Grrrrr.......

I'm about ready to go nuts dealing with this male cat we've had for 10 years. Here are his problems:

1. He mastrubates. Yep, you heard me right! He takes clothes, blankets, stuffed animals and has his way with them. We'll wake up in the middle of the night with him moaning. Go out into the living room and he's there looking at us with one of the above mentioned items laying beside him violated. It makes me sick that I have to lock everything up to keep him away from stuff.

2. He's obese to the greatest extent so we control how much he eats. He gets fed very small amounts twice per day. The problem is this cat will not shut his pie hole for nothing. I have to lay cover fire with a water sprayer just to get into the kitchen at times.

3. About a year ago, he just up and decided to start peeing all over the place outside the litter box. My wife is ready to kill him because she has to mop the laundry room floor almost everyday. I mean he soaks the floor good! Read the faq posted here and I see relations but nothing concrete. He's been fixed for almost 9 years, we do have an outside cat that sticks around, but he didn't have a problem with him for the 1st year we lived here so why does he have a issue with him now? We've dealt with urinary tract infection before, but his problem has always been that he cannot pee so given the amount of urine he leaves on the floor, we ruled that one out.

My wife was ready to take him to the pound the other day because of this. This is really bad cause she loves her cats (we have 4) and it really caught me off guard when she said get rid of him. I'd like to be able to do more, but we both work and by the time we get home, this isn't something we're fond of dealing with. The other 3 cats have lived with us nearly the same amount of time and other than the occasional scrap, they get along fine. All are fixed and de-clawed.

**BTW-All cats are strictly in-door and have been all their lives. They were de-clawed because they were slowly destroying our carpet and tearing leather furniture that cost us several thousand dollars. Yes, we did try clipping, covering of the claws and they just kept right on ripping.

Has he been to the vet for the peeing? It sounds like he is sick, the constant meowing, the peeing around your house and the fact that he is older and it is time for him to get a good checkup at bloodwork done anyways. He really needs to see the vet, at least to be tested for a UTI or crystals.

Originally Posted by Catowner

We've dealt with urinary tract infection before, but his problem has always been that he cannot pee so given the amount of urine he leaves on the floor, we ruled that one out.

My wife was ready to take him to the pound the other day because of this. This is really bad cause she loves her cats (we have 4) and it really caught me off guard when she said get rid of him. I'd like to be able to do more, but we both work and by the time we get home, this isn't something we're fond of dealing with. The other 3 cats have lived with us nearly the same amount of time and other than the occasional scrap, they get along fine. All are fixed and de-clawed.

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Ok it is either a UTI or the fact that he is declawed. Many declawed cats lead to litterbox problems when they are older.

First you NEED to rule out the UTI. Did you rule it out or did a vet? If you did then that doesn't count, there are a few other problems he could have as well. Take him to the vet, have them do a urinalysis, test him for crystals and a UTI, get blood work done. I think that is called a Senior cat panel. He may have Diabetes or something since he is so overweight.

Did you put him on a diet or did a vet? If you did then seek a vet about it because you can really screw him up by doing it yourself, especially if you are feeding him a poor quality food.

She took him to the pound?!!!! Is she aware that they kill animals, or give them to universities for scientific research?

You wouldn't drop your kid off at an orphanage if it suddenly developed behavioural problems or started to wet the bed. You would take the child to a doctor and find out what the problem is.

It's so easy to just give up on a pet because they are "disposable". But animals are living and breathing creatures like we are and deserve more than we sometimes tend to give them.

Chances are your cat is sick and needs medical attention. Take him to a vet and explain the problems that you have been having and have him looked over. He's an older kitty and subject to almost all of the same kinds of illenesses and diseases that we get.

Maybe he has kidney infection or bladder problems and a medicine will help. Maybe he's diabetic (he's about the age where it sets in if it's going to).

You took him into your home with a promise to love and care for him. Don't abandon him now.

No..no No.. we didn't take the cat to the pound. I knew good and well she'd never forgive herself if I did what she said out of anger. Let me clarify a few things:

1. He's been de-clawed for at least 4 years now. The urinating issue didn't crop up until about a year ago. May I ask why a cat would decide to start acting out about not having claws by not peeing in the box years after the deed was done? In all honesty, the 2 going hand in hand doesn't sound logical.

2. He urinates right out side the box. Its like he gets in, with his but still outside and just lets it go. He doesn't do it anywhere else in the house.

3. We kinda ruled out UTI cause, as mentioned his past UTI infections resulting in the inability to urinate at all. We made the assumption that since he's producing what seems like gallons of pee (exaggeration), that UTI isn't his problem. Now that I know better, I will have him checked.

