Problem with roommate because of her cat

[Guest zambi]

Hello soompiers!

So this is my situation. My roommates cat has been peeing on everyone's bed- my bf's, my other roommate.

And it decided to pee on my bed this time!

Well I guess I will never understand how a cat is thinking so I shouldn't be overly erked because it is an animal.

But what really pissed me off really bad is the attitude of the owner .

I mean, the time when the cat peed(and also pooped) on my boyfriend's bed and a borrowed blanket

from my friend's, she didn't even apologize and didn't even bother to care what happened to his bed or help clean up.

So I suggest to him that she should pay for the entire cost, but being a nice person he is, he insisted that she only needs

to pay half. And when we told her that she needs to pay for it, she said "Sure whatever."

So for a couple days, me and my bf slept on the sofa and arm chair with only jackets and towels to cover us.

So what happened is that the cat peed on my bed. This morning I decided to tell the owner(lets call her H)

that her cat has done it again.

Me: Um your cat peed on my bed.

H : Sxxx! I need to go to work now.(and said nothing so i pressed on)

Me: And you know, its a down comforter

H : I have to go to work right now. Just pack it in a bag or something and I'll throw it out later!

I was pissed off by this point and no way am I paying half of this.

So I told her "Your going to get my receipt(for the new comforter)"

And all she said in the end was "Moe soh wai" which in cantonese means doesn't matter/whatever.

I am really angry with her when I also think back how she stank up the entire second floor cuz she rarely changes the kitty litter.

And shes very messy in general.

Now, I have to somehow find someone to drive me to buy the comforter which I feel bad for the person helping me.

And about the soiled comforter, I didn't bother putting it in bag so I just threw it in her room because what she did to

me and my bf plus without any apology.

I don't want to start a fight with someone I'm going to live for the next 3 or 4 months. But this really sucks.

What would you guys do if you were in my situation?

Should i apologize that I threw that thing in her room?

Also, is it right for me to make her pay for the comforter?

[Guest KeroKai]

The whole throwing the thing into her room is passive aggressive, so yes, it's worthy of an apology.

Is there no way you could resolve the issue with her cat entering various places in the flat/house? Get her to encourage litter training whatever.

I honestly don't think she minds too much about the idea of paying from the sounds of it (even though your boyfriend insisted on half). This is her way of taking up responsibilities for any mishaps, unless she said whatever in a negative manner. You didn't really clarify her attitude as offensive or just extremely passive and laid back about the whole thing. At the moment, it sounds more like the latter than the former.

Worse case scenario: Have a flat discussion about the cat with other living members. But like you said, there's nothing you can really do about the situation with it being a cat.

[SunniRise]

I think you shouldn't have thrown the stuff in her room because that will obviously start a fight. However, I do think that you should catch her when she doesn't have to go to work or anywhere and talk to her about it. I wouldn't like to live with someone who is as messy as her.

Also, If possible leave the door to your room closed.

[MrPower]

Neuter the cat.

It will run away.

[tamaraleee]

The reason the cat is pooping and peeing on your beds is because her litter is too dirty. Cats are actually really clean (or try to be) so if the litter has lots of things in it already she won't want to use it. Your roommate needs to start cleaning it more frequently! The litter also won't stink this way because if there's enough clean litter in it the cat should be able to bury her poop in it - which is their natural instinct - and you won't be able to smell anything until you dig it up.

Close the door to your room (and open a window or something) if possible. Cats will generally pick warm, enclosed places (preferably against a wall) and she's already started treating your beds as a second litter so once she's done that she's likely to come back because she's "marked" it, per se.

[Guest HERMIT]

I am really angry with her when I also think back how she stank up the entire second floor cuz she rarely changes the kitty litter.

And shes very messy in general.

Being a cat owner myself, I think this is the root of your problem.  Evidently the cat knows how to use the cat litter.  But plain as day, it's just not being changed out regularly or at least in a timely manner.  What appears to be happening here is that if the litter box becomes "full", then the cat will simply not use it.  I've had a somewhat similar problem before with my own cat - but for different reasons.  I would discover that he'd been wetting the carpet and it turned out that it had to do with his (covered) litter box eventually became too small for him, entry wise.  I changed the size of the box and problem solved.  If the litter box becomes problematic for the cat for any reason - too small to fit through the entry, too full and not changed over, whatever .... then the cat will resort to doing its business elsewhere.  With that said, I am fairly certain that if the litterbox is regularly emptied out for this cat, the problems of the cat peeing in other people's property will diminish or cease altogether.

