Sick and tired need help for old cats

[pam black]

I have three old cats, all of whom are peeing and pooping outside the box on my newly renovated apt. I even had a special litter drawer with three pans in it built for them. They use that but also use various spots on the floor. It's a small apt. and I'm starting to feel like I live in a big litter box.
I am SO TIRED of coming home and cleaning up their messes. I have wee-wee pads all over my apt now and it's getting very depressing.

Jasper is 18 and blind. So I figure he doesn't always know where he is. But he also manages to make it to the litter box so I think he knows how to get there.

Teaguie is a 16-year-old stray who has always had a peeing problem, so I started keeping him in the bathroom during the day. He always used his litter in there and made no messes.

Fergie is about 17 and still very with it. I sometimes neglect him because the other two have such problems. I never thought he was peeing outside the box, but the other day while I was taking a shower he peed right where Teaquie's bed is. I suppose this was a marking behavior.

I guess I will try the cat attract and the feliway or maybe just some lemon scented tissues. BUT I WONDER IF THERE's A DIFFERENCE IN HOW YOU TREAT THE out of box experience for old cats.

Please HELP AND ADVISE ME! Thanks.

 

[sandy2u1]

Maybe it is just because they are getting old? Maybe they just can't hold it like they used to. It sounds as though you've always had that problem with at least one of the cats and one is blind & getting older so possibly can't find it all the time. Maybe you can just try and remember all the love and happiness they have given you over the years.

 

[maxiecat03]

I certainly empathize with you, Pam Black! I am about at my wit's end too.

My cat is only 13..just turned 13 and she's been peeing outside the litter box for about 7 yrs or so. If I hear her headed down to the basement, then most of the time she will go in the litter box with my watching and telling her to use it.

I am at work during the day....and sleep at night....so we go through alot of paper, cat spray, deodorizing powder and frustration. She pees on the cement floor of the basement, so the smell in the summer can be horrid. I mop the pee up with a solution of water and the cat smell eliminator liquid....then I put rags down to soak up the water...then hopefully it dries before she pees again....and I can get powder, paper and the linoleum on it. The sheet linoleum is cut to fit that area....and of course it gets moldy underneath, gets thrown out and replaced.

I read through the "peeing outside the litter box" section and will try orange/citrus smelly things. The problem is, she pees right at the bottom of the stairs.....and I'm worried that my other two cats will be offended by the citrus smell and not proceed to the litter box themselves.

I'm almost looking forward to the day where she goes to the Rainbow Bridge. I hate to say it, but I get grief from my husband...it does smell awful....we can smell it upstairs, so I can't blame him. Nothing like cat pee smell when having company over.

Thing is...why does she go in the box for the poo, and sometimes for the pee, but not all the time for the pee. The other two cats don't bother her. I do everything I can to make the litter boxes...all three of them...attractive. She's been checked by the Vet and is in fine health. I don't know if she wants her own litter box, but I can't control where the other two go.

I'm thinking of putting her in the bathroom during the day with her own litter box...but our only bathroom is upstairs with the bedrooms, and is a small room...about 5ft by 8 ft at the most.

I even thought about lifting the water dish during the day to control how much water she drinks. She's always been a big water drinker....therefore, alot of pee is produced...much more than the younger cats. The vet said that her kidneys are wonderful, she's not diabetic...she just loves water.

I came home today...no pee on the floor...I saw a big pee in the litter box...I knew it was her's. I was so happy. You don't know how happy I was to not clean up pee yet again. Maybe she got sick of the smell too....

Oh well.....thanks for listening....

 

[threecatowner]

Wow, I have totally been (and am now in) these same situations. My senior female (RIP Annie) peed and pooped all over the house when she got older - and at the bottom of the steps, too.

After she died (and I would still clean up after her to have her back) I had about 2 years with two young males and no litter box problems.

Until Scaredy the feral moved in last Fall - things went to hell in a handbasket. Could be entirely a coincidence, but Dusty started spraying, now he doesn't spray a lot, but I have not seen him pee in a litter box in quite a long time. It's either on the cement basement floor (and yes, I heard it from my husband, too) or outside on a bush, or the house. Yes, the house. My husband hasn't seen that yet. But he never squats, he sprays, then tries to cover it up.

