6.24.2010

Rough

That's what this past week has been.

We had a wonderful time in Aspen for Rob and Anne's wedding, but ever since returning late Sunday night, it has been a rough few days.

The worst of it is that we will be giving Kitters up to the shelter tonight and I am beside myself with guilt, sadness and a sense of loss / failure.

To preface, Kitters has been quite aggressive for the past 6 months or so since a) starting to go outside and b) me being pregnant and slowly adding things to our house (meaning, the nursery). He has not been the same sweet buddy that we were used to for several years and it has been wearing on us. His constant need for attention, meowing, scratching on furniture, laying on any baby item he can find, nipping when I try to pet him and not wanting to be touched in general has been problematic. Although all of it is annoying, we never thought that we would give him away. I really had high hopes that once the baby actually got here, he would calm down. Until Sunday night.

We arrived home from our 3-day weekend at about 10:30pm only to find a pungent smell in our basement. Kitters had sprayed (aka peed) in each corner of the basement including the stairs and some of my clothes. It's probably one of the most awful smells imaginable. Mix that with an 80 degree house with no air conditioning, you may as well find yourself in a type of hell. Oh, and he vomited.

While disgusting, I couldn't help but think, "Poor guy". He really is THAT mad at us. He has never acted in such a way before, but I suppose with his recent behavior, I could see this coming. Spraying is a tall tale sign of feeling stressed, threatened and needing attention. Anyways, we are going on vacation tomorrow and had to make some quick (although, I hope not rash) decisions, as our previous plan of leaving him alone for 7 days with someone checking in on him simply would not work.

After calling the vet and a cat behaviorist to discuss, it sounds like these problems just take time and patience to correct and even at that, there are no guarantees - especially when the baby arrives. I know in the long run it will be the right decision, but right now, it's just plain hard. The thing I hate the most is how much I feel like he hates me. Honestly, we used to be best buddies and Chris joked at how he was the odd man out in the house. I know he knows that something is coming that will take priority.

To make matters worse, we found traces of mice in our basement the same night. We have since been sleeping upstairs and have set traps. We have caught one and are just hoping that it's the last. Between the Kitters mess and the mice, I feel like we are living in a trailer park (and not a nice one at that). At 8+ months pregnant.

Tuesday we found out that we have had credit card fraud occurring and I also have an onset of very painful carpel tunnel syndrome that makes it impossible to sleep. Think extreme numbness mixed with sharp shooting pains down your whole arm into your fingers....that will not go away no matter what you do. It's awful. And the cure? Delivery. ha.

So, there you have it. While things can always be worse, in my world, it's been rough couple of days.

Wish Chris luck when he drops Kitters off this evening - I know it will be hard on him too. Here is how I'd like to remember our buddy:

7 comments:

Unknown said...

Oh, you poor thing! That all just sounds awful. I'm sorry. The mice may have been coming in for kitty food, so maybe that problem will be relieved with Kitters gone. As far as the carpal tunnel, you may want to try chiropractic and/or acupuncture. Dr. Julie in Lowry does both at every visit. Might be worth a shot. Hugs!

Anonymous said...

Aww I'm so sorry to hear this, Tiff! I know it's going to be hard. Best of luck!

P.S. Your box should go out the beginnging of next week...sorry so late! :)

Laura Lieff said...

I'm sorry to hear about this Tiff! Having to part with a pet is probably one of the hardest things in the world to do. You guys will be ok though....you've done all that you can.

Brandee said...

Oh man! I'm so sorry :( Obviously Kitters will be loved very much by another family and you're doing the right thing it sounds like.

As far as the mice...Oh boy. OH BOY. Denver homes! So when I lived in my first HOUSE as an adult we had a giant mouse problem. We're talking hundreds of mice called the backyard home. We knew they were out back, but we only ever saw a few in the house and traces here and there. The turning point, however, was when my roommate at the time, jessa, called me while I was DJing one day. She had just squashed a mouse IN her pants after it had jumped out at her and crawled up her jeans.
Anyway, don't be scared about that...It was winter and it was way worse. Something good, however, came out of it. I mentioned something about it on air (because how often does one squish a mouse in their pants?) and got a TON of calls with advice. If you're looking for an ultra natural way to keep the mice at bay, head to Whole Foods. Ask for peppermint oil and cotton balls. Soak a few cotton balls and place them at the corners of your basement and on the outside of the house in areas they may be entering. I guess they hate the stuff. Good luck, lady! You're going to be a great mom.

Emily said...

Tiff and Chris,
So so sorry to hear about Kitters but I hope that you are not beating yourselves up because its going to be for the best. You were so good to him but it sounds like you did what you needed to do.

Sounds like such a stressful week but now you are Maine bound, hooray! I cant wait to hear all about your trip and hope that you take tons of pics.

On another note, I have been getting so excited about baby Kampy. As you know, my recently had a baby and he is ADORABLE! She is sooo crazy about him which makes me think about your little bundle of joy.

I can't wait to meet her!

Again, sorry about Kitters. Let me know if there is anything I can do.

Love,
Em...should we start referring me as "Auntie Em"? I let you think about it ;)

Emily said...

Amendments...

My boss recently had a baby
AND
Refer TO me as 'Auntie Em"

Artsy Fartsy said...

I am so sorry to hear about your situation with Kitters. I know that has got to be rough...I'm sure Kitters will find a great home and you will be able to devote all of your attention to the little one. Hope you are doing okay...these last few weeks are sure wearing me out!