What is the procedure at the humane society?

[Mother of Sons]

I have 2 cats. We have them because we have a really old house and have mice so we need mouse control. I hate them. Yes that's mean but I do. They are the nastiest cats I've ever seen. They eat constantly and are always on my counters or on my stove licking pans or eating whatever is cooking. You can't leave food unattended for even 2 seconds literally or they will be on the table eating it before you can blink.

That's not my biggest problem though. These cats are stinking up my house. It might actually just be one of them, I'm not sure. Not sure I care right now either. One of them just peed or sprayed (don't know, don't care) all over one of my kids' puzzles RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME. I do not have the patience for this. I just don't. I'm going to have a baby in a few weeks and I feel like I need to bleach my whole house. I'm frustrated because I feel like if I get another cat (and we'd need to) that the new cat will pee all over the hosue too because of this one. They also will go right up to the litter box and "go" right next to it.

Oh and they puke all over the house too. I'm not sure exactly which cat that is, but usually there is at least one pile of puke somewhere in the house. I can't take it any more. After that cat just peed in front of me, it literally took all of my strength not to throw it out the door.

Ok, so what is the procedure at the humane society? I've NEVER brought an animal there. I've always been a pet for life kind of person. I don't want to pass on this problem cat to someone else and I don't really want him put to sleep but I can't deal with this. To be perfectly frank I'm not really interested in spending hundreds on vet bills and efforts to get him to stop when I money is tight and there are things we need for the family.

Are they going to be really horrible and rude? Is it a long process? How much does it cost? I feel like only really bad people bring their animals there :(

Is there actually anything that works that can be done? All I want is for them to catch mice, use the litter box and not pee all over and stink up my whole house. Is that so awful??

[4thekids]

Are these unfixed male cats? If yes then that explains it but fixing them now won't help much. Are you in a place where you can just let them outside? A big part of mouse control can be dealt with by outdoor cats. Then I would get a nice female cat for the inside, fixed of course. Usually the humaine socity will have some really good cats and fixing them is part of the price. I don't really know their procedure for taking in new animals though. :hug Sorry you have to deal with that. Hope you get it worked out.
Oh and most cats will get on the countertops. (Not like yours though.) Ours was trained not to just by us constantly putting her on the floor and telling her no but she would still get up there when we were gone. Some people spritz the cat with water when they get up there but their cats will still get up there when they are gone too so :shrug Just make sure to clean your counters before cooking even if you don't see them up there. Which I am sure you would've done anyways.

[Mother of Sons]

One is an unfixed male (I think he's the problem) the other is female. She is scared of mice. Our neighbors have outdoor cats but I've never been really comfortable with cats being outdoors then coming in because of all the ick they can bring in. Our last cat (loved him) was in an indoor cat that got out one night and never came back :(

Our last cat got on the counters too, I just never saw him sit on the stove next to a hot pan cooking hamburger and try to eat out of it! They get down when they see me but they are super persistant.

[domesticzookeeper]

:hug. Let me see if I can help break the problems down a little...

We have them because we have a really old house and have mice so we need mouse control....They eat constantly and are always on my counters or on my stove licking pans or eating whatever is cooking. You can't leave food unattended for even 2 seconds literally or they will be on the table eating it before you can blink.

Are they eating portioned meals, or just being free fed? Free fed cats will rarely have the inclination to work for their food, especially when there is a meal always available to them. Also, 4thekids raises a good point about outdoor cats doing most of the pest control. Your cats make be scaring the mice into avoiding them, but I don't know how well they'd completely eliminate the rodent problem.

Our last cat got on the counters too, I just never saw him sit on the stove next to a hot pan cooking hamburger and try to eat out of it! They get down when they see me but they are super persistant.

Here are a couple articles about cats and counters :tu

How to Keep Your Cat off Tables and Counters (http://netscape.petplace.com/Articles/artShow.asp?artID=2352)

Squirt Bottles, Punishment, and Cat Behavior (http://www.littlebigcat.com/index.php?action=library&act=show&item=squirtbottlespunishmentandcatbehavior1)

That's not my biggest problem though. These cats are stinking up my house. It might actually just be one of them, I'm not sure. Not sure I care right now either. One of them just peed or sprayed (don't know, don't care) all over one of my kids' puzzles RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME. I do not have the patience for this. I just don't. I'm going to have a baby in a few weeks and I feel like I need to bleach my whole house. I'm frustrated because I feel like if I get another cat (and we'd need to) that the new cat will pee all over the hosue too because of this one. They also will go right up to the litter box and "go" right next to it.

