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Cat Forum / General Topics / March 2004I am VERY frustrated: cat peeing on floor (LONG)
Yes, I have posted this to a lot of groups. And if there are any more that it would be appropriate in, PLEASE let me know. I am at my wit's end. I love my cats, but one of them is making me so mad I just want to rip her head off (but I won't). History: the offending cat (Aubrie) was a rescue. Got her when she was 2, she is now almost 5. A month after I got her, I got 2 more cats. She always got along well with them. She also always peed on the floor. But only when I'd forgotten to scoop the litter boxes (we had 3 for 3 cats). A year ago, I got divorced. She and one of the other cats spent 4 months in a kennel, and then we (Aubrie, me and one of the other cats--the third stayed with the ex) moved here. I didn't hear any reports of her peeing on the floor at the kennel, and they only had one litter box for the 2 cats I had there. A week after moving here, a 4 week old kitten was found at my work place and I brought him home. He lived in the bathroom for basically the first 3 weeks he was here, and has since been integrated into every part of our lives. I now have 4 litter boxes for 3 cats, which I scoop once a day. Problem is, basically since we moved here, Aubrie has been peeing on the floor a lot. She will only pee NEXT to the litter box (in the same room), though ocassionally she pees on a throw rug in my adjacent kitchen. She has NEVER peed on the carpeted floor, or anywhere that isn't at least in the general vicinity of the litter boxes. She has been examined by a veterinarian (twice) for this, and it is NOT a health issue. I am using the same litter I have always used with her (it took a couple to get one that she would use at all). The room with the litter boxes is easily accessible, and even if the kitten scares her away, she still goes in there to pee on the floor... Basically now she pees on the floor when she's hungry, when the box is dirty, when the litter box is clean, when I've left her for more than 3 hours on a weekend...pretty much anytime that she wants to. I do NOT punish her when I don't catch her doing it. When I do catch her doing it, she gets yelled at (she HATES being yelled at and will literally run away and cower for 10 minutes), but nothing worse. I've tried everything I can think of, so now I'm coming to you. The other two have PERFECT litter box habits, and have only had the ocassional "miss" when they sit too close to the side. Please, if you have ANY suggestions, please post them here or email me at my personal email. I am NOT going to give up this cat, but I'm getting so frustrated with her I dread coming home from work because I know I will have another puddle to clean up. My apartment perpetually smells like urine. Please help me. Melissa Well, Your cat is trying to get your attention, maybe she wants you to chase her (which you do or at least start to do when you yell). Why don't you start by distracting her a little, take up a few of those litterboxes. Your apartment is a people house not a cat house. Now when you come home, play with her a bit. Chase her around (for fun) when she *doesn't* pee on the floor. If you catch her in the act, pick her up and tousle her head fur(cats hate that). my 2c anyways pat She does NOT like to be chased. Taking AWAY some of the litter boxes would just make it worse. When I had less boxes, Aubrie peed on the floor more often, as I couldn't keep them clean enough for her liking. She is played with, as much as she likes to play... and she gets LOTS of attention. And she LIKES to have her head tousled... it's really the only place she likes to be petted.... But thanks anyhow. Melissa > Well, > [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > > pat > She does NOT like to be chased. > Taking AWAY some of the litter boxes would just make it worse. When I had > less boxes, Aubrie peed on the floor more often, as I couldn't keep them > clean enough for her liking. Change the litter type/brand perhaps. Maybe sprinkle a little catnip where she might pee (after cleaning of course)... one of those auto-cleaning thingies? > She is played with, as much as she likes to play... and she gets LOTS of > attention. > And she LIKES to have her head tousled... it's really the only place she > likes to be petted.... I sorta meant as in rub the fur back and forth until it annoys the cat (after a couple seconds) YMMV, or some other way of expressing disapproval without hurting the cat (if you yell they know you disapprove but aren't going to do anything about it) > But thanks anyhow. > Melissa good luck. pat > She does NOT like to be chased. > Taking AWAY some of the litter boxes would just make it worse. When I had [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > But thanks anyhow. > Melissa What a mess! What people like you need to come to grips with is that cats are very sensitive creatures. They don't respond well to pressure or changes. Sometimes, they never ever get over it. You'll give her a mental illness if you continue to bring turmoil and instability into her life. You know how hard it was for you... you can only imagine how hard it must