posted July 14, 2000 09:42 PM            

I don't like cats and I certainly do NOT want the responsibility of getting stuck taking care of an animal that my kids swear up and down they are going to care for. My husband swears he'll pick up the slack for the kids.

So fine, they (hubby and kiddies) take the kitten (@4 1/2 mos old: Cat-daddy Cletus) to the vet, get the shots, buy the litterbox and kittenchow, catnip toy and collar. First thing the little beast does - he jumps into the litterbox and goes to town!!!! I'm thinking, "After handling human waste for the last 6 1/2 years or so, anyone/thing that knows where to go and what to do when they get there is OK BY ME!! To make matters worse, HE LOVES ME! (Even my girls have commented on his obvious affection for me and me alone.)

Which brings me to the dilemma - I love the beast, my girls love the beast, my husband loves the beast -- I AM BIG-TIME ALLERGIC TO THE BEAST!!!!

My husband and I have tried to tell the girls that I am allergic and as much as I would like to have him stay, Cat-daddy Cletus is going to have to go. WELL, after all the NO MOMMY's and PLEASE MOMMY'S and MY HEART WILL BREAK, MOMMY's - we have come to the conclusion that I need to find another place to live! j/k

Could anyone offer an alternative solution. I don't have any other allergies EXCEPT this one - my eyes are swollen, I'm sneezing like the dickens, I've got the constant tickle at the roof of my mouth - and I can't breathe! Also the cat playfully scratched me while playing with me in bed at nite (he insisted on sleeping right by my head - until I just had to lock him out of my room at nite). Anyplace his claws broke the skin (or barely broke the skin) immediately broke out into hives!!!! (Benadryl took care of it right away, but DAMN! - This have never happened to me before!)

My girls really have been feeding him, giving him water, keeping him out of trouble and YES- THEY HAVE BEEN TAKING CARE OF THE LITTERBOX! - THEY EVEN DO CHORES TO EARN MONEY TO PAY FOR THE CAT FOOD, ETC! I'm so desperate to keep this stupid cat if for no other reason than because it's making my girls so happy and they are really working so hard! - I don't want to let them down. I know that 2 weeks doesn't seem like a long time, but the age-range here is 3 1/2 - 8 years. I've seen them lose interest in ice cream in minutes!

HHHHHHEEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLLPPPPPPPPPPP!!!!!!

posted July 14, 2000 09:58 PM            

Actually, the longer you are around it, the more used to it you will get.

Just wash your hands after touching the cat..at least rinse. Also, get the vaccum out every day...it helps.

I had to put my cat to sleep last September....after 19 years..and I'm only 28 (this Monday). You may hate the allergies now, but you'll cry like a baby if your cat lives 19 years. Even my rottweiler Dakota is bummed and it's been like 10 months.

posted July 14, 2000 10:34 PM            

I don't think too highly of mills (puppy or otherwise). The problem is most people are unaware of the bad stuff associated with them and this isn't the forum for me to get on a soapbox. But if any of you have training questions about your dogs or cats I'd be more than happy to email you the correct way to handle the problem. BTW, I think it is AWESOME to adopt the unwanted ones. It makes us human.

posted July 15, 2000 02:11 AM            

Wash the cat every 2 weeks. This keeps the dander down. (this is the bit that's easier to get a young cat accustomed to)

Regular vacuuming with a GOOD vacuum cleaner

Frequent hand washing after handling cat

Most important of all, DO NOT allow the cat in your bedroom AT ALL. This may be the hardest part, but it's better for everyone in the long run. Give the cat it's own bed somewhere else in the house, and do not allow it access to your.

posted July 15, 2000 02:25 AM            

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"Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.."

posted July 15, 2000 09:25 AM            

I'm going to run out and get me some of the Allerpet - let you know how I do. The vacuuming, thing - it blows, but it's gotta be done ANYWAY. I never knew you could even bathe a cat.

Balckhaus - I'm in NJ and outdoor is OK by me for the summer, but what do I do in Jan when it's like 5 degrees? We have considered this option, but I wouldn't have the heart to keep any animal outside in the cold (Yes, I know they have fur, but is it enough? Wouldn't they shed in the summer if it was enough of a coat in winter?)

Lobo - Man I'm with you. I REALLY HATE CATS! I used to say the only good cat is a dead cat. But Cletus is OK, and (for once) my girls are really holding their end up.

posted July 15, 2000 05:57 PM         

As I said, be very careful with the "cat thing."

My mother had the same kind of symptoms (years ago) -- we always had cats until George (our 18# tom cat) went neurotic and started pouncing on anyone that walked past HIS room. A little too much 'foreign protein' left behind from his claws in my mother's ankle and her allergy kicked in. [George had to be sent off to a local farm where there was more to attack -- too bad, actually, since we had always had cats.]

Like you, my mother's allergy had the relatively mild symptoms of puffy eys, and a little runny nose from time to time. She could even tell when one of the gals at her new bridge club had had a cat in the house months earlier (yes, the dander hangs around for a long time.)

Then, one day, she and my dad visited a couple that had two cats. After about an hour, Ma started wheezing and really couldn't breath. They had to take her to the hospital ER. By the time she got there, she was going into allergic shock. After a couple of epi shots she stabilized -- it was real close. The diagnosis: severe "cat alergy." Now, no cat exposure EVER.......

That means she can't visit her brother; he and his wife have a cat. She can't visit my son and daughter in law; they have a cat. Etc., etc., etc.

