Cat Forum / General Topics / July 2005
NEED HELP - MY RUTHERFORD'S FUTURE DEPENDS ON IT!
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jimmy the el dee - 27 Jul 2005 04:28 GMT Hi there: A while ago (about a year) I posted some concerns I had regarding my cat rutherford, and since then, he's been great. He stopped urinating on the floor, he uses his box, and there has been no accidents...
Until now.
Today, my g/f and I discovered that he had urinated and defecated on her brand new pillowtop bed in her guest bedroom/office. There is some background info to accompany this, however: the g/f had a friend and her two female cats staying with us for all of June in the guest bedroom, and these cats had a good run of the house, and were general nuisances to rutherford. he didn't, however, have ANY accidents in the house while they were here. This recent accident has happened sometime over the last month, and it just started to smell bad. REALLY bad. There is a huge spot of urine that has soaked through the pillowtop - my immediate solution was to cover the area with a LOT of nature's miracle, and we'll see how a few applications given to the pillowtop will fare after it dries. I plan on applying several coats. What else can I do? What should I try?
there is another problem that I am directly worried about with rutherford and his newest accident: i am moving to texas to teach at UTA (arlington) in a few weeks. rutherford will be spending two days in the car with me, and I am curious about a few things... Do you folks have any advice on what I should do to move a cat into a new apartment? It's a big place, and I cannot afford to have rutherford squirting urine on everything he sees fit. This is going to cost me a lot of money (this bed situation) if the nature's miracle doesn't remove all of the smell. I cannot have this happening at my new place. I am open to any suggestions about how to move rutherford and what I can do to remove the shadow of doubt I have right now.
Thank you, Jim
jimmy the el dee - 27 Jul 2005 17:28 GMT > Hi there: > A while ago (about a year) I posted some concerns I had regarding my cat [quoted text clipped - 32 lines] > Thank you, > Jim no one has any advice?
M.C. Mullen - 27 Jul 2005 17:57 GMT : > Hi there: : > A while ago (about a year) I posted some concerns I had regarding my cat : > rutherford, and since then, he's been great. He stopped urinating on : > the floor, he uses his box, and there has been no accidents... : > : > Until now. Good to see the improvement, but it also shows that your cat clearly has a behavioural problem. That's where you have to start, and you're the one who knows the cat best ... Give him plenty of attention and love, that's never wrong.
Carola
Jason and Holly Harper - 27 Jul 2005 19:50 GMT Is Rutherford neutered? It sounds to me like he was bothered by the visiting cats and instead of taking it out directly on the cats, he took it out on inanimate object (the bed). He was marking territory. He may or may not do that in your new place. If the Nature's Miracle doesn't work, then I wouldn't take the bed with you. ;-) But really, I don't have any suggestions. I've only had one cat that has done inappropriate urination and it has fixed itself. It seems as though it's when she's stressed for some reason and it's always on my clothing that's laying in the bathroom. I wish you the best of luck.
Holly
>> Hi there: >> A while ago (about a year) I posted some concerns I had regarding my cat [quoted text clipped - 34 lines] > > no one has any advice? jimmy the el dee - 27 Jul 2005 21:32 GMT > Is Rutherford neutered? It sounds to me like he was bothered by the > visiting cats and instead of taking it out directly on the cats, he took it [quoted text clipped - 46 lines] >> >>no one has any advice? thanks for the reply, Holly.
when I had him originally checked out, the vet said that he was neutered - or rather she said she could find "no evidence of testicles." i wonder - is there a possibility that the first vet was wrong about his neutered status? I mean, he is a hobo kitty after all, and I adopted him from a jobsite I was working.
ah. this is so frustrating. especially since I love the little bastard so much.
jimmy
rpl - 27 Jul 2005 21:43 GMT >> Is Rutherford neutered? It sounds to me like he was bothered by the >> visiting cats and instead of taking it out directly on the cats, he [quoted text clipped - 60 lines] > > jimmy if the cat's been feral it'll take awhile to become 'civilized'... you're the guy with the "kitty in the shade" thing ?