be for something as innocently simple and trusting as a house cat. This is tantamount to abuse. Try to get your life together. You'll soon see a big change in Aubrie. And you'll both be the happier for it. Ben > Yes, I have posted this to a lot of groups. And if there are any more that > it would be appropriate in, PLEASE let me know. do a google groups search for "inappropriate elimination" and you will find tons of info and suggestions. BTW, are you related to Colette Coderre? -L. > Yes, I have posted this to a lot of groups. And if there are any more that > it would be appropriate in, PLEASE let me know. [quoted text clipped - 45 lines] > Please help me. > Melissa Hi Melissa, I have a few suggestions that may help. I recommend doing them all simultaneously for the best results. First, I would take kitty to the vet and have a urinalysis done. Sometimes a recurring urinary tract infection, or crystals, or bladder problems, etc. can cause a cat to do this. If health problems are ruled out, that means it's a behavioral issue. Most likely, the cat is experiencing anxiety and confusion due to the ex leaving, being shuffled around, and the new cat. She's feeling insecure. Too much at once for her. There are medications the vet can give you to help combat behavioral problems. One medication is called Amitripline, and it's used often in cats for anxiety, obsessive/compulsive behavior, and marking. It's equivalent to a Xanax for cats. it is inexpensive, and takes about two months to start working. It can greatly help with behavioral marking. I highly recommend you buy the Feliway pheromone products on the market. They contain the pheromones found in the cat's whisker area, and Feliway offers a plug-in wall unit ( looks like an air freshener) that releases these pheromones into the air. They have a calming, soothing effect on cats. This product has been found to _significantly_ reduce urination marking. They also sell a pheromone spray as well. I would get thee to the feliway web site henceforth! <g> Is she peeing only when she's unsupervised? If she's mostly doing it when you are not home, or overnight, you may want to consider giving her her own room. That way she'll have her own personal territory. You can put her in a bedroom, or spare room with her own food bowls, and litterbox. It may help her feel more secure. You can let her out to roam at will while you're there, but put her in her room when you are going to be gone or sleeping for longer periods of time. Hope this helps you some. :) Kat~ I like this response best, so Im just going to add to it. My eldest pees inappropriately, but it is because her blood sugars are consistently high.. (despite a number of things to fix it) she also pees right out front her box. All good behaviorists will not even discuss the problem until a full exam is done at a vet. It does sound like she's having submissive issues. I would highly recommend not yelling at her. If she does start peeing in front of you, just pick her up and put her in her box, and praise her if she pees in it. Positive reinforcement is much more effective over the long haul.. > Hi Melissa, > [quoted text clipped - 35 lines] > > Kat~ Grizzy was a rescue cat and when she got stressed or worried she peed anywhere (prefereable on my clothes) i eventually got a feliway diffuser on advice from the vet and within a few weeks the puddles had stopped. Cati > > Yes, I have posted this to a lot of groups. And if there are any more that > > it would be appropriate in, PLEASE let me know. [quoted text clipped - 99 lines] > > Kat~ > Yes, I have posted this to a lot of groups. And if there are any more that > it would be appropriate in, PLEASE let me know. [quoted text clipped - 45 lines] > Please help me. > Melissa You want help, but what you are trying to do is to close the barn doors after the horses have escaped, so to speak. The problem is quite evident... All these social changes have brought poor Aubrie to the point of a nervous breakdown. Other Cats (her friends) come. Other cats go. Hubbies come. Hubbies go. Homes come. Homes go. What do you expect is going to eventually happen? Cats are not loose baggage. They have FEELINGS, you know. It sounds to me that you need to get YOUR life together before you even begin to worry about some little kitty-wrong that Aubrie has done. Unbelievable to me, what people do and they can't even see it. IBen Getiner > Yes, I have posted this to a lot of groups. And if there are any more that > it would be appropriate in, PLEASE let me know. [quoted text clipped - 45 lines] > Please help me. > Melissa There is a cat attract litter that is supposed to help. You don't say if the boxes are covered or not but if covered try taking the cover off. If not covered try covering one. As others have said try a feliway diffuser. You may need more than one depending on your living space. You may also want to spray the spots where she has gone outside the box. You may want to try setting her up in a room by herself while your not home. Maybe she needs some time away from the other kitties. You could try putting another box right next to the one she is peeing next to. Some cats don't like to poop and pee in the same box. Give her as