Look, it's just like me and my bees (yes, I keep bees). Got a few stings every year with no more than a little swelling. Then one day, got stung, and my whole body turned bright red and itched like mad. Wrote it off as a fluke -- got stung two weeks later; same thing! Now, I never work them without an EpiKit sitting on the counter in the kitchen and never work them unless my wife is home.

posted July 15, 2000 07:24 PM            

(I just had to post in defense of cat lovers everywhere)

posted July 16, 2000 03:29 AM            

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"The race is long... and in the end, it's only with yourself."

posted July 17, 2000 01:49 PM            

How to Clean Your Cat

1.Thoroughly clean the toilet.
2.Add the required amount of shampoo to the toilet water, and have both
lids lifted.
3.Obtain the cat and soothe him while you carry him towards the bathroom.
4.In one swoop movement, put the cat in the toilet and close both lids
(you may need to stand on the lid so that he cannot escape).
** CAUTION: Do not get any part of your body too close to the edge, as his
paws will be reaching out for any purchase they can find. **
5.Flush the toilet three or four times. This provides a "power wash and rinse" which I have found to be quite effective.
6.Have someone open the door to the outside and ensure that there are no
people between the toilet and the outside door.
7.Stand behind the toilet as far as you can, and quickly lift both lids.
8.The now-clean cat will rocket out of the toilet, and run outside where he will promptly dry himself.

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Patience is a bitter plant, but it has sweet fruit.

posted July 18, 2000 05:17 PM            

I used to work for a vet and there are a couple of options...Try changing
the food that the cat is eating and cat litter it is using. It actually isn't
the fur that people are allergic too but the cat's saliva. Because it is
constantly cleaning it's fur, it spreads the allergen across it's body...
Better quality non-preservative foods really help..I had the same problem
with a cat that I just had to rescue! This really helped me out.... changed
to a scoop away litter that was anti-baterial and changed the food to a
non-preservative all natural....Took a couple of weeks but it helped... There
are also wipes that are sold at vet offices that can be wiped over the cat
by the kids and hubby and that will take the allergen off...

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Kaizen

"Omnia praeclara
tam difficilia
quam rara sunt."

posted July 18, 2000 07:10 PM            

Just thought.

LAte

posted July 18, 2000 07:25 PM            

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Patience is a bitter plant, but it has sweet fruit.

posted July 18, 2000 09:39 PM            

These people are so weird. I stressed to the young girl that I am extremely allergic and that the only reason I agreed to allow my children to keep him is because the swore they would care for him - which they did VERY WELL. I never touched the litter box once! My Kristina (the one who was attached most to Cletus) wouldn't even say, "Good-bye". All of my children were heartbroken. Do you think the parents of the young girl who came to get "their" cat would have come over (being that they have several children themselves) after they heard how attached my children were and thanked my girls and perhaps offered to somehow reward them for taking such good care of the animal in their absence? It is not about $. It is about teaching the children that they did a wonderful thing by opening up their hearts and their homes to a creature who would otherwise have ended up dead. No "thank you" - no "we are sorry that you are upset and you can come visit him" - no little reward - NOTHING!

But then again, I am my children's parent and when the world fails it is my job to teach the lesson. We explained that if it weren't for them Cletus would have probably died and even though they are sad because they had to give the cat up, because my hubby and I have seen how much they have matured and how responsible they really are - while no kitty could take Cletus' place- we would get them a kitty of their own. We'd adopt a kitty that would otherwise be desroyed and they could keep that cat until it dies and no one could ever take that pet away!

Needless to say - We are now desperately searching for an unwanted kitten who needs a loving home with four insane children, an allergic but loving mom and a pushover for a dad!

posted July 19, 2000 10:38 AM            

And your neighbors suck - oh well....

LAte

posted July 19, 2000 09:58 PM            

I don't know much about cats, but wouldn't it stand to reason that if he had a happy home he would STAY THERE?! Why would people let a KITTEN that is just shy of 5 mos out all night when it is cold and damp and he is hungry?! I mean I'm no big animal lover, but GOD - if you are going to have a pet - TAKE PROPER CARE!

Now my children are all upset and keep making statements such as, "Well Cletus likes us better so lets just keep him!" Of course, I explained that even though we take better care of him he does not belong to us and we must walk him back over in the morning. I will let those people know that it is bad enough that my children have become very attached to the cat and they were already devasted by his loss once, I don't think their little hearts could take the pain of seeing this creature laying in the middle of the road between our houses knowing that the cat died because it kept coming back to us.

I know that everything living must someday die and I do tell my children this when the topic arises. But if I can spare their little hearts this pain, shouldn't I try?

Do I have any legal grounds to keep the animal? I don't want to start stuff with my neighbors - especially because I was warned not to EVER let any of the older girls babysit for my children - don't WANT TO FIND OUT WHY! - but there has got to be something that I can do short of taking the animal to the shelter. I would rather give the kitten up and hope that it will find a good home than to leave it with those obviously neglectful people.

posted July 21, 2000 10:24 AM            

And since your in Jersey I could help you do a "Jimmy Hoffa" on old Cletus the cat.

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Nam Et Ipsa Scientia Potestas Est!

posted July 21, 2000 05:03 PM            

I told my girls that if the people across the street came to retrieve Cletus we would have to surrender him, but that we would offer them $ and maybe the greedy bastards would take the dough and let us go about our business taking care of the fuzzy little guy. However, if they did not come for, say, a week I would then consider the kitty ours and that would be that.

I can't figure these people out. The cat has been in my home since Wed --- if they were so broken up about "losing" him the first time, wouldn't you think that they'd have been here sooner inquiring about his whereabouts? Whatever - Cletus is here and being well-cared for and my girls are happy... I guess I better go get me some of that allerpet-stuff, huh?

posted July 27, 2000 03:06 PM            

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"The race is long... and in the end, it's only with yourself."

posted July 27, 2000 05:03 PM            

LET IT DIE~~~~~~

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LAte