Awesome 9 year old cat -> Turning into a pest!

[gregan dunn]

Hello Everyone, so happy to see such a great community here, I hope you guys have the time and insight to help me with my buddy Maverick.

High Level Summary:

• Awesome 9 year old male tabby cat (Maverick) has started to howl relatively constantly in a begging fashion and is intermittently peeing on random items (HE PEED ON A LOAF OF BREAD ON TOP OF THE MICROWAVE TODAY!!!!).
• He just doesn't seem happy...
• His pee looks normal, no blood or discoloration visible.
• He appears otherwise totally healthy (eats like a champ, drinks, poops, pee, has energy, is affectionate etc).
• His sister Marcy hisses and howls at him WAY more than she normally used to... He's really pissing her off these days and neither of them are settling in.

History/Details:

• Has a history of peeing on things, but can mostly be blamed on me for not cleaning litter.
• He is very overweight and always wants fed, I have him and his sister tightly rationed on a timed feeder.
• Food type, meal frequency and size has remained constant.
• Litter may have changed, but I've never been consistent with litter and I'm sure I've used this one many times in the past.
• Recently moved to a new smaller home (1400 ft^2 -> 1000 ft^2) but we've lived in 650 ft^2 apartments together in the past for many years.
• Most of our furniture has changed (new furniture to fit the smaller home).
• Old house had a small enclosed yard with grass which they were allowed to hang out in, new home only has concrete patio.

Attempted Solutions:

• More affection given to him (he's always gotten all he's asked for!)
• Additional play time...
• More food...
• Extra out door patio time and also the ability to roam around completely outside for the first time with no supervision.
• Extra vigilant on litter cleaning.
• Built an awesome cat tower for them to climb on...

No noticeable improvements seen in his behaviour, he'll resort back to his poor mood and whining nearly immediately after all of the above are actioned upon.

What are my other potential solutions?

• Second litter box?
• Keep closer eye on litter type?
• ...??...??

Any ideas that you guys could share would be much much appreciated!

 

[furmonster mom]

I'm kind of wondering if he might have a UTI...  Or possible kidney issues...  The symptoms you describe follow along those lines.

I'd take him to a vet, get full blood panel and urinalysis. 

That's my first instinct.

 

[gregan dunn]

Thanks Furmonster Mom... Well, I took him in and the blood work and urinalysis came back completely negative. Only thing was the urine seemed a bit concentrated so I should focus on hydrating him more. This was easily achieved last night by working in A LOT of water in with his wet food and it was still gobbled all up in no time, I'll keep that up moving forward.

I'll also look at other ways I can settle him down, Vet said a lot of it could be stress from our move and all the change that has happened.

 

[furmonster mom]

Awesome!  I'm glad his tests came out in the clear.

Hydration is always a concern with cats, of course (which is why the first thing I think of is UTI/crystals).

Out of curiosity, did the previous owners of the home have pets?

If they had pets that made messes, even if they've been cleaned up, there may still be lingering pheremones/enzymes that your cats can smell and be putting them "off".  That may account for it taking them so long to settle in.... y'know, until they've gotten their own scents worked into things.

How long has it been since you moved in?

 

[gregan dunn]

We moved in four months ago. It's a fully gutted/renoed home, so there shouldn't be too many remaining scents from the previous owners.

 

[blixxa]

I would try a different litter, but not the super cheap kinds. I find what worked best for my cats was the Maxx scoop. Some cat litter hurt their feet, or was too dusty. I suggested it to other friends having issues with their cats, and it seemed to help. Good luck!

 

[nebula]

First off welcome! And thanks for giving such specific details. Knowing the vet stuff is OK and no health problems, maybe the ehydration was just making him feel yucky? You say you have 2 cats, do you also have 2 litter boxes? I think the general rule of thumb is 1-2 boxes per cat. So 2 cats should be a minimum of 2 boxes. Maybe put some in various places around the house in his usual areas. You didn't mention whether he is neutered or not, that can make a difference too.

 

[mrsfpmister]

Welcome! An thank you for being so awesomely clear!

My top ideas are:
1. A move can sometimes have a delayed reaction and this behavior could all be a way to remark boundaries with his sister, claim the house (one loaf of bread at a time lol) and other location/territory motives?
2. He's not feeling well? so he is being aggressive and defensive because he doesn't feel well, doesn't feel safe while sick, and so he's putting on a brave face.
3. All of the changes (furniture/sights/smells) has caused him to have some kitty stress/anxiety? so he is trying to relieve that in some mysterious cat ways, plus demand more attention because he feels safer/comforted with you around him...

