It's a love-hate relationship.

Don't get me wrong, I love the farm. Pets are the childless person's fur-babies; and I know many people here will agree with me that while pets do not truly replace the presence of a real baby in someone's life they come pretty damn close. My pets are such a huge highlight in my life. A living being who I can smother with love and cuddle with, get out all of my maternal instincts to take care of, and the best part is they all love me back. Last night I got home after being gone for 11 days and I was smothered with love back. Three animals following my every move; whining for more love when I was tired and just wanted to lie down. Lulu effectively tried to snuggle up my armpit, Charlie was never more than 2 inches from my feet, and Batman would have crawled inside the skin on my back if he could have. Yes, I am definitely loved.

But holy crap. Batman has either been really stressed out since I've been gone, upset that the litter box got dirty, or has a UTI-like problem because he has friggen peed on everything. Two cardboard boxes, on the carpet behind the TV stand, a paper bag, and my soccer bag (no words can describe the frustration and anger over this).

First thing this morning (after crashing for approximately 10 hours) I woke up and changed the litter box and cleaned up as much of his stank as possible. I need to go to the supermarket to buy some supplies for a remedy from this website:

Home Remedy for cat urine smell. This is a great recipe for removing cat urine odor from carpet. Start by blotting up as much of the urine as possible with old rags or paper towels. Next mix 3 parts water with one part vinegar and saturate the spot.Dry thoroughly using the same method mentioned above. Once dry, sprinkle the area with Baking Soda. Next mix ¾ cup of 3% hydrogen peroxide solution with one tsp. dish detergent and sprinkle over the Baking Soda. Try this first on a small inconspicuous area of the carpet to make sure the hydrogen peroxide won't discolor your carpet. Next, use your fingers or an old brush to work the Baking Soda in. I've used an old hairbrush with little bits of plastic over the tips with good results. Allow this to dry and vacuum it up. If there's still a slight odor when done, lather, rinse and repeat.

Hopefully this will work. I hate the smell of cat pee almost as much as I hate people who choose not to clean up after their cats and let their whole house be overrun by the smell. My poor roommate has had to deal with this by herself this whole time and she's not even that big of a cat person. But I will get rid of this smell. I will not be that person who lives in filth.

Ugh, why do they have to be so cute? At least they're all getting along now...