My fury has no bounds.

The BBQ Pit
#1

You bastard.

You inbred, mangy, neutered, fucking bastard.

That was my backpack. With all my USMLE prep books in it. My now urine-soaked books. How could you?!

Goddamn fucking cat! I know you probably have a UTI! I’m working on it! But this is not a medical emergency and the vet is booked! I tried! STOP PEEING ON MY STUFF.

I just can’t take this. For a while, he was peeing in the tub, which I attributed to a change in cat-litter. Peeing in the tub, while annoying and gross, was marginally acceptable and easily cleaned. I switched back to his preferred cat litter, and now THIS.

First, we peed in the cat bed. Gah! But fixable - I rinsed that sucker, threw it in the washing machine and scrubbed the carpet underneath for an hour. Annoying, but we got through it.

But this! You deliberately waited until I was home to pee on my backpack! Don’t play innocent. HOW COULD YOU? I need those books for one more week! Just one!

You’re sentenced to the bathroom buster. No exceptions. You can no longer be trusted around carpet or items that can’t be rinsed off. Meow all you want - I have headphones.

Sigh - they had an opening at the vet on Monday, but I have an all-day residency interview then. The earliest I’m going to manage to get to the vet is probably next Monday. At which point, I will be afraid to let the fucker out of the bathroom, lest he go on a vengeance-induced peeing frenzy in my apartment.

Man, I had hoped to sell that book for someone else to use. Or at least, be the first one to have a shot at peeing on it. I can just see the for-sale add now:

FA USMLE Step 2. No markings, only slightly peed on. $5 or best offer.

:smack: GODDAMN CAT.

#2

You peed in the cat bed? That’s the problem. The cat is mad about you peeing on his things. Now it’s a pissing contest. :stuck_out_tongue:

#3

Wait a minute: You’re allowing a cat to suffer with a UTI for more than a week, and your fury has no bounds?:dubious:

#4

Exactly. Nothing will change until the cat has been to the vet. Those things don’t fix themselves.

#5

One thing: if he stops peeing, please take him to the vet immediately, the emergency clinic if the vet is not open. Cats can die within hours if not treated.

#6

It’s a Saturday, the vet has a surgical emergency and no other openings. What am I supposed to do? I can’t magically create a vet appointment. The Monday appointment I can’t get to. The vet was understanding and didn’t seem too worried after I answered a bunch of questions either - and these are good people. I love this vet.

Hell, I’m not even 100% sure this is a UTI - we won’t know until we get a urine sample. This could be behavioral - he’s done similar shit like this before, particularly when I’m traveling. He gets miffed when the routine changes.

He’s otherwise fine - eating well, good activity level, not blocked. I’m not hugely worried about him. So, he can wait.

I’m just getting very tired of his “I’m angry with you because you weren’t home on time, now I will destroy your stuff” routine. I’ll rule out medical causes first, to be safe, though. I’m not sure what I’ll do if this isn’t a UTI or crystals. He’s been my cat a long time, but this is intolerable.

#7

Before this turns into a pile-on about what a terrible cat-owner I am, I would like to share some further history about this cat. I excluded it from the OP for the sake of time, but I can tell this isn’t going to end well without it.

This cat has a long history of behavioral problems, dating back years. I’ll have a busy week, and he’ll respond by shitting on the floor, or peeing in inappropriate places. I dread coming home sometimes, because the odds are so good he’ll have made a mess somewhere. When my work schedule gets lighter, these problems resolve.

I am reaching the end of my rope with this cat. I am hoping and praying this is a UTI, because it would be easy to treat. I am quietly concerned that it is not. I talked with a friend, who worked for a vet, and he suggested kitty prozac or amitriphyline, which I intend to inquire about when we finally get an appointment.

I’m willing to wait for an appointment with this vet, because they are really good. I consider the waiting list a good sign - they are in demand. I’m hoping they may have some suggestions for behavioral issues. I also don’t have a lot of money - I can’t really afford multiple vet visits, so I’d rather go to the good vet once and get comprehensive care, than take my chances with an unknown vet.

