New Kitten

Hello! My names Kate and I am a new cat/kitten owner. Recently I adopted a kitten from the local animal shelter and boy has it been a whirl wind..

Well to start off he is a domestic medium hair I think, his papers say short hair but his hair is not short. He is around 8 months old now and is super funny and playful His name is Sheldon. About a week after I adopted him I noticed he was having weird bowel movements and took him to the vet, turns out he had roundworms, a lot of them. (so disgusting!) but after that I had to separate him from my dog, so now he has the upstairs and my dog has the downstairs. He recently went for another round of de-worming because I just want to be sure! and on his first adventure back downstairs he PEED on the couch.. to make it worse he did it rite in front of me! Now I'm scared to leave him alone out.. he also had one other incident where he peed on HIS bed. Not to smart. So I immediately washed that and moved it. Anyone else have this happen? Any suggestions on what I should do when trying to get him to get comfortable downstairs? Thanks for any replies!

What a pretty boy!! Cats sometimes do this to mark things when brought to new places or something new is introduced in their existing homes. They also sometimes do it out of stress. I would make sure you clean the places he has gone with enzyme cleaner to get the smell out. Also when bringing him downstairs Id probably take the dog in another part of the house until he can sniff around the downstairs and explore everything without interruption or fear of the dog. This behavior is not that uncommon when cats are put in new situations. As a warning the cat may start peeing on your worn clothes you leave on the floor or on the bed so I'd put those away. He may unfortunately keep doing this until he is secure in your house. I'd stay next to him and shower him with attention just as an assurance to him.

Good looking boy and for sure not a short hair. I agree with Hexiesfriend that the peeing may be out of fear or being unsure of himself yet. Does he know when the litter box is ? Does he have a box on every floor ? Cats are generally clean and do not like to soil outside of the box and is usually an easy fix... Show him the box every few hours and maybe reward him with love when you see him using it, of course keep his box super clean. Good luck with your new baby !

Hi Kate,

He's a beautiful cat, I love the white love heart on his chest. It does sound like he is peeing out of anxiety. Maybe you could keep him in one room until he has got used to his new home and give him a choice of litter boxes in that room. Once he's settled in you could let him explore the rest of the house. Have you tried a Feliway diffuser? I've found them pretty useful when ever getting cats to accept any changes at home.

Nice to have you on The Cat Site.

Thank you everyone for your feedback! His litter box is upstairs but I have another one I can set up downstairs. Also him and my dog bug get along really well but I think that is a great idea to put her away to let him explore alone. I did buy the cleaner that the show "my cat from hell" recommends when cats pee I'll have to check exactly what it is. Thanks again for replying! I'm a new cat owner and my fiance has never owned a cat either so others perspective/ideas are always welcome!

Here is a picture of my dog and Sheldon

8 months?, then if he hasnt been neutered peeing is the way they mark territory.