Community Chat

[FlowershopGirl]

My good friend tried this, the plug ins, and he also bought a more shallow pan for his old cat as a litter box. The cat seemed to respond well to both. His cat was doing the same thing and he also started cleaning the box twice a day.

[terrier3]

On 3/27/2014 gazelle77 said:

I totally understand. You are so kind and good to help the little guy during this time. I did it as I saw my kitty was not giving up... he would go outside and walk the yard each day like he use to when he was well .He would walk to a little pond I have set up in the back yard to drink some water.... he would fall over getting there as he got worse and I would right him and help him. It made me cry but he was so insistent to get to that pond each day.... he finally curled up one day and went to sleep... for three days... and died in his bed curled up. I petted him and talked to him those three days. It was so much better than taking him to a vet and putting him to sleep.

My mom died from kidney failure.

Her doctor's said it is a very painless way to die (if that helps you think of your kitty).

I am keeping Murray at home too...he HATES the vet, which is why I learned to use a needle and take care of him.

[Madisson]

Thank you for all the tips, everyone. It's so hard to hear all the sad stories about older kitties, but we know that time is always going to come. It's so nice to hear how good all of you kitty caregivers are. There is surely a special spot in heaven for pet caregivers.

[sidsmom]

Poor kitten cat. Peeing outside the box...wherever she lays. That's so un-cat like...she's just trying to tell you something. In fact, she's probably yelling it to you..."help me". I would definitely get a 2nd option....to solve the underlying cause of anxiety. Taking a drug is just a bandaid...good luck.

[hckynut]

We have used it before and it didn't do anything for our problem felines.

[kittymomNC]

Does she pee wherever she happens to be, or does she seem to try to get to the box? I wonder if she could be losing control of her bladder and just can't hold it? If it were me and this continued, I think I would get another opinion. I have used Feliway to calm one of my cats who is afraid of just about everything, and it seems to help a little, but she still runs and hides when anything a little unusual happens, even thunder.

I have also used Feliway to try and stop a cat from going where she wasn't supposed to, but it really didn't work for that. I have a cat with kidney disease who gets subq fluids twice a week, and she goes to the water bowl many times a day. So I use a lot of kitty litter. But there was a time when she would go where she wasn't supposed to -- it didn't appear to be the usual "marking", where they spray straight out behind them--she would just go, on a table, once on a couch (I wound up covering every piece of upholstered furniture). It would be infrequently, but just when I thought she wouldn't do it again, she did. Do you have any other cats? The reason I ask is that since my boy Mikie died at age 16, about a year and a half ago, she has never done that again, even with the extra fluids in her. So I think that it had something to do with the territorial thing, or something he did that she didn't like.

I wish you luck - it's very hard when they start getting older and have problems that can't always be accurately diagnosed.

[Madisson]

Well, I went out and got the Feliway spray, a small new kitty bed, and a new litter box (small). She is only 8 lbs. I put them in a totally separate room from the other one, as I do have another cat who is twice as big. I also set the little kitty up with her own food and water in the other room. The little stinker jumped right into the litter box and peed in it. Maybe it is a a territorial thing between the two cats. I sprayed Feliway wherever I did not want her to pee, so we'll see how that goes.

It's weird as they have been siblings for years, but they might be getting older and crankier. I know they both refuse to get up on the bed when we are in it now. They used to both get up there at the same time. Now they hiss at each other.

Thanks for all your advice, everyone. I'll keep you posted on this one. I'm praying it is just an anxiety issue and not some physical problem.

[sidsmom]

What's the story w/ the other cat? Younger? Male/female? Had him/her for a period of time?

[kittymomNC]

It's very hard to figure out the territorial "thing" and also who's the boss! When I had three cats -- one female, one male (three years younger than the first female), then another female (three years younger than the male) --I thought the male was the "boss". The first female "adopted" the male when he came as a kitten, and when he grew up, he was the largest one. Then the second female came and she was almost a year old. So the first two were like Mom and Son, and the other one was kind of like "two's company, three's a crowd". It wasn't until the oldest female passed away, and the situation changed between the other two, that I realized the oldest female had been the "boss", not the male. And at that time, apparently the male took over as the boss and started getting along better with the youngest female. It was a whole different dynamic. Although my situation seemed fairly evident after a while, sometimes you just can't figure out what changes the dynamics.

[redtabby]

It is now being said in cat circles that you need one pan per cat plus one extra. So the new pan may help. I am using Feliway spray to stop furniture scratching and it has worked so far. Then I bought the diffuser to help calm the older kitty because the kitten harasses him. It seems to have helped, he is back to sitting next me (something he stopped doing when she showed up) and they seem to be wrestling less. He is a fairly mellow cat anyway. I would try the diffuser, it may help and can't hurt.