litter box watch: day 4.

who knew something so cuddly and cute could stress me out so much? and no, i'm not talking about the baby.

we got Moose on Tuesday and i'm so excited to have him here! i've been wanting a kitty for over 5 years and hubs got him for me for my birthday!

i was told it may be overwhelming for him to roam the house since he's not used to having so much space, and he's been through A LOT in the last week. so we've been keeping him in the guest room so slowly let him adjust to life here. his food and water is in there, i put two blankets from the dogs in there to get used to their smell, and of course the litter box.

that damn litter box. i remember telling hubs "cats are so easy! and litter box training is so natural it just won't even take any effort." wow, i am so eating my words now. today is day 4 and he has YET to use the litter box. instead he is using the futon. every single time. holy moly.

i've reached out to various friends & family who are cat people, Facebook, coworkers, google, asking for advice and reading everything i can. this boggles me. from what i've been told we should leave him in the guest room alone until he can calm down and get adjusted. that it'll take 3-4 days but then he'll be just fine. well....as i said, today is day 4. and he is still using the futon. i made sure the litter box was full enough, the litter didnt smell too strong, it was in a 'private' place, not too close to his food, etc. when he pooped on the futon i put it in the box, and held him while i showed him covering it with litter and moving it around. i place him in the box and he hops right back out. nothing is working.

i'm trying to be patient and not stress, but i'm sorry- have you met me? hey there, i'm kelly-- and i stress a lot. nice to meet you.

we have a 'mattress' cover on the futon to protect it, i lined it with garbage bags, and put the sheets back on. i'm not going to keep washing them every dang day twice a day till we get this under control. no point in my eyes. he meows at the door which makes me think he wants out- everytime we open the door he escapes. so i'm starting to wonder if he is upset for being cooped up and left alone so much? i have no idea.

i'm truly boggled.

i tried calling the shelter to see if they had suggestions, to see how he did with it there, and to see what kind of litter they use. no answer- so i'm hoping they'll call me back. cause i am at a loss.

feeling defeated. and frustrated. and stressed.

stay tuned, hopefully we get this worked out ASAP!


*UPDATE* 6/18/13
shelter called me back and spent lots of time on the phone with me to figure this out. they even said they would call me on Monday to check in and see how things are going. they rock! they suggested moving him to an even smaller room so we settled on the guest bathroom. this may help him adjust, since he's not used to having so much room, and maybe motivate him to "find" and use the litter box. then we can let him out and start roaming the house and getting used to the dogs,etc. PLUS if there are accidents its a tile floor so MUCH easier to clean up. *needless to say he is already in there, and i've already cleaned up the guest room. futon mess is in the washer as we speak!

they also suggested a bigger box. we got a smaller one cause we'd heard if they had one too big it may put them off from using it. the shelter told me he had a regular sized one there, so the smaller one MAY be throwing him off. and finally, they recommended a different litter. luckily i was able to exchange everything at petsmart so i got a bigger box,and a different litter. they (and some friends) recommended Cat Attract. the lady at the shelter told me she had fostered a cat who had issues using the litter box, and after putting that litter down the cat was using it within 4 hours. fingers crossed we have the same success.


*UPDATE 2* 7/3/2013
success! within an hour of making those changes on Friday he was using the litter box like a champ. thank goodness! we've had no problems since then, and he is already a part of this family. he sleeps with joey & i, is getting along with the dogs, loves adelynn (and is so patient with her dragging him around ha). he is awesome. he follows us around and if he can't get to where we are just sits at the door meowing his little heart out. he sits with me all day while i work too :) i adore him, we got a good one!

attitude.

i remember after i got pregnant my mom smiling and saying to me, "i hope you have a girl, so you get all that attitude you gave me." oh, we had a good laugh!

i'm not laughing anymore.

lord have mercy this baby girl is no longer a baby i suppose. granted, she will ALWAYS be my baby, and i still affectionately call her 'baby'. but she is becoming more and more toddler like. i've said it a million times before, we got blessed with a very laid back/happy/easy baby. and i wasn't lyin'!

the last couple days we've experienced our first, of what i'm sure will be many- meltdowns.

well, not really melt downs. i've seen some good melt downs and thats not really what we're dealing with. she's more fussy, testing us. when we tell her no, or "no ma'am", take something away, or pick her up to move her from whatever shes doing...we get the picture above. it usually only lasts a couple minutes and then shes up and running, smiling, and forgotten all about it.

we've been using redirection thus far. "you can't have this... but hey look at THIS!"

i feel like at 14 months old, there isn't a ton you CAN do. i don't want her to be spoiled, or melt down central. but theres just not a ton of options at this point. i don't think she'd understand a time out. spanking isn't an option (at least till shes older, don't judge), and words only get so far. so we've been relying on redirection.

i've gotten her to where she understands "no ma'am" because i use it consistently. she KNOWS when i say that to stop what shes doing. she normally either listens, and moves on. or she cuts her eyes at me with this sneaky little smile and keeps slowly reaching for/climbing on/touching/doing whatever i'm telling her not to. (sometimes, it IS really cute....and it makes me laugh...but i do my best not to show her that)

i've been reading a ton of things online (gotta love Dr.Google) and thus far it looks like redirection is the top pick for this age. granted, people have all kinds of different advice- stick her in the crib for "time out" and walk away....slap her hands, swat her butt, tone of voice, etc.

i think, for now at least- we'll stick with redirection.

regardless, i adore this child- and she truly is 'easy' and happy, ALL THE DANG TIME. well...as long as she naps ;)

i mean, just look at this face!

(this is when she was itty bitty, just days old!)

"I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always. As long as I'm living, my baby you'll be."

call me cat lady.

patience is key.

I grew up with cats,we always had at least two at a time.

then, i got married. ha.

joey had zero interest. and some of his family members are allergic. so he won that battle quickly- cause i do love me some in-laws! (seriously, i actually love my in-laws).

fast forward 5 years later. it came up again, he didn't seem repulsed by the idea.... those family members i mentioned being allergic never come over here, so that wasn't really a valid argument anymore.

and so, the dance began!

fast forward to now. i read a blog that Athens Humane Society had an over flow of cats/kittens they had saved from animal control, and were running a 'Name Your Own Price' adoption fee. (this includes spay/neuter, and up to date on shots). i told joey about it and he just kinda rolled his eyes and said 'well, i was planning to surprise you for your birthday..'

so the search began!

we finally settled on this little guy up above. we had three we were interested in but we kept going back to this guy. he is so dang handsome! we get to meet him on sunday, and pick him up next week after he gets snipped. i can hardly wait to bring him home!!

then we played the name game. he kinda looks like charlie chaplain, so we threw out Chaps or Charlie. but it still didn't seem right. hubs said Adolph but i wouldn't let that happen...and then it happened- the perfect name for our kitty with a mustache...

Moose Stash Rickels 

i know, right?

perfect.

i cannot wait to bring this little guy home!

stay tuned friends!!

p.s. the name your price promo is still going for the humane society in athens, if anyone local is interested go take a gander at all the fluffy creatures that need homes!

http://www.athenshumanesociety.org/

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