4. We were instructed by a Vet to place him on a diet. He's nearly 30lbs!

5. His meowing is only for food. He doesn't make noise once his belly has been filled. As mentioned, We feed him small amounts, twice per day. The meowing was no different when he got normal portions. He will eat as much as food is made available to him. We have to sit and watch the cats while they eat because He'll finish his and "do the dishes" for the other 3 cats. This is just annoying cause its hard to get any peace once he starts the "feed me" ritual. I can't even go into the kitchen to get a drink without him trying top knock me over!. I understand he's hungry, but its not like after a decade that he doesn't know I'm going feed him.


LOL...I noticed no one touched on the "self love" problem his exhibits.

How many litter boxes do you have ?

I agree that he does need to be seen by a vet ......... but I recently increased my litter boxes for the 5 cats I have and all outside elimination ceased the day I added the boxes.

I can help with #2.

Go to the store and buy a large rubbermaid container and use those for litterboxes. Since he's such a big cat I think you're going to be hard pressed to find a standard cat box that will hold him. The container makes it so he has to jump in through the top and the sides prevent him from peeing outside the bin.

Good luck!

~Julia

Yes I agree with the size of the litter box .... all 7 litter boxes I have I got the big huge long bins .......I have a 20 lb cat.

Originally Posted by Catowner

1. He's been de-clawed for at least 4 years now. The urinating issue didn't crop up until about a year ago.

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It doesn't really matter when the cat was declawed, other then the fact that declawing an older cat is extremely traumatizing since he has had his claws his whole life before that (sorry this site is very anti-declawing so we try to make people understand how inhumane it is) But the reality is that declawing COULD lead to litterbox problems in the future.

Originally Posted by Catowner

2. He urinates right out side the box. Its like he gets in, with his but still outside and just lets it go. He doesn't do it anywhere else in the house.

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I think your solution here is just to buy a huge box, a dog litterbox or a big rubbermaid storage bin and cut a hole in the top for top entry.

Originally Posted by Catowner

3. We kinda ruled out UTI cause, as mentioned his past UTI infections resulting in the inability to urinate at all. We made the assumption that since he's producing what seems like gallons of pee (exaggeration), that UTI isn't his problem. Now that I know better, I will have him checked.

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Due to his age he still should see a vet for bloodwork. He could have the beginnings of something ESPECIALLY Diabetes or something related to his extreme weight. Cats can very much still urinate when they have a UTI, and some will do it all over your house. The point is that it is painful to pee with a UTI, so cats hold it (causing more problems) or go elsewhere in your house, or even just use the box anyways despite the pain and the owner never knows.

Originally Posted by Catowner

4. We were instructed by a Vet to place him on a diet. He's nearly 30lbs!

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That is great if it is by vet advise and supervision. What brand are you feeding him? Wet or dry?

Originally Posted by Catowner

5. His meowing is only for food. He doesn't make noise once his belly has been filled. As mentioned, We feed him small amounts, twice per day. The meowing was no different when he got normal portions. He will eat as much as food is made available to him. We have to sit and watch the cats while they eat because He'll finish his and "do the dishes" for the other 3 cats. This is just annoying cause its hard to get any peace once he starts the "feed me" ritual. I can't even go into the kitchen to get a drink without him trying top knock me over!. I understand he's hungry, but its not like after a decade that he doesn't know I'm going feed him.

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Honestly all I can say to that is deal with it I don't know, he went all this time eating more, of course he is going to cry for food, plus some cats are just more talkative then others.

Originally Posted by Catowner

LOL...I noticed no one touched on the "self love" problem his exhibits.

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It's likely due to his urinary problems.

Have you ever had a bladder infection where you feel like you just have to go or wet yourself, only to get there and dribble 2 drops? It's possible that your cat might have kidney problems too. When the kidneys don't work properly urine can either be very concetrated or really diluted and even milky in colour.

Mention it to your Vet when you take the cat there.

I thought that might help so a couple of months ago I did buy a rubbermaid container that when filled with litter, looks like a small beach in my house. The wife scoops it a couple of times a day. Didn't help at all.

@ Natalie_ca - He's humped stuff his whole life, so now what? Also remember I said producing urine isn't a problem for him. I think he makes more than me!

How tall are the sides? does it have a lid? I'm curious how he can still pee out the sides. I'm thinking one of the tall bins, about 18 inches tall. I know some members clamp on the lid and cut a hole in it so the cat has to go in and out through the hole on the top and could only peed out the hole if they were standing on their heads!

I think if you do a search for home made litterboxes, you can find some really neat ones that people have made to help with this problems. This style also helps keep the litter in the box for those cats that really get into flinging the litter about.

~Julia

The rubbermaid container is made to store clothes under a bed so its about 7-8 inches tall on the sides. I thought about buying a large container and placing a step for the cats to get in/out. I figured that since the box would contain him, then it would put a stop to it. Was afraid it might freak them out though and maybe create worse problems. I have to remove the other box entirely if I do this or he'll just prolly use the easiest one to get in.

