We adopted Tony from our vet's office almost four years ago. He was
a beautiful, mellow little gray-striped kitty, just right for our then
4-year-old little boy. But the problems started on day two when Tony
woke up with crusty eyes. I immediately took him back to the vet's
office, where the doctor said it was a minor infection, and gave me an
antibiotic ointment. A week later, no improvement, so back to the vet's
office. After the third perscription, she said his tear ducts might be
scarred over, but they could operate to clear them. Our poor kitten was
so miserable, and my little boy was so grossed out by his pus-eyed cat,
I was ready to pay big bucks to fix the problem, until the doc said the
surgery would likely result in more scar tissue.
So we've all
learned to live with the constantly runny eyes, wiping them and rinsing
them several times a day. Still, he's been a gross kitty whose ook
sometimes drips on the furniture, or ends up smeared on us when he
gives us an affectionate ankle rub. Actually, I'm the only one he'll
let pet or pick him up, so I'm the one who gets slimed regularly, I'm
the one who has to take care of his eyes, and it's my bed he wants to
sleep in--and that ain't happenin' if I can help it! But sometimes I
can't help it, and he'll sneak into my bedroom and hide under the
covers (light sensitivity?), thereby creating another load of laundry
for me, and another chore at the end of a long day.
Now there's a new problem with Tony. He pees in the tubs every chance he gets. My husband was so angry about having to scrub and bleach the tub again
the other night that he grabbed the cat and threw him in the shower,
hoping he'd come away from it with a fear of the bathtub. No such luck;
he peed in my tub this morning. He
pees in any laundry whether it's clean or dirty. And, for the last few
weeks while we've been painting in the house, he pees daily on the
tarps that protect the carpeting. No level of litter-box diligence seems to influence his behavior.
I
still love Tony, but he's become a nasty, disgusting cat. He's never
been outside the house (our vet made us sign an adoption form pledging
to keep him inside), but we've considered making him an outdoor
cat...except we live on a busy street, and have visions of explaining
his demise to our son. We've even thought about un-adopting him and
taking him to the shelter, but nobody's going to adopt a goopy-eyed
cat, and I'm afraid he'll end up euthanized.
It looks like we
have to honor our commitment to Tony, and keep him safely in our home
for the rest of his life--a bittersweet proposition.
Please, I'm begging, does anyone have any suggestions?