Older cat peeing issue

jafa4444

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We have three cats in our household, and the oldest one is causing severe problems with her constant peeing outside the litterbox. Today she walked right by the box, looked at it and then turned and walked into a closet and peed under a dresser onto a hardwood floor. My wife is ready to take the cat to the vet and put it to sleep, and I don't know what to do. The cat is very old, and this problem has been going on for a while. She knows to use the box, it is cleaned regularly, the other two cats share it and another one, and she just seems to be thumbing her nose at us and peeing where she wishes. I know the carpet is ruined in one corner of the living room already from her constant peeing there. We've been sitting on the couch and all of a sudden hear the sound of her peeing in the corner, very brazenly. We've punished her and so forth, and there are times I do see her using the box, but this behavior has come to a point where either the cat stops it or the cat goes to the vet and doesn't come home. Please, any help/suggestions would be appreciated. The vet is being visited again this week./
 

kittyluver27

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Go to the vet! My cat had the same issue until I went to the vet yesterday and he has crystaluria, its a medical issue. But its totally curable! Go to the vet. If its a medical issue, its most likely curable. keep posted!
 

kittyluver27

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Please rule out medical issues before thinking of giving it away! I was going to give mine away until i found out the cause of it! eveythings working out perfectly! Just go to the vet. and even if its a behavioral thing just try everything you can before giving the cat away. PLEASE!?!!!?!??!
 

katkisses

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That is terrible that anyone would rather put a animals to sleep instead of working with it to get around a minor problem. The cat doesn't understand. The cat could have something seriously wrong with it. I would vet it ASAP.

A bit of advice, cat's sense of smell is faaar stronger than ours. You need to clean ALL of the spots she has peed on with cleaner made for this purpose. That is the only way to get the smell out. If cat's smell urine or feces they WILL go use the bathroom there. Also if the litterbox is not 'up to the cats standards' they will avoid using it. Make sure that the litterbox is at the very least scooped out once a day.

And I beg you, if worse comes to worse FIND A HOME for this cat, for someone who has the time and patience to work with this cat. Please don't put it to sleep for something that very well could be a medical problem.

This makes me so sad and sick. I am sorry that you are in this situation, PLEASE keep up updated.

-edit- Is she spayed? I have ever had issues with non spayed cats peeing outside of the box, but it's a possibility.
 

kittyluver27

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Yes make sure the cat pee and odor is totally cleaned up! And clean the litterbox at least once a day. completely changed the litter at least every 2 weeks or so. If you have a covered litterbox. I would suggest getting rid of the lid. some cats in my experience dont like covered litterboxes. if all else fails find it a good home, dont put it to sleep.
 

lotsocats

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Stopping Inappropriate Urination

The first and most important thing to do is to take the cat to the vet! You need to specify that the cat is urinating outside the box so that the vet knows what to look for. Urinating outside the litter box is the #1 symptom of urinary tract problems! A urinary blockage can quickly kill a cat!



If the vet says she is okay, then consider making a few changes:

• If you use a covered litter box, take off the lid. Many cats refuse to use covered boxes.

• Most cats prefer fine-grained unscented litter. So, try changing litter even if she liked this litter in the past.

• Most cats prefer to poop in a different box than the one in which they pee. So have at least two boxes for one cat.

• If you have more than one cat, make sure you have at least one litter box per cat PLUS one extra box. So, if you have two cats, three litter boxes is ideal. Do not place the boxes right next to each other. Two boxes that are together is the same as just one box in the catâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s mind!

• Make sure you scoop the litter box daily, and with multiple cats, scoop twice daily. Cats often refuse to use dirty boxes. Most of us avoid toilets that are full of pee and poop. Cats are even more fastidious than us humans and certainly have more delicate senses of smell, so of course they do not want to step in a box full of old feces and urine! A clean rug is much more attractive than a dirty box!

• If your litter boxes are old, they may have absorbed odors even if you regularly clean them. So, try buying new boxes.

• Make sure your litter boxes are in a place where the cat feels safe while going potty. If she is disturbed by you or your kids or another cat or dog while she is trying to potty, she will choose to use a safer location. So, move the litter box to a location where she can see the comings and goings of the other people and animals in the house. You can set up the box in the corner of a room, then surround the box with nice house plants. It will be attractive and open enough for the cat to feel safe!

• Put a litter box on each level (floor) of the house.

• Make sure you thoroughly clean all old urine spots on the rug and elsewhere. If she can smell the old urine she will think that place is a good place to potty. Use a flourescent black light to find old urine and treat all old spots with an enzymatic cleanser.


• Try putting a plastic carpet runner upside down on the places she likes to urinate....most cats don't like to walk on the "spikes" so they will avoid the covered spots.

• Put something real smelly where she likes to urinate...most cats hate the smell of citrus, so try putting citrus scented air freshener or orange peels or citrus potpourri where she urinates.

• According to Cat Behaviorist Amy Shojai- if your cat is peeing on personal items the cat is probably stressed out over something. Urinating on some object that holds your scent is calming to him. If you can eliminate the stressor, chances are good that the potty problem will end.

• If your cat is standing inside the litter box and aiming outside the box, you simply need a larger box! Try a Rubbermaid under-bed storage container as a litter box instead of the typical small box.
 
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jafa4444

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Thank you to all who responded...Unfortunately, after 16 years of love and enjoyment, our cat was put to sleep today due to aggravated renal failure and complications thereof. She will be missed both by the humans who cared for her and her two feline companions still here....She is at peace and that is what counts the most.
 

meow meow

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Originally Posted by KatKisses

That is terrible that anyone would rather put a animals to sleep instead of working with it to get around a minor problem. The cat doesn't understand. The cat could have something seriously wrong with it. I would vet it ASAP.
I would hardly call ruining hundred, maybe thousands of dollars worth of carpeting a "minor problem." My sister's spayed female had a inappropriate peeing problem for years and ruined carpeting in 3 different houses. She was pronounced "healthy" by the vet but no matter what my sister did she couldn't get her to stop. She did stop after the death of the other housecat and my sister thought she was "cured." Unfortunately, she started up again. My sister put her down and was quite devestated by it. But it is not fair to rehome a cat that is a pee-er -- it just dumps the problem on someone else. Besides this was a very shy cat who would have been traumatized by it.
 
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