topic Re: help please - my long haired kitty ugh in Community Chat

help please - my long haired kitty ugh

homedecor1 — Sat, 13 Sep 2014 18:28:59 GMT

I have a long haired cat about 4 yrs old up to date w vet etc! About 4 months ago he started pee'ing on my tile floor in bathroom periodically inc on my rug!!! tossed it and closed door! now he is doing the same in my foyer!!!!! took him to vet and he's ok no signs of sickness ----- I'm sick over it!!!! I've scrubbed w vinegar, ammonia etc ... he actually squats and does it while I'm in the room. little s#####t I took the advice of vet took and changed litter, put only little amount in, washed floors etc (although I must say there litter room is as clean as my bathroom wash floor every nite- I sift litter every time they go & change every other day) I have another cat short haired who uses box and have never had a problem as yet any suggestions other than seclusion!!! behavioral things I can't determine and no changes in routine or house. I'm at my wits end!!!thank you

Re: help please - my long haired kitty ugh

lolakimono — Sat, 13 Sep 2014 18:34:12 GMT

Try Cat Attract litter. I've been using it for my whizzer and it works!

Also, if you have carpeted areas, you might want to "check" with a blacklight to make sure all stains have been neutralized.

In the bathroom, if you need a rug make sure it's not rubber backed. The smell can mimic other smells and they think it's OK to go there.

Re: help please - my long haired kitty ugh

homedecor1 — Sat, 13 Sep 2014 18:52:51 GMT

thank you for the info on the rugs!!! never knew that YET under the litter box I have rug and before this no problem!!! I'm off to pet smart to get that litter. plus he hasn't ate wet food in 2 weeks just wants treats! I'm praying vet didn't miss something ..... i made another appt for Monday (he's going to be really pi#####y)

Re: help please - my long haired kitty ugh

Jeremiah 2911 — Sat, 13 Sep 2014 19:12:10 GMT

Hi,

The CAT ATTRACT litter is a good idea. Cat may have scent confusion or has an undetermined medical issue...

Here's some more suggestions:

Isolate your kitty into one bedroom or a small area. Don't allow him to roam the house while he is making mistakes.

If you only have one litter box, add a litter box or two. Take the top off of the litter box. Place it close to the area where he is making mistakes. Make sure the litter boxes are not near areas that have any odors: keep away from laundry area, bathrooms, etc.

Make sure kitty doesn't have to travel far to get to a litter box. For instance, if kitty hangs out in the upstairs, don't put the litter box in the basement.

Fill the litter boxes with CAT ATTRACT litter. After you get the situation corrected you can switch gradually back to your choice of litter.

Keep all items with any scent away from kitty: put away magazines, paper bills, soiled clothing and even fresh laundry (detergent scent can also attract cats to piddle.)

Buy a FELIWAY diffuser and plug it in close to where the cat hangs out. Feliway is a cat pheromone (synthetic) that calms anxiety in cats.

Throw out throw rugs that he's piddled on. If you have any rubber backed rugs, get rid of them -- the rubber is cured with AMMONIA -- making it an attractive place for cats to piddle.

Kitty might have feline cystitis -- sometimes vets don't determine this right away. Here's some tips to correct this:

Switch the cat to a canned food diet with dry food just as snack during the day. Add a little water to his canned food for extra moisture. Add a ceramic water fountain so he will drink more water.

Make sure you don't scold or punish kitty for making mistakes. This will result in more confusion and more mistakes. I know that most people already know this but I usually remind readers about this.

Clean soiled areas with soap and water and spray a tea towel with a citrus odor blaster and/or with FOUR PAWS KEEP-OFF. I usually spray a tea towel because some of these citrus blasters are very strong and I don't know if they are safe for wood floors.

Hope this helps. If I think of more things I'll post it. I've worked with several cats that were making mistakes and deemed un-curable, however with these tips I successfully trained them out of the problem.

Re: help please - my long haired kitty ugh

jaxs mom — Sat, 13 Sep 2014 19:38:10 GMT

Did you get a urinalysis done at the vets? And it came back clear?