Look, I can understand the viewpoint that it's ultimately the owner's responsibility to attend to her own pet.  But given her "messy" personality and perhaps time constraints and obligations, there just might be mitigating circumstances that restrict her ability to do so.  If this were a permanent living situation, then I concede that this is something the owner would have to surely figure out.  But given that you mentioned that this is only a 3-4 month temporary thing, then I think the best stopgap measure for you and the roommates to at least avert having this all happen all over again is to take the initiative and check the litter box and dump it out if need be.  Given the circumstances, I think I would rather do that and proactively not have my bed and blankets smelling like cat richard simmons rather than skulk around being resentful of the owner, not doing anything about it, and STILL getting my things soiled.

If you can manage to do that for the 3-4 months, then at least you avoid FUTURE instances of that happening and you essentially ISOLATE the past incidents to just having to wrangle reparations from that girl for the past damages.

[Guest kimjs24]

buy a dog and let him pee on her bed. see how she likes it.

[Guest zambi]

Hey guys! Thank you for the suggestions! I will definitely close the doors.

So lastly, do you guys think its right for me to make her pay for the comforter?

[Guest itrayya]

this totally reminds me of the last episode i saw of 'MY CAT FROM HELL'.

she should at least care about what her cat does to your stuff. wow.

open the door and make the cat go outside. haha.

sorry to hear you're going through that. i'm not a cat person so i totally feel bad for you.

i hope things get better for you.

[Guest sushixlovesu]

Well cleaning a comforter shouldn't be too hard. Before my dog became house-trained, she peed everywhere too. There were a few instances where she peed onto my comforter. Cleaning it isn't a problem, but I understand that it can be costly. I think it needs to be dry cleaned? Maybe you can talk to your roomie when she has free time about her responsibilities as a pet owner and also ask her if she could just pay for the cost to have the comforter cleaned. Of course don't confront her in a tone that would make her feel like she's being bashed...

[Guest Malice_Kaiser]

Like others mentioned, there are a few possibilities. If the cat is not neutered, that is CERTAINLY going to be an issue. The fact that she isn't cleaning out the litter box is also a huge possibility. If it's neither of those things, she should take the cat to a vet because it could be sick.

The easiest thing to do would be for her to just CLEAN the litter box. If that solves the problem, everyone's happy. if the cat keeps peeing elsewhere, then you know that something else is causing it. Make sure your roommate is cleaning out the litterbox more. I know it's not your responsibility, but bug her about it more often.

As for paying for the new comforter, that's tricky, because those things are expensive. You might not need to buy a new one though, washing it well may be sufficient.

[Mannosuke]

Cat wants to crap all over the bed? Kitty boot camp it goes. It'll be a tiger when it comes back.

[Guest woojin-oppa-da]

That's simple.

Let the cat free.

[Guest hkukaudition]

Our cats go outside when they need to pee and rarely pee inside so we dont even leave a litter tray out for them anymore.. we have a cat flap though so they can go in and out whenever they want. We only leave a litter tray for them when its really cold out or when it rains so they dont HAVE to venture out in the cold and wet just to relieve themselves

You should definitely talk to her about it (and for the meantime close your doors!) She needs to take responsibility for her cat and take care of its litter tray.. surely the smell affects her too?!

[~ BunnyliciouS ~]

lock it in her room. So it only pees/poops on her things.

[MythnoonA]

I knew what I was going to say even before I finished reading your post, OP...it's never the animal's fault (unless it does these things because it's sick and needs to visit a vet)--it's always the bi-ped. The cat is way smarter than your roomie. They're such clean animals--of course it isn't going to use a disgusting litter pan. You should ask her if she would like using an unflushed toilet full of poop.

I say move her out--and keep the cat. Sounds like she's not intelligent or responsible enough to take care of a living thing. And if cat isn't neutered as well--also not really good. >< Just being un-neutered a male cat can develop problems. If she doesn't want to bother taking care of the cat, then why does she even have him in the first place? I feel sorry for the cat.

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edit: sorry, I guess I sould a little mean...but they need to be taken care of. Please don't just let it out to fend for itself. And yes, it would be nice if she did offer to pay for replacing/cleaning at least some of the things that were messed on. Also can I recommend that you get something called 'Nature's Miracle'--it's the best thing to clean up cat urine with.