Aa
Can someone please help me?
I wish Savas was still around. I'm hoping someone out there is knowledgable about all of this stuff.
It started out that my almost 11 year old cat had a UTI and was put on antibiotics. They ran all of these tests and said that the bacteria is gone now but she's still peeing on the downstairs carpet. The cat box is just around the corner in the laundry room. It started out just a few times a week we'd find a pee spot in one or two places. I bought the "Nature's Miracle" spray and used that constantly. I took her back to the vet and she said it's now a behavioral issue and suggested an anti-depressant/anxiety medication that could help with the urinating or marking behavior. She also recommended something called "Feliway" which is something you plug in your outlet that sends out something that's supposed to calm cats. It's very expensive but I tried it. We also put her on Buspirone. That was 11 days ago and she's worse! She is now peeing several times a day and not just in one or two places anymore. We borrowed a carpet cleaner and have been cleaning and cleaning the carpet like crazy. This is fairly new carpet and my husband is getting pretty upset. I am too but I love my cat too. We can't really afford to replace this carpet and pad although I know that's probably what will have to happen eventually. Today my cat peed FOUR times on the downstairs carpet, so I took her back to the vet. She said even though they recommended giving the medicine at least three weeks, we should have seen some improvement or at least the same but the fact that it's worse makes her think we should try a different medicine. So today she put her on Amitriptylin. This is an anti-depressant too. I feel kinda weird giving my cat "kitty Prozak" as the vet calls it but I was willing to do whatever will stop the peeing.
Has anyone ever heard of any of this and has it worked for you? I'm about at my wit's end. We don't have a lot of money and I don't know how far I can go with this. She's ruining the carpet and it's causing a lot of stress with us. I hate to put her down but it may have to come down to that. That's a last resort. Does anyone have ANY suggestions other than what we've already tried? Any advice at all would be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much.
It started out that my almost 11 year old cat had a UTI and was put on antibiotics. They ran all of these tests and said that the bacteria is gone now but she's still peeing on the downstairs carpet. The cat box is just around the corner in the laundry room. It started out just a few times a week we'd find a pee spot in one or two places. I bought the "Nature's Miracle" spray and used that constantly. I took her back to the vet and she said it's now a behavioral issue and suggested an anti-depressant/anxiety medication that could help with the urinating or marking behavior. She also recommended something called "Feliway" which is something you plug in your outlet that sends out something that's supposed to calm cats. It's very expensive but I tried it. We also put her on Buspirone. That was 11 days ago and she's worse! She is now peeing several times a day and not just in one or two places anymore. We borrowed a carpet cleaner and have been cleaning and cleaning the carpet like crazy. This is fairly new carpet and my husband is getting pretty upset. I am too but I love my cat too. We can't really afford to replace this carpet and pad although I know that's probably what will have to happen eventually. Today my cat peed FOUR times on the downstairs carpet, so I took her back to the vet. She said even though they recommended giving the medicine at least three weeks, we should have seen some improvement or at least the same but the fact that it's worse makes her think we should try a different medicine. So today she put her on Amitriptylin. This is an anti-depressant too. I feel kinda weird giving my cat "kitty Prozak" as the vet calls it but I was willing to do whatever will stop the peeing.
Has anyone ever heard of any of this and has it worked for you? I'm about at my wit's end. We don't have a lot of money and I don't know how far I can go with this. She's ruining the carpet and it's causing a lot of stress with us. I hate to put her down but it may have to come down to that. That's a last resort. Does anyone have ANY suggestions other than what we've already tried? Any advice at all would be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much.
I can help you with the odor and urine stain removal. I have 2 good cheap recipes here.
The first one is good for getting dog vomit stains out too.
16 ounces hydrogen peroxide
1 teaspoon joy or dawn dishwashing liquid soap
1 1/2 tablespoon baking soda
Using a plastic container, mix the solution in order given, apply or spray a generous amount where needed. After a day or two vacuum. It works wonders, no stain, no odors. CAUTION: do not store leftover mixture, it will build up and can explode.