I really have no idea what I will do if this isn’t a UTI or crystals.

#8

I suspect this isn’t going to end well regardless. Run for cover! :smiley:

But really, you’ve been here long enough to know not to Pit your cat on the Dope. What were you thinking?! :stuck_out_tongue:

#9

Call other vets to find someone who isn’t totally booked, or ask a friend to take your cat there for you on Monday.

I’m a med student too, so I know it’s often inconvenient to schedule things like vet visits, but it’s not fair to the cat to let it suffer for longer than absolutely necessary.
If you’ve made it this far in med school I’m sure you know UTIs can be very painful and even dangerous.

#10

What she said. (Except, I’m not a medical student.)

Since you have elaborated on your situation, I can certainly feel your pain. I have had cats that urinated in inappropriate places for behavioral reasons, and it is beyond frustrating. But you did not indicate that in your OP; it came off as someone ranting that a sick animal is merely an inconvenience to you. So I was feeling your kitty’s pain, instead.

#11

One of the cats I’m living with at the moment keeps breaking into my room to use my closet (or more accurately my dirty clothes pile) as her personal toilet. I know it’s behavioral because she persistently heads for that particular spot and has no accidents when she’s not in my room. Sure keeps me on my toes doing my laundry.

#12

That’s understandable and I don’t mean to pile on, but you did start with “I know you probably have a UTI!”.

#13

Well, given that behavioral issues are on the differential, even if my friends weren’t out of town/busy with clinical responsibilities, I’m not sure that would be appropriate. I feel that I’m the only one who will be able to provide detailed information to the vet about this problem. I love my friends, but they just don’t know my cat that well.

Regarding other vets - I’ve already discussed my reasons for that. I love this vet - I’ve brought them cookies in the past for their excellent work. I feel that taking him to this vet is in his best interests. I’m making the call that the cat is not ill enough to require more urgent care.

Sigh. Fine. Next time I’ll provide the full medical history of everyone involved, rather than just bitching about pee.

If anything, I’m trying to talk myself into the diagnosis of a UTI, because it would have the best possible outcome. Even if I said he “probably” has a UTI - how would I know that? I can’t look at his urine at home (even if sticking a needle in his bladder sounded like a fabulous idea last night). It was 90% wishful thinking on my part.

In one week and a day, the fact he peed on my board books/flashcards will become very funny. At the moment, it is mostly gross.

Okay…it’s funny now too. I just hate to admit it.

#14

Ignoring the rest, since I have conflict of interest…

  1. The cat was perhaps mad that you choose medicine over veterinary medicine. Obviously if you were a vet student you’d know what to do plus have easy access to veterinary medicine and care for him (just take it to the school).

  2. If you were a vet student, you’d ignore the smell and keep up studying for your boards. :wink:

#15

I feel for you, I really do. The older of my two cats has severe abandonment issues as a result of abusive behaviour from previous owners… it got so bad at one point that I went through six months where if I left the house for more than an hour at a time, I knew there was a 50/50 chance I’d be coming home to pee on the bed or the sofa. Honestly, if I hadn’t been so busy back then, I probably would’ve turned the cat into a nice fur hat.

The solution, believe it or not, was getting cat #2 so that she’d have company and not get so anxious about being left alone. I know, it’s not exactly an ideal solution when the cat you already have is more than you can cope with, but it’s worth considering if you think the peeing is a reaction to being alone… it’s been nearly 3 years since I’ve come home to pee on my couch and I have two little furkins to cuddle with me when its cold.

PS - be glad it was the books that got peed on. In my case, the cat decided my new BF was the problem… wanna take a guess where she peed? :smack:

#16

I double dare you to post a pic of the cat and see who takes your side.

#17

I read the title as “My furry has no bounds”. I’ve been on 4chan too much.