Is the cat marking or actually urinat*ing? They aren't the same and they have different causes. It sounds like it could be marking behavior, and if it is I'm wondering if there are any changes going on in the home like different schedule, someone moved in or out, new pets? How many boxes do you have? It's recommended you have one box for each cat plus an extra. So if you have two cats that's three boxes minimum ( you can't have too many boxes). You might want to try out a new litter in one of the boxes. Also sometimes cats prefer one box for peeing and one for defecating or maybe the cat doesn't like the location of the box, maybe he wants more privacy. How do the cats get along? It could be territorial.

I agree with previous poster, wet food, either canned or raw is healthiest for cats. Dry food is really bad for their urinary tracts in general.

How stupid, apparently we can't post urinat*ing on the forums.

Re: help please - my long haired kitty ugh

homedecor1 — Sat, 13 Sep 2014 23:39:02 GMT

thanks for the quick responses. I'm off to pet smart to get some of the ideas! I wonder why my other cat hadn't done this? and he is the more aggressive one, not passive like my problem one right now!

Re: help please - my long haired kitty ugh

Clover29 — Sun, 14 Sep 2014 00:05:23 GMT

I think the "he doesn't want wet food, just treats" part is very worrying

When cats stop eating, it's a sign that something serious is wrong. I'd definitely get him back to the vet for a really thorough check, x-rays, MRI or whatever.

Re: help please - my long haired kitty ugh

Jeremiah 2911 — Sun, 14 Sep 2014 00:17:16 GMT

I thought of some more things to check:

You may want to ask the vet to check his mouth, teeth and nasal passages. If his teeth are infected this may be the reason he didn't eat his food and only wanted treats.

Same thing if his nose is stuffed up and/or if he has any type of allergy or upper respiratory infection -- this may cause him not to be able to recognize the smell of his canned food and/or the scent of the litter box.

Some of us that post here have cats that had repeated upper respiratory infections that were caused by bad teeth. We had to have one of our cats upper teeth removed to stop the infections from reoccurring.

Also have vet check his ears for ear mites. Ear mites can make a cat very uncomfortable and they will behave strangely if their ears get infected.

Do you use scented candles or scented plug in diffusers? Sometimes these things can cause allergies in cats leading to the inability to distinguish the scent of the litter box.

If he doesn't feel good -- for whatever reason -- this can cause him to make mistakes. Then after he repeats making mistakes he can become confused -- which then becomes a behavioral issue. However, since you are willing to work with your cat, I am confident that you will be able to re-train your kitty to use the litter box faithfully.

Just a side note: I've also read that cats can have behavioral issues out of pure boredom. He is a fairly young cat and may need more playtime. There is a toy at Walmart called a Turbo Scratcher ($12) that he can play with by himself -- there is a ball he can swat around and in the middle is a cardboard scratcher. Also, you can buy a wand with a feather on the end and flick it at him so he can jump up and try to catch the feather. The increased play will help him physically (increased activity helps with feline cystitis) and will also help him mentally by getting his mind off of what might be troubling him and onto something fun.

Re: help please - my long haired kitty ugh

homedecor1 — Sun, 14 Sep 2014 02:01:53 GMT

posters or shall I say guardian angels! thank you again for more info my heart is so sad I'm feeling so sad for him. my husband is having a fit over it. frack is 5 yrs old but this kitty has been by my side every minute of every day (I'm alone a lot) and I'm praying the vet finds something minor vs major! thank you again it's certainly appreciated you would take your time to help me!

Re: help please - my long haired kitty ugh

Jeremiah 2911 — Sun, 14 Sep 2014 18:19:22 GMT

Let us know how the vet check goes, OK?

I'm confident that you will find out what the problem is. Be encouraged -- this problem can be fixed.

My mom has a cat that was piddling inappropriately. He had been to the vet several times and the vet found nothing wrong with him.

