OSCAR the GROUCH Domestic Short Hair & Tiger Mix Grand Rapids, MI

It is always tough on a cat when he or she has to come back to us after many years of having lived happily in a home, but sometimes it proves to be extremely upsetting and stressful, to the point that special concessions need to be made in order to accommodate our return kitty’s needs. Such is the case involving Oscar, formerly known as Crash Cat Klondike, who sadly was returned to us on July 7th, 2016 after having been adopted back in 2009 by a wonderful family who adored him but just couldn’t get over his behavioral issue of urinating inappropriately. Medical records that accompanied the bold brown tabby (who was born in the summer of 2008) showed that Oscar had been a problem piddler for years, and that nothing medical could be determined as the root of his litter box avoidance. In speaking with the owner, we did discover that the stress involved of bringing a new baby home through the course of the years really tended to push him over the edge to the dark side, but in spite of anti-anxiety medication, additional litterboxes with a multitude of substrate choices and Feliway diffusers, Oscar just could not find it within himself to behave. I cannot say I blame his people one bit for throwing in the towel, considering that carpet and furniture has to be removed and replaced and their toddler would soon be crawling. With a heavy heart, they said their goodbyes and hoped more than anything that we could rectify a sticky situation.

As you can imagine, Oscar was none too thrilled to be back at the clinic; in fact as soon as he spotted another cat out of the corner of his eye, all hell broke loose and anger reared it’s ugly head (hence his full name). After a few days and full diagnostics, in which lab work, urinalysis and radiographs were completely normal, Oscar had calmed down enough to be transported to Crash’s. However, we felt It best that until he was ready to socialize and mind his manners he was to hang out in a room all by himself; this appeared to work wonders as after a few weeks and an occasional visitor, Oscar was ready to roam. Although he prefers to steer clear of the other cats and will grumble a bit when approached, he has not proven to be aggressive. He enjoys the company of the volunteers as long as no other pesky pussycats try to steal his thunder or stray across his path; in fact, when dealing with his roomies, he chooses to take the path of least resistance and avoids them completely. Much to our dismay however his naughty side has resurfaced and we have caught him spraying multiple times in spite of being on anti-anxiety meds from Day 1. So unfortunately Oscar is considered a permanent resident and will have to live out his life here with us, even though he isn’t too thrilled about that prospect. Considering that we are left with very few options regarding a cat who can’t behave himself, I think this is a win-win situation for him and in time I am hoping he will see my point of view; he really has it made here and hopefully can learn to enjoy himself and have fun!