romeo the cat

There are plenty of ways to show our pets how much we love them —we buy them special food and treats, bring home the newest toys, and, of course, lavish them with affection. Caroline Golon, the human behind popular humor blog Romeo the Cat and co-founder of BlogPaws, will share the stories of pet owners who have gone the extra mile for their pets in this new series, The Things We Do for Love. And sometimes, the extra mile is only the beginning!

We grunted and sweated and cursed at each other for nearly two hours. Finally, my husband and I surveyed our work: a huge bedroom, hallway and closet floor covered in a hundred dollars' worth of the plastic sheeting that commercial movers use to protect carpets during jobs.

The purpose? To keep my cat, Romeo, from peeing on the carpet. 

Romeo is a bonafide “pee cat.” He pees on anything soft left on the floor — towels, area rugs, jeans, carpeting, you name it.  

The Household Challenges of Owning a Cat Who Pees Everywhere

We’ve spent $4,000 over the past five years, replacing wall-to-wall carpet, buying new rugs, renting cleaners, trying every odor eliminator known to man, and more. I am among the percentage of the population who flips through a Pottery Barn catalog and sadly skips over the pages featuring area rugs.

We’re working hard to help resolve this problem, and, short of hiring a behaviorist, we’ve truly tried everything.

cat and plastic covered carpet

So until we find the solution, we find work-arounds.

First, we began tossing out saturated area rugs, one by one. Next, we stopped leaving clothes on the floor (that was definitely a positive change!). Then, we tried store-bought and homemade solutions to keep Romeo out of carpeted rooms. But he jumped baby gates and squeezed through homemade barricades. Finally, in our last home, we resigned ourselves to replacing the carpet when we moved out.

Currently, we’re in a short-term rental as we renovate our new home. Part of that renovation, by the way, involves ripping up all the carpets to reveal the “cat-safe” hardwood floors underneath.

We’re not interested in paying to replace carpets in a temporary living space, so Romeo and his brother Pugsley are sequestered to a specific area of the apartment, and we laid the plastic on the floors of the rooms they are permitted to roam. So far, the solution, albeit temporary, seems a good one.

Why We Go to Such Lengths

People may wonder why we go through all this effort, inconvenience and expense for a cat. Others might throw in the towel after the first few indiscretions. But to us, a pet is a lifelong commitment. And, judging from the fact that Romeo was returned to a shelter twice before he was two years old, this habit is likely an old one.

So every morning, as I walk across the cold plastic-wrapped floor and inevitably get a few pieces of cat litter stuck between my toes, I sigh and consider it a small price to pay for the happiness and love Romeo has brought to our family.

What do you do for love? We’re looking for the funny, the sweet and the special stories that will make other pet parents smile. Email us at [email protected] to share your story. Please put "The Things We Do For Love" in the subject line.