A year ago, my friend Marjanne died and I fulfilled my promise to her that I would take in her two elderly cats, Ruth (14) and Sophie (12).

Even when they lived with Marjanne, Ruth had a peeing problem. She wasn't allowed in the bedroom and Marjanne had an elaborate routine for protecting her sofas from Ruth's pee when she went on vacation. I didn't realize the extent of the peeing until Ruth and Sophie moved in with me, my husband, my son John Henry, and our two cats, Goose and Watson.

Ruth's peeing has gotten worse and/or I didn't quite realize the extent of things she's destroyed with her pungent pee. She went to the vet in April and had a complete senior panel/blood work and the vet said she was remarkably healthy for a 14 year old and there were no medical reasons for the pee. I would like to take her back to possibly trial Prozac, but in the meantime, we've implemented more litter boxes, softer litter, several Feliway diffusers, and Zylkene (supplement). We are making progress and she has started using the litter box sometimes! However, I now have the exhausting task of trying to make sure I eliminate all pee spots from the entire house so she doesn't return to those locations. Most of her pee spots are in the living room, where my son, John Henry, spends most of his time. The strategy we had for organizing John Henry's toys was based on his various disabilities, but it meant his toys were in open containers and unfortunately, Ruth has peed in many of them.

I am now trying to salvage the toys I can, and throw out the ones I cannot. I need to move to a toy storage system with doors to protect his toys from Ruth as we keep making progress with her litter box usage. Some of his toys will need replaced.

Here's a price breakdown:

BESTÅ Storage combination: $855

Bins with lids for toys: $154 ($11x14)

Replacing toys: $300

Vet visit for Prozac for Ruth: $400

Total: ~$1,700