OR
1 quart water
2 tablespoons white vinegar
1 teaspoon liquid dish soap
Mix the ingredients in a pail, and use a scrub brush to brush the solution onto the problem spot.
The first one is good for getting dog vomit stains out too.
16 ounces hydrogen peroxide
1 teaspoon joy or dawn dishwashing liquid soap
1 1/2 tablespoon baking soda
Using a plastic container, mix the solution in order given, apply or spray a generous amount where needed. After a day or two vacuum. It works wonders, no stain, no odors. CAUTION: do not store leftover mixture, it will build up and can explode.
OR
1 quart water
2 tablespoons white vinegar
1 teaspoon liquid dish soap
Mix the ingredients in a pail, and use a scrub brush to brush the solution onto the problem spot.
Hi. I don't know if you are still having trouble with your peeing cat, but I have had the same problem with my indoor only cat for a very long time (he is almost 18 now). When all his peeing started at 10 years old, I took him to the vet and he was givin a quick fix, cat prozak. I gave him that for a while, but of course it didn't help the problems at all, even though we cleaned up the areas, and did much of what was said above. I took him off the med. Finally I took him to a third vet, & it was decided to have his thyroid checked. He definately had a hyperthyroid problem, which is fairly common in older cats. One of the side effects is peeing a lot. Well, he has been on meds 2x a day for this for 4 years now, and although some of his other problems, weight loss, hair pulling-out, running around crazy, sleeping constantly, exessive water drinking, have improved, the peeing is still an issue. He does really well for a few weeks and uses his litter box perfectly, & then the next few weeks or longer he starts doing it again all over, mostly not in his litter box (which is cleaned daily I might add). I have tried everything, and I deem it as hopeless! He just doesn't care. Finally 2 years ago so he wouldn't ruin my new house, and so he would still have a loving indoor home, I put him in his own bedroom, with a busy window to look out of from a big cat ramp/ bed/ pertch we built him, his food & water in there, and his litter box in the corner. At Home Depot we buy plastic from the painting section that is in a roll and one side is sticky, ment to be stuck to the carpet when painting. It peels off when you are done with it just fine (we had it down in one room for a year, now he is in another room). One roll $10-15 covers the floor completely in his bedroom, and it is sealed from pee seeping through it. This way, when he has his periods of peeing anywhere he feels like, I can at least wipe it up. I've come to the conclusion that he will do this the rest of his life... Hopefully your cat is better!! Anyway, that is good plastic to use, and you might want to ckeck into it being a thyroid problem if that wasn't done before. Again, it took me 3 different vets before the 3rd thought to check his thyroid levels. It is $50 for the bloodwork to be done to check the thyroid levels at my vet.
If you didn't catch it, the problem we were dealing with is exactly that, a behavioral issue. the point is that behavioral issues that come about from illness or stress related problems can remain AFTER those issues are settled. Then you have an issue of a cat who began a behavior during an illness or stress issue...but at the resolution of the issue still occassionally takes part in the undesired behavior.
So the question was how to deal with this particular circumstance. You probably haven't followed April's kitty and what it's dealt with in the last few months, so in fairness, you didn't have all the information.
But i can assure you, that this is a method that can work. There's no harm to kitty in it, since you're trying to help it to relearn behavior that it finds preferable anyway.
The simple fact is you have to remember that in large part, animals go about there daily lives with the equivalent of a "checklist" of actions they take. The more successful an action in a given circumstance, the higher up the list of initial actions it will take. The problem is when one of these actions gets to the top of the list due to extreme circumstances, is detrimental to the home environment (WHOLE home) and then STAYS there when the issue is resolved. Then you have to find a way to move it back down that list WITHOUT upsetting or hurting kitty's feelings.
This is all very basic Skinnerian Animal behavior theory 101 when it comes right down to it (not my favorite animal behavioralist, but he has some points!)
So the question was how to deal with this particular circumstance. You probably haven't followed April's kitty and what it's dealt with in the last few months, so in fairness, you didn't have all the information.
