Worrying behaviour

Some of you might have seem my previous thread a couple of weeks ago.
Basically, my cat was pulling all her fur out, and she peed in the bath. The pee was slightly tinges with blood, so we put her on a course of tablets and kept her indoors. We have finished the course of tablets and she's not peed blood any more (there was only that one incident where she did).
However, when we took the littertray away and tried to make her go outside, she resisted. She's never been a very outdoorsy cat, but she's always gone out when she needed the toilet. I physically couldn't restrain her to put her outside, so my dad put her out, earning a big scratch up his arm. Copper is the least cat you would expect to scratch, so she was obviously terrified of going out.
There is a large cat that is new to the area that seems to be bullying her and has taken over her territory. I think her reluctance to go outside is partly because of him.
However, even after being forced outside for a couple of hours, she went straight up into the bath and both peed and pooed. She's done this several times now.
For the last couple of nights, she's wandered around outside my bedroom door (which was open so she could get in) and yowled non-stop. I have no idea why, she doesn't seem to want hed or anything like that.
When I cae back today, I found out that she'd soiled on my bed. I am very worried about her but I don't know what to do.
I've put her littertray back, but that can only be a temporary thing, as I definitely want her to be going back outside sometime soon.

Any information, suggestions, anything is greatly appreciated. I just don't like seeing my cat in such obvious distress. She knows that soiling my bed is wrong, she seems a bit scared of me, although I'm not angry at her, just worried.
Thanks for reading,
Kathryn x

I'm no expert for sure, but it sounds as though you have a very stressed cat. Why can you not have a litter pan for her and why can she not stay inside? It is truly the healthiest, safest place for her. This other cat is probably frightening her by the sounds of it.

The only advice I wish to offer is to let her stay inside and set up a litter pan for her.

She's a bit scared of you because you and your dad are forcing her into an environment where she is obviously uncomfortable --- you even described her as being "terrified."

You say that you definitely want her to go outside soon. I don't want this thread to devolve into an "indoor vs. outdoor" or "UK vs. US" debate, which has happened countless times already on this site. So I'll accept the premise that she will be an outdoor cat, or at least indoor/outdoor.

But she is obviously not a healthy cat at this moment, as evidenced by the repeated housesoiling. Is it really a good idea to let her outside (or, more exactly, force her outside) at this time, given her condition? It's hard enough for cats to survive outside even when completely healthy.

Could you maybe consider keeping her inside at least until she's calmed down a little bit? Feliway and/or Rescue Remedy might be worthwhile purchases. Also, her housesoiling might very well be something that is physical in origin rather than behavioral, and thus would require medical attention.

Removing the new tom cat who might be intimidating her (and might be the cause of her behavior) would also be ideal, but I realize that that is much easier said than done.

I'm sure other members will be around with additional ideas for you.

Why, oh why are you forcing her outside? If you don't 'like' her, or don't want a cat, then don't have one, but otherwise, let her be where she feels safe and secure! And it is possible, apart from anything else, that her UTI has come back and you might need to get her rechecked and, if necessary, to go back on the meds. But stop rejecting her!

I'm so sorry about your baby. It sounds very much like she's sick and needs a trip back to the vet.

I agree with the other posts - if you love your kitty, she really ought to be kept inside until she's better.

She needs her litter pan - I'd consider having two. I don't know what types of litter you have available to you there, but IF there is a product called Cat Attract, please try that. If not, then it's best to go with an unscented clay litter - it will most resemble what she uses outdoors.

I don't know if you can purchase Feliway in Scotland, but I'd call a couple pet stores. Maybe your vet carries it.

To discourage continued elimination outside the box, you MUST use an enzyme cleaner to clean up where she's already gone. Anything else may make it smell OK to our human noses, but she can still smell it. Pet stores there will carry something.

Your poor baby is also very stressed out, which isn't helping her health.

Any way to figure out who the tom belongs to? If you can't - are you willing to have him neutered? This will calm down his aggressive behavior, and may help de-stress your baby. Here is a list of services - there's on in Edinburgh listed - I don't know what other places would be near you, but scroll down to find the list: http://www.catchat.org/neuter.html

I hope this helps,

Laurie

Thanks for all the replies guys.

Originally Posted by Larke

Why, oh why are you forcing her outside? If you don't 'like' her, or don't want a cat, then don't have one, but otherwise, let her be where she feels safe and secure! And it is possible, apart from anything else, that her UTI has come back and you might need to get her rechecked and, if necessary, to go back on the meds. But stop rejecting her!

Click to expand...

I do love my cat more than you would imagine. My vet told me that she would be able to go outside when her medication was finished. If you can't trust vet advice, what can you trust?
I was only doing what I was told was right.

The tom belongs to a neighbour. They now have three cats, the tom, an indoor one and a new kitten. I don't know if they are aware of the problem.

She's got her litter tray back just now. I'll try to find the enzyme cleaner.

I will tell my dad to stop forcing her outside. She is not terrified of me, but she is of him when she is being forced outside.

I will be moving house, and more importantly, away from the tom, in the spring, so hopefully that will see the end of some of her problems.

Thanks again for replying.