@Jen,

Off the top of my head, Science Diet brand dry food. Not sure if this is right, but we've always mixed urinary tract with Weight control formula. I guess this is another reason we assumed it wasn't UTI. No promises when using this stuff, eh?

Originally Posted by Catowner

The rubbermaid container is made to store clothes under a bed so its about 7-8 inches tall on the sides. I thought about buying a large container and placing a step for the cats to get in/out. I figured that since the box would contain him, then it would put a stop to it. Was afraid it might freak them out though and maybe create worse problems. I have to remove the other box entirely if I do this or he'll just prolly use the easiest one to get in.

@Jen,

Off the top of my head, Science Diet brand dry food. Not sure if this is right, but we've always mixed urinary tract with Weight control formula. I guess this is another reason we assumed it wasn't UTI. No promises when using this stuff, eh?

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Definately try a bigger, deeper rubbermaid container with a lid on top and a hole cut through the lid. There is no possibly way he can pee outside of it then. Possibly get a couple of these containers and set them all up the same way. You should always one box per cat and one extra. Too many boxes never hurt anything.

And no, you cannot always count on UTI control food to really do much. I am just concerned because besides his age, he is so overweight that he might have diabetes especially now that you mention he pees so much. I have known of cats with diabetes to pee unusually large amounts.

I too have a 7 year old cat that is quite obese, 23lbs. We too have issues with her urinating just out side the boxes. We have 4 boxes (3 cats), 1 automatic littermaid, 1 round automatic box, 1 under the bed rubbermaid storage bins, and one extra extra large litterbox we found at petsmart that I cut one of the longer sides down so there is only about 2 inches of plastic for ease to step into. Callie, prefers to use the last one, but still unintentionally urinates outside the box. With the other boxes she would balance herself on the edges of the box rims and still miss the litter, sometimes, because of her weight, she would actually flip the entire box. My solution, was to use puppy pee pads, underneath the boxes to catch her urine. It seems to work for us, I just change the pad once it gets soiled, and I don't have to mop every day.

for starters...declawing is incredibly cruel. hack the first joint off of all your fingers and then tell me it's okay to de-claw your cat.

maybe he thinks he's in the box when he puts his front paws in. why not try and give him a box he can walk into? cut a pathway into it.

but if he pees as much as you say, he may have feline diabetes. does he drink alot of water? i mean ALOT of water? if he's as big as you say, he very well might.

3 of our cats were on the way to the pound before we took them and the other was acquired from Petsmart (was already in pound) We tried alternative methods and absolutely nothing stops them from clawing the carpet, furniture etc. There comes a point when a decision has too be made. I submit that a one-time de-clawing is less stressful on a cat than repeatedly restraining them against their will and applying caps, glue or clipping their claws. After all, they don't understand why their being held. To quote a post on this forum " all they know is something bigger than them is holding them against their will". Given their alternative destiny (the pound) they've been living the dream since kittenhood. They're fed, groomed and get medical care. Their only requirements in life are to act cute, play and suck oxygen all day while we're gone. We aren't rich and if we're nice enough to take an abandoned animal into our home then its not a stretch to ask they don't destroy our house in the process. As far as chopping a finger off at the joint goes, they don't seem to be disabled by it. They walk, run and play just fine. The only thing they can't do is successfully complete an 8ft vertical leap.

If we're going to say that de-clawing a cat is cruel, then you must also consider getting a cat spayed or neutered cruel as well. You're putting the animal through undo stress simple as that. The bottom line is that you're having the procedure done to convenience a human want as the cat is perfectly fine with sex organs. Anyway, nuff said. I appreciate the input from everyone here and I will take the cat to the Vet to rule out disease as the cause of his problems.

let's retract some claws here.

No one can change the fact that these cats are declawed and knowing that everyone has differing opinions and differing situations - it's not prudent to place judgement on someone.

Let's worry about getting the cat to the vet.

I urge you to take your cat to a vet to be checked over. You can't diagnose whether or not he has a urinary problem yourself - just because he's not blocked doesn't mean he doesn't have a UTI, diabetes etc.

I agree with what's already been said that if he's peeing right outside the litter box it sounds like the box is simply too small (or he doesn't like the litter). But you should stil take him to the vet to exclude a physical cause.

Please try to be more patient and understanding with him. He's not doing any of this to annoy you. Just like children, if our cats develop health or behavioural problems they need to be helped not criticised. Cats are very sensitive and he will pick up on the fact that you are annoyed with him, which will only make things worse.

I don't understand why once someone mentions there cat is declawed people have to go off on them. I understand you want to educate the world that declawing is in your opinion wrong but no one is going to want to listen to you when your being so negative about it. This person has come here for answers about their cats behavior not to be lectured. Personally I'd rather he declaw them then see them out on the streets or killed at a shelter. So instead of trying to make him feel bad for a decision that he has already made let's try and focus on the reason why he's here.

With that said, Catowner please let us know what the vet says and how he's doing.