3 cats, one small apartment. I'm looking for as much advice, strategies and product recommendations that I can get. The goal is happy healthy kitties, with my sanity intact.
Long story short (background
here,
here and
here if you're really bored) -- I fostered an abandoned pregnant mommy kitty. 13 weeks later, after considerable doses of both heartbreak and happiness, mommy cat and her surviving kittens are doing well. One's been adopted out to a great home, and the two remaining kittens are still with me. One is the runt who has already had her share of problems, but right now is doing well. The other is pretty much a clone of her mommy. I've made the decision to keep all three -- now the trick is making this work.
(Yes, I realize I'm now the crazy cat lady. Somewhere, somehow, I've made all the rookie fostering mistakes, have gotten too attached to my babies, and can't give them up. 3 cats is a lot, especially given the small space -- I will concede that. But I can't choose just one or two -- they all have awesome yet unique personalities, they get along great, they make me happy, and this fostering experience has made me realize that I can provide them a good home. I feel good about saving these otherwise abandoned cats. Plus, all three are all black, so at least they only shed one color.)
So, with all that out of the way -- what do I need to know?
Any suggestions on handling the multi cat litter box situation? So far they're all sharing well, but who knows how long that will last. I barely have a good place for one litter box, so multiple boxes are going to be a challenge. Recommendations for a good covered litter box? I've read those fancy auto-cleaning boxes don't work in multi-cat households, because they tend to freak out / interupt the cat second in line at the loo. Anyone have experience with that?
How can I best keep my apartment from smelling like "cat"? I'm not talking cat urine, specifically -- i just want to keep the place from smelling like a vet's office. Difficulty: kitten proof solutions. Right now everything is a potential toy.
Do cat trees really work? With limited horizontal space, I know I need to go vertical, and have been looking at those giant 6 feet+ cat trees. But I don't want to spend all that money on ugly furniture if it's not going to be used.
Any other random bits of information you wish you'd known earlier?
Thanks in advance!
posted by jgirl at 11:02 AM on May 12, 2009