But i can assure you, that this is a method that can work. There's no harm to kitty in it, since you're trying to help it to relearn behavior that it finds preferable anyway.
The simple fact is you have to remember that in large part, animals go about there daily lives with the equivalent of a "checklist" of actions they take. The more successful an action in a given circumstance, the higher up the list of initial actions it will take. The problem is when one of these actions gets to the top of the list due to extreme circumstances, is detrimental to the home environment (WHOLE home) and then STAYS there when the issue is resolved. Then you have to find a way to move it back down that list WITHOUT upsetting or hurting kitty's feelings.
This is all very basic Skinnerian Animal behavior theory 101 when it comes right down to it (not my favorite animal behavioralist, but he has some points!)
You can cover all th flooring you want and it will not "help" your cat. She has not learned 'bad behaior' she is trying her best to communicate with you and no one is listening.
By peeing on the blankets you offer her she is taking the opportunity to grab your attention. When our female started this it first started with her appearing to be ill, she lost weight and looked ill though it stumped the vet as to what was wrong with her. Our and her life saving came from reading and reading on the Internet and not just from one site and putting all of our faith into one site. Finally I started seeing correlations from one site to another under the heading "Behavioral" and half of them recommended Clomicalm and these were from vet sites and sites vets use. I then takled to my vet about what I had learned and he agreed it was worth a try. It was more than worth it! She began to recover and within a week we could get rid of all the 'protection' we had laid around the house, but more importantly she was improving.
Over the three months she gained weight, glowed with health daily. At same time we noticed the cause of her near demise. One of our other cats who had lived in the household he wasn't new seemed to be picking on her - she was stressed while in his presence. I haven't the space to talk about the structured living maintained by cats themselve - but she found him telling her what to do very upsetting to say the least. Today...two years after he's still bossy but she can control her emotions.
When she first got sick and we went the route of covering, moving boxes, offering options and vet visits took a toll of a year doing this on her life. When treated as a behavioral problem she was totally in control and happy again within the three months. Sometimes drugs are a necessary intervention.
By peeing on the blankets you offer her she is taking the opportunity to grab your attention. When our female started this it first started with her appearing to be ill, she lost weight and looked ill though it stumped the vet as to what was wrong with her. Our and her life saving came from reading and reading on the Internet and not just from one site and putting all of our faith into one site. Finally I started seeing correlations from one site to another under the heading "Behavioral" and half of them recommended Clomicalm and these were from vet sites and sites vets use. I then takled to my vet about what I had learned and he agreed it was worth a try. It was more than worth it! She began to recover and within a week we could get rid of all the 'protection' we had laid around the house, but more importantly she was improving.
Over the three months she gained weight, glowed with health daily. At same time we noticed the cause of her near demise. One of our other cats who had lived in the household he wasn't new seemed to be picking on her - she was stressed while in his presence. I haven't the space to talk about the structured living maintained by cats themselve - but she found him telling her what to do very upsetting to say the least. Today...two years after he's still bossy but she can control her emotions.
When she first got sick and we went the route of covering, moving boxes, offering options and vet visits took a toll of a year doing this on her life. When treated as a behavioral problem she was totally in control and happy again within the three months. Sometimes drugs are a necessary intervention.
Yeah, it probably would have to be the whole room. I usually get it at those little "We've got a bit of everything" stores in the city, but home depot should have it. It costs about a dollar a yard/foot here, so it's probably about 60-75 cents in suburbia.
The only problem with locking her up is it probably is stressing her out more. And your hubby is probably right. The other cat is adding to stress, especially if they've never gotten along well.
When you cut down the amount of "wandering space" a cat and toss in another cat into the new limited area, it tends to cause an overreaction to the limiting of territory. I think it's tied into deep instinctual behavior tied into invasion by other predator cats on "her" hunting grounds, but that's my doing some behavior theorizing.
The problem you've got is she probably learned these new bathroom habits when sick, and animals aren't like people. They don't get well and think "I shouldn't be doing that"...they just accept the new behavior as status quo and indulge. She doesn't really understand that what she's doing is wrong. To her, it's simply the world of possible bathroom spots has opened up new vistas. :)
That's why the trick is to try to get her to "forget" about the use of the basement as a big, open litter box. It's almost the only thing that will truly work well.
