Need a bit of advice..mainly from cat owners, but not necessarily

[TK421]

We've inherited a cat ( which I think is a pain in the ass, but that's besides the point ). My one roommate, who owns the cat keeps the litterbox in the kitchen. I happen to think that this is disgusting. We have a bathroom downstairs with plenty of room next to the toilet ( most of us don't use the downstairs bathroom for much except taking a leak ). I'm tired of stepping in cat litter strewn about from the litterbox when I go to get a glass from the kitchen cabinet. I'm not sure how to approach my roommate about this situation since this has been going on for about five months, and nothing has been said so far, but I've reached my breaking point. PLUS, the cat is shedding like a motherfucker ( pardon me ) on my futon; I had a female friend over a couple of nights ago to watch a movie, and when she got up her clothes were covered in cat hair......
Let me just say that I've never been a big fan of cats....they're sneaky and vindictive when they don't get what they want...so I'm trying to find a diplomatic way of telling my roommate that I don't want his cat on my furniture. To the cat owners who respond to this..I don't hate cats, I just prefer dogs. This problem has been going on for some time now, and I'm the type of guy who doesn't want to cause problems or rock the boat, so to speak. Any advice would be helpful...thanks

[alarimer]

1. I don't think you can do much about the shedding

They just do that. Brushing helps a little but where there is a cat there will be cat hair. It's next to impossible to keep them off the furniture. It sounds like you need a roommate who doesn't have a cat.

[TK421]

5. We're kind of in a situation where that isn't possible....having the cat

is determinate of our lease for the next two years...unfortunately, I'm stuck with it:(

[Bunny]

7. Your lease requires you to keep a cat? I don't understand that.

Anyway, for hygiene reasons, you have every right to insist (not ask, insist) that the litter box be removed from the kitchen. That's disgusting.

[TK421]

11. That came out kind of wrong...what I meant to say was because my roommates

wanted a cat so badly, the landlord agreed to it if we agreed to be locked in to a two-year lease. You're right...we don't have to have the cat. I was probably really tired when I typed that

[grannylib]

2. I would advise moving the litter box out of the kitchen; I agree, that's gross.

A seldom-used bathroom sounds ideal.

As for the shedding, yes, you can actually do something about it (besides vacuuming after the fact!)
There are great brushes, gloves with little clingy thingys on them, and even latex gloves are good...with just a few minutes a day (or even a couple times a day) you can really cut down on the loose fur everywhere, and the cats usually love it, and it can be a real bonding thing, and I wish you luck!

[TK421]

4. I agree that a litterbox in a room in which I prepare my food is gross

THANK YOU!!!!! I actually know someone else who keeps their litterbox in their damn kitchen...I JUST DON'T GET IT. As far as the shedding? I will discuss the vacuuming of the futon at least once a week ( my roommates responsibility of course ). When I had company over ( that was meant to be intimate ) that was embarrassing.

[grannylib]

6. That will help a lot...another tip would be to keep a cover of some kind

on the futon, which could be easily washed (and easily removed to reveal a clean and romance-friendly futon at a moment's notice). Just an inexpensive comforter or quilt or bedspread - nothing fancy. Check the thrift stores :-)

[Critters2]

15. Yeah, a litterbox in the kitchen is a bad idea.

I keep ours in the entry way to the house, but I'd rather have it in the bathroom. Oddly, my bathroom has this great hardwood floor that I'm afraid would be scratched by the sand. So, it goes in a corner of the foyer. Me, I'd rather have it in the bathroom. Seems the logical place.

But never in the kitchen.

[bullwinkle428]

20. You mentioned using sand in the box -

is there a specific reason you're using sand? I use corn-based litter in my cat's box, and can't imagine that would have any kind of abrasiveness that could damage a hardwood floor. I see that you live in Iowa as well...World's Best Cat Litter is made here in Iowa, and does a great job from my experience.

