Poor Kitties....

For over a month now, Rita has been peeing on the carpet. Thankfully, the mess is getting smaller, but she doesn't show any signs of stopping completely. My theory is that since our carpet is SUPER-absorbent, it absorbed the smell of the cats' litter box in the cat room and confused Rita. Why pee on rough litter when you can pee on soft carpet that smells just like your litter? She has been banished from the room for several weeks now, but it hasn't stopped the inappropriate urination. However, the only place she goes now (outside of the box) is next to the cat room door. I've figured that she can smell the room (which I still need to wet-vac clean...trying to find one to borrow), especially since when the a/c comes on, air blows from the room to the hall. So, I stuffed towels under the door, which seemed to help. Unfortunately, Tangie likes being able to look under all doors, so she removes them and a few seconds later, Rita is peeing over there. Very frustrating!

So, I recently gave up. I don't have the time to watch her constantly during the day...I need to be able to work on the house and my business, not stalk her every time she goes into the hallway. I wish that I had a door on the hallway, like I did in my NC apt...then all would be fine. But we don't have that and it would be silly to put one in there, with the size of the frame. So, I bought Rita a cage. It has three shelves, but I put two next to one another, so that she has a nice place to sleep. The top shelf holds her food and water (which she has already dumped, probably because I put a towel under them...she had been threatening to pull the towel down), and her litter box is located under her bed. There's another space on the bottom level for another large towel and some toys...she sleeps there sometimes too. She's not too thrilled about losing her freedom, but hasn't howled like she used to do in the bathroom when I locked her in there. She can now see me in most of the rooms from her current position, which helps, I think. Today is Day 1 of the full-time cage (yesterday was the day I got the cage). She will be in this cage most of the time for at least a year, to fully litter-train her again. I take her out occasionally to play with her, to love on her, and to allow her to stretch her legs. I suppose it's much like being at the shelter again...except that she is in a permanent home that is stable.

I have felt so much guilt lately...feeling that this problem is my fault. I haven't been able to work, not only when she's out, but when she's locked in the bathroom, as her howling was heart-wrenching. So, hopefully this cage will help her and me.