- Joined
- May 23, 2015
- Messages
- 2
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Hi I'm new here and I hope I can get some ideas from some seasoned cat owners.
I've owned Gin for about 10 years, got him when he was 1.5 at Humane Society. He's about 12. 4.5 years ago we adopted Gandalf because Gin was acting out, and we thought a kitten would distract him. It did work. Gin has always had behavioral peeing problems and had peed on my parents carpet and plants before I moved out if we didn't let him outside, peed on my husbands rug, clothes and ON my husband after I got married, eventually we acquired another cat also (3 years ago) because a family member was abandoning him. We have a small apartment , 2 bedrooms -700 sq. Ft. We can't move because housing prices in Denver recently skyrocketed.
I know we have too many cats for one apartment but it seems even more cruel to dislodge and abandoned any or all of them now especially since they get along OK. Not famously, but OK. But its starting to really degrade my marriage. My husband never wanted cats and we ended up with 3. For awhile we had fixed the peeing issue with a bigger box and adding a box to the house, so 2 boxes (there is NO space for another one someplace else). We switched to the non crystal forming food as one had gotten blocked a few months ago. We have a kitty water fountain that gets cleaned and new filters every 2 weeks. We know now that we have medicated food for all 3 there's no UTI. Over the winter everyone got along great and no one was using the 2nd litter box; all shared happily. Since it was in the way and an eyesore we put it away about 3+ weeks ago.
We had started letting them go outside together with us (monitored) more frequently now that its warmer about a month or two ago. Well the last 2 week's its been raining nonstop almost so they've gotten to go out less often. Still every few days but not every/every other day.
So the last 3 days someone (90% sure its Gin, no one else has had pee issues) has been peeing on the bathroom floor 1 foot away from the litter box, or at the edge of the litter box mat. No blood , not a dribble but a huge puddle , and its been twice a day! I clean the litter box religiously every morning, and we just dumped the litter and refilled it with the same litter we've been using for 4 years, just 2 days ago. We dump the litter every week or two. Everyone gets equal attention, all are neutered boys, and aside from a little extra tension from not going outside as much, and the removal of the box no one was using, nothing has changed. No job change, nothing new in the house, no schedule changes or vacations or days away , no guests, Nada.
My initial thought is to put the other litter box back, even though no one was using it. My husband thinks its revenge peeing for not being able to go outside. But maybe Gins old ways are just rearing their ugly head and I need to try something new, like that cat attract litter? This happens every 7-8 months it seems we have to fix a new problem with one or more of the cats and my husband wants to rehome them all. I'd rather not as you can't trust anyone to not abuse your cat or take them to the shelter or sell them to an animal testing company.
Does anyone have any experience in a similar situation or have any ideas?
I've owned Gin for about 10 years, got him when he was 1.5 at Humane Society. He's about 12. 4.5 years ago we adopted Gandalf because Gin was acting out, and we thought a kitten would distract him. It did work. Gin has always had behavioral peeing problems and had peed on my parents carpet and plants before I moved out if we didn't let him outside, peed on my husbands rug, clothes and ON my husband after I got married, eventually we acquired another cat also (3 years ago) because a family member was abandoning him. We have a small apartment , 2 bedrooms -700 sq. Ft. We can't move because housing prices in Denver recently skyrocketed.
I know we have too many cats for one apartment but it seems even more cruel to dislodge and abandoned any or all of them now especially since they get along OK. Not famously, but OK. But its starting to really degrade my marriage. My husband never wanted cats and we ended up with 3. For awhile we had fixed the peeing issue with a bigger box and adding a box to the house, so 2 boxes (there is NO space for another one someplace else). We switched to the non crystal forming food as one had gotten blocked a few months ago. We have a kitty water fountain that gets cleaned and new filters every 2 weeks. We know now that we have medicated food for all 3 there's no UTI. Over the winter everyone got along great and no one was using the 2nd litter box; all shared happily. Since it was in the way and an eyesore we put it away about 3+ weeks ago.
We had started letting them go outside together with us (monitored) more frequently now that its warmer about a month or two ago. Well the last 2 week's its been raining nonstop almost so they've gotten to go out less often. Still every few days but not every/every other day.
So the last 3 days someone (90% sure its Gin, no one else has had pee issues) has been peeing on the bathroom floor 1 foot away from the litter box, or at the edge of the litter box mat. No blood , not a dribble but a huge puddle , and its been twice a day! I clean the litter box religiously every morning, and we just dumped the litter and refilled it with the same litter we've been using for 4 years, just 2 days ago. We dump the litter every week or two. Everyone gets equal attention, all are neutered boys, and aside from a little extra tension from not going outside as much, and the removal of the box no one was using, nothing has changed. No job change, nothing new in the house, no schedule changes or vacations or days away , no guests, Nada.
My initial thought is to put the other litter box back, even though no one was using it. My husband thinks its revenge peeing for not being able to go outside. But maybe Gins old ways are just rearing their ugly head and I need to try something new, like that cat attract litter? This happens every 7-8 months it seems we have to fix a new problem with one or more of the cats and my husband wants to rehome them all. I'd rather not as you can't trust anyone to not abuse your cat or take them to the shelter or sell them to an animal testing company.
Does anyone have any experience in a similar situation or have any ideas?
