Bad cat

[Inahnia]

I just have to gripe about one of my cats. (I have three)

This one is about 7 or 8 years old I guess, and I took him off my daughter's hands when she had her first child. When I got him he wasn't neutered, and I put it off until he started spraying the apartment. (that was a bad idea)

Well, ever since we moved from the apartment into this house he has been peeing everywhere!! I am having to pull the carpet up in the living room and hall because of it and we can't afford to replace it. We started trying to replace it with laminate last year and have only got it maybe half done.

SO NOW he decides, since all his corner spots are gone, to pee on the back of my poor sofa he has already shredded. I had a sofa cover on it, that is now almost washed to death, and I stapled black garbage bags to the sofa under it because he was getting the actual sofa. We had to pull the carpet up from under the sofa last night and there is just concrete underneath and I can't afford even a cheap rug to put down. I am sooooo mad, but I just can't take him to a shelter. It's not his fault he is a stupid cat, and for all I know he could have a medical problem, but the vet is another expense that's just right out right now.

I have 3 cat boxes, 1 per cat, a cat tree, two scratching thingys, and STILL he wants to hit the sofa!!!!!

I am at wit's end.

If anyone has any great insights or wants a cat.........


PS...What happened to all the threads that used to be in this section?? I know there were more than two last time I checked......

 

[coloradogrrrl]

Your cat is acting out, because it is unhappy with its surroundings. I had a cat who loved me to death. Perfectly well behaved cat, at all times... UNTIL...she saw me drag out my suitcase for a business trip. Then the peeing and pooing on the carpet started... and continued for a week after I got back from the trip. She was pissed that I was leaving and was gonna let me know about it, in no uncertain terms.

 

[Inahnia]

Well, my daughter won't take him back. I think he doesn't like the new cat we brought with us when we moved. We rescued a stray from our former apartment complex who now has to live inside. Also, the folks who had our house formerly had animals who apparently went in several places, that no matter how much you clean, still smell.

I wish we could find him a home with someone who only wanted one cat. I think he would be fine then. Guess I am too tender hearted, but everything I have read says that spanking a cat is a bad thing and just doesn't work. I think this poor guy is too stupid to understand if I did.

 

[PinkCat]

Agreed with everything Sora said.

Also, it can actually be quite helpful to speak to your vet about this. This is not uncommon and there may be other issues at hand.

For example, he is a male, right? He could have crystals in his urine or something, which is painful... this is just my guessing, I don't know if that makes them pee in weird places, but the vet would know. Seriously, it's very important that you talk to your vet.

 

[PinkCat]

when they have a urinary infection they don't like going in their poo box

That's true, when their waste is odd-smelling due to illness they won't want to go to the bathroom in their box because they are trying to keep their box relatively clean. There are other reasons as well.

 

[Chatterbox]

Sorry, you are having so much trouble. I know you can't do it right now, but as soon as you can, get him to a vet for a check-up - there are many physical conditions that can cause this and some of the are very inexpensive to treat (although, of course, the vet visit is always expensive - well at least my vet visits are).

The posts aren't lost. Thank goodness! But you have to look below the two threads listed and change the time frame of threads you want displayed.

 

[PinkPanther_04]

That's true, when their waste is odd-smelling due to illness they won't want to go to the bathroom in their box because they are trying to keep their box relatively clean. There are other reasons as well.

They can also learn to associate the pain that accompanies bladder infections (especially if there are crystals) with the litter box.

Although in this case, if he didn't have the same problem in your previous home, I'd guess it's a behavioral problem related to the new surroundings and the new cat in the house (that's a lot of change for him to go through at once). He has to let the new cat know that this is his house. And if he was an adult before he was neutered then those territorial instincts are going to be that much stronger. There could be other things at play here, but I would think that the change in his surroundings is a big part of it.

Do not, under any circumstances, spank him or rub his nose in it. That's not helpful at all and will only traumatize him further and aggravate the behavioral problems he's already exhibiting. Inappropriate urination is, I believe, the number one behavioral problem that leads people to give cats to shelters or euthanize them. In most cases there are solutions, but far too many people aren't willing to find out the cause of the problem and just get mad at the animal. Give your vet a call, explain the situation, and see if they have some advice for you. It won't cost anything and may help you find a way to reduce his level of discomfort in his surroundings so that he's not acting inappropriately. Make sure you give them all the information about the situation, including that he was neutered as an adult after he'd already started spraying some, and that you've got a new cat and have just moved, and any other changes you can recall that occurred around the time this problem started or worsened.

 

[Carazy]

Agreeing with the last few posts, your cat is trying to show you that he is in physical or emotional pain and he obviously has limited way of expressing this to you as a human. You can take it pretty much as given that he is NOT doing this to annoy you but because he is stressed and unhappy.

Vet is always the first step to check for in terms of uncleanliness, as bladder infections, crystals etc can really cause major pains and discomfort - and when they start associating it with the cat toilet than they look for other places.

You mentioned that the previous owner had cats peeing elsewhere as well: cats got pretty sensitive noses for stuff like that so he might also just try to mask the old "pee smell" with his own stuff. Normal detergent don't remove this, so try something that is explicitly developed to deal with such animal pheromones etc (no idea what brands you might have in the US ). Also, a good way of improving the smell for our noses is to wipe after it with water mixed with certain aromatic oils like myrtle (sp?) oil or lavender oil (don't use any mintoils, etc. they are toxic for cats).

