Hey,
I have only ever come on here once before and it was when my mum's cat Monty got stuck up a tree. After a day and a half of crying he walked right in the back door and was just stood there having a wash - typical cat!
Well I'm coming back today because I've got another sort of crisis and just wanted to vent to people who probably understand why it's upsetting me so much.
I live in a shared house where my landlord also lives here and there's two cats, Edgar and Lucy. Last week I got home and noticed that the stopper thing was in the cat flap and could hear Lucy meowing outside so I opened the door and let them in. They both seemed so happy to get back inside - they're both 14/15 and not used to having to spend much time outside. Then my landlord comes in and tells me that he's teaching them to be more outside cats and throws Lucy out again. By this time Edgar had hidden under the table so when my landlord disappeared I took Edgar and hid him in my room where he went straight to sleep and looked super relaxed.
Later I speak to my landlord and he says he's going to have to get rid of the cats, because he's sick of Edgar weeing in the house and they just don't give him any joy anymore. He said Lucy has a home to go to but they're gonna take Edgar to a shelter or to be put down. Obviously this was horrifying for me to hear, Edgar in particular is my little boy and he's as excited to see me each evening as I am to see him. He's such a lovely cat and although he does wee in the house I wonder whether they've done everything they can to work out why.
I spoke to my mum and she said she's happy to give Edgar a home alongside her two cats, Monty and Pudding (who are 5). Obviously this was a relief for me to hear but I'm still worried what's going to happen. Tomorrow is the day of the big move and there's so much playing on my mind:
Will Edgar settle ok when we move him?
Will Monty and Pudding adjust to having him there? They are very settled in their routine
Will we be able to get Edgar's toilet habits under control? Obviously we will keep him indoors for at least a few weeks and so we need for him to be using a litter tray otherwise it's going to be a nightmare for us. He doesn't use a litter tray now but seems to avoid going outside to do his business a lot of the time. I wonder if there's something that's scaring him out there or whether he isn't able to hold it in for long enough to get there?
Has anyone had to train an adult cat to use a litter tray before when they haven't been doing previously? Any tips? Does it come naturally to them or do they need direction?
I really hope he doesn't pee on the bed or the carpet on his first night or anything, just the want the little fella to be happy.
It's causing me so much stress because I'm worried about him, I'd love to hear from anyone else who's been through a similar situation and had a positive outcome...