Wednesday, August 13, 2008
And, it's not even Monday!!!
It's only 8:26 AM and I already know it's going to be a crazy day. Our alarm clock went off bright and early so we could start our day filled with work on the farm. Usually, at the sound of the alarm, I'm out of bed really quickly. Today was different. I kind of rolled over, wanting just five more minutes.It was a rough night, finding out that one of our friends had just passed away. This would make three deaths in the past few weeks. This one hit hard because I was just visiting with her the other week. She looked so wonderful and peaceful when I saw her. She said she wanted my husband to come with me on my next visit, because she was so excited about our pregnancy and wanted to congratulate Hubby in person. She said that babies are a blessing and that this news really brightened up her day.
Thinking of her passing left me with a restless sleep. I was having odd dreams and getting up this morning was difficult, until...
Hubby yelled out, "Oh, you bugger!!!"
I opened my eyes to see what was going on, and there was Hubby scooping up Trouble (our adorable, yet troublesome cat), running downstairs, opening the front door and tossing him out.
"What is going on!?!?!"
"Trouble just peed and pooped all over my clothes that I left on the floor!" (I was about to say something about not leaving clothes on the floor, but decided not to say anything).
"Not only that, but he was sick in the living room, kitchen and laundry room!"
I guess by naming a pet something like "Trouble", one is asking for trouble. It's like a self-fulfilling prophecy. Maybe we should have named him "Angel" or something.
To add to all of the excitement of the morning, Hubby was cleaning up the laundry room and went out of the house via the greenhouse, when he discovered a wasps' nest! Errr...perhaps we should say that the wasps discovered him! His hand got stung and now he has to try to get rid of the nest that is just above our greenhouse door. What fun!I started to cry because Hubby threw out my cat. These crazy pregnancy hormones are making me really emotional these days. I thought I had things under control, but the last few days I've been crying when I'm tired, crying when I'm sick (yes, the vomiting and nausea have returned, but not as bad as before), I've been crying each time someone says something to me that rubs me the wrong way...and crying when Hubby gets mad at the cats.
I feel sorry for my husband for having to deal with me being so emotional, but I know that he knows that I'm not normally this emotional and I don't normally burst out into tears for nothing every day.I really thought I wouldn't have the roller coaster of emotions in my pregnancy. There are a lot of things I wasn't expecting when I got pregnant. Thank goodness I took the summer off ESL. My ESL students would think I was a crazy woman! Plus, there is sooooooo much that has to be done here on the farm.
Now, my question for anyone reading this who has cats is:
How do you stop a cat from peeing and pooping where he's not supposed to?
We have made sure both litter boxes are clean. We've mopped up, cleaned up, disinfected the areas where Trouble has gone to the bathroom where he's not supposed to. We've used pheromone stain and odor remover. We've used cat deterrents. We've used positive reinforcement.
Trouble has been "fixed" (when he was 6 months old) and I thought that since he had been "altered" he wouldn't mark his territory. Wrong! He still does it! He's only been doing this for the past week or so.I don't want to make him an outdoor cat, because he's my little cuddle bunny. He's so affectionate and loving. He's funny and playful.
He's a great pet...except for the peeing and pooping where he's not supposed to. Hubby said that once Trouble starts doing this, he's going to continue to do this.Anybody have any suggestions?
**This just in!**
It always seems that whenever things get tough, something always happens to make me realize that there's a silver lining to every cloud. I realize I've been feeling down about people we know dying, friends moving away, and me living soooooo far away from my friends and family in Toronto and Montreal. Just when I was feeling pretty sad, I received an unexpected surprise in the mail from my lovely friend, Canine. I don't know how on earth she does it, but she always seems to get in touch with me when I really need a pick-me-up!
Thank you, Canine! You really brightened up my day :)
A baby bump shot for you. GAH! Only 4 months pregnant and already showing!
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About the Blog Author
City girl moves to the country, falls in love, and marries a farmer. She tries to incorporate her city ways with her new country lifestyle and blogs to keep in touch with friends, family & students who live far, far away :) Can this city girl go country? Watch as she learns all sorts of exciting things about life on the farm and in a small rural community. *UPDATE* We are now parents! Our baby girl was born on Nov. 11, 2008 (at 28 weeks gestation- 12 weeks premature, but she's quite the trooper)!!!
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14 comments:
Oh Chrissy - I love your bump!
Sorry to hear about Trouble's little problem. It can be infuriating and sounds like you have done all the usual things to try and stop him.
Maybe only letting him inside for short periods of supervised time might help. I fear that your husband might be right, once they decide where to go they are hard to retrain.
If its spraying (marking territory) and he has only just started it, perhaps a strange cat has been hanging around and he feels threatened. Ours have done that from time to time usually when the neighbours cat has walked inside for a look around. Even our female sprayed the curtains once when she felt under threat.
But if its peeing and pooping has he got a bladder infection or kidney problem?
That about exhausts my ideas! But I understand how frustrating it is.
Sorry for your losses :(
On the cat front I wish I had an answer. Our oldest is so bad her nickname is Piddle Queen. If she's mad, sad, bored, or feeling vengeful she piddles- on the rug, on your shoe, in the kitchen, by the door... The kitten's only bad potty habit is that she will only go if she's in the box. So, if she's outside you have to let her IN to go tinkle (in her box). It's enough to make any person crazy!