My big fear for you is she's associating *that* carpet with her toilet. Which is why I suggested covering the whole thing up for a few weeks until she forgets about it (animals have crappy long term memory, fortunately). You could roll the plastic back when the kids are doing the daycare thing...I don't usually suggest to people they go to these extremes but you've seemed fairly determined to work with your bids (kitty=biddy cats!) in the past so I suggested it. I've had really great success with this kind of thing, only a few failures (extreme, damaged cases, though).
So keeping her out of the area for a few weeks straight MAY work, but unfortunately, one thing cats have is GREAT spacial relationship memory. You toss a cat a quarter mile out of it's area, and if wanders onto it's home turf all it takes is recognition of a tree in relation to some bushes, or a curb...or the dimensions of a room, texture of carpet, etc...for it to instantly know where it is and WHAT it uses the area for.
You see the problem? A month down the line you let her back in the room and spatial recognition will kick in and she'll instantly think "Ah! the old bathroom!"
So... this is really the only way to handle chronic pee'ers who aren't doing it for health/stress reasons. The trick is to figure out what are their likely spacial markers in term of recognition...and change it. Sometimes simply moving the box, laying down tile/ plastic, and moving a chair can do it. But when you get a whole room area problem...well, I hate to say it, but kitty has defined the ENTIRE room/floor mentally. And since you don't want to knock down or put up new walls...!
I've had a long term theory that cats in terms of bathroom habits switch to a different spacial recognition scale that involves use of paw pads as well as whiskers and nose..and that's getting into things like texture. Which is why I suggested the tarp, to change smell and texture;
(rugs have a very particular texture, probably more so to cats. I hate to say it, but I suspect some rug grain/pattern probably feels similar to litter to cats. Aieeee!!!).
It also makes for easy clean up, and protects the rug.
The only other thing I can think is restrict kitty from the room long term, and hope that she simply forgets over time...a long time.
The only problem with locking her up is it probably is stressing her out more. And your hubby is probably right. The other cat is adding to stress, especially if they've never gotten along well.
When you cut down the amount of "wandering space" a cat and toss in another cat into the new limited area, it tends to cause an overreaction to the limiting of territory. I think it's tied into deep instinctual behavior tied into invasion by other predator cats on "her" hunting grounds, but that's my doing some behavior theorizing.
The problem you've got is she probably learned these new bathroom habits when sick, and animals aren't like people. They don't get well and think "I shouldn't be doing that"...they just accept the new behavior as status quo and indulge. She doesn't really understand that what she's doing is wrong. To her, it's simply the world of possible bathroom spots has opened up new vistas. :)
That's why the trick is to try to get her to "forget" about the use of the basement as a big, open litter box. It's almost the only thing that will truly work well.
My big fear for you is she's associating *that* carpet with her toilet. Which is why I suggested covering the whole thing up for a few weeks until she forgets about it (animals have crappy long term memory, fortunately). You could roll the plastic back when the kids are doing the daycare thing...I don't usually suggest to people they go to these extremes but you've seemed fairly determined to work with your bids (kitty=biddy cats!) in the past so I suggested it. I've had really great success with this kind of thing, only a few failures (extreme, damaged cases, though).
So keeping her out of the area for a few weeks straight MAY work, but unfortunately, one thing cats have is GREAT spacial relationship memory. You toss a cat a quarter mile out of it's area, and if wanders onto it's home turf all it takes is recognition of a tree in relation to some bushes, or a curb...or the dimensions of a room, texture of carpet, etc...for it to instantly know where it is and WHAT it uses the area for.
You see the problem? A month down the line you let her back in the room and spatial recognition will kick in and she'll instantly think "Ah! the old bathroom!"
So... this is really the only way to handle chronic pee'ers who aren't doing it for health/stress reasons. The trick is to figure out what are their likely spacial markers in term of recognition...and change it. Sometimes simply moving the box, laying down tile/ plastic, and moving a chair can do it. But when you get a whole room area problem...well, I hate to say it, but kitty has defined the ENTIRE room/floor mentally. And since you don't want to knock down or put up new walls...!
