Angry Cat Pees, then Runs.

I've got 2 female cats. One is pretty well trained, the other one is totally sweet but can't be around my boyfriend when he stands up. She comes over to sit on us and cuddle, she likes to headbutt my boyfriend and rub her face against his, it's adorable. She'll hang out on the couch, on the bed, as long as he's seated, but when he stands up or walks near her, she becomes defensive and she crouches close to the floor, and she'll pee wherever she's crouching and then flee, leaving his feeling hurt (he takes it pretty personally). Sometimes I preempt the situation if she's sitting on my couch or bed (don't have rubber sheets myself) and put her on the floor in a place where she can still make her getaway. I've started keeping a bucket and mop around for these incidents and I made her a cat bed in the back of the house where she can flee to, but I'm tired of her smelling like pee and when we bathe her she thinks it's punishment. She and the other cat get along fine but have territory/alpha cat issues that are always at play. We've started letting her outside as a reward and she loves it, but when she comes in she seems more feral than when she left. Any advice?

Has anything ever happend between her and your boyfriend?, e.i has he smacked her or shouted at her?.

Also, is there a reason why you bathe her, because cats can bathe themselves usually

Do you and you boyfriend live together? It sounds like a panic reaction and for some reason she feel threatened when you boyfriend is standing. First, I would suggest you ask him to NOT approach her at all. Let her come to him. Also, if he must stand try to take her out of the room first. I don't think any of us can say exactly why she is reacting this way but I think the best way to prevent her reaction is to avoid the action that causes it.

From what you are describing it sounds like a panic or fear reaction rather than her being angry.

My Libbi used to crouch down and flee (though not urinate) whenever anyone stood up or moved quickly around her. Nothing ever happend to her so we don't know why she was always so afraid.

Obviously something has happend but you may never know what it is. Perhaps he accidentally stepped on her tail or something? Probably a good idea to pick her up and take her out of the room before he stands up when possible.

I too am curious about the bathing? Does she get urine on herself causing you to need to wash it off? I'm sure the bathing after a scare like that probably isn't helping the situation!

Although it is likely behavioral, I would get her to a vet for a check-up just to make sure she does not have a bladder or urinary tract infection. It is always better safe than sorry in any peeing situation.

Also, forget the bucket and mop, they don't help! You MUST purchase an enzyme cleaner to clean up cat urine or feces. They are available at most pet stores. House cleaners only strengthen the smell of pee, which encourages her to continue peeing outside of the box.

I agree with the other posters - not sure why she needs a bath?

And... I also agree. If BF could not approach her?

You can also help her to not be afraid of BF by helping her to associate him with "good" things. Have him put on an old t-shirt he doesn't want to use anymore (or get him a new cheap one and wash it without fabric softener) and have him sweat it up really good. It'd even be better if he did this with two of them. Put one under her food dish, and put one in her favorite sleeping spot. And any time she's around and he's able to get up and walk out of a room without her getting scared, tell her what a good girl she is and give her some treats! And if she's in the room, consider having him put down some treats on the floor where he was sitting when he gets up to go somewhere - but basically it's really best if he can try to just ignore her. Don't try to get her to come over while he's there to eat the treats - he should put them down, continue ignoring her, and go wherever he's going.

Cats are all about territory and trust - and the quickest way to be "non threatening" is to ignore a cat.

PLEASE tell him to try not to take it personally!

Laurie

Thanks so much for your suggestions!

My boyfriend and I do live together, and we bought the kitty in question to live with us and our older cat.

I once had a male cat before that reacted this way to one of my male roommates and we never figured it out. We thought it was a territory/alpha male issue.

My boyfriend and I treat our cats like dogs to some extent (we try to train them with positive reinforcement, we snuggle them a lot, we play with them and roughhouse sometimes, and my older cat likes to wag her tail when you talk to her).

My boyfriend and this cat were the best of friends (he's more her cat than mine actually) so it's pretty impossible to ask him to ignore her. When she creeps around the apartment secretively it upsets him and he truly takes it personally because when they get along they get along so well.

She hangs out on our bed a lot. Often when he comes home, she'll either crouch (threatening to pee on our bed) and then i'll go move her, or she'll run off to go hide and wait till he's seated to go visit him. She doesn't actually object to him completely; they've spent hours together, I almost feel like because the time they've spent watching TV together was their "quality time" that that's the only context she wants him in.

Not sure if this helps, but she used to pee on the floor when we'd feed her unless we fed her in her basket (her "safety zone"). We fixed this problem by getting an automatic cat feeder.

I went away for a week for Christmas and my boyfriend said she didn't pee on the floor while I was gone, and that when I returned she started being hostile towards him again.

As far as the bath is concerned, she has never been good at cleaning herself. She'll sit in a puddle of her own pee and then stink up every surface she touches until we bathe her (and as i said, she sits on the bed a lot). Our other cat is very fastidious and clean, but I've actually gone so far as to put anchovy paste on this kitty's rear to get her to clean it better (it worked pretty well too).