This is just a thought, but maybe Trouble would like to see all clothes hung up neatly in the closet with the door closed. Husbands are hard to train, but cats like things their own way.
Oh, what a day, C! Look at those beautiful kitties, though. Those pics made me smile! I don't have any suggestions for you, though, since we're an all-dog family!!
Love that baby bump shot. SO adorable. And CONGRATS on your bro & SIL's great news! (Saw it on Facebook, hehe)!
I know I owe you a big email! And it's great to see you on Twitter!
xo,
Jane
Mrinz:
Thank you! Oh, my! I feel HUGE already! Can't imagine what it will be like near the end of my pregnancy! LOL!
Thank you for your tips re: Trouble. It breaks my heart to have him outside. He's the one who loves snuggling with me all the time. Spike is a good girl, but she is a typical female cat. She is kind of snobby and totally not cuddly!
Thanks for your comments. I really look forward to hearing from you all the time. You are a true gem!
Shannon:
Thank you. It has been pretty rough. We just returned from the visitation. I managed to hold things together for the most part. Only had to whip out the tissues once! That's a breakthrough for me!
When your older cat pees inside, what do you use to get rid of the smell?
At least your youngest kitty pees IN her box!!! :) I'd rather usher her inside the house to do her business than clean up the mess should she go where she's not supposed to! ;)
Jan:
LOL! I think you may be onto something! Those are my sentiments exactly! ;)
Jane:
Those are all photos of my adorable Trouble. He is such a sweetie...I just wish he didn't cause so much trouble!!
You know, the beauty of having dogs is that they don't give you the same kind of problems cats do! We were a dog-only family before I begged Hubby for the kittens. With Chance, I never had any problems of him peeing and pooping where he's not supposed to. He's always been very good for going where he's supposed to. *sigh*
Thank you for the comment on "the bump"! I feel GINORMOUS though! LOL! We were sure that we were having twins...but it's my brother and his wife that are expecting twins! LOL! We're so excited! Did you see the ultrasound photos of "the twins" on Facebook?? They are soooooo cute!
My SIL is due on the 21st of Feb and I'm due on the 3rd of Feb. I have a feeling we'll be having our babies around the same time though! My poor parents are going to have a lot of running around to do! It's a 10 hr drive (each way) from the Island to K-town!! Gah!
Hi C! I'm glad you got the book! I thought you might get a kick out of reading it, especially the chapter about superstitions...
Sorry I missed your call. I was out and about today. I'll be out Thursday morning/lunch time. Will you be available Friday? I will try calling you then...
Aww, I'm so sorry you are having to deal with loss. Its never easy is it? Only time helps.
About the kitty fun, we know we are asking for it when we leave certain things on the floor unsupervised as one of our angels is guaranteed to pee on it within moments. Sleeping bags, foam (like those expensive memory foam matteress toppers... gone through 2), plastic sheeting (like an areobed), and the ever popular pile of clothes on the floor or in the laundry basket. A laundry basket full of clothes on the bed, no problem, but on the floor is asking for it.
Our one angel who does the pee on the shoes, clothes, floor, wall, misses the litter box thing seems to do this if we more if the door or window has been left open so outdoor smells are more abundant. Or if hubby has brought home some especially smelly outdoor smell on his clothes or shoes. But this cat also has a history of FUS and urinary tract issues. When he's having troubles I try to leave old towels near the litter box so if he feels the need to pee on something, he'll pee on those instead of the shoes or clothes.
Since trouble is poo'ing too, it may not be a urinary tract issue but make sure to keep an eye on him. Watch for straining, or him holding it or the worst is crying when trying to pee. That's when its really bad and boys can die quickly if their tract gets blocked by crystals.
Trouble may also just sense there is a change in the air. They are pretty sensitive to their humans.
Thanks for sharing your bump picture! So cute!
Oh C, your bump is so adorable!!!
I'm so sorry for your loss and that it's such a sad time for you.
I can't help where your cats are concerned, but I am very sympathetic to John; I just got stung by a wasp this past weekend (yes, on my anniversary getaway) and it was NOT pretty LOL!
Your kitty sounds like he may be sick...I might take him to the vet. Because of the barfing, and all of this being new, you know?
Regarding your emotions, gah, I can't imagine losing 3 friends/family members and not being on edge and stressed out, even without those crazy hormones. Please be kind to yourself. Do fun things (you do that already), talk to your support system (you do that, too), exercise (I don't know how you could live on a farm and NOT exercise, so you're clearly doing that), and eat healthy (and we all know you do that.) So...maybe give yourself an indulgence to help you through this rough patch. Maybe take the time out of every day for a walk with your dog and iPod. Or a bubble bath, if you like that. Something just for you. Not that your husband isn't going through crap, too, but you can do nice things together as well. But take some time for YOU. You'll get through this.
And the baby bump is TOO cute.
C, emotions are always a problem for me regardless of whether I am pregnant or not. And now that I am pregnant (again!), I am sure it'll double. Now we can share rants anytime!! hehe.
But seriously, I hope you have better days ahead. Stress is a no no when pregnant! =)
Cute cute bump =)
I don't know anything about cats, sorry. But I love your little tum tum and the book is adorable!