Swearing off Cats

[wolf39us]

I love cats... seriously.  I've had so many cats growing up and have never had a problem with them.  I've adopted my second cat from the SPCA and this is the 2nd cat I'm getting rid of.  The first cat was a devil, seriously clawing at everything, biting, chewing, walking on our faces at night etc.

The 2nd cat has none of these behavioral issues, but has pissed on my couch... not once, but twice!  Pissing on things is a quick way out of my acceptance.

I'm returning this cat back to the SPCA and will get a fricken fish lol

[_Xenu_]

You abandon your animals casually...

[Solitary]

I'm going to get another cat to keep the rats out of my house before they chew the wiring and burn down the house. They have gotten so smart they don't get caught in the traps anymore---Evolution at work, the smart ones survive and the dumb ones get caught.  8-) Solitary

[stromboli]

RAT TERRIER. Small dog, easily trainable, smart, loyal, barks at intruders thunderously, and KILLS MICE because that is what they were bred for. Goes after them voraciously. Will also go after squirrels and small vermin.

WARNING: if you get one, make sure it is acclimated to other animals, especially cats.

I live in a mobile home. Ideal small dog for a small apartment, loves to play and only barks at intruders and when excited.

[Solitary]

RAT TERRIER. Small dog, easily trainable, smart, loyal, barks at intruders thunderously, and KILLS MICE because that is what they were bred for. Goes after them voraciously. Will also go after squirrels and small vermin.

WARNING: if you get one, make sure it is acclimated to other animals, especially cats.

I live in a mobile home. Ideal small dog for a small apartment, loves to play and only barks at intruders and when excited.

Good advice! Do they get along with Chihuahuas? Can they stay inside all the time? I'd  rather have a dog than a cat. I like cats but they are more trouble to me. Solitary

[Aroura33]

I admit my family, when I was young, took a dog back to the humane society because it ate wood.  Like our kitchen counters.  Totally nuts and destructive, and nothing we did stopped her.  We tried many things for over 6 months before my folks gave up.

On the other hand, I've had another dog with behavioral issues that overcame them with a little training and effort on my part.  And I've had 2 cats with behavior issues that also got over behavioral issues.  One had the same issue as yours, urinating around the house, not in the litter box.

have you tried anything to correct the behavior?  There are faux pheromones you can buy, they work great.  Also, I am assuming the cat is fixed?  Unfixed cats are more likely to mark.  The earlier you do it, the less likely they are to continue the behavior.

We currently have 2 cats, a 1 year old and a 4 month old kitten, and the worst thing they do is squall for a few minutes around 3am.  Yeah, it wakes us up, but they don't keep it up for more than 2 or 3 minutes tops, and everyone goes back to sleep.

Iwould suggest you actually take some time to try and help the animal before sending it back.  Also, rescue kittens, not full grown adults.  Adults may have been abused or neglected and have developed bad habits that are hard to retrain.  Kittens are less likely to come with these sorts of problems, and you are still rescuing an animal.

Also, as a recent fish owner, DON'T THINK FISH ARE EASY!  OMG!  I have almost given up on this damn tank so many times in the last few months.