A few things here:

1) Unneutered males spray. They just do, and the longer it goes on the more it gets ingrained. Neutering won't always solve the problem either :sad2 I would call and talk to your vet to see what there experiences are with late-neutered males and spraying. In my experience, it may stop, it may not. But...

2) Peeing outside the litterbox is a red flag for health problems. Specifically, urinary tract infections or bladder crystals. Understandably, those conditions are very painful, and the cats begin to associate the litterbox with pain. One of our cats was peeing outside the litterbox and it turned out that she had a nasty UTI - two weeks of antibiotics, and the peeing stopped. Left untreated, infections can travel to the kidneys, and male cats run a very high risk of blockage (due to crystals or stones)

3) Also, how many litterboxes do you have? The general rule is, 1 box per cat + 1 extra. Putting a box on each level (if you have a multi-story home) can help too.

These links might help:

Urinating Outside the Litterbox: causes and solutions (http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=1&cat=1310&articleid=158)

Litterbox Secrets, Part 1 (http://www.littlebigcat.com/index.php?action=library&act=show&item=006)

Litterbox Secrets, Part 2 (http://www.littlebigcat.com/index.php?action=library&act=show&item=litterboxsecretspartii)

Litterbox Secrets, Part 3 (http://www.littlebigcat.com/index.php?action=library&act=show&item=litterboxsecretspartiii)

Litterbox Secrets, Part 4 (http://www.littlebigcat.com/index.php?action=library&act=show&item=litterboxsecretspartiv)

Things that saved my home! Solving Urine Problems (http://www.catforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=11535)


Oh and they puke all over the house too. I'm not sure exactly which cat that is, but usually there is at least one pile of puke somewhere in the house.

Again, a red flag for a health problem. An occasional incident of vomitting is normal, daily vomitting is not. One of our cats cannot eat beef - it makes her puke. We were having the same issues with frequent vomitting until we switched their food over to chicken. Voila! The vomitting stopped (the stinky poops stopped too ;))

Ok, so what is the procedure at the humane society? I've NEVER brought an animal there. I've always been a pet for life kind of person. I don't want to pass on this problem cat to someone else and I don't really want him put to sleep but I can't deal with this. To be perfectly frank I'm not really interested in spending hundreds on vet bills and efforts to get him to stop when I money is tight and there are things we need for the family.

Honestly? Cats with behavior problems (especially cats that have litterbox issues) are not good candidates for adoption. They become the long-term residents - that is, if the Humane Society even has "long term" residents.

Are they going to be really horrible and rude? Is it a long process? How much does it cost? I feel like only really bad people bring their animals there :(

In my experience...working in that environment day in and day out tends to make people doubt the goodness of humanity :( You become so accustomed to people treating animals badly, abandoning them, etc., that you really don't care if they have a good reason or not. I am not saying this to put any blame on you, and frankly, I wish some of the shelters around here would get better front desk representatives. It's frustrating, yes, but that doesn't mean they get to be jerks about it. Anyway... :O

On a good day, you'll be one of a dozen or so people dropping off animals. On a bad day, they might have gotten in well over 20 cats by the time you bring yours in. There could be a wait, and cost varies from shelter to shelter. No-kill shelters will usually have a higher surrender fee, but it just depends :shrug

Giving an animal up for adoption is not a decision to be made lightly, or to be made in the heat of the moment. I would honestly evaluate the problem, try to understand it from the cat's perspective (i.e. don't humanize their behavior as "bad", "lazy", or "rebellious"), and determine what the limits are as far as finances, etc. I *strongly* believe that these behaviors (with the possible exception of spraying) can be fixed, but they will more than likely require a commitment of time and finances.

If you can't do that, then be completely frank with the shelter: you've done what you can, and you just can't do anymore.

One is an unfixed male (I think he's the problem) the other is female. She is scared of mice. Our neighbors have outdoor cats but I've never been really comfortable with cats being outdoors then coming in because of all the ick they can bring in.

Yeah, I'm not really a fan of outdoor cats either. They can increase the amount of work and vet bills, as they are at risk for fights (resulting in infections, abcesses, etc), attacks, or other injuries, as well as diseases, parasites, etc.