He will poop in the box, just like yours. None of this makes any sense to me - I tried Cat Attract this week, and Dusty and his brother (who gave up litter boxes for some reason and must go outside) don't flock to it, but Scaredy does. And she is the one cat here with NO litter box problem. Yet.

Feliway didn't help us, but it may help you. Definitely the enzyme cleaners help - I use Nature's Miracle, but have heard on here that Nok Out works better.

Maxiecat03, please, please don't take up the water. Cats need desperately to drink freely. That could be disastrous for your kittie's health.

I do try to remember how much pleasure cats bring to my life.

Good luck to both of you.

 

[trillcat]

*rant on* I do not mean to hijack this thread, but I get mad when I hear of people thinking of putting down animals because they get old and have problems with the potty. Every animal gets old, grace be, and so do people, and come with new problems to deal with. If you can't deal with a cat, or any animal in their later stages in life where it may get messy and inconvienent then dont get animals. *rant off*

 

[sandy2u1]

I'm almost looking forward to the day where she goes to the Rainbow Bridge.

Maxie: I really hope that you are just saying that because you are having a bad day. I really hope that you don't mean it. There are people on here, me included, that would happily clean up the pee and poop of our cats that have passed if only we could have them back.
For everyone worried about cleaning up a little pee and poop....let me tell you about my cat Whiskers. Whiskers was a beautiful, sweet cat....just a very in your lap kind of cat. I spent many a night fluffing his hair as he lay in my lap (he had long hair). One day he had an accident and broke his tail. This caused him to lose his bladder function. With no bladder function, he was dripping pee constantly. I had to put pads in all the places he liked to lay. I found myself hoping and praying that he could survive...even if it meant him peeing everywhere. I even learned to express his bladder for him. After his pee turning to blood, lots of research and veterinarians...I finally had to make the decision to put him out of his misery. Never in my life has my lap felt so empty as it did that day. Just so ya know...it could be a lot worse. Be thankful that you have your kitties.

 

[jennyr]

I don't think the OP is considering putting her cat to sleep - only that she is at her wits' end and wants to get rid of the problem. I also have a peeing cat - Cinders, who also sometimes poops on the floor. She is now about 10 years old and my mother had this problem with her for years before I took her over. She lives in her own room as she hates other cats and mixing with them makes it even worse - she pees on beds, sofas and carpets when she is upset. So her room is almost bare of furniture except for a chest of drawers with a blanket on it by the window, and a washable chair. She has three boxes in it and uses them, but goes on the floor too. We have tried everything including a very expensive animal behaviourist but nothing works. I don't know if she is happy, she purrs when I spend time with her and is affectionate, but I feel guilty for keeping her in there. However, it seems the only way as she gets even more upset and therefore pees more if I try to change her living arrangements. I would never put her to sleep, but the thought does cross mind sometimes that this is no way for an animal to live.

 

[maxiecat03]

I would never put my cats to sleep because of a peeing problem. I was simply saying that my frustration level was at its highest yesterday....and even if she lives to 25 yrs old....it will bother me that she pees outside the litter box...sometimes. This morning...down she went, in she hopped and peed.....I praised her the whole time with a soothing, encouraging voice, gave her pets as she headed up the stairs and shook the treat bottle for her. She then enjoyed 4 treats....Greenies..her favourite.

I'm trying to have her associate treats and positive reinforcement with peeing in the litter box. When she pees outside the box...well, I just tell her in a normal voice that she was a bad girl....LOL....then I tell her 'brothers'...don't do what Phoebe does.....and they all get hugs. Of course, this all happens away from the litter box....they probably don't know what the heck I'm saying....

I know that I'm not the only one in this situation...I just don't know what goes through her head as she needs to go pee.
I won't lift her water bowl....it was just an idea, I know it's not a solution.

We had a nice bonding session last night...she likes to lay her head on my hand...I pet her with the other one...and she purrs and purrs and purrs. Of course, her 'brother's come along and they want attention...so it was a lovefest.....

We just enjoy the good peeing times and endure the wet floor as best we can. I use Nature's Miracle and do find that it helps reduce the smell. I put it in the water that I wash the floor with, then use it full strength in a spray bottle after I wash the floor. Then I lay rags down to dry the floor.

Phoebe is the most gentlest of cats and is a pleasure 99.9% of the time..LOL The other 0.1%, well, it's not bad...I'm not a pleasure even 99.9% of the time at the best of times....so she's better than me...!!