I have two cats, a brother and a sister, about two years old. The girl is the perfect sort of leave and forget cat. She entertains herself, she doesn’t cause trouble, she doesn’t overeat, she uses the litter box, and she’ll curl up on your chest or lap when she wants attention and lies near you at night on the bed. Perfectly content.
Her brother is nothing but problems. He’s like a toddler you can’t communicate with. He doesn’t really cuddle, for starters, but he demands constant attention and stimulation. He bullies his sister in a far too rough turned sexually aggressive sort of way (they’re both fixed), and primarily in the middle of the night when I’m trying to sleep. It breaks my heart, but I have to lock him out of the bedroom. He primarily poops AROUND the litterbox, and while he typically pees in it, if there’s an open container or a pile of clothes or shoes lying around, he’ll occasionally opt to pee on those. He’s also a problem eater. I finally found a solution to reverse the trend on his weight gain, which has been working for the past month or so, but it’s a stressful addition to my life.
I have no doubt that these behavioral problems probably stem in part from stress due to boredom. I’ve tried adding certain things to his environment and wasted a lot of money that way, but I can’t really spend 30 minutes to an hour every day tiring him out. Dogs, I can take on a walk or take to the park or include in activities, but what can I do with a cat?
The apartment is clearly too small for him. I work odd rotating hours, and I’m gone a few nights a week to stay with the girlfriend (my roommate is able to care for them in my absence.) I didn’t grow up with cats and didn’t realize what a hassle and mess litterboxes would be, especially in such a small space, and that gets to me, too.
If he would just stop pooping and peeing everywhere, I’d feel more confident about being able to work through these other issues. But it’s just stressing me out. I feel like an idiot for thinking I’d be able to be responsible for two animals. I feel so guilty for resenting these pets that I love. I can barely take care of myself sometimes, so I don’t know what I’m supposed to do here. Every cat I’ve ever been around hasn’t required remotely this amount of focus.
Has anyone here had success working with a problematic cat, particularly one with these issues?
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from Pets https://www.reddit.com/r/Pets/comments/bbu5fn/i_am_a_terrible_cat_owner_and_im_considering/
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