[mykpart]

3. I keep my cat's litter box in the master bathroom.

I'm with you about the kitchen, although my sister used to keep hers in her dining room! My MIL kept hers in a closet in a spare bedroom. I really think the cat is happier if the litter box is somewhere inconspicuous and somewhat private. Perhaps you might approach your roommate from that angle. Also you might get one of those covered litter boxes.
On edit: Maybe your roommate should keep the litter box in his bedroom.

[kedrys]

8. Litterboxes do NOT belong in the kitchen!

We keep ours in the spare bedroom (7 cats, 6 boxes). We used to keep them in a large downstairs bathroom in the ex-house.

1. When you move the litterbox to your downstairs bathroom, put a small rug in front of it. That helps kitty track less litter through the house, and they like not having sand between their toes.

2. The sand litter works better than the "rocky" kind, and is far less sharp to bare feet when some gets inevitably tracked.

3. We keep throws on every piece of furniture in the living room, and wash them at least twice a month. It's helped save the furniture quite a bit.

4. With that many cats, we have to mow the carpet pretty much every other day. Vacuum once a week.

5. To get kitty fur off your stuff: StickySheets! Nothing comes close.

6. Brushing kitty is definitely a good way to keep the shedding down, but if you're not thrilled about that part, items 3-5 above should at least help a bit.

Good luck!

[amitten]

9. While I disagree that cats are "vindictive" (I've met mean dogs

and cats, both...and nothin' beats a bad dog bite) I do think you should talk to your roommate.

That litterbox should never be kept in the kitchen, and actually should probably be kept in the roommate's own room. If he/she keeps the box really clean (which they should) there's no reason not to put it in their own room.

Sorry you're dealing with this. In the meantime, for your own mental health, make Friends with that cat. You can do it and you'll feel far less resentment about the whole thing.

[TK421]

13. I will have a discussion with him this week...thanks for the input

:hi: I have tried to be friendly with this cat, but it is kind of mental. The thing is extremely skittish and has actually woken me out of bed with its loud meowing...

[amitten]

16. I've known cats like that. They've almost always been through

some kind of crap in the past that makes them freaky (like being tortured...a lot of kids and even grownups think it's "funny" to physically torment cats). A well-treated cat (like the ones I've owned!) act a lot like friendly puppies...very social with minimal weirdness. But if they've been scared a lot by rough-house stuff, they get reclusive and weird and mentally disturbed.

The best way to befriend a cat like that (pain in the ass cat) is to talk softly, approach slowly, and pet only their head really gently. Oh...and feed it. In time, that cat will behave much more normally.

PS-All cats freak out for about a month after being moved to a new home. They HATE that.

[stuntcat]

21. brush it? (maybe)

if your friend has a cat brush or if you have a little comb. Even if the cat isn't used to you touching it it might let you brush it a little, they love how it feels, just a few minutes at a time might help how nervous the cat acts.
The hair you brush out would cut down on the shedding everywhere else.
but maybe this is something your roommate ought to take care of.

[Heidi]

10. You don't have a cat problem. You have a roommate problem.

Would they tolerate a human toilet in the kitchen? Probably not. Nor should they tolerate a cat toilet in the kitchen, and you should make this point to them (at the risk of rocking the boat), even to the point of picking up the litter box and and moving it into the downstairs bathroom yourself, and leaving the door open so that the cat has access.

I would, though, take issue with your assessment of cats being sneaky and vinditive when they don't get what they want. If you ever lived with a cat you loved and respected and who loved you in return, instead of a cat who is only tolerated and forced to do his business in the kitchen for all to see, I'm almost certain you'd reconsider. :hi:

[TK421]

14. That first paragraph sums things up nicely...you're right, they wouldn't

tolerate me going to the bathroom in the kitchen sink, and I don't want to eat around a bunch of animal shit. I'm sure that this problem will be resolved this week

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

12. As a cat lover and the employee of two, I'd say the litter box

belongs in a bathroom. After all, it IS a bathroom. And you can keep the hair situation somewhat under control by throwing a sheet or some other cover over any surface the cat sleeps on. Try to make friends with the cat. My ex didn't like cats at all when we got married, but I insisted on getting one and before long he was a devout cat lover. They do grow on one.

