My youngest daughter & I had a bit of a troublesome weekend. On & off for the past 3 years Hallie has made it a habit to pee in boxes, baskets, and anything else she can get her rotund body in. She didn't develop this habit until I moved to Rochester, so I often wonder if it was her way of dealing with the move.... not really, but I'm trying to find some reasonable explanation for this behavior.
The first time I realized she peed outside of her litterbox I just about kicked her out of the house. The first incident was when she used a J.Crew box as a bathroom. Shortly after I took her to the vet to investigate & they told me she had a minor UTI & that should explain the change in behavior.... it did not. She continued to find random places, such as a cat bed, a basket filled with toys, pop-up cat cubes & another random box to pee in. So, the only reasonable solution seemed to be to get rid of anything she could go inside.... problem solved!
Unfortunately, my husband & I like to test her & see how far she's actually come. We never do this intentionally, but when we do she always seems to fail. Case in point-
Thursday night I left my empty laundry basket next to the dryer waiting for my clothes to dry. At some point in the night I found Hallie sitting in there. I was only temporarily worried since she has NEVER peed in a laundry basket.... well, there was that one time that I left an empty laundry basket next to her litterbox, but I take full responsibility for that one. Regardless, I was not concerned. Friday, after work, I decided I had one more load of laundry to do, so before putting my clean clothes in the basket, I grabbed it and brought it upstairs to put dirty clothes in. Apparently my mind was somewhere else 'cause I didn't notice that cat pee spilled all over my kitchen floor as I haphazardly picked up the laundry basket. When I did notice that this had happened I lost all self control. I screamed so loud that my neighbors surely thought I was being attacked. I continued to yell as I went to find Hallie, pick her up, carry her to the site of the incident & continue to yell at her. I tried my best to make her know that this was not acceptable. At the very least she realized that mommy had gone crazy & spent the remainder of the night hiding upstairs under our dresser.
The first time I realized she peed outside of her litterbox I just about kicked her out of the house. The first incident was when she used a J.Crew box as a bathroom. Shortly after I took her to the vet to investigate & they told me she had a minor UTI & that should explain the change in behavior.... it did not. She continued to find random places, such as a cat bed, a basket filled with toys, pop-up cat cubes & another random box to pee in. So, the only reasonable solution seemed to be to get rid of anything she could go inside.... problem solved!
Unfortunately, my husband & I like to test her & see how far she's actually come. We never do this intentionally, but when we do she always seems to fail. Case in point-
Thursday night I left my empty laundry basket next to the dryer waiting for my clothes to dry. At some point in the night I found Hallie sitting in there. I was only temporarily worried since she has NEVER peed in a laundry basket.... well, there was that one time that I left an empty laundry basket next to her litterbox, but I take full responsibility for that one. Regardless, I was not concerned. Friday, after work, I decided I had one more load of laundry to do, so before putting my clean clothes in the basket, I grabbed it and brought it upstairs to put dirty clothes in. Apparently my mind was somewhere else 'cause I didn't notice that cat pee spilled all over my kitchen floor as I haphazardly picked up the laundry basket. When I did notice that this had happened I lost all self control. I screamed so loud that my neighbors surely thought I was being attacked. I continued to yell as I went to find Hallie, pick her up, carry her to the site of the incident & continue to yell at her. I tried my best to make her know that this was not acceptable. At the very least she realized that mommy had gone crazy & spent the remainder of the night hiding upstairs under our dresser.
She's lucky she's too cute to send back to the SPCA!Hallie & I spent the majority of the weekend in separate rooms and we continue to work on our relationship.... only time will tell.
2 comments:
I think Hallie has worse behavior than Murphy! But really, I swear I'm going to lose it! Murphy NEVER STOPS CRYING. And his favorite time to cry is at 5am and when Gertrude naps. He has food, water, a relatively clean litter box. We brush him and clip his nails when we can. We've already donated a love seat and a recliner to him, and he (and Lisa) still gross up our couch and scratch at it! If you know of any cat farms where they would be better off let me know!
I think Hallie has worse behavior than Murphy! But really, I swear I'm going to lose it! Murphy NEVER STOPS CRYING. And his favorite time to cry is at 5am and when Gertrude naps. He has food, water, a relatively clean litter box. We brush him and clip his nails when we can. We've already donated a love seat and a recliner to him, and he (and Lisa) still gross up our couch and scratch at it! If you know of any cat farms where they would be better off let me know!
Post a Comment