Help with peeing cat. :/

I am about to lose it. I really need help with this cat!

Ok... Quick background.
She's 15, but in very good shape.

We have 3 cats, one is her littermate, the other they have lived with for 12yrs.

Took her to the vet, and she had a bladder infection, which was treated. Vet would not run any other tests... Long story. I think this vet is a little.... Off. Perhaps shady. I will go to a new one next time.

Problem started after we moved into our new house, about 3yrs ago. (It's worth mentioning I have almost 4yr old twins, so idk if that contributes.)

The previous owners did have pets.

She would go in our downstairs dining room, and upstairs near the litter boxes.

We replaced all the downstairs carpet with laminate and that got better, but she did still occasionally go on a rug. The upstairs problem continued.

So we eventually replaced the upstairs carpet, as well. This time we completely sealed the subfloor in the areas she frequented with kilz (2-3 coats) before having the new carpet laid. She went again, so she was sent to live in the garage for a few days.

We thoroughly cleaned the messes (thank god for scotch guarded carpet!), and constructed her an enclosure. It's about 3x3x8, with shelves she can climb on, and it's in front of a window. She has her own litter box, food, water, etc. She has little "cubbies" she can climb in and a window sill, and a high shelf she can sleep on.

I bring her out every evening for a whip and give her attention, scoop her box, change her water and food, etc.

All was going well for a couple weeks... And then she started it again, all over her enclosure. She peed on the fabric covering her shelves, and then she slept in them, so SHE was covered with pee!

I'm at a loss. I thought about making her an outdoor enclosure, but of course that won't work when winter hits. (I was even going to give he a cat door in the window so she could go in and out between enclosures as she wanted to.). But again... That won't help when it gets cold.

I'm at a loss. I don't know what to do anymore. My husband works all the time, and I work part time and have two young children. I just don't know what to do with this cat!!!

Please, PLEASE give some advice!! TIA!!!

I probably won't be able to help much... But she is older, and a 15-year-old cat to a person of 73.

Cornell University has some great information on their site here:

http://www.vet.cornell.edu/FHC/health_resources/brochure_seniorcat.cfm

That's what I keep thinking, too, but the vet seemed to think this wasn't likely an aging issue. She said the cat was a "young 15".
But she also didn't run any kidney function tests. (She wouldn't run that until we did a bunch of other tests, all expensive, including a feline leukemia test, which I know she doesn't have, and the vet said if she was positive we'd have to "immediately destroy her".)

Anyhow... I will check out this Cornell link, so thank you for that! Anyone else have ideas?

Really I don't see much option with her other than keeping her in this enclosure when we are asleep/not home/too busy to watch her. (Unless someone has any better ideas, which I am open to, so please give them!!!)
But does anyone have any ideas of how to urine-proof her enclosure? Are there materials I could use for her kitty shelves and hammocks that I can wipe up that won't absorb the urine but will still be comfortable for her to lay in/on?

I refuse to put her down or take her to a shelter. And I want her life to be as happy and comfortable as possible. But I also cannot have messes I have to constantly clean up, brand new carpet ruined, my kids' and their things being peed on... So that's why I've been keeping her "contained". Idk what else to do at this point.
I tried to make her cage as nice as possible, but then she pees on each shelf and hammock!!!

Has she been back to the vet since the most recent problem started (peeing all over her enclosure)? It's possible the infection wasn't completely cleared up and has come back. Checking her kidney function would also be a good idea - try a different vet than the one who refused to do that (which doesn't make any sense to me, nor does the insistence on testing for feline leukemia and "immediately destroying" her if it was positive). I wouldn't go back to that vet unless there were no other options.

If the tests come back normal, you'll be in the same boat I was with my Niko. She always had a tendency to go outside the box, which got worse as she got older, and the vets couldn't find any medical explanation for it. She spent her last year of life in an enclosure like the one your cat has. The only place she didn't pee was on the shelves, so I was able to keep some carpeting on them, but otherwise the place was lined with puppy pee pads which I changed out every day. A folded up pad might work to put on the shelves in your case - maybe tape it down so it'll stay there when she jumps on and off. I also used a clear plastic shower curtain to protect the wall and floor around her enclosure. There was still a lot of cleaning, but at least the messes were contained and she wasn't ruining the carpet or my things. I was able to let her out and spend time with her every day, and she seemed happy. She was more relaxed in her own little space.

Thanks for the reply. I know - that vet... Something just didn't feel right to me. I think next time we'll go to someone else.

No, we have not gone back to a vet with her yet. This problem just restarted. In fact we didn't discover the problem with her shelves and hammock until yesterday evening.

I will consider taking her back to another vet. She spent the last couple days in the garage, and it doesn't SEEM like she's peed anywhere inappropriate out there - tho I can't be fully sure.

Glad to hear an enclosure worked for you, and that I'm not the only one to resort to it. I feel pretty guilty about it, so that helps.

I'm wondering if getting some "outside time" might help her? Idk. The (bad) vet we saw said she's have to have full outdoor vaccinations for that, even in an enclosure, bc many illnesses are airborne.

Thanks again for the reply.

One more quick update of sorts. After fully cleaning her enclosure and removing all the fabric, she is back in her cage. She howls A LOT. It makes me feel so awful (and keeps me up at night, I might add.)
The top couple shelves were basically hammocks, so she has nowhere really to climb right now. She tried to go to the top immediately when I put her back in. I will replace the top shelves this weekend with something. Maybe just wood with some type of padding then covered with plastic? Idk.

May try to take her to the vet (a new one) next week, if possible, in case she had another UTI.

Anyhow, I would love more suggestions. It takes a lot to get me to post on a forum for help, so you can tell it's gotten pretty bad.

First of all, she needs to go back to the vet sooner rather than later.  Secondly, she needs a senior blood panel run and a urine culture to rule out anything weird.  Lastly, have you tried any calming agents such as Feliway or Rescue Remedy?

I plan on taking her to the vet, I'm just going to have to research a different one. She'll get in soon, but I want to find someone I can trust, and have to find the time to make it happen. Our schedule is rough right now.

The previous vet would not run a sr blood panel or even check her thyroid until we did several other expensive tests. She also said we had to test for feline leukemia first and if that came back positive nothing else mattered bc our only choice would be to put her down. I find that highly questionable.

She did run a urine culture to check for infection, which she did have and was treated for, and then went back to be retested and it was negative. But the peeing has not stopped.

I've yet to check her cage this evening, but I will shortly.

I have not tried Feliway, actually. We used that years ago when the cats were adjusting to each other (when mine moved in with his), but it didn't occur to me to try it now. She doesn't SEEM stressed, other than this behavior, but it's worth a try! Thanks!

As others have said and you seem to agree with, new vet and asap.   This feels medical not behavioral to me.

Why do you think that it's medical, not behavioral? I'm just curious.

My only confusion there is it's been going on for 2.5 years or so.

I'm glad to hear others feel this vet is a quack. :/

MLAbabies! said:

Why do you think that it's medical, not behavioral? I'm just curious.

My only confusion there is it's been going on for 2.5 years or so.

I'm glad to hear others feel this vet is a quack. :/

Click to expand...

I said medical due to history of UTI plus a vet you no longer trust, but i didn't realize it was so long ago so it may in fact be behavioral but step one is to see a new vet you like.