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November 19, 2005
I can't stand the smell of Downy
One of my cats has started peeing around the house again. I'm about 99% sure which one it is, and he's pushing my limits.
Bubba is 7 years old. I met him when he was left at the vet clinic I worked at in Austin. The first time he was brought in, the owner thought there was something funny going on with his front feet. She was right. Some kids had apparently put rubber bands around his front feet, and no one noticed. You know what your mother said about cutting off your circulation? She was right. Bubba's front feet were hard, dead shells. The vet sent her home, telling her to soak his feet in an antibacterial solution, and that the feet would fall off. She did, and one of his feet did. She was skeeved enough that she brought him back to the vet clinic, and Bubba became the second clinic mascot.
Bubba spent months living in the clinic. He spent his nights in a cage, but during the days he got tons of love and attention. His second foot fell off, and we treated his stumps with daily soakings. Not his favorite activity, but he seemed to take it from me better than any of the other techs. Over holidays, he came home with me and ran free with the herd of animals I was living with at the time.
Eventually, Bubba came to live with me full time. To this day, he prefers me to any other human in the world. It was probably more than 6 months before he did anything more than tolerate Rex.
Bubba has had a few urinary incidents in the past. A few minor adjustments to the way I keep house (Ha! That's a joke in itself!) like not leaving piles of clothing around, and keeping the dirty laundry in a closable hamper instead of a laundry basket on the floor, have pretty much solved our problems, until recently. He's been so well behaved that I've become lax. Laundry baskets no longer seemed to be an issue, so I've gone back to my old habit of keeping one for Rex and I, one for Jamie, and a third for Katie. In spite of the fact that our and Jamie's were kept on the floor, Bubba left them alone.
This week, he's peed in Jamie's basket twice, and on her bed once. The only thing that saved him tonight was the plastic cover that protected Jamie's mattress.
What do you do with a cat who dislikes everyone but you, has no front feet, and pees randomly?
Posted by me at November 19, 2005 9:10 PM