rant about my sister's stupid cat

[Kinra]

I have never hated an animal as much as I hate my sister's cat. I honestly get that the cat is being a cat with the crap it does, but my sister is too lazy to work to try to correct the behavior. She likes to scratch my couch so I started cutting her nails. She likes to destroy rolls of paper so I closed the bathroom door and put all paper towel rolls out of the way. She likes to knock over my gecko cages. Those immediately went into my bedroom after the first time and the door to my room says closed. She even manages to escape the apartment from time to time and wanders the halls, usually because my sister fails to pay attention to her and she sneaks out between her feet.

I feel like this stupid cat is out to get me. Right now there are about 2-3 dozen crickets lose in my apartment thanks to her. Somehow she managed to knock those over today. I have a vague idea as to how, but I'm still not clear on the details. She somehow managed to get on top of my shorter snake rack which I have done everything under the sun to prevent (spraying cat off, put lots of stuff up there, telling her no every time she goes near it, playing with her to tire her out, creating a different pearch for her near the window). After she got on the shorter snake rack she made the leap to get on the taller one which is 6-7ft tall. The top of that is full of boxes and the cricket keeper. I'm guess she made the leap and knocked the cricket keeper over when she failed to get up there.

I am so done with this cat and I really want her gone, but my sister seems to like her so I feel like I am stuck. I have been making efforts to make it work with the cat, but my sister isn't even attempting to meet me half way. I'm pretty sure this cat is NOT happy being an indoor cat. She turned up on our door step in September before we moved back to WI. She was half starved so we took her in. She can't be an outdoor cat with our apartment here unless my sister takes her out for walks. I really don't know what to do with this feral monstrosity, but I feel like this is the straw the broke the camel's back. I really just want her gone. She is not an indoor cat and I am tried of having my stuff destroy and worrying about the reptiles that don't fit in my bedroom.

[Annarose15]

If she's your sister's cat, can you pass the rule that she stays in your sister's room unless she is being directly supervised in the common areas? If I remember correctly from a previous post, you are supporting the household.

[dillan2020]

Squirt gun is your best friend when training a cat not to do stuff.

[Kinra]

If she's your sister's cat, can you pass the rule that she stays in your sister's room unless she is being directly supervised in the common areas? If I remember correctly from a previous post, you are supporting the household.

I tried that but my sister threw a fit about not wanting to lock the cat up. I think I will try it again, this time it gets locked up or it goes. I know she's not too happy that there are 2-3 dozen crickets loose in the apartment.

I have been trying really hard not to use the fact that I am support the household because I want her to feel at home here, but honestly my reptile collection is worth a lot more to me than a stray cat that wandered into our lives. I really feel like I should have brought it to the humane society like I planned to when we found it.

Squirt gun is your best friend when training a cat not to do stuff.

The problem with using the squirt gun is that it only works when you are home.

[Annarose15]

I know it's rarely good to play the "I pay the bills" card. However, the safety of all of the animals in your home has to be paramount. If the cat hasn't figured out how to open a tub or break into a cage yet, it's probably only a matter of time.

[Kinra]

I know it's rarely good to play the "I pay the bills" card. However, the safety of all of the animals in your home has to be paramount. If the cat hasn't figured out how to open a tub or break into a cage yet, it's probably only a matter of time.

I have been trying to get my sister to see it that way for the past month. I think I am going to have to pull the "I pay the bills" card here. My beardie and my kenyan are on top of my shorter snake rack and I've been terrifed for them. I actually caught the cat sitting on the kenyan's cage this morning.

I wanted to keep the beardie in my bedroom but my sister likes him and wanted him where she could see him. The kenyan is in the living room because my bedroom is pretty much are maxium capacity. I have all of my 27 crested gecko (who are mostly individual housed), 3 boas, 1 leo, 1 fat tail, both carpets, a short tail and 5 ball pythons in my bedroom. There is barely enough room for my bed in there.

This whole thing is really getting to me because my cat ended up staying with my mom when I moved back. My mom really fell in love with her and she hates the drive so I figured it was for the best. That cat was awesome, my only problem with her was she liked to sleep on my pillow with me. She didn't cause any problems and loved to cuddle. You couldn't ask for a better cat.

[Valentine Pirate]

It can be such a nightmare trying to deal with other people's animals. Being so strict with my own pets it makes it a particular pet peeve of mine. At our old place the roomie's cat used to terrorize my boyfriend's daughter's leopard gecko and my gold fish. The snakes were away in opaque tubs, so they missed most of the little brute, but he was a clumsy cat to boot. Any pet cats I'd had myself had been like ghosts, they'd go through a room and you couldn't tell (other than some hair in their favorite sleeping spots) but this little guy would push through/past things, knocking them over. Broke quite a few of my roomie's belongings, and I ended up securing/moving any of mine away from the "danger zones"

Anyway, even if your sister throws a fit she needs to take responsibility for her own animals. This includes dealing with them when they are creating problems in the residence. I see it as your house, your rules, but I can understand with family it can get sticky (especially siblings, I'm oldest of 4). I'd lay it out clearly that the cat needs to stay in her room where she can care for it and it doesn't get into things, or it can leave. It's not up to you to work around her pet in your own dang apartment

[Mike41793]

Im not even going to bother, you guys KNOW how i feel about cats

[barbie.dragon]

It sounds like an under-exercised cat. Your sister has to help the cat expend the energy by either walking the cat or playing with it (hunting play not some stupid little petting game). She needs to chase a feather on a rod for 10-15 minutes twice a day. She sounds like an indoor cat. I feel really bad for it since no one is taking care of her. She also needs proper scratching posts in proper areas. Poor cat. No offense but you should blame your sister for not providing the right care rather than blaming the cat.

[Rawbbeh]

+1 to the squirt gun. But put a little vinegar in the bottle with water...the vinegar they dont like more than the water and it only helps reinforce that what the cat did was a big NO NO.