[heyhey.im.j]

ok here is my issue, my adoptive mom is in her mid 80's and has way to many cats in her posession. i know that 6 cats isn't extreme, however she simply cannot take care of them properly. they all live indoors and have completely destroyed her home. here is a list of examples: they urinate on everything including all the curtains, carpet, anything wooden like her desk, bookshelves etc. she cannot change the litterboxes, or take them to the vet. these cats have taken over the house, and as far as my mom is concerned, the house belongs to the cats, not her. the living room is by far the worst room. the curtains are soaked with urine, the carpet behind the table is saturated as well.not to mention she cannot clean her own home either. i dont know what to do, but something has to be done. she wants me to spend more time with her, but i can only handle so much odor. please help me if you have any suggestions.

[billieJ]

I know a woman in her mid to late 70's who has about 20 cats. However, she has a cat door - which might help your mom - and the cats can therefore spend time outside. Also, she had all her carpets removed and replaced with large tiles. She sweeps about every day. I know it would be hard for your mom to give up any of her cats. Can you or your siblings take any of them. I have only one cat and the litter boxes are quite a chore for me [she had 2]. I take it that you have the chore of cleaning the litter boxes. If she could give up some of her cats to relatives or could get a cat door, this might help. billieJ

[heyhey.im.j]

Originally Posted by billieJ

I know a woman in her mid to late 70's who has about 20 cats. However, she has a cat door - which might help your mom - and the cats can therefore spend time outside. Also, she had all her carpets removed and replaced with large tiles. She sweeps about every day. I know it would be hard for your mom to give up any of her cats. Can you or your siblings take any of them. I have only one cat and the litter boxes are quite a chore for me [she had 2]. I take it that you have the chore of cleaning the litter boxes. If she could give up some of her cats to relatives or could get a cat door, this might help. billieJ

well, i am the only relative she has, and she wont get a kitty door because she is afraid they will run off.

[Elysium]

You are right. It is obvious that your Mother, at 80 years of age, can not keep up with her animals.

This is NOT a healthy environment for your Mom or the cats. I think you need to step up and intervene to get these cats some better homes and maybe even get your Mom a better home.

Maybe she could keep one cat, and find a place like assisted living where she could maintain some of her independence?

My suggestion...round up the cats...ask your Mom which kitty she would like to keep, take the others to a NO KILL shelter to be adopted out.

Then...the real work starts because if you want to salvage your Mom's property, it's going to take a lot of work. Depending on how saturated the carpeting/floors and walls are with urine, the flooring will need to be replaced with a special sealant placed underneath to keep the smell from coming back up and penetrating the new flooring. You might as well throw out any saturated curtains or bedding/furniture...cat urine doesn't come out well, and you will need to repaint and put a special sealant underneath the paint to prevent the smell/stains from coming through the new paint.

This will be a bit of work but can be done...if you want to salvage the property. If not...you could sell it but you could only sell it for what it is worth in it's current condition.

The most important thing I want to get across here is, there comes a time in every adult child's life when they need to step up and take more responsibility in making sure their parents are getting the care that they need. Anything less than that is neglect.

Hope this wasn't to harsh...

(jumpinggrasshoppers))))))))))))))))) Its so hard taking care of ones parents. I took care of both of mine.,..
I agree with ((Elysium3006))) it sounds like is time to intervene