Plant needs advice urgently

[lotsofplants]

And I have no idea who to ask.

I got home from being out with friends to discover that my bedroom (and it's very clearly my bedroom) smells of cat urine. Several hours of rearrangement later, I can't tell where it comes from. I also don't know which of the two cats is responsible.

I am, understandably, not pleased.

My roommate is, understandably, also not pleased.

However, she is reacting in a way I did not expect and that concerns me. Her immediate response was "cats are going away" and she promptly posted them on craigslist.

I hadn't realized that until she commented that she'd gotten a response. Some querying revealed that she did not want to get rid of the cats (she is very fond of them, and has had them for years) but felt that since one(?) had urinated in my room, they could no longer reside in this apartment. However, it turns out that she wants to move to a new apartment with them--she simply does not have the money--and is very upset about the whole thing (but mostly, I think, the idea that she must get rid of the cats.)

And while I don't think she is the best cat-owner, she is very fond of them and desperately unhappy (more so than I am at the prospect of removing everything from my room to find the source of the odor). The cats are also very fond of her--one has only known her since kittenhood, and loves to come cuddle when no-one is watching. The other likes her, but is not very picky about which lap he curls up in. And I feel she is acting very hastily, and I think she might have some way of getting money for an apartment (suggested her dad, to which she vehemently stated she was not borrowing any more money from him--she has some money management issues and he's bailed her out a number of times).

I am at a loss of what to do. I am honestly very tired of the cats and odor and whining, but I also think that the cats are somewhat attention-starved and the cat might have somehow been trapped in my room?? And it seems like there should be a way to enable her to move into her own place. I don't want to loan her the money, because I don't think I'd see it anytime soon (if at all).

Thoughts?

Comments

[stolen-tea.livejournal.com]

In terms of dealing with the immediate situation, we've got a large quantity of natural cleaner/odor-remover over here, which seems to work fairly well. (Mostly on poop; we haven't had spraying so far.) Black lighting works well for locating cat urine, but I don't have one of those handy.

[plantae.livejournal.com]

I have an offer for a blacklight, and roommate has a bottle of the urine-odor-removing stuff from when one of the cats had an infection and was urinating in innappropriate locations (I'm wondering if this is another infection--not sure why she isn't considering that possibility). Just...I don't understand the response. I didn't demand the cats leave. And I like her enough that I don't want her unhappy, and one of the cats is now crying because she has closed her bedroom door and he can't go in and cuddle with her; I don't want the cats unhappy either (though Toby might be happier in a different home with someone who could be a lap for him all the time. He really just wants to be in a lap.)

[stolen-tea.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it sounded like she was making a lot of assumptions. You might ask if the cats have a history of spraying. I know sometimes that there can be spraying in response to spraying, so that might be what she's worried about in the future. But overall, it seems like she's really worked up about the situation and is in a minor panic; my main advice is putting off any major decisions until after a night of sound sleep. :)

Not apropos of the situation, it's my opinion that cats need to take their people-cuddling when they can get it, and not complain too much if they don't. Just like people and cat-cuddling. :) My family in Virginia has several cats and one of them is a major attention hog, and since my parents no longer have children at home, they aren't too good at discouraging him. He's also enormous, and it's not all fat, so he can be a pain to discourage or dislodge...

[pathdancer.livejournal.com]

Your roommie sounds like she's feeling very stressed herself and not coping with it too well.

Sounds like she could use some deep breaths, and maybe a hug. This isn't the end of the world, and probably not even the first time the carpet's been marked (unless, of course, it's new).

This, from the woman who goes absolutely ape-sh*t when stuff like that happens in apartments - but I found a way to cope!!