Bertha Venation, Goddess of Cat Lovers, needs help with a cat problem.

[Bertha Venation]

Richard pees in bad places. Last night I found the bathroom counter with a sheet of stink across it.

The last straw: although he's already ruined our couch, this morning I found he'd desecrated my 2002 World Series Champion Anaheim Angels baseball jacket. Okay, it's my own damned fault for leaving it where he could piddle into it, but dammit, the couch be damned, that is the last straw. x( The couch: definitely a bigger loss. But my Angels World Series Champs jacket?! :mad:

I have read everything I could get my hands on about inappropriate elimination. I have done everything I can think of, barring just getting rid of a couple of cats, to get him to quit.

Does anyone have any information I may not have read already that might help me make him stop it?! AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!

[benburch]

1. Get a large cage.

Keep him in it with his food and litter box until the litter box habit is re-established.

Also, any place that he marks, you need to use "Natures Miracle" to kill his scent or he will mark there again.

Finally, he could have a medical problem; Our old Smudge did this when his kidneys were failing.

[Orsino]

3. Time for a check-up...

It's good that he's able to pee, but he may have some sort of partial blockage.

[Bertha Venation]

6. He's healthy, benburch.

He's been checked out for medical causes for this problem twice in the last 18 mos.

We have a large cage, but right now I'm thinking of putting him and his brother into the master bedroom and keeping the door shut -- separate the oldsters from the rest of the clan.

Thank you very much for your advice!

[barb162]

35. I like this idea. Lots more room and safety plus companionship

[Lerkfish]

2. not much help, but...

unneutered male cats do this to mark territory. Is he under territory pressure? (meaning, is there another cat or pet in the vicinity?) If so, you can set up barriers and separate the animals into their own areas for a while, and see if that helps.

*shrugs* I have not much more to offer. Hopefully a vet will happen on this thread, or maybe you could call your vet?

[Bertha Venation]

7. definitely territorial

Unfortunately we have 8 cats in the house right now. Until we brought in two semi-feral kittens to foster, he had stopped. :(

Thanks, Lerkfish. As always -- dig the name.

[Lerkfish]

16. ha! coming from you, that's a compliment, since..

I have always digged the soft pun in your username.

[Love Bug]

21. That's your answer

It sounds to me like he's decided there are too many cats in the house. He's doing what he knows will get your attention. Cats will break litter box training either because they are sick (which you've already ruled out) or stressed. Sounds to me like either he goes or the foster kittens.

[Bertha Venation]

22. Yeah, Love Bug. It's the foster kittens.

We've dreamed of keeping them, but there are just too many cats in the house. Even though we have a litter box for each cat -- of course they share, but it's not like there's not enough elimination space to go around -- he just doesn't care.

It's going to be hard to let those kittles go, especially Skittles. Well, shit, I'm attached to Charley, too. Damn. :cry:

[notadmblnd]

4. does he want his own private litter box?

I have one that will go on the rugs if another cat uses her box. She's just bitchy that way. He could also be marking what he feels is his territory, have you had him nutered? Male cats are also prone to urinary problems and he could be telling you something is wrong. Has he been to the vet? I would isolate him from the others as much as possible and see how he does if it is just behavoural. Close him in the bathroom with his own box and see how he does.

[Bertha Venation]

9. All of that is part of it, notadmblnd.

He's been neutered, too. He's going into isolation tonight. Thanks for weighing in!

[barb162]

34. I have tried that. They don't necessarily use the box even in a 24

hour period as they are desert animals. Mine thought I was torturing him when I did this to get a urine sample. But it is worth a try.

[Eurobabe]

5. Biddy boy does same thing

My mom's cat, he's about 5, has a peeing problem. She has tried everything, but it happens randomly now. Feliway, etc. you name it. He was on kitty xanax for awhile, but said that was cruel.

Vet has tested him, found nothing wrong. Says cat may just have a territory thing. The older cat is very agressive, and Welly seems to use this as ammo against "them." (mom and her other cat) The only thing that has helped it giving him his own litter box.

But her carpeting is totally ruined, and he has peed on doors and walls, so she has some damage to take care of....needless to say, I don't stay there that often. The smell is ungodly.

She refuses to surrender the cat though....

[Bertha Venation]

10. "She refuses to surrender the cat though...." -- I won't either.

I understand your mom's dilemma very well. Thanks for commiserating. :)

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

8. Is he altered? It sounds like he's marking his territory. n/t

[Bertha Venation]

11. Yep.

I dig your name, Ommm. Very clever!

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

14. Thank you for the compliment Bertha! As to your baby,

I had a cat who was Meticulous. If the litter wasn't absolutely to her liking she would urinate all over the place. Maybe you need more litter boxes, especially since you have so many kitties.

