Reclaiming my home

About 6 months after we were married, my husband and I got a cat. We adopted him from Animal Aid society and from the beginning, he was a great cat. We named him Zack, after 2 of our favorite actors. He was so different from other cats, in that he wanted our affection and attention. He loved to play and interact with us. He would meet us at the door when we got home from work everyday to have his belly rubbed. People who knew him swore he was a dog in a cat's body. He slept on our bed at night and was just a super pet.

Then I had children.

Shortly after we brought Elijah home, Zack started to mark his territory. He peed on shoes, purses, furniture, clothes...you name it. He ruined so many nice things at a time when we didn't have the money to buy nice things anymore. I felt terrible, because I knew he wasn't being bad. He was just being a cat. After awhile, the acting out stopped and things settled down. We figured this was just his initial reaction to the new baby and now that he was used to him, things would go back to normal.

Bring on baby #2.

This time he not only peed on everything, he was knocking over the bassinet. Once he even managed to knock it over when the baby was in it! Because I have a toddler, I was forced to keep Zack closed in a room all day with his food and litter box because I couldn't even so much as change Elijah's diaper without being concerned for what Zack would do to Micah when I had my back turned. It was at this point that we decided that for his sake, and ours, Zack needed a new home. His life had become something depressing and not at all fun. I didn't really blame him for acting out, but that doesn't mean I could allow it to continue.

Finding a new home for a cat is harder than one might think. Because we didn't know anyone actively seeking a cat, our first contact was a "no-kill" shelter. They said they could not take him because he had a history of litter box issues, so no one would adopt him. This was so frustrating, because I felt certain that his litter box issues were entirely situational, but I couldn't prove it. So our next attempt was Craig's List. I struggled with this one. Even though I knew that 99% of the people looking for a cat on Craig's List were good, decent people just wanting a companion, I was haunted by the idea that I could choose the wrong person and send Zack off to a very unpleasant, and even dangerous, home. So although I placed an ad and got responses, I never followed through. I would rather live in a peed in house than know that I had (indirectly) harmed this sweet kitty.

So time went by. We really didn't know what to do. Poor Zack's life had become pretty sad. No kitty toys (the kids would find them and chew on them). No lap time (we rarely had time anymore to just sit and let him lounge with us). No freedom (as I mentioned before, he was locked in the bedroom most of the day). I wanted so badly for him to have a home where he could receive the love and attention that he deserved, but I didn't know how to find it.

Then one day, our friend Mary emailed me to say that a friend of hers from work was looking for a kitty and might want Zack. I was over the moon!! Amy and I emailed back and forth, she asked me questions about Zack and I was up front with the litter box issues, but she felt the same that I did....it was situational. After a few weeks of emailing and thinking about it, Amy and I planned a date, time and place to meet for the cat drop.

That date was today. Today my sweet kitty went to live with someone who is going to love on him and spoil him rotten. He will again have freedom, toys, lap time and attention. Amy will no doubt rub Zack's belly when she gets home from work every day, and that makes me so happy.

It also makes me happy that I no longer have a litter box in my bedroom. That I can leave a glass of water sitting out and not worry that when I get back to it, it will have kitty cooties. That I don't have to worry that next time I put on a pair of shoes, I will find they have been ruined by a cat with sibling-rivalry. Today Zack has reclaimed his happy life and I have reclaimed my house.