At The End Of My Tether!!!

surflou

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Hi all,

I have a problem with 2 of my youngest cats, I have 4 altogether , mum Kitt, dad Spike, son Parker and daughter Moo... The 2 eldest aren't too much of a problem (apart from the fact that last week Kitt had a nasty cold but seems to be over it now), but Moo and Parker are proving to be a bit of a handful!

For starters they keep walking all over the kitchen work surfaces, this wasn't too much of a problem until we discovered that Parker and Moo are both peeing and pooing on the worktops!

I can downstairs one morning to find poo in the sink while my girlfriend went in their a couple of days later to find pee AND poo on the COOKER!!!

Obviously this is extremely unhygenic and we don't want to rehome them both but what can we do? We don't have a littler tray as we are trying for a baby and although we will be keeping the cats away from my girlfriend when she's (hopefully) pregnant, the litter tray would be too big a risk, they haven't used it in a year or so anyway...

Does anyone have any clue as to why they keep doing this? Does the smell stay like it does with a carpet? I do clean it thoroughly but they keep doing it, I was told that a mixture of washing up liquid, hydrodren peroxide and bicarbonate of soda should help but I haven't tried that yet...

We have an open window at all times (too small for a human so safe enough) but Parker is too lazy to get up there a lot of the time... He spends most of his day asleep!

Please help! We're going crazy!
 

urbantigers

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Originally Posted by surflou

We don't have a littler tray as we are trying for a baby
I'd guess that's your problem there. You really do need to provide an indoor litter tray even if your cats go outside, especially during the winter when they may not be so keen to go outside. For 4 cats I'd provide a couple of trays (asssuming they do actually go outside too? If not you'd probably need 4 or 5). There's no risk to your girlfriend from the litter trays - just keep them clean and if she's cleaning them she should wear rubber gloves as a precaution.

Are all the cats neutered?
 

larke

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Yes - the smell might be unpleasant, but she won't get toxoplasmosis (Cat Scratch Fever) from it - and you can clean it up. You're just asking for trouble without at least one box.
 
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surflou

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Ok I'll try that then, I do still have the tray in our shed, its huge so should be big enough for them all, 2 of them still spend a lot of time outside anyway, I'll clean the tray in the morning so my girlfriend doesn't have to, I'll also just keep them out of the house while she's pregnant... Is that the best thing to do?

I still don't know how to stop them peeing on the worktop though, the window was open last night and it wasn't that cold yet Moo still went tiddles on the top...
 

urbantigers

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Originally Posted by surflou

I'll also just keep them out of the house while she's pregnant...
Why would you want to keep them out of the house?
No need to put them outside or avoid a litter tray if your girlfriend becomes pregnant. Washing her hands after handling the cats or cleaning the tray should pretty much eliminate the risk of toxoplasmosis. She's actually more likely to get it from raw or under cooked meat than from the cats.

Once you get a litter tray or 2 set up in your house you may find the peeing on counters stops. But if it doesn't I'd recommend taking the cats to the vet to be checked over for a UTI (do you know if it's one particular cat doing it?). If it's not a litter tray issue or a UTI you need to look at possible behavioural causes. Do all the cats get on with each other?
 

jennyr

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I had two cats all through my pregnancy and they were inside most of the time. I just observed basic hygiene rules and everything was fine. It is certainly easier having hte cats use litter trays than not knowing what you are going to find or where! Maybe the answer is to get covered or even self-cleaning trays as those tend to smell less and are easy to keep clean with no spills of litter on the floor. Good luck.
 

malikitty

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Definatley bring a litter box back in for them. Your girlfriend is at no more risk from toxoplasmosis with the cats than anything else if she gets pregnant. So many people dont realise that cats are not the only way and if you are worried about the illenous than there is so much more to avoid than just cat feces.
For instance-
Eating contaminated raw or partly cooked meat, especially pork, lamb, or venison; by touching your hands to your mouth after handling undercooked meat.
Contaminating food with knives, utensils, cutting boards and other foods that have had contact with raw meat.

So dont "punish" the kitties by sticking em strictly outdoors because of it. Yes you should always look to do what is best when tring/already conceived, but dont over react.
 

pee-cleaner

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If you all have had cats for a while, more than likely both of you have already had toxo. Almost everyone has. The risk is really miniscule and the least of your worries/concerns as far as toxins go. There are many MANY things worthy of more worry where a pregnancy/new baby are concerned.

Put out a litter tray and enjoy the cats. My cat loved to lie on my big belly and feel the kicking when I was pregnant.

Cally
 
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