Help Please, dont wanna put my cat down!

Loki, my female, has peed on my carpet and rugs for almost as long as I have had her. Her previous owner wanted to get rid of her because her daughters had gone to college and she didn't want pets anymore, and her older cat was close to being put down. I aquired her about 3.5 years ago and she was about 3 years old then.

When I first got her, I had a male cat who I adopted 2 years prior from the animal shelter who is an ideal cat, spayed and declawed prior to my knowing him as well. I was looking for a companion for him when I saw her picture at PetSmart looking for a home for her.

The reason I got a declawed cat in the first place is that I already had a 4 year old poodle who I knew would get her eyes scratched out by a clawed cat due to her hyperness. This is not really relevant but just want to let you know that I would never declaw a cat personally.

Back to Loki, she has peed in probably most of my rooms. She is healthy, no bladder problem, she had peed in her prior owners house on towels that were left on the floor. I first noticed her peeing on my floor a month after I got her when I put a towel down to keep the cold air out. I guess that is when it all started.

She took a long while to warm up to me and my other furry kids. She is very aloof to most people except me, finally.

Now I am having to have some repairs done to my house due to plumbing and mold probs and will have to move out of my house temporarily. I also will probably replace my carpet which I am worrying will still be a problem with Loki even with new carpet and the urine smell gone.

I'm just looking for some guidance. I know all 3 of the animals will have a hard time adjusting to another living environment even for a short time. I can't imagine giving Loki to a shelter with her problem. I don't want anything bad to ever happen to her. I have grown to love the little devil.

I have read on this and other sites that it is good to have one litter box for each cat and I only have one right now. She always defecates in her box, but not always pees in it. I keep it very clean as well and its in an area that is not intrusive.

I don't want to put her to sleep, as I see other than letting her live in my newly carpeted house as the only option for her sake.

Thanks for any wisdom. Oh, and Lorie D., she looks exactly like your Snowball.

Catzed

Trying this again.....

Once you remove the source of the smell of urine, the carpet and such, it would be a good idea to go to Petsmart either online or if you have one close to you and buy a black light flashlight. Wait until dark, then go into the room where the carpet was ripped up and shine it. The black light will show the urine and you will be able to see all the places it leaked. Then you need to get a good odor remover and scrub the boards to remove the smell completely.

Also it is a good idea to have more than one litterbox. The general rule is one per cat, and put it in a private place, make sure it is big enough and that the litter is deep enough for the cat to do the business at hand. Keep the box clean by scrubbing it daily and even try one with a cover on it. If you use litterbox liners, some cats hate this stuff and will avoid it at all costs.

You said your cat was given the all clear by the vet, so you did the right thing in taking her in and getting her checked out. You can also try to increase the time you spend with her playing and such, so she doesn't feel left out of your life. If there has been any kind of change in her life, she will react to it, cats like routine life with not to many surprises.

But if she pees somewhere, she will refresh it every 3 days just because this is her nature. She is marking her territory for whatever reason. It could even be that she is sensitive enough to pick up that before she came to live there, another cat lived there before her and she smelled the smell and responded by spraying.

Good luck.......and check your email will you please?


Thanks

Thank you, Hissy, for the wonderful tips!

Loki was the first animal to pee in my house (since I have owned it, the last 8 years) and she may have smelled a previous animal's urine. From what you said, you think she may be OK once I remove the urine odor. I certainly hope so as I have grown to love her and don't want her to ever suffer abuse from someone because she has a litter problem or any other reason.

Anyone else have any ideas? It's going to be a crazy few months for my babies and me, we need all the help we can get.

Thanks so much,
Catzed

My cat, now a little over 5 yrs old, has always peed in inappropriate places as well (clothes left on the floor, the dogs' bed, rugs etc). This winter it got pretty bad, she was peeing on the sofa almost every day, and I of course had her checked out by the vet, nothing was wrong there. What I did was change the litter, even though she'd had the same litter (wood pellets) for several years, and this in addition to having my new cat spayed helped, she hasn't peed anywhere she isn't supposed to since. She seems to prefer clumping type of litter, perhaps because removing the clumps takes care of the smells pretty good, maybe she didn't want to go in the box if it smelled like the other cat too much, who knows?! I also added another litter box, so that there were three altogether for two cats, and when I was finding out what litter she liked, I put different litters in the different boxes. I also, for the first time, bought a covered box (and then another), and they do seem to prefer these, perhaps they feel more secure in them.

