of her the smell will persist.
Plus, I also asked about the declawing fee. That'll be an expense. But... at least we know Max wouldn't ruin any more furniture or carpets and wouldn't be able to scratch the baby. Yes, we have tried several other techniques to try to get the cats to stop scratching on things. We're going to have to replace the entire upstairs carpet when we move due to their scratching whole blocks of it up! Our cats are 100% indoor cats so they don't need their claws for hunting etc.
I'm kinda resigned to Emily going away tomorrow. I'll be really sad for awhile, but she's just a cat. It makes me very sad to think of her in a small metal cage with no snuggles and probably cold etc. She is such a good kitty, if she just didn't pee on things! I almost wish it was a medical problem. Then we could either fix it or put her to sleep and I wouldn't feel as bad. But no, she's just a bad kitty. Even if we did the drugs, I think she would start again once Jackson comes. She does it when she is upset or frustrating with us. Like when we first got Maxie and when we go away on trips. A new baby that takes up all our attention won't help the situation.
Like I siad, it'd be easier if she were sick or had a bad attitude all the time or was just a mean kitty. But she's very sweet and loving. She is even apologetic after she pees on things.
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