[astral]

17. Also, give the cat its own cat bed in its own place in the

livingroom. If you get one of them fuzzy little nesty-beds they can can curl up in -- but make sure it's big enough for the cat -- and put it in one place in the livingroom preferably near a wall or ideally near a window as cats love windows and somewhere up off the floor. And of course have a removable washable blanky thing on it so the cat hair can be washed out in the laundry easily (although I have found cat hair doesn't always want to come out of a washed / dried cat blanky.)

He will still of course be in the mood to lounge on the couch, but will probably spend a good deal of nap time in his own bed. Maybe put a little cat nip in the bed or a catnip-weenie or something.

I recently put a cardboard box which had a natural 'ceiling' to it with a pillow inside, perfect square cat-sized, that he could just walk into, at my mom's on her small coffeetable in the livingroom. Her cat is pushing 19 or 20 years old, and he goes in there for long cat naps every day, he seems to love having a place of his own to hang out undisturbed by the dogs.

I agree the kitchen's a nasty place for a catbox.

[Whoa_Nelly]

18. Would be most concerned about toxoplasmosis

And having the litter box in the kitchen, where food is stored and prepared, is just gross.

Cat feces sometimes carry the eggs of parasites that can cause toxoplasmosis, a serious disease that can be contracted by humans if inhaled or ingested. It is especially dangerous for pregnant women. Read more about toxoplasmosis and cat litter here. If you keep the litter box clean, you seriously diminish the chance of getting infected.
http://www.cat-pregnancy-report.com/cat-litter-boxes.html


http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dpd/parasites/toxoplasmosis/factsht_toxoplasmosis.htm
Toxoplasmosis
(TOX-o-plaz-MO-sis)

[Sanity Claws]

19. Blanket or towel on the part of the furniture the cat likes

When a guest comes over, remove the blanket or towel. You have to wash the blanket/towel a couple of times a week, so have a few on hand.
Move the litterbox to the bathroom. That's where I keep mine. The cats are used to having it there and so when we travel, they know to look for their box in the hotel bathroom. Yes, cats can recognize rooms. Bathrooms generally have tile floors and white porcelain fixtures.

[grace0418]

22. I've got some solutions for you!! My husband is allergic to cats so we've really

had to come up with ideas that keep him from having strong reactions to our cat. He loves Frankie and wouldn't give him up for the world so you know we've tried just about everything.

First off, I've lived in apartments where the only place to keep the litter box was in the kitchen. The bathroom was too small. And it is possible to keep it from getting all over the place with a little vigilence. First of all, the litter box must be cleaned daily, even a couple of times a day. And keep a dustbuster plugged in right next to the box for the stray bits of litter (it's much faster and easier and more effective than sweeping or dragging out a big vacuum). I also found that the tall litter box with the opening on top (here's a website: http://www.hdw-inc.com/clevercat.htm, I got mine at PetCo) *really* cuts down on the litter outside the box.

That said, if the roommate agrees to move the box to the bathroom, that's great. You can still do all those same things to keep the bathroom from getting stinky and full of litter bits.

As far as shedding goes, there's not much you can do about cats getting on furniture unless you can close the door to the room. What you *can* do is buy some throws or fabric that you can cover the furniture with when you're not sitting on it. I bought some nice nubby fabric that matches our decor (and hides my cat's fur). He can sleep on the sofa all day and when I get home I can sit on a fur-free surface. I don't have to spend hours cleaning fur off of everything before having guests over either. Just before they arrive I just remove the covers and the problem is solved. Nobody has to go home with fur all over their clothes and I don't have to freak out about kitty getting on the furniture when I'm not around. I just toss the throws into the wash when they get dirty. Problem solved.