So we broke down last week and finally brought home a kitten to shake things up a bit in the Feldman household. We were convinced that our elder cat, Rudy, who lost his brother a few years back, was lonely and needed a companion. Despite the fact that the last go-round with a skittish cat named Gracie ended in a return to sender situation, we were determined to give it a go and bring another animal into the house.
While my daughter initially told me she’d be content with a hamster or guinea pig, I nixed both suggestions since my friend informed me that a hamster could have a heart attack if my cat scared the beejeezus out of it and a guinea pig, while pretty easy to care for would still have a cage that would need cleaning while my daughter was away in sleepaway camp for four weeks. And so, I thought – let’s take the plunge and get another cat. How hard could it be?
So last Saturday, we raced over to Petco to find the last two kittens up for adoption and managed to nab a squirrely little bugger right before another woman attempted to claim her. After signing reams of documents, and buying out half the store, we picked up our kitten, plopped her in her carrier and off we went.
When we arrived home, we set up a spot in my daughter’s room and showed her the litter box and figured, everything would fall into place. She’d do her business in the right place, we’d introduce her to Rudy and the two would become fast friends. Think again. So far, every time Rudy sees Hazel (that’s what my daughter decided to name her), he hisses and runs the other way.
After five days, my daughter will not sleep in her room because the kitten climbs on her head while she tries to sleep. To make matters worse, the cat smells. I mean she smells really bad. Like stale pee. I’m not joking – she’s a smelly cat. And since she’s so smelly, the room stinks too. I bought an automatic air freshener that spritzes fumes every time there’s a bad smell in the room, and it’s been spritzing all day and night. So now, the room smells like stale pee mixed with air freshener. The lesson learned from these noxious fumes is that our brand new kitten obviously is using more than just the litter box to relieve herself.
I just hope that this smelly situation will resolve itself soon because if my daughter gets boxed out of her room by a feline with a bladder problem, I’m going to go postal. I mean, I already have two kids who are way past pull-ups and I’m not about to put a diaper on a kitten. Although I have considered getting baby wipes. Plus, my daughter’s teacher said if the cat smells, there must be something wrong with it and we should take her to the vet.
So for anyone out there who’s a cat expert, let me know if it’s normal for a kitten to stink to high heaven. And if you have any potty training advice for a five week old kitten, feel free to share. I’m a little bit rusty and it shows.
Role Mommy 3.0