[turquoisesea]

I'm really needing help, I haven't had a therapy session yet in which to discuss this.

I've been having a LOT of trouble with my bf's cats. We want to stay with eachother, we've been living with each other for about a year now.

One cat in particular is the worst. Her name is Gigi.
I hate to say this and I hate myself for it but I have physically abused her. I've never seriously hurt her *nor do I want to* but I've hit her and scared her tons. I DO NOT WANT TO DO THIS. Most of the time for the first bit of doing this I was completely dissociated while doing this. Now I'm dissociated but not as much.

Possible reasons? Anger at them because they chew up the chords, because they make me sleep deprived by waking me in the morning...

or that I consider them connected to my bf's ex girlfriend because she kept telling him he should get them when they broke up because he was sad about it and had always wanted cats?

Gigi is abnoxious - she wakes me up, waits for my eyes to open and then chews on the chord just as I wake up enough to realize she's doing it. Once up I can't get back to sleep.

Boyfriend has tried putting them in cages over night but they couldn't hold it, and peed in there and ever since he won't do that. We live in a studio - no way to keep them away. I have no where else to go. Family is 5.5+ hours away and I need to keep my job up here. No friends to stay with, no way to get out. I want to get another apartment, but can barely afford this place as it is.

They also make traveling impossible because they HAVE to eat every 12 hours (they start going nuts WAY before that). Boyfriend is trying to step up to plate but neither of us know what to do anymore, he doesn't have enough money to buy things like a kennel or automatic feed *ideas he's had*

I LOVE CATS. But these two are driving me up a wall.

I CAN'T DO THIS ANYMORE. I hate myself for doing this, I can't believe i CAN. But I did. I don't know what to do. I try to run away when this happens - almost walk out into dangerous city night time at times, my boyfriend keeps me in.
Sleep deprived cuz of it. Want to hide away. can't afford this extra energy, I'm just barely making it otherwise, not even - so hard to go to work still depressed and dissociating and trying to get better but this is making me worse.

any help appreciated...
I hope you'll keep talking to me, I feel like a HORRIBLE MONSTER, but I really don't want to do this I swear and I really love animals and cats and would never hurt them but somehow all this is happnening

[Zorah]

(((((tsea)))))
you are not a monster,
these cats need training by the sound of it
if they are removed from their mothers at 10 weeks, which is quite common, the mother does not get to train them the natural way

locking them in cages overnight is unlikely to work, as the cats see this as punishment, you can't teach cats that way, & even in show cages, we put in little boxes of kitty litter.

however, in light of your reaction to this, you should have those cats adopted out asap, your bf's exes attitude is irrelevant, let her take the cats if she wants them, otherwise put them up for adoption immediately
you will not forgive yourself easily for doing this, make sure nothing worse happens

[Yoda]

If you can afford it buy a bigger cage to house them @t night. It doesn't need to be huge but big enough for @ sm@ll potty tr@y & @ cle@n @re@.

Or keep @ bottle of w@ter by the bed @nd spr@y the c@t when it chews the cord.

[Zorah]

ah, good point Yoda, we often use water pistol to train cats

[jerrymichele]

((((((((((((((((turq))))))))))))))))

[Sannah]

Your mental health is more important than these cats. They have to go IMO.

[notz]

I agree with adopting out. You are way more important!

I have 2 cats and I love them with all my heart but I AM more important than they are. You are more important than they are.

[VickiesPath]

I reallly feel for you. I am an animal lover but I have sense.

Depending on the size of your town or city, get them to the city pound or a no kill shelter immediately. You should be able to get rid of them by saying you are unable to care for them and need an immediate home for them.

[MysticRose2]

Hello,

I have 5 cats. The youngest two are the biggest handful. I'm not sure how much you know about cats, but cats are kittens until they are three years old that's when they finally begin to mature into "adults". My oldest two cats were trained by tapping their ear and saying "no!" to them when they did something wrong. It was only done right away so they knew what they were being scolded for. I do not use this way anymore.

The younger three have all been trained with a water bottle. They get sprayed when ever they are doing something wrong, and that has seemed to work with all of them.

As for the food, cats are, in my opionion, the best pet to have when it comes to going on vacation. You can leave the cat food out for the cats all the time. Fill the bowls up and just leave it out for the cats to come to when they get hungry, this may also stop them from waking you up in the morning.

There are many things you can do to help yourself and the cats, without having to give them up. Talk to the vet, there might be something he/she can do to help you.

Although I do not like the idea of kenneling, one of my cats has her own kennel that she gets put into sometimes for a whole night because she has sepration anxiety and other anxiety, and the kennel makes her feel safe, so she isn't yowling. So maybe you can try just a few minutes at a time for a "time out" with the cats when they are doing something naughty (trying to get your attention however, in my opinion is not naughty).

I beg you to try and keep trying before sending them to the pound. Even no kill shelters have to do away with pets after they fill up to make more room. If you absolutely have to give the cats up, see if you have a friend or family member that could take them (and cats can travel so even if they have to go a distance they will be fine) but please try everything, and I know you are trying.

I hope this doesn't sound too rude, i'm not trying to, just trying to help you.

Hugs to you and your kitties,

MysticRose

[turquoisesea]

thank you everyone for your replies.

I did want to add that they are not going to a shelter - if I am forced to get rid of them they would go to a family who my boyfriend and I would screen personally as best we could under the condition they would never go to a shelter.

I agree yes, I am important but I do want to consider they cats needs not to mention my bf's emotional attatchment to them.

I need to read your replies all over again and think on this one, it's been tough.

Thank you all for being so unbelievably understanding , I can't express how much this means to me

[VickiesPath]

It depends on what the policy of the no kill shelter is. The one I used to work for did not kill animals, period. If they did not have room for an animal, it went on a waiting list or was put in a temporary foster home until there was room.