Don't open the car door or window unless the cat's in the carrier with the door locked. And when you get there keep him in the house for a week or so, then invite him to go out for a walk (don't just let him "escape")
pat
jimmy the el dee - 27 Jul 2005 22:11 GMT > if the cat's been feral it'll take awhile to become 'civilized'... > you're the guy with the "kitty in the shade" thing ? [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > > pat Hi Pat, yeah, Rutherford is my little "kitty in the shade under the craft services (food) table.
It has been suggested to me that upon arrival to the new apartment that I spray some of that cat fragrance "Feliway" all over the place before he gets a chance to walk around, and that for the first few days when I am not home or when I am not able to directly watch Rutherford I should keep him in one room of the house, and slowly let him explore the house.
Can anyone offer advice as to Feliway's usefulness? How about to the one room thing?
M.C. Mullen - 27 Jul 2005 23:15 GMT :> if the cat's been feral it'll take awhile to become 'civilized'... : > you're the guy with the "kitty in the shade" thing ? [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] : Can anyone offer advice as to Feliway's usefulness? How about to the : one room thing? That could stress him again. I'd give him the run of the whole house where he can explore. My cats all love exploring.
Carola
Jason and Holly Harper - 28 Jul 2005 00:01 GMT I've heard nothing but good things about feliway. And actually the confining to one room isn't a bad idea either really. That is, if he would rather hide away. Our cats are more likely to be soothed by having us around. Except for maybe Lexee. ;-) As for the above post about him being neutered. Well it's possible that one or both of his testicles haven't descended, but I would think a vet would be able to palpate them.
Holly
>> if the cat's been feral it'll take awhile to become 'civilized'... you're >> the guy with the "kitty in the shade" thing ? [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > Can anyone offer advice as to Feliway's usefulness? How about to the one > room thing? blkcatgal - 30 Jul 2005 15:08 GMT Here's my 2 cents. When you first move, you should confine your cat to one room in the new place that has lots of the same things from the old place. Your cat will be comforted by the smells that he is use to. When I moved to a new house with my 2 cats, I confined them to one bedroom with their litter boxes and food and toys (along with the old bedroom furniture and bedding that they were use to). One cat stayed hidden under the bed for about a day or so before he would venture out and explore. The other, when I opened the bedroom door after a few hours of confinement, came out immediately to explore. So it really depends on your cat. But I would initially confine him to determine how he is handling the move. Let him make the call how he wants to explore. Do not let him outside at least for a month (if at all!)
As far as Feliway, I would suggest getting the diffuser that you plug into an outlet rather than spraying the spray around. You can put the diffuser in the room that you confine the cat to. Feliway contains phermones that help calm a cat. It's worth a try.
As far as the inappropriate urination, the Feliway may help with that too. Sounds like it may have been the smells of the other cats that provoked your cat to mark his territory....especially on something that was fairly new to the house. You may want to keep a couple of diffusers around the house or apartment you are moving to. Regarding what he already urinated on, if the nature's miracle doesn't work (and I don't have much hope that it will) you may want to get professional cleaning done....or you may need to throw it away, unfortunately.
Sue
>> if the cat's been feral it'll take awhile to become 'civilized'... you're >> the guy with the "kitty in the shade" thing ? [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > Can anyone offer advice as to Feliway's usefulness? How about to the one > room thing? kate - 27 Jul 2005 23:42 GMT Hi Jim & Rutherford,
No advice on the toileting issue but re: moving, my family moved our 10y.o. cat across the country and he coped beautifully.
1. We kept him inside for the first week except for each morning when Dad would carry him 'round the outside of the house 'showing' him things. After that he went outside and did the walk himself *every* day, anticlockwise, just like Dad, but never ran off.
2. Confining to one room depends a bit on the cat I think. Coco would have found it much more stressful to be shut in a room away from us. He hated closed doors and would, meow, throw himself against them, shove his paws underneath etc until one of us opened it. Only you will know which option Rutherford would prefer.
3. Think most important thing is calm environment, perhaps keep him in one room while removalists are moving boxes, furniture around. After that let him be with you, help you unpack etc and make sure you show him his familiar bedding, litter tray etc. W also kept his thingss in the same rooms in the new house - food bowls in the kitchen, litter tray in the laundry.
This is all just inexpert opinion based on my experiences but I hope some of it is useful. My boys have always moved very well and settled into new places very quickly. I hope you have the same positive experience.
All the best Kate & Angus
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