I've never given up on a cat, but . . . ..

We are about at the end of the rope.

We love Milo but have not gotten a full night of sleep for 2 years, HE climbs the screen windows and has no inner voice. Now he is peeing in inappropriate places.



we THINK he might have crystals (he is a male) so they are going to put a ton of fluids into him to clear him out. MAYBE that is why he wakes up every night and howls, cries, meows and just sits next to our bed waking us up - EVERY NIGHT.

He REALLY wants to get outside and will climb the screens (all claws). I mean REALLY wants out.

I know we should not declaw him but at this point we have a choice to make. I I know I will take a LOT of guff from anti- declawing people, I know I know. Plus declawing he EALLY can not go outside.

Soft Paws?? Do they REALLY work??

I have had cats all my life and he is the first one that is hurting the quality of me and my wifes life.

What about just letting him go outside and prowl?????

Suggestions? Drugs (for us OR the cat?)

Originally Posted by Grinder_7

Soft Paws?? Do they REALLY work??

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I've not tried them, but from both a cost view and trauma towards the cat, they'd be an easier first option.

Declawing may stop him from scratching things but are you prepared to for the possiblity that you may add more behaviors that you cannot deal with? Biting, refusal to use the litter box, etc.

Is he an only cat? If so, do you think he would enjoy a playmate? That is if it's possible for you to have another cat, it could help him use up some of that destructive energy in play.

Letting him outside after he's been an indoor cat for two years will put him at a bit of a disadvantage if he went out now. He'd have to learn how to deal with everything. Not impossible, but you risk losing him. There's also cars, dogs, other cats, and people that may harm him.

I don't know about the other users on here, but I honestly don't believe drugging a bored cat is a proper solution.

First and BEST suggestion: Take him to the vet ASAP. Discuss the behavioral issues with the vet as well.

We have spent $400 on the vet so far with nothing.

As for outdoor/indoor. We THINK he was an outdoor cat and we made him an indoor cat.

He has a play friend but she likes to sleep at night and that is no fun.

he is VERY strong and in good shape . . . and large! We will be moving to a country setting without the raccoons we have now.

We're going to try soft paws. It is almost like he was not fixed but we know he was!

The problem is if he was no SO good when he is good he would have been gone long ago. But a cat that loves to fetch, is a good mouser and is a very loving cat that ALSO - has a dark side at night with howling and just trying to get our attention.

So - it's back to the vet AGAIN today - they are going to load him up with fluids to drain his tank. They can not get pee out of him to look for crystals.

You are likely to make things worse by declawing him.

It's a painful prodecure with a long healing period that can make insecure cats *really* insecure and then they often start biting as well. So don't expect the meowing and noise etc. to get better. It is almost guaranteed to get a lot worse.

Also a side effect that can happen is litter box avoidance. Because the paws are so tender after the operation many cats refuse to use the litter box because it's painful to scratch around in it. Some cats start connecting the litterbox to pain and refuse to use it even after their paws have healed as much as they will.

Others will use it but only if you use shredded paper as the litter, which is very messy and smelly and hard to keep clean.

If he has an UTI he might need antibiotics etc. as well not just fluids so please take the cat to the vet.

As for during the night, is there a way for you to close him off in a room at night? If you get a heated cat bed for him and make sure to have a litterbox and his food etc. you might be able to get him to settle and sleep away from your bedroom.

He will probably meow lots to begin with but give it a bit of time and hopefully he'll settle down.

Anyway please don't declaw this cat but do take him to the vet and get him checked out for an UTI and get medication if needed.

Also declawing would stop him climbing the screens but he would almost certainly find something else to do to make noise and let his unhappyness show. I.e my cat (fully clawed) will sit up on her hindlegs and hammer on a closet door to make really loud banging noises if she gets fed up at night (she's not done this for a long time though) so my guess is that your cat would find something like that to do instead. Since you're not coming close to the cause of what's making him so unhappy.

I would seriously consider letting him be an indoor/outdoor cat though if he's been that in the past. What is the environment around you where you live, lots of cars? and wild animals? Is he neutered and up to date on all vaccines?

I would seriously consider letting him be an indoor/outdoor cat though if he's been that in the past. What is the environment around you where you live, lots of cars? and wild animals? Is he neutered and up to date on all vaccines?

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For 2 morwe weeks we live in a city next to a nature preserve with many raccoons so we do not let him out.

We're moving to the country with a golf course and no cars. So we will probably just let him out and hope he comes back. At least he will be happy then and there are not many animals as it is a new area (only stick trees).

No declawing - maybe Soft Claws

I'm betting he has UTI - too bad they can not get pee out of him to tell. They took X-rays and they came back negative.

Is there a way you can build an enclosure for him after you move? With access to it through a cat/small dog door?
This way he can go out anytime he wants and you never have to worry about him not coming home.

