Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
help! having issues with our cats
We have had two shelter adopted cats since 1999 and 2000. They are wonderful, sweet, and we love them dearly but recently we have started having some pretty big issues with them. Recently (within the past year) one of the cats (or both, we don't know) has started pooping on the rug near the front door. We have already thrown out two rugs after repeated washing and it is continuing to happen and just yesterday one of them peed on the bed in the nursery (we just moved DS out of there last week). There was so much pee there was a puddle on the waterproof mattress after we pulled the sheet off and then today one of them peed on DS's MickeyMouse rocking chair. I just don't know what to do...
Some background on them: both of them were classified as "special needs" and we knew that taking them in (actually adopted them because we knew they would not likely be adopted otherwise) but we have never had issues with them until recently. One of the cats has serious anxiety issues and is extraordinarily skittish while the other had special situations surrounding her dropoff at the shelter (she, her brother and mother were dropped off in a carrier in July at 8am, the shelter didn't open until 5pm...the mom died and the brother was a quadriplegic) that affected her personality making her very needy. Other than the upcoming LO we haven't had any recent changes in our household. DH did start working offshore 1.5 years ago but, again, no recent changes to explain their sudden behavior. I hope someone can offer some advice...
~~PGAL/PAL Welcome~~
Re: help! having issues with our cats
BFP 11.8.12 * EDD 7.17.13 * MC 12.20.12
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, over!
Get off the boarding your f**king troll.
OP, I'd try a few things. Getting them checked by a vet being the first and foremost action. Your cats are seniors, so medical problems, unfortunately, can be expected at this stage. Rule those out first.
Try adding Cat Attract litter to your cats' boxes. You don't need to use it exclusively, but put a generous layer of it over your regular litter ever week or so. We have a cat who started pooping outside the box when we brought home our dog. The Cat Attract almost entirely eliminated the problem immediately. The only time she really does it now is if I've slacked off and not added any Cat Attract in a while.
Also, be sure you're cleaning the area with an enzymatic cleaner (Nature's Miracle, for example). This will ensure that the cats can't smell previous eliminations in that area (if you clean with regular carpet cleaners, you might not be able to smell it anymore, but they still can), so they won't keep returning to the same spot and repeating the behavior.
GL. I hope you're able to solve the problem soon.
B/w 1/8: betas 17,345, progesterone 25.6
Thanks so much for the advice!!! We have actually gotten rid of several of the rugs so there *shouldn't* be any leftover smell from previous eliminations but I'll definitely try the Cat Attract.