 

[gregan dunn]

Thanks for all the great feedback and ideas guys, I really appreciate it.

Things have improved, no messes by Maverick for two or three days now... [which isn't long but still a good sign] The two key changes have been:

1. Hydration through mixing in substantial water with wet food. 1/2 wet raw chicken and 1/2 water. It's a gross looking messy/sloppy mix but my cats just devour it regardless. I'm sure this has dramatically improved their hydration.
2. Feliway Pheromone Diffuser. My vet recommended this and the jury is still out on it's impact though the science behind it seems fairly legit.

I really want to put in a second litter box but our townhome isn't exactly teaming with space so it's challenging to think where a second one would go (other than right in plain sight in the living/dinning room area!). I've concealed one litter box in our downstairs bathroom inside a Besta unit from Ikea, I may have to consider a second similar approach somewhere else in the house.

The only major symptom that has been on going is Marcy hissing up a storm at Maverick every time he comes near her, but honestly I think since sticking in that pheromone diffuser she's simmered down a fair amount (they haven't woken us up at night for a couple of nights).

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• gregan dunn
• Jun 2, 2014

 

[mrsfpmister]

I'm glad they're doing better!!
As for the loving siblings, do they each have a spot or place in the house that's "theirs", so they can cool off from each other if need be? Hopefully once the diffuser has a bit
longer to affect them, they'll stop the hissing too

 

[gregan dunn]

Been working on the chill out spots for them... I just picked this up and Marcy is already settling in. She is the main problem now... just hissing up a storm at Maverick.

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• gregan dunn
• Jun 3, 2014

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• gregan dunn
• Jun 3, 2014

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• gregan dunn
• Jun 3, 2014

 

[nebula]

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• gregan dunn
• Jun 3, 2014

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• gregan dunn
• Jun 3, 2014

How cute! I am glad they seem to be feeling and doing better

 

[autumnrose74]

Aaaahhhh... the Little Miss is so cute! That face!

 

[gregan dunn]

Well Marcy's hissing has decreased dramatically (though it's not totally gone... but there has always been some animosity between the two from time to time so I'm not overly worried about this).

Maverick is still peeing... it got better for a week, but he's ramped up his game. Came home yesterday and there was pee ALL OVER the microwave and counter around it. Dis. Gust. Ing.

He is going through some change... he used to be so content to stay indoors and be mellow, now he's all about getting outside and getting out and about. An odd transition for sure.

Next step is going to be to get a second litter box for them. My girlfriend isn't going to like it but we don't have much choice. We aren't going to be able to justify spending a couple of hundred bucks hiding it in a Besta from Ikea though! This is what we did to our current litter box:

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• gregan dunn
• Jun 11, 2014

 

[tillysmom]

I'm not an expert by any means and your handiwork is AMAZING but I did have one thought when I saw your litterbox set up. Maybe maverick is having a harder time getting "in" the box as he gets older. I know my older girl got very arthritic around 12 and I had to place steps near all the furniture for her to be able to get up/ down. She would have never been able to get into the IKEA box. She would also not use a covered box. She would put only her head in and then pee!!!! Removing the cover solved that. She also peed over other animal smells in an apartment we lived in and by the back door in my home to show her displeasure with her indoor/outdoor. She was a very cranky litter box user. She also peed on plastic bags and plastic backed rugs. Maybe there is a smell that's setting Maverick off. Was the bread in a bag?

I know a litter box out in the middle of everything is not fun but, let me tell you, it stays REALLY clean that way. My last litterbox was basically in my livingroom and I scooped it at least twice a day. Never smelled it. It was super clean.

Could there be any other cats outside that Maverick is smelling?

Btw, they are adorable and obviously very well-loved, lucky kitties.

P.S.

What about putting two uncovered, out in the open, boxes in the same area that the besta is in?

 

[gregan dunn]

Maverick is still very able to get in and out of the litter box. I've almost always had a cat flap for them to get out onto my balcony and most of my litter boxes over the years have had doors on them. There is plenty of poo and pee showing up in the litter, so I don't believe that's (entirely) the issue (it's probably yet another thing to add to the "new and shiny" list of things that he's not used to).

I'm going to get a second box and put it out on my patio... over the summer we just leave the sliding door open nearly 24/7 so he can get used to using that one as well. I won't be as worried about hiding that one so it will be very very easy for him to get in and out of.