cat cribs!

Patches chilling in her crib

I posted last week in a post that we set up kitty cages in the house. 

I promised some further details, and the time is upon us.

First, let me explain to any newcomers about our cat situation. We have six cats. The first two were brought home by me in my multiple, "I need a place to live" moments I went through. When my younger sister divorced she moved back home too, along with her two male cats. The environment was a disaster from the start, two girls already settled in, suddenly two boys (used to being together already) take over the place, it was an intense clash of wills. Two versus two. When we moved home before we went to the farm we had Zaphod with us, which brought us up to five cats. At the farm, we lost Zaphod to the busy highway out front, and were devastated. Several weeks later we adopted two kittens (one was supposed to stay on the farm...) brother and sister, and they have made a home in all our hearts very quickly. Returning home from the farm meant we now had six cats in the house.

Patches watching the dogs from safety

The thing about cats is they communicate through smell, mainly the smells in their pee. If you've ever lived with multiple cats you already know. They will spray everything. It's not because they're bad, and punishing them only makes it worse. We have covered all the health concerns, urinary infections, etc. It's just stress from their being so many cats. The dogs don't help either. We have been dealing with this cats-peeing-on-the-entire-house-everywhere problem from over a year now. Over the warmer months we kicked them outside completely, except the kittens (who get along with everyone and do not pee on anything.) This worked well, and as the colder months set in we made various cat boxes for them to retreat to, but our soft hearts got the better of us, and they made their way back inside. Obviously, it did not take long for the urinary communication to continue. The absolute most worst thing in the entire world is the smell of cat pee heating up when you turn on the eye of the stove. Ugh.

 

This is Erowyn's room. It's a little smaller, and hard to get a good picture of.

Our solution: two former rabbit tractors, simple cages with ample room, re-purposed for kitty cats. There are two boxes, one for each of the girls (Patches and Erowyn.) Each has it's own litter box, shelf to climb, pillow to sleep on, food, water, and of course a few toys. At first, we expected the worst. Howling all night long, tearing at the wire, that sort of thing. To our surprise, they adapted quickly to their new homes. Erowyn especially has always been a very anxious cat. Always on edge, jumpy. Having this space to herself, safe from dogs and other cats alike, with all the necessities, well; they both have adjusted just fine. I dare to say they even enjoy their new homes.We put Erowyn's room in the guest bedroom, which is quiet and peaceful, I think it's good for her. Patches is in the den, closer to the commotion, she is a bit more social than Erowyn.

kitty cribs

One other cat has his own bedroom, Toulouse, my sister's male tuxedo full-of-himself kitty. My dad is quite fond of him (though, as he is constantly reminding us, he doesn't like cats) so when he comes inside he goes straight to his bedroom. Jinx is the other male black cat that came here from my sister, he's the oldest of the crew and doesn't cause too many problems, so he is allowed to roam free, along with the kittens. We usually kick all of the cats outside to hunt and play during the day, unless the weather is too miserable.

Until next time,

Angela Kelly