My mom brought him to me before deciding to take him to a shelter (which would likely mean that he would be euthanized. Cats with litter box issues are routinely euthanized.)

I placed him in a very large wire crate with a small litter box (with CAT ATTRACT litter), a little bed and food and water.

I put the crate in our bedroom so I could observe him. During the first night he was with us -- I observed him trying to piddle several times ---- and crying out in pain.

In the morning there were three little quarter-sized clumps of piddle in the litter box. I knew then that he had some type of bladder problem and was avoiding the litter box because he was in PAIN.

I took him to our vet and told him what I had observed. He prescribed antibiotics for him and gave him a shot of prednisone. He also put him on a low magnesium prescription diet (canned and dry). I put water in his canned food and also encouraged him to drink out of the pet fountain.

Within one week he was piddling normal amounts of piddle -- about twice a day. He no longer cried out in pain.

I kept him about 6 weeks and finally allowed him the run of the house. He has used the litter box faithfully from that time on.

Just posting this to encourage you to continue working with your kitty. I believe that you will find out what is bothering your cat and you will get it resolved.

Re: help please - my long haired kitty ugh

Mama Mia — Sun, 14 Sep 2014 21:09:04 GMT

We have ten cats, inside, spayed and ]or neutered, and we have someone peeing on the counter occasionally, or on the plastic under the litter boxes. We don't know who it is. The tips here are very good, some I have tried, some I have not.

Thanks for the ideas too.

Re: help please - my long haired kitty ugh

Jeremiah 2911 — Sun, 14 Sep 2014 21:49:50 GMT

On 9/14/2014 Mama Mia said:
We have ten cats, inside, spayed and ]or neutered, and we have someone peeing on the counter occasionally, or on the plastic under the litter boxes. We don't know who it is. The tips here are very good, some I have tried, some I have not.

Thanks for the ideas too.

mm

Hi Mama Mia,

Welcome to the multi-cat club. We currently have 9.

You may have to remove the plastic that's underneath the litter boxes. We had one of those plastic/rubber mats under our litter boxes for catching those little pieces of litter after the cats jumped out....

...I kept smelling piddle and didn't know where the smell was coming from --- until --- the mat was full and running over. Never caught the plastic-mat piddler....

So, we got rid of the plastic mats. Now I have a non-backed scatter rug underneath the litter boxes. So far, so good. LOL.

For counter-top piddlers -- try rubbing some orange or lemon zest on top the counter. Cats don't like the smell of citrus zest and will stay away. Or spray some FOUR PAWS KEEP OFF on a tea towel and place it right where the counter top piddler strikes. My cats do not like the scent of KEEP OFF -- although the scent to humans isn't offensive at all.

By the way, we always use harm-free, environmentally safe deterrents. We never spray cats with water or frighten them in any manner. And as a result, we have the most wonderfully trained cats. Our friends can't believe how sweet they all are and how nicely they all behave.

Re: help please - my long haired kitty ugh

pommom — Sun, 14 Sep 2014 21:50:50 GMT

Actually, the smell of ammonia encourages urination. Ammonia is found in urine.

Re: help please - my long haired kitty ugh

Jeremiah 2911 — Sun, 14 Sep 2014 21:57:12 GMT

On 9/14/2014 pommom said:
Actually, the smell of ammonia encourages urination. Ammonia is found in urine.

Right. I read that the plastic and/or rubber mats that are made to go underneath the litter boxes --- are cured in ammonia...which attracts cats to piddle on them!

What were the manufacturers thinking?

Re: help please - my long haired kitty ugh

okBlonde — Sun, 14 Sep 2014 22:14:04 GMT

On 9/14/2014 Jeremiah 2911 said:
On 9/14/2014 pommom said:
Actually, the smell of ammonia encourages urination. Ammonia is found in urine.

Right. I read that the plastic and/or rubber mats that are made to go underneath the litter boxes --- are cured in ammonia...which attracts cats to piddle on them!

What were the manufacturers thinking?

They're thinking...let's do the cheapest manufacturing process available to make these. Probably from China, too.