help! i dont want to take my baby to the pound

hi all! ive had a cat for three years now and now that my boyfriend moved in he will not put up with her peeing all over our apartment, especially our furniture. shes already ruined some couches. he says i either take her to pound or make her an outdoor cat for good. but our porch is only about 5 X 7 inches. will she be okay out there? i appreciate any input. thanks

Hello & Welcome!

I think that you should take your kitty to the vet. It is possible that her peeing outside of her litterbox could be a UTI...which makes it painful to go pee & cats often go outside the boxes. If a medical reason is ruled out, you can then approach the behvioral aspect.

Is she spayed?

I don't mean to be rude, but you have this cat for 3 years, how long has it been peeing all over the place? Is this new, since he moved in??
Also if this was happening before he moved in, then he probably knew about it right? So i think it's kind of rude of him to move in and start insisting on what you do with your cat!!
I agree you need to take kitty to the vet, and rule out medical problems.

thanks for all your input. she is spayed and i have taken her to the vet but i really didnt feel satisfied with the help i got. they gave me medicine for a uti but couldnt tell me if it was a uti at the time. anyhow, i am going to go to a different vet and give it another try.

so in the meantime, will she be okay outside in that type of space? i knowits a dumb question, but do cats get bored.... do they need a lot of space? at nite time i bring her in our bedroom and make sure she doesnt climb on our bed and pee... i cant bear to keep her out in the cold

So, this has been going on for three years, and you have gotten medication for her, did it stop for a while? Then start up again? Or did this all start again when your boyfriend moved in with you? Please don't leave your cat out in the cold, she doesn't understand what is happening? Does she have a litter box?

how cold does it actually get in LA? i think she would be fine outside, but it is dangerous on her own outdoors and the porch would get boring.

it is really important for you to tell us if the peeing just started when your boyfriend moved in or if it was going on for three years. How is his attitude towards her? We also really need to know when she was last treated for a UTI by the vet and if it the unwanted peeing stopped and came back again.

You should have her reevaluated by a new vet, also she should have two litterboxes and the box should be kept really clean. You can also buy some Feliway plugs in for the rooms of your house that she pees in the most.

thanks so much for all your opinions. i really appreciate talking to all of you.
it has been going on for three years. i got her as a baby. i spayed her first, that didnt work, i took her to vet for uti, that didnt work, i keep her litter as clean as possible, that doesnt work. but im going to try the feliway. can i get that at any pet store? oh.. by the way my boyfriend is so00 good to her, he really is, he loves animals, except now he cant stand it because the cat seems so mean to do that to us when all we did was give her lots of attention...... it is possible that i spoiled her so much???
its been going on like this for all along, for example, when i used to spend the nite out she would pee in my bed.... it seems like more of a behavior problem.

I would rule out a UTI first and then ask the Vet if it may be she is doing it out of lonliness.
You can get something close to Feliway at Petsmart.......I was told it's just as good.Don't remember the name though.
Good luck!!!

I really don't think cats do things like that to get back at their owners. There is always a reason. Take ehr to teh vet to be tested for a UTI again and crystals. Tell the vet this has been going on for quite awhile and you want to know what is wrong. I would add another litterbox, a brand new one, in a new place like your bedroom or the hallway. I would also add wet food to her diet. Most cats don't drink enough water and as result end up with crystals and UTIs. Food quality leads to this too. What brand of food do you feed her?

No I don't think spoiling her as anything at all to do with this. How long has your boyfriend lived with you? I think it is either a reaction to something that has changed in her environment (some cats are overly sensitive to the slightest changes) or else it is an illness/UTI/crystals, something of that nature.

Please have her examined by a new vet for a UTI and crystals.

great advice so far. also make sure your cleaning the areas she has peed in with an enzyme cleaner. the behaviour will contiune if you dont use a good enyzme cleaner, because they can still smell the spot even if we cant.

Originally Posted by ScamperFarms

great advice so far. also make sure your cleaning the areas she has peed in with an enzyme cleaner. the behaviour will contiune if you dont use a good enyzme cleaner, because they can still smell the spot even if we cant.

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All the advice so far as been excellent, but make sure not to neglect this step - even if the root cause is found and fixed, her peeing won't necessarily stop if she can smell the spots where she's already gone.

Good luck.

Oh I would kick my SO's butt if he wanted me to get rid of one of my pets! Before DH and I got married he took me across the island to purchase my Collie pup and when he moved in the girl suddenly bothered him! I actually kicked his behind out the door and now he is back but he is much better with the dog and even supported me in my decision to adopt Ceci.

Anyway, please dont send your baby to the shelter. Find a new vet and you will need to do some major deep cleaning in that house. A kitty peeing all over the house for 3 years will have tons of smells (to her) even though you may have cleaned up hundreds of times.

I really do congratulate you for putting up with it, im not sure if I could have!

Yes, great advice Laureen! Cat Attract works awesome.

I also wanted to add if you ever don't like a vet, don't hesitate to go to another vet for a second opinion. I hesitated taking one of my girls to another vet long ago & she suffered for it. Since she is urinating outside the box, if the vet won't do a urinalysis, demand one. They should be able to tell if she has a UTI from that.

Good luck!