We have two spayed female cats, not related, 3 1/2 years old.  Both came to
us as second hand "rejects" at age 1 - one with feline leukemia (we didn't
know she had it until after we spent $200 on shots and blood tests) and the
other whose previous owners declawed ALL 4 paws.  For two years these cats
were wonderful, normal house pets, much loved by my DH and I.  (Background -
we've always had outdoor cats but because of the pre-existing conditions
described above, these cats were forced to be indoor pets).  In early June
the cat with FL suddenly started peeing outside the litter box.  We
immediately called the vet because we suspected a UTI, which she did have.
During that visit the vet also discovered that her weight had dropped from
12 1/2 lbs in Nov. to 8 pounds and he alerted us to the possibility that her
FL was actively affecting her immune system.  After 2 weeks on antibiotics
she still was peeing outside the box, and now the other one was following
suit.  The vet said to move the litter boxes into another room and close off
the room where they had been.  No luck...they only poop in the litter boxes
now.  But worse than that, they no longer just pee on the tile
floor...they've taken to peeing on carpets.  We've already had to throw away
two room sized area rugs, and just last night  I found a wet spot on one of
our sofas.  The vet came back today and Maggie now weighs only 7 pounds.  My
DH isn't ready to let her go yet....the vet is coming back next week to
euthanize her.  But I had a discussion with the vet today and told him that
Jazzy was still peeing out of the box.  He told me frankly that he has never
seen a case where this problem could be cured.  Even after Maggie is put
down, Jazzy will be peeing where they remaining scent is.  And furthermore,
he told us that even without either cat in the house, we'll never be able to
bring in another cat because even if the cat has excellent litter box habits
when it arrives, within a very short period of time the new cat will smell
the old urine scent and assume that it's okay to go there.  This news is
devastating to me and my DH.  We have always had cats and can't imagine
living without them.  But we're now in our 60s and can't see spending the
rest of our lives crawling around on tile floors, mopping up cat pee, plus
keeping all our bedroom and bathroom doors permanently closed so that the
cats won't wander in to relieve themselves.

So I'm asking all you cat lovers and experts here....do you think this
scenario is true?  Are we meant to be catless???

Liz