For the scratching, Sora's tip is good, also alternatively tag some alu foil on it for a few weeks, they hate that too and usually give up on the spot.

Last but not least, and believe me, I can appreciate how frustrating it can be if something with the cats is causing trouble (I got 6 of them ), try not to think of the cat as a "bad" cat, but one that is in its own way screaming for your help to figure out what is wrong. If you are getting angry with him, he will notice and just getting more stressed/unhappy/frustrated.

Cats don't respond too well to changes normally, they are creatures of habit, so sometimes it takes patience and goodwill to figure out what is wrong

Good luck of finding the right solution for your case

 

[whiterose]

You know, I don't know why some male cats do this. I brought in my current male cat about 3 years ago when he was a few weeks old, after finding him in the parkig lot at work. He did the very same thing that your cat is doing, with the exception of usingthe furniture, thankfully. Yet, from the beginning, we had trained him to use the litter box. We even had him neutered before he got to the age where a male wants to spray. We didn't spank him as I don't think that ever does any good anyway. But, we watched him a like a hawk and anytime we thought he was going to use a corner, we took him to the box. One would think that he would have eventually gotten the idea that he needed to use ONLY THE BOX. Well, no such luck. He continued.

Now, he is the only male cat in the house, so that may have something to do with why mine was marking his territory.

I dealt with it by removing anything that he had previously marked. Like you, I replaced carpeting with laminate flooring.

I had him checked out by a vet and they could find nothing wrong with him.

Other than that, I did nothing different. And he finally got better, although he still occasionally marks my bathroom rug.

I like Sora's advice about the sticky stuff. That might deter him. There are also some deterrant sprays available that may help, although you'll have to endure their nasty scent. There are also some products that work at getting rid of the odor. An example is "OUT" or "Odor Mute." Those products work with enzymes to get rid of the smell.

Good luck to you. I've lived that nightmare and will never go through that again.

 

[Inahnia]

Well, I tend to agree with what everyone has said. I think it is mainly due to the move and the new cat, and all the old cat smells in this old house.

I have tried EVERYTHING everyone has suggested as to the scratching problem. I even spent about $30 on a pheromone spray called Feliway that is supposed to de-stress them so they don't mark and scratch. No luck.

Tried the sticky tape. He just scratched BESIDE it. Tried the no-pee no scratch sprays...nada. Bought ALL KINDS of smell removing stuff to treat the carpet. NOPE.

If we ever get enough money to finish the blasted laminate floor in the living room it may help. Today I ripped out more of the carpet and decided that an unfinished concrete slab is better than a peed on stinking carpet!! But it sure is ugly and cold. I need to find time to visit a thrift store for an old rug to throw over it.

Anyway, I am afraid that the vet visit will be next. Heck, I couldn't even get a rabies shot for the dog because the vet wanted me to bring her in for a $55 exam! I KNOW those don't cost that much. I feel pretty sure there will just be a large bill and no problem found.

I would never have taken in all these animals if I had know I wouldn't be able to be a good mommy.

Well, hopefull next year will bring more money and things will improve.

 

[PinkPanther_04]

For the furniture scratching problem, there are little rubber caps you can buy to put on their nails: http://www.softpaws.com/index.html

My brother uses them on one of his cats and it sounds like they work really well. You can probably find them cheaper online somewhere, and there may be more than one brand.

 

[Chatterbox]

I would never have taken in all these animals if I had know I wouldn't be able to be a good mommy.

Awww, Inahnia, we can't anticipate every problem that bringing an animal into our home is going to bring or if we'll be able to deal with it, and your heart was bigger than your pocketbook. Sometimes we have to be happy knowing that we're the best mommy we can be.

(((((((((((((HUG)))))))))))))))

 

[Inahnia]

Thanks, Chatter.

 

[Mishigas73]

PLEASE don't take what he's doing personally. I know it's hard, but it definitely sounds like you've been doing the best you can.

Definitely talk to your vet, or to your local animal shelter. Since they do get a lot of cats abandoned because of these very problems, I'm sure that they would have a lot of suggestions for you, including some that we wouldn't even think about.

Cat pee is definitely one of the worst substances on earth. Even with the "Nature's Miracle" or any of those sprays, it still is so hard to get out, and when the smell is there, the cat will repeatedly pee on it.

In terms of the scratching, I don't have any personal suggestions for you, since both of mine are declawed. But, again, talk to a vet/animal shelter about it.

It would also probably be a good idea to get a complete physical done on him.

I wish you the best, and PLEASE try not to take this so personally. (Actually, I just spoke to my little white guy snuggling next to me here, and he says the same thing. )

 

[Inahnia]

LOL..I know he doesn't mean it personally. He's just being a (not terribly smart) cat. He's a sweetie for the most part. I hope I can get him to a vet before too long. I actually have some of those "Soft claw" claw tips but there is NO WAY I can put them on him!! Heck, he weighs about 18 pounds and pretty much doesn't do anything he doesn't want to! I'll post a pic of him sometime if I get a chance.