Originally Posted by Grinder_7

I'm betting he has UTI - too bad they can not get pee out of him to tell. They took X-rays and they came back negative.

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I would bet he has a UTI and/or crystals too. However, I don't like getting a urine sample by giving fluids. It'll be a lot of fluid and it will throw off some of the results. If his bladder is too small to tap with a needle, then my suggestion would be to have him sit and wait at the vet in a cage w/ "lab" litter - to produce a sample. It can take a whole day and *is* stressful for the cat - but what else can you do? Beandip has been through that too. The next best thing would be the fluids, like you said but I would try that last. AFAIK it makes the results wacky because the urine will be abnormally dilute.

When he pees at home, is it ever on a smooth surface - linoleum, bathtub, etc? If so, you can suck it up in a syringe and take it to the vet for analysis.

Also, I may have missed this, but is he neutered?

What about harness/leash training him? An outdoor enclosure?

Declawing cats can cause them to pee outside the box... and since your cat already is doing this, it could make things even worse.

I agree that trying Soft Claws or letting the cat outside once you go to your new home are better solutions. I've seen cats act much happier and less bored when they get to go outside for even a half hour a day.

Maybe you're on to something with the night howling and the idea that he might not be fixed. Maybe his records got mixed up, or the neutering was incomplete or improperly done. Are you sure the cat is peeing, and not spraying? Did your vet check to make sure he is fully neutered?

is that really a picture of your cat? if so, is he part "bengal"? those ears are quite impressive!

It is possible that he may have been neutered and still have an undecended teste that is still active and making hormones. This is not as rare as it sounds. Your vet would probably have to do an ultrasound or exploratory surgery to find this unwanted organ, though. Sounds like big $$ unfortunately. I hope hope hope you decide what to do soon.

You may have to just face the fact that he'll be happier with a different family who can deal with his special needs/behaviors. My husband and I are truly enchanted with our two adoptees whose last owner had to give them up for some reason or the other. It is possible that a new environment and new people to love him will help change his personality. It was just so with our Petal.

Originally Posted by feral65

is that really a picture of your cat? if so, is he part "bengal"? those ears are quite impressive!

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Bengals are supposed to have small round ears with no furry ear tufts so judging from the ears there is no bengal at in the cat.

Originally Posted by purefusion

It is possible that he may have been neutered and still have an undecended teste that is still active and making hormones. This is not as rare as it sounds. Your vet would probably have to do an ultrasound or exploratory surgery to find this unwanted organ, though. Sounds like big $$ unfortunately. I hope hope hope you decide what to do soon.

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Some of that behavior does sound like an intact tom. My first thought was that he wasn't neutered.

I just want to add in that, if you declaw him, he'll use his teeth more instead. If he's scratching at the window screens, be prepared to wake up one morning with a cat-sized hole in the screen. Window-plucking with nails doesn't do much, but a cat can make a pretty impressive hole with just their teeth, in no time flat! My first two girls have become pros at it, so we don't have screens anymore (well, we have screens, but they still have holes so we just don't open the windows anymore, lol). All the screens were demolished by the time Molly arrived, so she hasn't had a chance to practice her skill, which is fortunate. Last thing we need is 3 screen-plucking velcro beasts, lol

Some of that behavior does sound like an intact tom

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I agree 100% - he does "make love" to one of his cat beds and I swear he in heat or something. He goes from window to window howling NEEDING to get out.

We're leaving him off Thursday for an all day peeing trial!

I thought UTI and Crystals were the same thing.

I also thought that once neutered he would calm down. Last night 2:00 to 5:30 howling!!

We have actually not had a full night sleep for almost 2 years because we keep hoping he will grow out of it.

Yea- he is a striking cat, big, in shape, and a trouble maker in a nice way EXCEPT for the above problems.

This is what he does on cold mornings LOL

Originally Posted by Grinder_7

It is almost like he was not fixed but we know he was!

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Did you have him neutered once he came into your care? Like someone else already said.....I wonder if he has an undescended testicle which would make him so "tom-catty".

Originally Posted by Grinder_7

I agree 100% - he does "make love" to one of his cat beds and I swear he in heat or something. He goes from window to window howling NEEDING to get out.

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Reading this right here got me to thinking about something that is gonna make ya'll think I am crazy. Ok so here it goes and remember this is just an idea. I know you said you had him neutered but could it be possible that he has both male and female sex organs? i know this can happen in human and dogs so it could happen in cats. Could this be why he is yowling like a female in heat? Has the vet ever said this could be possible in your case? If not bring it up to the vet because the behavior seems to fit IMO.

Here is a link that explains sex abnormalties in cats. There is chart there as well:

http://www.messybeast.com/mosaicism2.htm#hermaphrodite