Is there actually anything that works that can be done? All I want is for them to catch mice, use the litter box and not pee all over and stink up my whole house. Is that so awful??


No, it's not :hug2

[Mother of Sons]

Well I know my husband feeds them well in the morning and I think he feeds them in the evening too. The male cat does catch mice. He won't eat them, just play with them until they die. We still have some here but as long as I can't see or hear them and they aren't in the food I don't freak out about it. Our mouse problem is greatly reduced right now.

They have never been well litter trained. Since the day we got them they have been spotty litter users. I remember posting about it when we first got them. I think I'll take them to a vet, get them checked out and fixed and see if that helps not that we can afford it. I'm definitely finding a new vet too because the last time we took our dog to the vet, they charged us 80 dollars to clip his nails. Ugh. I'm not going to be able to deal with people who think I'm awful because I want to be able to live in a house without this smell. As it stands now I can't even have people over and I worry about what germs they are leaving all over my house. This problem has been going on for some time so it's not a heat of the moment thing kwim?

Thanks for the links. I'll check them out.

[domesticzookeeper]

Well I know my husband feeds them well in the morning and I think he feeds them in the evening too. The male cat does catch mice. He won't eat them, just play with them until they die. We still have some here but as long as I can't see or hear them and they aren't in the food I don't freak out about it. Our mouse problem is greatly reduced right now.

Well that's good. I know what you mean about your girl kitty being afraid of mice. One of the cats runs away from bugs :eek :lol

They have never been well litter trained. Since the day we got them they have been spotty litter users. I remember posting about it when we first got them. I think I'll take them to a vet, get them checked out and fixed and see if that helps not that we can afford it.

Fixing long-term behaviors is harder, but it's not impossible. Hopefully your vet will be able to help with the health and/or behavioral issues.

I'm definitely finding a new vet too because the last time we took our dog to the vet, they charged us 80 dollars to clip his nails. Ugh.

Yikes :jawdrop That's nearly criminal :td

I'm not going to be able to deal with people who think I'm awful because I want to be able to live in a house without this smell. As it stands now I can't even have people over and I worry about what germs they are leaving all over my house. This problem has been going on for some time so it's not a heat of the moment thing kwim?

I know, and I'm sorry if I implied otherwise :blush I just meant that, for instance, right after the cat has peed on something else might not be the best time to make a final decision :hugheart

Good luck with everything! We've been dealing with health problems with the cats recently, and it has been immensely frustrating. ITU :hug

[boonpnutsmom]

We use the Human Society here as one of regular ways to help our customers when we do animal control. Customers call us that they have a cat problem and we set Humane traps to catch them, then we take them to the Humane Society and for a $5-10 donation they take them for us. I have called and checked on several of them and some have been placed in homes of employees as they were not adoptable by the public.

[Amber]

The PP have some really good information.

I just wanted to give you some advice regarding the urine smell in the house. You can find the hidden urine spots by making the room dark and shining a black light over surfaces...be sure to check both the floors and walls. You will then want to clean the spots with a really good enzyme cleaner (look for one that states it is for pet urine) to get rid of the smell.

I totally understand your frustration of the cats getting on the counters. My cat does the same, and he will eat food that is cooking or left out. You can try to booby-trap your counters. There is a product called SSSCAT http://www.animalbehaviorsystems.com/category.cfm?Category=8 it works with a motion sensor device attached to a can of forced air. It is a bit expensive, but I have heard some really good things about it.

To help get rid of the mice you can try putting peppermint oil on something like cardboard and leaving that in the places where the mice are likely to visit...I haven't tried this myself yet, but I have heard it works.

[Mother of Sons]

I've probably gone throuh 2-3 gallons of enzyme cleaner. We took out the remaining carpet in the downstairs and replaced it with linoleum. The upstairs is still carpeted and removing it will be necessary as soon as we can afford it. I'm afraid this house will become unsellable. I've tried everything as far as mice goes. peppermint, steel wool, herbal mouse repellant, traps (every kind) the electronic things. Everything I have ever heard, we've tried. Having a cat is the only thing that's been keeping them away. Every house for blocks and blocks has them. I even called orkin and those types and they all said they'd come out and do what they could but based on the neighborhood and the age of our house that it would be a waste of my time and money.