[Richardo]

12. One rubber band and one cork. You know what to do.

:)

Seriously, I'm truly sorry he trashed your Angels gear. :(

[LiberalEsto]

13. Get him checked for a urinary tract infection/use yogurt

Hi Bertha!

One of my friends had a cat with this problem recently. Another friend, a veterinarian, found it had a messy yeast infection in the urinary tract, and prescribed medication plus daily YOGURT. The cat is now fine.

Then one of my kitties started peeing on the bathroom mats, and my vet friend said to try her on yogurt to inhibit the yeast growth..

The cat was suspicious of the yogurt at first, but now loves it and begs for it. The other kitty loves it too. I use plain low-fat yogurt -- a couple of tablespoons a day. And there is no more peeing on the bath mats.

good luck,
LibEsto

[demnan]

15. Hi, Bertha

Did you try putting the little feral cats on catster as adoptable kitties?

Also, you could advertise in the Washington Post. They really are a beautiful pair. I would have taken them, but I don't have the room and the condo association won't allow more than the 2 I have. I'm sure someone would want them. Also notify your vet's office. It seems you have to get a home for them in order for the older cat to be happy again.

[Bertha Venation]

17. CATSTER!

That's a great idea!

I'm hesitant to use the Post, because these kittens need a specific environment: calm, no small children, and an experienced and true cat lover. But I will definitely use Catster. Thanks, Demnan!

[spinbaby]

18. We've got one, too

And haven't figured out what to do besides keep an eye on him and clean up a lot.

He's 16, the vet has checked him out in every way, and the only thing we can figure is that he's getting a bit senile and pissing on anything that looks handy when he can't remember where the litter box is. Adding more litter boxes and easier-access litter boxes hasn't helped.

He's darn lucky we're so fond of him.

[davsand]

19. You might say he's pissed off.

I'll just bet you that once he's isolated from the kittens he'll calm down and resume normal litter box use. Barring medical problems a cat that has established a history of litter box use is only gonna deviate from it to make a point.

Physically, at his advanced years, he's probably not quite up to a rough and tumble go-round to establish dominance over the newcomers. About the last weapon he has left to use is to mark the important stuff to him. (As in your sofa and YOUR stuff--he loves you and doesn't want to share.)

Best of luck!


Laura

[barb162]

20. I thought I was the Goddess....

I have cats for 40 + years now and have had the problem with more than one cat...it is always the males. And it's almost always emotional. How often are you changing the litter trays. How many trays per cat? Is one cat sabatoging him when he tries to use the tray? Is one cat on his case. When did you bring him in compared to the other cats? Let's start there and after that, a few dozen more questions.

[Bertha Venation]

23. Heh. There can be more than one Goddess. :)

How often: every couple of days.
How many: one per cat (8).

Sabotage: yes, Daddy was blocking him from the stairway to the basement, where all the boxes were, until we brought a few upstairs. Didn't want to, but it solved the problem 'til we brought in the Kittles.

When I brought him in: he and his brother, Harry, are over ten years old and they traveled with me & Mrs. V. across the country when I moved from So. Cali. 4 1/2 years ago. They were the original cats. Then we got involved w/ ferals.

[barb162]

26. oh good, glad about the goddess thing; I also keep telling people

I was really a princess and was stolen a few days after birth and no one ever believed me (LOL).

Aha! on the cats. Is he using the upstairs trays at all? I have experience with ferals (took in an unfixed 6 year old beat-up male a few years ago). I was back and forth to vets, including meds, like tranquilizers.

Are they blocking this cat from going downstairs completely?

I am using 8 trays for 4 cats. I just read somewhere one tray per cat +1 but I way exceed this anyway. I change them once a day in case they have cleanliness issues. What I find is they all seem to like to use three out of the 8 trays. Is that the way it is by you? Are they physically fighting, like bad fights or is the one cat running from them? (why cats have to be bullies, I don't know; I have 2 bullies)

[Bertha Venation]

27. Princess, Goddess -- we are just fabulous all the way 'round

He uses only the upstairs boxes. I think he has a hard time getting around, and doubt that he'd go downstairs if he weren't blocked.

Daddy picks on him mercilessly, and it's always Daddy who starts it. But for the cold weather, Daddy would be spending his days outside. Richard doesn't pee at will when Daddy's outside a lot, but I still think it might have something to do w/ the Kittles.

[barb162]

28. there's a behavioral person at an excellent local no-kill shelter

and this person is very good. Can I private pm you with the phone number or give the web site to you.

