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I just cleaned the house. I mean, it isn't totally clean yet, but the vacuuming and sweeping are done, specifically. It's really great. No clumps of cat hair, no pieces of moss, no dirt lying around. The thing is, I know it will only be dirty again by tomorrow. It will always be dirty.
I don't know what the deal is. I've lived with these cats for 6.5 years now. But during this past year I have gotten SO SICK of them. When they were kittens destroying everything, it was just a phase they were going through. It's just a thing kittens do. (By the way, I don't ever want another kitten.) When they destroyed one arm (is that what's called?) of our (then) brand new couch, I was pissed, but I mostly blamed Dwayne. (He wouldn't build or let me buy a scratching post because he thinks they're unsightly.) When they would pee in places they shouldn't I blamed a) Dwayne for not keeping the litter box clean enough (that's his job in this house. We agreed and shook on it years ago in exchange for me always doing the dishes) or b) Cameron for bringing his dog over to our house and scaring them.
But now, the cats have collectively turned the whole house into their litter box. If we leave any clothes out (particularly clean ones), they get peed on. If we leave the door open to the guest bedroom, it gets peed in. If we leave the door to my office open, they will come up and spray on the chairs, the walls, the books, and the stuffed animals. If Dwayne leaves the door to the garage or basement open, his drums and drum cases get sprayed. Two nights ago, Dwayne left his backpack on our bedroom floor. Early in the morning, someone peed on it. If we leave ANYTHING on the kitching fucking table, it will get peed on.
It isn't just one or two of them doing this like we used to think. All four cats have been caught in the act on multiple occasionsn now.
I've been reading all the tips online about this. Nothing is working. We have four litter boxes. Dwayne keeps them clean(ish). But sometimes, within minutes of the litter boxes being freshly cleaned, one of the cats will still pee somewhere else so I'm not sure if that is a factor. Cameron hasn't been over here for over a year, and therefore, neither have any dogs.
I took Angelus to the vet to see if something was wrong with him health-wise. The vet said there is nothing wrong with him at all, that households with more than three cats are almost guaranteed to have this problem, that the marking-their-territory thing is just an example of cats doing the things that cats do. She suggested that we let them outside more often. That hasn't worked one little bit. All it does is make them drag in more dirt that I have to clean up. Niña is now filthy half the time and getting matted (and when we removed one of her dreadlocks the other day, she got so upset that she peed all over Dwayne and the floor).
I can't handle it anymore. I don't even like being around the cats most of the time now because I know that at any minute I'll end up having to clean up after them. I don't like to invite people over because I can't tell if the whole house smells like pee or what. I have to keep changing our laundry detergent because when I've used a particular brand/scent to clean cat-pee-soaked clothes enough times, I start associating that smell with cat pee and then I'm paranoid all day that people think I smell bad.
I really don't know what to do with them anymore. There have been times when I ponder a cat's lifespan and wonder if I can really handle living with them for the duration. I've been thinking not.
Edit: So, I just sat on the couch with Angelus for a few minutes, petting him. He was being really sweet and cute. So, I felt bad for being so angry with him (and the others). But, I know that as soon as he's spraying on my beige furniture upstairs again, I am going to be in a mood to throw his ass outside and not let him back in. Really, we would all get along so well and I would be fine with putting up with all the other messes if they would just urinate in the proper place.
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