I’m not proud of this. But thirty minutes ago, I nearly punched my cat.
I definitely have anger issues. When something goes wrong in certain ways, I react with a fight-or-flight mentality. I remember once during Hell Week at my fraternity, after only fifty minutes of sleep the first night, some members came into the place I was sleeping and banged on pots and pans. I jumped up (they told me), and I took a fighting stance as if I was ready to attack. I was asleep and didn’t remember.
The good news is that I never have been in a real fight. I’m not afraid of being in a fight, but I don’t seem to attract those situations. I’m a pretty nice guy, and I don’t seem to piss people off in that way.
My cat peed on my bed again today. I only know because I was laying down in my bed on the phone, just like a 13 year old girl.
I realized I was laying in cat urine. Fresh.
Now, I’ve talked about this situation before, and how I started giving my cat Prozac, which is the ONLY thing that seems to work. But after a while she stopped taking it, and it became nearly impossible to administer.
Anyway, I got so angry and grabbed her (all the while yelling choice explitives which echoed through my headset in my girlfriend’s eas) and took her into the kitchen to force a pill down her throat.
I was so incredibly livid that had she struggled or tried to scratch me, I would have smacked her. I’m embarrassed to say this, but it’s true. In that moment I hated my cat and wanted to hurt her.
After I settled down, I realized that part of this was about me seeing myself in the cat’s imperfection. What I mean is that somehow this cat pee is indicative of me not being happier with my own position in life. I can yell and scream at the cat, because she’s an easy target. But I’m really screaming at myself.
I have parts of my life that I hate. I’m sure we all do. But when I get in those moods, no gratitude list can get me out of the funk. I think I’m being totally logical and accurate in the way I judge myself. The problem is this – I probably am totally accurate, but I’m also totally unfair. I give myself no slack, and therefore, I give my cat no slack.
She probably has a weird medical condition or a UTI or whatever. She’s a good cat. She just isn’t perfect. I need to remember that I am imperfect, too.
Vanessa says:
I have an indoor/outdoor cat who thinks he’s too good for the litter box. One day he wanted out right when I wanted to take a nap. I knew he would want right back in and the dog, who is his minion would pester me until I let the cat in, so I didn’t let the cat out. In retaliation he came into the bedroom and peed on my shoe beside the bed. I was laying there reading a book and wondering what the noise was and there he was doing that fanny wiggle they do when they are peeing.
CassandraMorgan says:
As terrible as it sounds, I feel the same way whenever my cat pees on my bed. Not because I’m seeing myself in her but because it means I have to unmake the bed, wash the goddamn sheets again, find the spare set of sheets, and remake the whole bed. It’s a pain in the ass.
My cat gets UTIs fairly frequently so here’s a helpful hint for a cure that you can do even if she doesn’t have a UTI. Buy a bottle of cranberry tablets. Costs like $10 or something. Put a tablet in her water dish. All you have to do it keep an eye on the tablet. When it dissolves all the way, stick a new tablet in the next time you refill her dish. Easy! And it usually takes care of the UTI.
TammyL says:
My last cat was a bed pee-er as well. I fully understand your anger. It results from frustration – there doesn’t seem to be anything you can do about it, other than the unacceptable option of getting rid of a cat you love.
CrazyTragicAlmostMagic says:
Take her to the vet. I have 4, 2 male, 2 female. This will sound “judgey” but either you’re not paying enough attention to her or she’s unhappy about something. My one male cat INSISTS on spraying in the most ridiculous places( he’s not fixed), however my other male cat (also not fixed) has never sprayed a thing. Cats are fickle. I love them but God I wish I didn’t have them.
LeighAnnTorres says:
You’re deeper than I am. I tend to think my cats are just assholes. But in reality, I probably don’t pay enough attention to them, what with the 3 children, husband, and dog ranking higher than they do.
apodd2012 says:
I love my cat, I do, he’s been with me through some of the hardest times in my life and now he is having a horrible time. He is sick and some days he has really bad days, while others great ones. And sometimes when he throws up on my carpet, in the same place for the tenth time I really want to punch him in his little failing kitty heart. Not cause I am unhappy but cause its annoying and I am frustrated cause I cant fix him or make him feel better. So i pick him up tell him I love him but he is annoying as crap and shut him out of my room for a couple mins so I can calm down..and then like nothing happened he is all sweet and loving and non-pukey and so the cycle begins all over again.
ViolaFury says:
So sad, but you’re human. You have to start forgiving yourself, or cutting yourself some slack. You nailed this perfectly and very logically and explained your limitations. I wept. Congrats. Besides almost punching a cat, you made an old lady cry. Happy now? @ViolaFury