sigelphoenix

I should have known this would happen. I sort of panicked last night about the cat.

The trigger for me was that the cat's poop stinks.

No, honestly. I have friends with cats, and I've lived with cats before. Nothing prepared me for the stench of Kershach's (yes, that's his name - if you want the geeky story behind it, just ask) excrement. His urine doesn't smell at all, or at least it's masked by the litter - which is made of corn and both absorbs odor and smells natural rather than chemical-laden. But his poop ... damn.

I actually have very little problem with the litter box, even though I was slightly concerned I would. Scooping is easy, and not too dirty (especially because the litter is flushable). I'm willing to do it multiple times per day, even. But when this cat craps, the smell seems to explode out of the litterbox and into the hallway, and even post-scooping, the area reeks unless I open a window and/or run the bathroom vent.

Those of you who know cats are probably thinking that this is because Kershach just abruptly changed foods, from whatever they were feeding him at the shelter to what we're giving him now. This is probably true, and I even knew of this possibility last night, and yet I panicked: fearing that this was going to be a permanent problem, that I wouldn't be able to stand it, and that it was an indication that I had made a poor decision. Not that I ever considered giving Kershach up, of course - but rather, I feared that I'd condemned myself and ratzeo to an unpleasant burden that couldn't be justified by the benefits of having Kershach in our lives.

This sudden anxiety was probably caused by several things, the first being that adopting a cat really is a huge change - at least, for someone like me. My routines are changing. I have added expenses. There is another live, sentient creature in my home, whom I have to take into consideration in most everything. I should have known that I would be shaken up by this, however happy Kershach makes me.

Ironically, this unhappiness was probably exacerbated by the careful consideration I engaged in before I chose to adopt a cat. Somewhere in my mind, I believed that the fact that I was preparing and studying so carefully meant that nothing would go wrong. Which is absurd. I prevented many things from going wrong - and hopefully all major potential problems - but I can't accommodate every eventuality beforehand.

On top of that, I'm feeling physically unwell - chronic stomach upset for the past couple of days (because of the new change ...?), plus I suspect I've got premenstrual hormonal upheaval going on. Combine that with unpleasant smells, and I was physically as well as mentally jarred.

And then, the icing on the cake: as ratzeo and I were discussing this, we were petting Kershach when he scratched us for the first time. Just a scrape - play-scratching, really, that didn't draw blood - but it surprised us, because we hadn't known what his scratching trigger was. In my mood, I was convinced that my eternally gentle cat suddenly hated me. :P

I had a little sob-fest, ratzeo talked me through it, and I resolved to see things better in the morning.

So. Today some good things happened. (Some bad things happened, too, like me missing a couple of hours of work because I was feeling so queasy, and also getting on the wrong bus on my way home with a 34lb. bag of cat litter ... but let's focus on the good.)

First, I talked to some cat-owning coworkers, who agreed that the change in food was almost certainly the cause of the stink. And also helped me remember how much I love cats, anyway.

I stopped by the pet supply store and bought some litter enzyme, which customers apparently rave about for controlling odors. I emptied and washed Kershach's litter box, refilled it with fresh litter, and added the enzyme. I also moved it, to a place which I think will be more accessible to both Kershach's use and our convenience, and hopefully reduce litter tracking on the carpet. It's less out-of-the-way, but since our odor issues seem to be one of two extremes (doesn't smell at all, or breaks all space-time barriers), I don't think it matters. (Don't worry, it's not far, and Kershach seems quite amenable to our litter box shenanigans.) Anyway, I feel better about it now, and I'm crossing my fingers that all these improvements will ameliorate the problem until Kershach acclimates to the food.

Perhaps most importantly, I came home and spent time in Kershach's company, remembering why I've fallen so hard for this little kitty. He was sleeping under the dining table when I got in, and roused himself to greet me when I called him over, purring instantly. I picked him up some new toys, too, and one of them is already an out-of-the-park success (added bonus of him looking adorable when he plays with it).

So, yes, the neurotic cat mom is now a little less freaked out. :P Thank you to ratzeo and kyonkun, who listened to my fears and helped me get over them.

Now if only my physical problems would go away ...

Besides that, here's what's been going on with Kershach:

-Disciplined with squirt gun twice. Both times, he immediately stopped the problem behavior (jumped off table, ran out from sink cabinet). He saw that I did it, but he has seemed to associate the punishment with the behavior and not me, luckily. Besides that, the only significant issue is that he tries to shove his way into closets or cabinets when I open them - which I would prefer he not do, but it's not a problem that I would punish him for.

-The cat tree has seen much more use now that we moved it out of the corner (where it provided a good vantage out the window, but was less accessible) and into the living room. He scratches the scratching posts, sits in the mid-height lounge area, and occasionally goes in the hidey-hole. I hung another toy from it (the new one he loves), so hopefully that will increase his use of it.

-He has a decent sense of when we want to give him attention or not. He's still eager for it, but if we show continued disinterest or are not accessible (right now as I use the computer, when I'm in the shower, when I'm in the kitchen), he will not beg for attention for long.

-My coworkers shared this tip for serving canned food: add warm water. The cat will drink the food-flavored "broth", which ensures that it gets more fluids, and it might also drink the broth first and not plow through the food so fast.

-He seems to like toys that engage lots of senses (lots of movement plus jangling or rattling noise), such as the feather fishing pole. He doesn't care for the common household cat toys: ball of tin foil, milk ring, toilet paper roll. He also hasn't responded to catnip - whether that's because he just isn't sensitive to it, or he's too young, I'm not sure.

-Kershach may not like fish. He has ignored the two types of fish-based treats I tried to give him (which were, luckily, free samples), but loves the freeze-dried chicken treats, and also likes his food, which is chicken-based.

-I think he's getting used to being left alone during the day. Both times I've come home from work, it looks like he was asleep. Like I said, he came to greet me, and was hungry for attention, but he seems like he fares all right. We also suspect he gets more use out of his toys when we're gone, because they've moved or received more cat-damage in our absence.

-Vet appointment next Saturday. I'll ask the vet about food and poop. :P Also Kershach's cold, if it hasn't cleared up by then.