I've had a long term theory that cats in terms of bathroom habits switch to a different spacial recognition scale that involves use of paw pads as well as whiskers and nose..and that's getting into things like texture. Which is why I suggested the tarp, to change smell and texture;
(rugs have a very particular texture, probably more so to cats. I hate to say it, but I suspect some rug grain/pattern probably feels similar to litter to cats. Aieeee!!!).
It also makes for easy clean up, and protects the rug.
The only other thing I can think is restrict kitty from the room long term, and hope that she simply forgets over time...a long time.
Hey Savas! Good to have you back! It wasn't the same without you around here! :)
This is what I've tried for the last week. I put my cat in my bedroom with a small litter box in the adjoining bathroom and a small bowl of cat food and water. She likes to lay on my bed and I get a lot of sunlight with the big window in there. She seems pretty content but I don't want to have to shut her up in my bedroom forever! The interesting thing is not only did she not pee at all in my room (other than the litter box) but we did discover that it was just her and not the other cat because there's been no pee downstairs since I put her in my room. We did a thorough cleaning of the carpet while she was in my room but again I was reluctant to let her out in case she goes right back to the carpet downstairs. I decided that the next thing I would do would be to buy a new litter box and moving it to a different wall in the laundry room (which is all tiled by the way and in the basement just around the corner from where she's been peeing).
Then I put her in the laundry room for several hours during the day with food and water hoping that if she was limited to that area that she'd be forced to use the box. But I made the mistake of putting a blanket on the floor for her to lay on and she peed on that. I had actually put both cats in the laundry room since I was watching a little girl today and didn't want her messing with the cats. My husband thinks she's peeing only around the other cat because the other cat stresses her out. What do you think of that? I'm almost afraid of letting her out again.
The heavy plastic is a good idea but since she peed in several spots it would have to be most of the basement probably and the only thing is I'm using that as a playroom for my daycare kids that I watch. That's partly what stressed me out. It's a nice finished basement and the carpet was nice. I'll mention the heavy plastic idea to my husband and see what he says or thinks. Where do you get something like that, Home Depot or somewhere like that? Thanks again for the suggestions and it's sure good to hear from you again! Don't be a stranger! :)
April
This is what I've tried for the last week. I put my cat in my bedroom with a small litter box in the adjoining bathroom and a small bowl of cat food and water. She likes to lay on my bed and I get a lot of sunlight with the big window in there. She seems pretty content but I don't want to have to shut her up in my bedroom forever! The interesting thing is not only did she not pee at all in my room (other than the litter box) but we did discover that it was just her and not the other cat because there's been no pee downstairs since I put her in my room. We did a thorough cleaning of the carpet while she was in my room but again I was reluctant to let her out in case she goes right back to the carpet downstairs. I decided that the next thing I would do would be to buy a new litter box and moving it to a different wall in the laundry room (which is all tiled by the way and in the basement just around the corner from where she's been peeing).
Then I put her in the laundry room for several hours during the day with food and water hoping that if she was limited to that area that she'd be forced to use the box. But I made the mistake of putting a blanket on the floor for her to lay on and she peed on that. I had actually put both cats in the laundry room since I was watching a little girl today and didn't want her messing with the cats. My husband thinks she's peeing only around the other cat because the other cat stresses her out. What do you think of that? I'm almost afraid of letting her out again.
The heavy plastic is a good idea but since she peed in several spots it would have to be most of the basement probably and the only thing is I'm using that as a playroom for my daycare kids that I watch. That's partly what stressed me out. It's a nice finished basement and the carpet was nice. I'll mention the heavy plastic idea to my husband and see what he says or thinks. Where do you get something like that, Home Depot or somewhere like that? Thanks again for the suggestions and it's sure good to hear from you again! Don't be a stranger! :)
April
Ugh...my advice would be to take kitty off all the med's totally. (Assuming it's safe!)
