my cat is peeing in & out of her liter box-plz help

mias mama

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Hello everyone, I am new here and I am so happy I found this forum. Everyone here has so many good and helpful things to say. I've never been on a forum before. This is my beautiful 8 year old cat Mia. We rescued her when she was just 16 weeks old. She has been a joy in our life since day one. She is sweet and gentle. She has handled changes in life with such grace and never exhibiting any behavioral issues. She's endured a cross county move and flew with us on the airplane from California to Florida and did great. She adapted so easily and quickly. When we bought our first home nearly four years ago she adapted to that major change as well, no issues ever. She has always taken right to her liter box in any new location never having a single accident. But now 8 years into her life, she has started to pee outside the liter box on our white chair and white sofa so I see it right away since the fabric is white, and thankfully slip covered for easy cleaning. She primarily was peeing only on the chair but today started on the sofa right where she was happily laying yesterday grooming herself in the sun that was shining through the window. I have taken her to her vet twice and had tons of tests done. As my biggest fear was a kindney issue or cancer. All her blood test, urine tests, fecal tests were normal. The vet said upon initial viewing of the x-rays she thinks she saw crystals in Mia's bladder. So she wanted to put Mia on the prescription urinary food and said that would help Mia. But to my surprise when the specialty report came back from the radiologist there was no mention of any urinary issues including crystals, in the final report. And the imaging of her chest and all organs showed no signs of a health problem. We are so grateful for that. We are happy to provide her with the urinary food, and we did and thankfully she loved it. But unfortunately it hasn't fixed Mia's peeing issue. We also tried everything else our vet said to do like the Fellaway plug in etc. But nothing is helping. It's been going on for two months now. The dr did talk about kitty Prozac as a last resort because we don't want to medicate our sweet girl unless absolutely necessary. So I put a call in to Mia's dr this morning and I am just anxiously waiting for a call back. I want my cat to live a long happy healthy life, and I don't want to medicate her. But I know I can't keep having her pee outside the liter box. She even peed on my daughters pillow once. I keep her liter box so tidy and scoop it every single day, so I know a dirty box isn't the issue for her. I was hoping that some other cat owners on here would be able to offer some input, I would truly appreciate your time and help. Thank you for reading my post. Happy New Year to all the humans and animals alike!!
 

burchesj

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Hi, mias mama. I,too, am new to TCS. I have a senior cat, Josephine, who is 16-17 years old. While J has never peed outside of her litter box (thankfully!), she has begun to defecate in the wash room at times. I clean her box at least daily and sometimes up to four times a day. She has hyperthyroidism. Her vet said when she is aggravated/anxious this can happen. Even though Mia has been wonderful about adapting to change could routine change or a new person perhaps be causing her stress?
 

lea98

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You mentioned she was grooming herself by a window on the couch, in which she urinated on the next day? Is the window on a ground floor? If so, Mia could be seeing stray cats pass or even approach her window which could cause an insecurity that can be the reason for her peeing on the sofa and chair. Letting the other cats and even you know that is her property and territory. Hope that helps, best of luck.
 
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mias mama

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Hi Lea98, thank you for your input. I had never thought of this and we do have a cat that adopted us three years ago, we call him Mr. Whiskers. He is a neutered male and such a sweet little boy. He came to us and fell in love with our family and we fell in love with him right back. When he first came to us my daughter and I went all over our neighborhood to be sure no one was missing this lovely boy. We learned that he has been around for quite sometime. I was told about a woman that once lived up the hill not too far from our home and she had many cats, and she left one day and left all the cats behind. I don't know more than that, but it broke my heart to hear that someone could abandon their animals. There surely is much more to her story, I just don't know what happened to her. I do know that one of our city workers would come and leave food for the cats everyday, such a kind act. I even saw him a few times when I was driving home pulled over in his city truck with a big bag of cat food surrounded by several cats, including Mr. Whiskers. So I always felt he came from that home, as he had to belong to someone that loved him once as he is one of the sweetest felines that ever existed. I wonder what made him wander down the hill to our home, I've always felt it was just meant to be. Whenever we go outside Mr. Whiskers is right by our side, he follows us everywhere and has formed an strong attachment to our dog Ginger, he adores her and just loves to walk side by side with her and he purrs with delight at just the sight of her. Our darling Mia is very aware of him and doesn't seem to mind him finding a home within our family. However every once in a while she will make a uncharacteristic loud noise if she sees him jump up on the window. A noise of displeasure for sure. I know he would make a wonderful indoor cat but I would never entertain the thought because I would never want to upset Mia's world. And he is extremely happy living outside and climbing trees and rolling around in the grass. He sleeps on our front door porch area or in the surrounding soft grassy bushes. Many times when we are going out the door he and Mia see each other but both remain calm and seemingly relaxed and unphased by one another. (funny-Mia just jumped up on the sofa where I'm sitting as I write this and is curiously looking out the window over the sofa). So the two of them have a symbiotic relationship from a far, as they are very aware of one another but never have any physical contact. We have had to bring Mr. Whiskers inside during severe storms and most recently during Hurricane Matthew, but we pick him up and carry him to the garage for safe keeping until any storm threats have passed. And Mia does not make any contact with him. But of course she is aware. So with all that being said, I really believe there is validity to what you are suggesting. I can't believe this never entered my mind. I feel so bad because I don't want Mia to have stress or anxiety. Do you have any advice in regards to Mia's coexistence with Mr. Whiskers? He is truly an amazing little cat, and he choose us to be his family, so I would never want for him to live anywhere but with us. Luckily we live on a very quiet dead end street with minimal cars, so I feel he is safe outside as he never wanders from our yard. I've included a pic of our 3 year old pup Ginger and Mr. Whiskers spending time together on a beautiful day. Thank you so so SO much for taking the time to reach out to me. Wishing you a very Happy New Year!!!
 
