The Nature of Roomates
When my roommate and I agreed to move in together, I was very upfront about the cats. She informed me she's not an animal person, however her previous roommate had a small dog and she learned to get used to the animal. She didn't seem to care about my cats and even stayed with us for a couple of weeks at my old apartment until we found a place together. She didn't like the cats coming right up to her, but otherwise, if they left her alone, she was fine. All seemed well.
Upon moving in together, I quickly discovered that my roommate was a bit obsessive about certain things. She never trusted a dishwasher to do her dishes, so all dishes were hand-scrubbed and put into the dishwasher to air dry only.
She does not own a mop. She uses rags, a scrubber and a bucket and gets on her hands and knees to scrub the kitchen and bathroom floors. She regularly complains about dark spots on our carpet attributed by her to be from the boxes and foot traffic when we moved in, even though I barely notice them, but offered that we could rent a steam cleaner to take care of it.
The Nature of Cats
It is a cat's nature to scratch on things to sharpen and shed parts of their nails. It is a cat's nature to be in high places. It is a cat's nature to be curious and explore. When she is gone, she and I both keep a vigilant watch that her bedroom door remains closed so that the cats do not invade her privacy, nor get cat hair on her things. I try to vacuum and wipe down surfaces often to combat the usual shedding that all animals (and humans) experience. I use expensive premium litter to control the odors and scoop and replace it often. I have placed a tall, sisal-wrapped scratching post in a prime position to minimize scratching the patio's screen door or our furniture pieces. With a few exceptions, they have taken to it well.
Cats can have fleas. My cats used to be indoor/outdoor, so I took them to the vet to get a bath and get treated for fleas when we moved in, then I never let them outside again. She still sometimes complains about being bitten. Ironically, the vet commented that neither cat had any fleas on them when even before they were treated.
The Incident
My roommate often gets home from work before me (even though we work at the same office), and last night, I got home to find my cats locked in my bedroom (door closed). She had mentioned that she may have a guest, and I thought she closed the door to hide my unmade bed with a few clothes strewn about, and either accidentally or intentionally, locked my cats in my room. I didn't mind the hiding of my messy room. Or even locking the cats up (briefly) to prevent them running out of the apartment as her guest came inside, or getting in the way while they ate, as long as they were let out upon completion of the task.
She was in her bedroom, presumably with her guest, so I quickly cleaned up my room. Assuming I addressed her reason for closing my bedroom door, I opened my door back up, letting the cats out, and did a quick wiping down of surfaces as I have been in the habit of doing.
I needed to run to the store quickly, and was only gone for half an hour. I figured I'd give she and her guest some privacy, and now, at least my room was presentable. Yet upon returning, I found the cats again locked in my bedroom.
I assumed her guest had left, or come out and they needed to secure the cats again, so I opened it back up, and settled on the sofa to watch TV. Later, she came out, alone, and said motioned toward the dining room set, and said, "they were on there". Assuming she meant the dining room chairs, I responded by saying "yes, I'm having problems keeping them off your white chairs. That's why I put the small hand towels down on the chairs."
She said, "It's not that. It's not clean. I'm having to eat in my bedroom because they climb on top of my dining room table."
No one likes hair of any kind in their food, and the food service industry requires employees to wear hats or hair nets. In the home, my cats (to my knowledge) have never jumped on the kitchen counters where food is prepared. I never see cat hair on the kitchen counters, so I'm certain they respect this area even in my absence, but then kitchen counters are much higher than pieces of furniture like dining room tables and coffee tables -- and therein lies the problem.
Yes, there was some cat hair on the chairs and the top of the dining room table and coffee table. Yes she had a right to eat on those without cat hair. She certainly shouldn't have to feel that she must remain sequestered in her bedroom the entire time we are living together, but for the life of me, I don't know how to resolve this.
I'm more tolerant of the whole cat hair issue. If I wish to eat at said table, I merely wipe it down, sit and enjoy. When I'm there, the cat's don't come up. Or I'll feed them at the same time to distract them from my eating.
She's a bit more anal about it all. She has me keep separate scrubber sponges just for the cats' food bowls, which I have no problem doing. One of the cats licked me on the face, and she was repulsed. So, I suspect even if she simply wiped it down before sitting down to the table each time, like I do, she still would visualize in her mind all the hair and perceived germs the cats were spreading and be grossed out.
Options, Options, Options -- Who's Got The Solution?
I have thought about several options, none seem to be perfect.
- The cats absolutely cannot remain locked up in my room all the time.
For one, I'm not willing to confine them to that small a space all of
the time. Also, they need access to their food and litter box located
in the kitchen and bathroom respectively. Without it, they could easily
defecate on the carpet or bedding of my room, or dehydrate.
- I can let the cats go back to indoor/outdoor again. That gets rid of the litter box, and it might give them more of an outlet to climb high places which in theory might minimize them getting on the dining room table or coffee table, but it's still no guarantee that they will stay off those particular pieces of furniture, and frankly, if they don't, they will be much dirtier than they are now, and introduces the whole flea issue, and as the area I now live has heavier traffic, I run the risk of their safety.
- Giving them away is not an option for me. I promised Steven I'd take care of them.
- We are locked into a lease for a year, so moving out really isn't the best option and besides, I like it there.
Suggestions anyone?