My cat, anyway, will react to any stress in her life with urinating inappropriately, and that is something I just have to accept. If I'm gone from home too long (in her opinion), or there's some change in our daily life, she will let me know she's stressed by peeing somewhere other than her litter box. But the things I told about above have really cut down on the peeing outside the box a lot, and I do keep "peeable" objects off the floor, no need to tempt her, and this has kept her peeing in the box for several months now. She is also very aloof, only attached to me, and takes a long time to warm up to other people or pets. Perhaps this type of cat reacts to stress more easily?

Just thought I'd share, maybe it'll give you some ideas on what to try. Good luck and it's so wonderful you're willing to work with this problem and the cat.

More good stuff, thanks Eeva!

I'm still all ears

Please check out the ideas in this thread

http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...iate+urination

I bought a can of Feliway spray at the store earlier as I remembered reading about it on this forum, $28 it better work! lol

When reading the instructions, it says to wash urine with water or alcohol only. Well, I have already cleaned all the areas with Febreeze and cleaners. What should I do now before I spray the Feliway? Try cleaning it with vinegar?

One thing I found interesting is that it talks about facial pheremones, Loki is always rubbing her face on everything, marking her territory I presume (which is probably why she always has feline acne) so I wonder if her urinating is not a territorial thing as well.

Also, even though she is supposed to be in good health, I have noticed something that doesn't seem right. Under her butt, what seems like it would be the top of her genitalia maybe, always kinda looks kinda reddish. Her butt usually does too, however, I have never seen blood anywhere. Any idea? Could it just be poop stains? I'm wonderng if I should take her so the vet can see it, even though I just had he annual exam last month but failed to point that out to her. And she doesn't care much for me trying to spread her legs open to try to examine lol. Come to think of it, maybe that is what her genitalia is supposed to look like, here I am a mommy with an overactive imagination.

Thanks,
Catzed

My suggestion to you is to go back to the vet and have them do both blood and urine lab testing to determine if there is a medical reason for this behavior. I understand that Loki was just at the vet last month, but if they didn't do lab work, it might be next to impossible to rule out UTI or other health issue.

While others may have different experience, it has been my experience that when a mature female cat exhibits this type of behavior, it is almost always caused by a UTI which is easily cleared up with antibiotics.

Males, in my experience, especially intact males, are more demonstrative in territorial behaviors than females unless the female is a breeding queen, however, others may have different experience with this.

Best of luck, and please let us know how it goes,

Gaye

I just picked up a spray called Indoor Pet Control. It stops household pet damage and is safe for furniture and drapes. Here is what the can says.

PETSAV'R INDOOR PET CONTROL when used in conjunction with verbal commands and possitive reinforcement, can alter destructive pet behaviour. Animals find the scent of PETSAV'R INDOOR PET CONTROL offensive, yet it's citrus smell is pleasing to humans. Use it to protect specific articles and areas of your home or pet's living area.

I just sprayed some in my cats problem areas. They haven't even went near the room I sprayed it in. Peppurr went to go near it and ran away. He shook his head as if to say "Man, How can humans stand that stink!" There are many other products like this that are proven to stop pet problems.

Here's a pic.


PET SAV'R INDOOR PET CONTROL is available at PetsMart and other Pet Stores. There is also another one made from PET SAV'R Called PET SAV'R ODOR ELIMINATOR here's some info.

PET SAV'R ODOR ELIMINATOR works on all strong, problem pet odors including waste odors, glandular secretions, even skunk and ferret odors! It effectively neutralizes the source of the odor and leaves a light, fresh scent. Does not hide or mask the odor with heavy fragrance or perfumes. Use on carpet, furniture, draperies, litter boxes, and more. It can even be used directly on the pets themselves, simply moisten a cloth with Odor Eliminator and rub into pet's fur. Contains no CFC's or ozone depleting chemicals. Please ready and follow label directions for use.

A Picture



This is also available at PetsMart and other Pet Stores.

There is also one called UT Urine Terminator
UT Urine Terminator will remove old, set-in odors and stains, regardless of their age. Unlike other cleaners, it works permanently to erase accidents, so it keeps odors from coming back to carpets and fabrics. Kit consists of an enzyme powder you mix with water and pour on the areas; a second solution reacts with the chemical levels of the first to convert the source of the odor into an evaporable gas. Once dry, everything can be vacuumed away.never to be smelled again. 16 fl. oz bottle of solution and powder packet gives approximately four uses.

A Picture


This is available at PetsMart.

Try The INDOOR PET CONTROL it works wonders!!
I hope Loki stays with you!!