We got a few zebra Danios (glo-fish variety) for my daughter for her birthday.  Purchased the 10g tank, filter, a few plants, gravel, etc on July 1st.  Bought 3 small danios the next day.  A week or so later, my husband bought 2 small cory catfish.  One of the danios died (hubby immediately replaced it), so I did some research (because honestly, petstore people don't give a shit and apparently know nothing!)
I read about the nitrogen cycle, and realized we had overstocked our tank.  Talked hubby into spending 30 bucks on an API master kit to test the water.  PH was crazy low, even though our tap water has a Very high PH (we put dechlorinaters in before putting it in the fish tank of course).  Never figured out exactly why this happens to us, but it continued to be a problem, so we got some limestone and put it in the filter AND in the tank itself.  That fixed the PH, but still, could not get the nitrogen cycle started. After more research, purchased Tetra Safe-start, and followed the instruction exactly..  Didn't do a damn thing.  I think the bacteria was likely dead from poor storage at that damn petstore.
Anyway, some timelater out of desperation, asked the damn petstore if we could have some of their filter media.  No, they use biowheels.  But they gave me some of their disposable filter that they change weekly.  Well, all that did was crud up our tank, didn't start the cycle at all.  Lost both catfish during all this, but the 3 danios are still ok.
(there is a lot more to this story, including PH getting to high, having to alter limestone, it dropping low again, altering again, using live seashells, and an incident with crystals, but anyway....)
Finally, 3 days ago, got readings that we had ammonia eating bacteria growing in our tank!  This morning, we also have nitrite eating bacteria!!  I swear, I want to throw a freaking party!!  And this is the MOST dangerous stage, while the nitrite eating bacteria are still growing, there is both ammonia AND high levels of nitrites in our tank, so the fish are basically swimming around in toxic waste for a week or so until the cycle completes and we have a full bacterial colony that can handle all their waste.  Currently feeding my fish only every other day (and doing small water changes daily) in an effort to keep their waste down, so they do not die.

TL:DR  Fish are not easy!  3 months after buying fish (and about $200 bucks for a 10g tank!), we are just now getting NEAR the stage where our tank is not a toxic death trap.  All pets are more work than you think they are going to be....

[wolf39us]

Haha, well I'll leave the animal decisions up to my gf.  The cat I got from SPCA was 5 months old.  I returned her this afternoon, they tried to get me to keep her, but I value my furniture a bit more... So I refused.

It may sound terrible to some people, but it's why I don't want any more cats.

The fish comment was just a random one, my gf is actually considering a snake more than anything lol.  I've never had a snake before, but she's had several.

[Mermaid]

Take that cat to the vet before you do anything rash!!! Very often inappropriate urination is due to a urinary tract infection, cystitis or some other physical problem that can be fixed.
She doesn't have much of a chance at the pound, it would be really great if you could at least try that before taking her back.

Edit: I see you already took her back. That's a shame.

[PopeyesPappy]

Some people probably shouldn't have pets.

Wolf the cat probably had
A) An urinary tract problem
B) An issue with something in the enviroment to which you had restricted it.

What steps did you take to find out why the cat was going outside its litter box? If none then please don't get another pet. You aren't equipped to deal with one in a compassionate manor.

[Hydra009]

I'm returning this cat back to the SPCA and will get a fricken fish lol

Just get a pet constrictor.  Two birds with one stone.   :-D

Seriously though, small reptiles or bugs make for great low-maintenance pets.  Pet rocks, too!

[PickelledEggs]

The first cat was a devil, seriously clawing at everything, biting, chewing, walking on our faces at night etc.

Wait. Isn't that what cats do?

[ParaGoomba Slayer]

Please burn in cat hell you crazy cat (wo)man.

[Mermaid]

The first cat was a devil, seriously clawing at everything, biting, chewing, walking on our faces at night etc.

Wait. Isn't that what cats do?

Yes, it is.
As someone with three of them, I can vouch for that. Cats will be cats. They are not for everyone, but they're definitely for us.

[PickelledEggs]

//http://www.amazon.com/Crazy-Cat-Lady-Action-Figure/dp/B000M83GCO

I seriously thought when I read this thread title btw, that you were turning in to some sort of cat lady... like you are addicted to hoarding an army of cats.

[Smartmarzipan]

Haha, well I'll leave the animal decisions up to my gf.  The cat I got from SPCA was 5 months old.  I returned her this afternoon, they tried to get me to keep her, but I value my furniture a bit more... So I refused.

It may sound terrible to some people, but it's why I don't want any more cats.

The fish comment was just a random one, my gf is actually considering a snake more than anything lol.  I've never had a snake before, but she's had several.

What bothers me most is that you didn't even really try to fix the problem. I had a young cat who pissed on a few things....he was around 6 months old. I did some research and found that getting him fixed would probably stop it, and it did. He's now a valued pet and I've never had another problem with him in that respect.

Pets are not perfect things....they're animals. You have to learn about them, care about them, train them, fix their problems, give them enrichment, etc.

I just hope that with any future pets you get you'll take the time to learn about them.