It does sound behavioral...and simply a learned "bad behavior", and not a stress reaction, although kitty is probably VERY stressed right now.
The trick with a problem like this is to do something very drastic. The problem is it involves a lot of inconvenience to your household, but here's something I've done that's helped;
(I'd wait a bit until kitty has settled down off the med's before trying this, btw. Done immediately it could make things worse. It does mean putting up with the peeing for a week or two, but...well...the situation sucks either way! The wait will help.)
You need to do an environment change that is enough to throw kitty off and disassociate her attachment to the area's she's abusing, but not so much it causes a neurotic insecurity reaction.
We've picked up plastic sheeting from the hardware store (the tough stuff, need an exacto blade to cut) and covered a "problem area" with it (The whole room, basically!). Make sure you treat the rug thoroughly to remove any odor!
While ugly as sin, it creates a tactile and odor change to kitty that effectively removes the "sense memory" of using that carpet as a pee spot. Wash the plastic with something non offensive like Johnson's baby shampoo or a kitty shampoo (which I wouldn't suggest using on kitty! :) )
Now...if kitty pees, use nature's miracle on that spot. If she does it again, very lightly treat the area with bitter apple after cleaning the spot again. I've gone so far as to rub a bit of catnip on the rim of the litter box to entice kitty into using it (use this as a last resort as it can have...strange results! Getting your cat stoned while it's using the litter box...well, lets just say don't be surprised if kitty ends up on a psychologist's couch one day!:) )
Hopefully, you won't get into a cycle of kitty moving two feet to the left and peeing in a new spot. Ideally it should break the behavior either immediately or after a few weeks of mishaps.
After a few weeks of no mishaps it should be safe to remove the plastic sheeting. I'd advise an immediate carpet cleaning (shampoo, no chemical treatment if possible. I've noticed some cats don't react well to the chemicals they use in carpet cleaning and will pee in protest!)
I hope this works for you if you try it. It's a HUGE commitment and a big hassle, but worth it if it does work.
Also; is your litter box on a carpet or tile floor? If on a carpet, I'd advise laying some loose tile down (a type you don't have in the house already) a foot in diameter around the litter box. It will help break the "carpet as additional litter box" association.
Keep in mind this is something I've used and it usually worked. I also can't speak on the kitty psych med's (I'm very against using them, although I do recognize the need in severe cases). I find they tend to make most situations worse, but don't quote me on that, as I tend to deal with short term habitat transfers and rarely get to see a long term result.
I also hate to contradict a vet, but vets sometimes deal in quick fixes and don't think in terms of behavioral modification as they know most owners can't be bothered to do intensive work.
Let me know what happens!!!
It does sound behavioral...and simply a learned "bad behavior", and not a stress reaction, although kitty is probably VERY stressed right now.
The trick with a problem like this is to do something very drastic. The problem is it involves a lot of inconvenience to your household, but here's something I've done that's helped;
(I'd wait a bit until kitty has settled down off the med's before trying this, btw. Done immediately it could make things worse. It does mean putting up with the peeing for a week or two, but...well...the situation sucks either way! The wait will help.)
You need to do an environment change that is enough to throw kitty off and disassociate her attachment to the area's she's abusing, but not so much it causes a neurotic insecurity reaction.
We've picked up plastic sheeting from the hardware store (the tough stuff, need an exacto blade to cut) and covered a "problem area" with it (The whole room, basically!). Make sure you treat the rug thoroughly to remove any odor!
While ugly as sin, it creates a tactile and odor change to kitty that effectively removes the "sense memory" of using that carpet as a pee spot. Wash the plastic with something non offensive like Johnson's baby shampoo or a kitty shampoo (which I wouldn't suggest using on kitty! :) )
Now...if kitty pees, use nature's miracle on that spot. If she does it again, very lightly treat the area with bitter apple after cleaning the spot again. I've gone so far as to rub a bit of catnip on the rim of the litter box to entice kitty into using it (use this as a last resort as it can have...strange results! Getting your cat stoned while it's using the litter box...well, lets just say don't be surprised if kitty ends up on a psychologist's couch one day!:) )
Hopefully, you won't get into a cycle of kitty moving two feet to the left and peeing in a new spot. Ideally it should break the behavior either immediately or after a few weeks of mishaps.