[barb162]

32. I just sent an email to you. I had this situation but I also think one

situation (problem) with 2 cats doesn't mean the same problem with two different cats because of the differences and quirks with personalities of any 2 cats and their unique interactions. This one bully (Babe) I have is now 14 and he is no longer a bully as of about 2 years ago. Why? I give up. I got a male stray in a year ago and that stray now bullies Babe the ex-bully. Also a small female I got in as a stray 4 years ago who weighs half of Babe bullies Babe. He seems to enjoy being bullied by the small female who sneaks up to Babe, leaps up, gives him karate kicks and knocks him down. He absolutely loves when she does this or when she starts biting his tail. This is a cat who was a damned aggressive bully who would be whizzing all over my house even when he saw a cat walking outside 100 feet away.

Many years ago I inherited my mom's cats when she died and my cats mercilessly bullied my mom's oldest cat. I ended up having to put this poor oldest cat down as they just didn't have behavioral people then nor did they have the tranquilizers and other meds to give to the bullies. SHe was so old no one would have adopted her.

[sasquatch]

24. Is Dick fixed

Are cats used to do that when they were "all natural" but after they were fixed they stopped that.

[DeposeTheBoyKing]

25. Get some dog wee-wee pads

Sold at pet stores and grocery stores. They have special pheromones that attract dogs to do their business on them instead of the floor. They work for cats, too - my elderly cat Fergus stopped using the litter box a couple of years before he died, and I got him to go on the wee-wee pads instead of the floor or carpet.

I tried Feliway and everything else that's been recommended, but nothing helped.

Good luck - I know how frustrating a problem this is.

[sendero]

29. Cats sometimes..

... do this when they are suffering from a urinary tract infection.

It might be worth a vet trip.

On the other hand, cats do this when they are unhappy also. Is he getting enough strokes? Getting along with other cats and people?

Cats can be a real pain in the ass at times :)

[Be Brave]

30. Animal Planet just had an episode which had a segment about a cat

with the same problem. (It was a British show.) The cat seemed to improve after their trainer's suggestions.

Basically, what they say is that your cat is insecure about his territory, so he leaves scents. So, if his scent is in his favorite places, then he will not pee (so they say). Get a piece of cloth, wipe the cat with the cloth so it has the cat's scent, then wipe his favorite places with the cloth. They say do this regularly. Also, place a few kibbles around the house to keep him distracted/entertained.

[intheflow]

31. Bertha,

I am sad to say I have no advice for you. But much sympathy. My cat Harley--bitter, twisted, wretched, vindictive soul that she is--shorted out my electric piano. It cost me $2,000 at a time when I was a single mom making $17,000 a year (before taxes). It was a real splurge to pursue my life-long dream of learning how to play piano. But she shorted it out before I'd had my 3rd lesson.

Why did she short it out? I had a relative visiting for the weekend, and he was sleeping on her couch. She was SO mean about it, too. Bobby and I were just laaaaughing over some stupid family stories and she jumped up on the keys, looked at us, flattened her ears, and pissed right in front of us.

Ten years later and I still haven't fully forgiven her. But at least she's mellowed considerably in her old age and just leaves an occasional turd in odd corners of the house.

Good luck with your kitty!

[cags]

33. Well, my mom-in-law has eight cats so I can help with the couch

Just put foil on it at night or when you leave, cats hate that, scares the crap out of them.

I had a cat that started peeing on stuff when I got another cat, Found the new cat a new home and we moved to a new home ourselves and she stopped doing that.

So get rid of the other cats and move and that should do the trick.
LOL

[NV Whino]

36. scatmat.com

Lots of humane critter deterant stuff there. I use the scarecrow to keep the raccoons away from my fish ponds. Don't have cat pee problems at the moment. Wish I had know about these guys when I did. Check them out.

[Lex]

37. BV - here's what we did at our house

when we had the same problem with a male cat (who died last year of a heart problem).

This is how we COPED, anyway.

We went to Target and bought some baby crib pads--they are are cotton on the outside, but plastic stuff (non permeable) on the inside. They are machine washable.

We went to PetSmart and bought a gallon of "Simple Solution" an enzyme cat-pee eating liquid. It can be used in the washing machine.

During the day while we were at work, or at night when we were asleep, we'd lay the crib pads over the places he liked to spray (the couch, the chair, a certain corner, whatever). He had his favorite spots, the scoundrel.

Then, he'd spray, but the crib pads would keep the couch or chairs or floor or carpet from getting cat pee on it.

Every day or so, we'd do a wash load of crib pads with "Simple Solution" mixed in. They would air-dry really fast, too.

Hope this helps. :hug:

[Rhiannon12866]

38. Feliway!

It's a synthetic cat pheromone that's used to eliminate urine spraying in cats. It's also used to calm cats in stressful situations, which is the reason I got it. They claim a 90-something success rate. And now you can get it in a plug-in automatic diffuser, as well as the spray bottle. You spray that on edges of things, like furniture, that you want the cat to avoid spraying on. BTW, I got mine at PetsMart. Good luck!:-)

Here's the explanation:
http://www.placervillevet.com/feliway.htm