cat stress, cat scat (--) 

oh god

sugarfoot started mewling DESPERATELY to get outside to the point where she was leaping futilely at the door

i thought she was just going stir-crazy which would have also been very stressful...

but it turns out she really had to poop, and apparently the new litter we picked up for her (little kitten-safe sticks instead of clumpy sand) does not read as litter to her

yyyyyup right on Anthracite's yoga mat, mere seconds before she got home with our delivery food for the evening

peg is now super stressed out and snarfing down dinner before she rushes out to the grocery store for litter sand, and now we have to figure out a way to make it kitten-safe when the kidlets finally leave the box

my only real idea is that we mix the sticks and sand 20/80 for a while to get her used to it and gradually vary the mix until it's clear that "yes, this is poopie place"

blllllllaaaaaaarrrrrgggghhh i knew this is the sort of stuff we were signing on for as cat parents, but these are the worst parts -- where the cat is clearly distressed and you have NO IDEA what they want or what will help them...

re: cat stress, cat scat (--) 

@JulieSqveakaroo @zebratron2084 Yup, this ought to work, and so will the idea of blending the two litters together to keep it safe for the little ones while still being acceptable as litter to Sugarfoot. I've heard of that working in rescue/adoption settings to get anxious cats used to the more pelletized litter varieties.

Follow

re: cat stress, cat scat (--) 

@LexYeen @JulieSqveakaroo tagging @anthracite into this because it will probably be reassuring. Thank you so much for the affirmation, yeen! <3

Sign in to participate in the conversation
Awoo Space

Awoo.space is a Mastodon instance where members can rely on a team of moderators to help resolve conflict, and limits federation with other instances using a specific access list to minimize abuse.

While mature content is allowed here, we strongly believe in being able to choose to engage with content on your own terms, so please make sure to put mature and potentially sensitive content behind the CW feature with enough description that people know what it's about.

Before signing up, please read our community guidelines. While it's a very broad swath of topics it covers, please do your best! We believe that as long as you're putting forth genuine effort to limit harm you might cause – even if you haven't read the document – you'll be okay!