After a few weeks of no mishaps it should be safe to remove the plastic sheeting. I'd advise an immediate carpet cleaning (shampoo, no chemical treatment if possible. I've noticed some cats don't react well to the chemicals they use in carpet cleaning and will pee in protest!)
I hope this works for you if you try it. It's a HUGE commitment and a big hassle, but worth it if it does work.
Also; is your litter box on a carpet or tile floor? If on a carpet, I'd advise laying some loose tile down (a type you don't have in the house already) a foot in diameter around the litter box. It will help break the "carpet as additional litter box" association.
Keep in mind this is something I've used and it usually worked. I also can't speak on the kitty psych med's (I'm very against using them, although I do recognize the need in severe cases). I find they tend to make most situations worse, but don't quote me on that, as I tend to deal with short term habitat transfers and rarely get to see a long term result.
I also hate to contradict a vet, but vets sometimes deal in quick fixes and don't think in terms of behavioral modification as they know most owners can't be bothered to do intensive work.
Let me know what happens!!!
Cotton, thanks for the suggestion! I'll ask my vet about that. The infection's gone though, so she shouldn't have any more pain. I do think she's maybe scared. She's always been a little timid. She really is the sweetest cat.
Ghilly, I think there might actually be something to what you said. My vet told me to separate the cats to make sure it was just the older one doing it. She said the younger one might start peeing too if she smells it. So today I put my older cat in my bedroom with a small litter box, food & water. It's nice and sunny in there with a big window and she likes to lay on my bed. Well, not only did she not pee in my room all day, there also was no pee spots down in the basement today, which suggests that it is indeed just her doing it. I found it interesting, though, that she didn't have an accident in my bedroom. The vet said to try that for a few days, so I think we'll clean the carpet downstairs again really good with a carpet cleaner this weekend and maybe try a different cat box and litter and try moving it to a different spot and see if that makes a difference. We'll see how the next few days go.
Thanks, both of you, for your suggestions and writing me back. I'll keep in touch about how things are going.
April
Ghilly, I think there might actually be something to what you said. My vet told me to separate the cats to make sure it was just the older one doing it. She said the younger one might start peeing too if she smells it. So today I put my older cat in my bedroom with a small litter box, food & water. It's nice and sunny in there with a big window and she likes to lay on my bed. Well, not only did she not pee in my room all day, there also was no pee spots down in the basement today, which suggests that it is indeed just her doing it. I found it interesting, though, that she didn't have an accident in my bedroom. The vet said to try that for a few days, so I think we'll clean the carpet downstairs again really good with a carpet cleaner this weekend and maybe try a different cat box and litter and try moving it to a different spot and see if that makes a difference. We'll see how the next few days go.
Thanks, both of you, for your suggestions and writing me back. I'll keep in touch about how things are going.
April
Ask your vet for Clomicalm it worked wonders for us. It definitely sounds like a behavioral problem. Cats are smart and she has no other way to show what's wrong. She is not associating pain to her litter box - she knows better lets give her the benefit in her attempt at communicating. Besides the drug she could also do with some soothing words and gentle handling - she's scared just as we would be if we had pain and no way of understanding.
If I had to guess, I'd say that it seems to me that your kitty has developed an avoidance behavior centering around the litterbox. When she had her UTI, chances are it was very painful for her to urinate. She's not associating the pain with the UTI, she's associating it with the litterbox, and now she thinks that if she goes in the box, it will hurt. Maybe try getting a different kind of box, a different kind of litter, and moving the box to a different location. Maybe if it's not like the box and litter where she experienced the pain, and if the box is in a different location, she may not necessarily associate the pain with all of these differences and she may go in the box again. I will ask a few of the folks I do rescue with what their thoughts are on this and if they come up with anything different, I'll post back with the ideas.
Ghilly
Ghilly
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