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mias mama

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Hi, mias mama. I,too, am new to TCS. I have a senior cat, Josephine, who is 16-17 years old. While J has never peed outside of her litter box (thankfully!), she has begun to defecate in the wash room at times. I clean her box at least daily and sometimes up to four times a day. She has hyperthyroidism. Her vet said when she is aggravated/anxious this can happen. Even though Mia has been wonderful about adapting to change could routine change or a new person perhaps be causing her stress?
Hi Burchesj, thank you so much for reaching out to me, I truly appreciate it. I'm so sorry your cat is sick. It's so hard as our fur babies get on in age and army as healthy anymore, it's heartbreaking. My first cats I ever had I rescued when I was 19 years old, they were sisters and such wonderfully loving and sweet girls. I had Kiwi for 16 1/2 years until she suffered acute kidney failure and passed away. It took me up so badly. It hurt for so long and even after all these years I still cry when I think about losing her. It devastated me. Her sister CJ lived to be 21 years old, she passed away peacefully one morning curled up in her little bed. Her health wasn't good during her last three years, she had cancer in her nose and was on medications for various health issues. But she remained just as happy, sweet and loving as the day I was lucky enough to find her when she was just 10 weeks old. I think about Kiwi and CJ each and everyday and am moved to tears as I write this. I went through so many life changes with my sweet girls. My darling Mia is also such a sweet girl and I am grateful for her everyday. It pains me to think that she is stressed or anxious. I just want her to be healthy and happy. We haven't had any new people or any company recently other than my in-laws that she has known all her life and she loves them and is comfortable around them always. But if you read my reply to Lea98 you will see we do have another furry family member that maybe is sometimes causing Mia some unrest. Mr. Whiskers is our dapper little cat and I wrote all about him in the reply to Lea98. So if you read it I would love your input. Thank you again so very much for your time and help. Happy New Year to you and yours!!!

Here is a pic I took early this morning of Mia in our daughter's bed, she slept in that same spot all night, so comfy and cozy! [emoji]128151[/emoji]
 

lea98

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Happy New Years to you too! What a cute story. It's also funny because, I too, have a dog named Ginger lol. She's a chihuahua though. Any who, I have seen similar problems before with a neighbor's cat. As yours, she never showed any signs of disapproval (hissing, hunching, growling) of the cats approaching her window and passing through her yard. However insecurities are often not displayed through aggression. This cat is seeing another unintroduced cat being brought into her home and leaving. She has seen him before, yes. However that's like you seeing a new neighbor on the street and suddenly they're coming in and leaving with your family. She feels out of the loop, confused. She knows this is her home but has no understanding as to why this cat has access to it.

Perhaps you can try introductions? Maybe putting her on one side of the door and him on the other. Take things slow but keep trying so at least she'll get used to his scent. And won't be so out of touch with who's entering her domain.
 

MoochNNoodles

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It does sound like it could be a territory issue.  But what are you cleaning it with?  Be sure you use a good enzyme cleaner.  Regular soaps and detergents won't remove the urine to her nose's satisfaction and that can draw her back to the area.  

Have there been any changes to her litter brand?  Even from the manufacturer?  How many boxes do you have?

Mia, Mr Whiskers and Ginger are adorable!  Whenever a new pet enters the home there is an introduction process that you can try. It can take weeks or months to go through. It sounds like you are comfortable with Mr Whiskers outdoor life; but if things change you could look into it. 
 

burchesj

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It seems Lea98 hit the nail on the head. Josephine, too, keeps a close "eye" on what goes on in her territory. I forgot to mention she has nictated eyes. Her blindness occasionally varies; for instance strong or sudden light, and she will track things for a bit. We have a fully fenced yard, but neighbor's cats "visit" sometimes. But she perks up when those cats have been hanging out! Luckily she has never marked her territory inside the house!
 
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