much attention as you can when you are home. W Is your litter scented? Try unscented. Do you use any chemicals to clean the litter boxes? The smell may be offensive to her. Do you by chance have a rubber mat under the litter box? Try removing it. Cats hate rubber mats. Just a thought but have you tried putting an empty litter box (as in no litter) in that area to see if she'll use that. Maybe she just doesn't like the litter. I don't know if feliway would be very useful as this doesn't sound like marking behavior as much as litter box aversion. Hope you find something that works - I know how frustrating it can be. Mel Quoth Melissa Coderre in r.p.c.misc: > Yes, I have posted this to a lot of groups. And if there are any more > that it would be appropriate in, PLEASE let me know. > > I am at my wit's end. I love my cats, but one of them is making me so > mad I just want to rip her head off (but I won't). My sympathies. It sounds like marking behaviour to me; males spray, females midden (ie. pee on the floor). And I can relate, because I used to have a huge problem with Firstborn spraying, and again that started when I introduced a new cat to the environment - nerves / stress is a known trigger for this kind of behaviour, as far as I can tell. When the cat is stressed all the time, s/he will do it all the time. Neutering reduces the tendency, but won't eliminate it altogether. Over time Firstborn became less stressed, but never quite stopped altogether, and it depressed me considerably. Part of the trouble was that I couldn't satisfactorily get rid of the scent in the house, so the whole house was full of scent markers that needed refreshing - so the first point is to make sure you clean up thoroughly after the cat! And don't use anything with ammonia in it, as that smells remarkably like a scent marker that needs refreshing. Someone suggested biological washing soap to me, because the enzymes decompose the urea. I can't say whether that works or not, though. I also made liberal use of Feliway; if I were still there, I'd be giving the diffusers a go. What solved the problem almost completely for me was to move house, to somewhere the scent markers weren't present. Very occasionally there are spraying incidents, usually only at threatening inanimate objects (eg. the hoover), or next to windows, where other cats can see in, but I can live with it; it's no longer an everyday thing, and I don't have to worry about keeping everything safe from them. Blackie still goes for washing piles or newspapers when he decides that the litter trays need cleaning, but then he's always been that way out. :) Does any of this help?  SignatureGwenhwyfaer (emails need [Private] in the subject) some girls wander by themselves Maybe take a spray bottle full of water and when you see her peeing anywhere outside the litter box, give her a spray. Do this EVERYTIME you see her doing it but if she makes it to the litter box, don't spray her. Eventually when she gets tired of getting wet everytime she tries it, she'll know that she shouldn't do it anymore. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, our first cat (a calico) did this and when we had her spayed she seemed to stop. >Maybe take a spray bottle full of water and when you see her peeing >anywhere outside the litter box, give her a spray. Do this EVERYTIME >you see her doing it but if she makes it to the litter box, don't >spray her. Eventually when she gets tired of getting wet everytime >she tries it, she'll know that she shouldn't do it anymore. >> Maybe take a spray bottle full of water >> and when you see her peeing anywhere >> outside the litter box, give her a >> spray. Do this EVERYTIME you see her >> doing it > This is the most idiotic advice I've > seen in awhile. The poor cat is already [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > her to be more secretive about where and > when she urinates. >> but if she makes it to the litter box, >> don't spray her. > Gee, if the OP is in view of the cat > when it's using the box (as she would [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > litterbox is the last place she wants to > be and find somewhere else to pee. >> Eventually when she gets tired of >> getting wet everytime she tries it, >> she'll know that she shouldn't do it >> anymore. > No, she'll just be miserable and find > other places to pee. Yelling at and > punishing this cat in any way, shape, or > form will NOT work and will only make > things worse. > Megan Signature"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." -Edmund Burke Learn The TRUTH About Declawing http://www.stopdeclaw.com Zuzu's Cats Photo Album: http://www.PictureTrail.com/zuzu22 "Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves too. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have come his way." - W.H. Murray Research a product called Feliway (http://feliway.com/) I think it might just work for this cat given the situation she lives in. Be aware that it is fairly costly but seems worth a try to me. > >> Maybe take a spray bottle full of water > >> and when you see her peeing anywhere [quoted text clipped - 56 lines] > > - W.H. Murray |
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