I am VERY frustrated: cat peeing on floor (LONG)
 

in article . net, Diane L.
Schirf at wrote on 3/9/04 9:47
PM:

In article p4w3c.66407$Ff2.36213@clgrps12,
"Melissa Coderre" wrote:

Please, if you have ANY suggestions, please post them here or email me at my
personal email. I am NOT going to give up this cat, but I'm getting so
frustrated with her I dread coming home from work because I know I will have
another puddle to clean up. My apartment perpetually smells like urine.

I'm trying the Feliway diffuser, which is supposed to help with anxiety,
although I don't think that's Hodge's problem. Anyway, it sounds like
the cat's been through a lot with the kennel, changes, etc., so it can't
hurt. I got it through healthypets.com, which has it for less than some
of the bigger chain sites. You might want to read about it to see if you
think it would help.

Has kitty seen a vet? Sounds like stress from all the change could be giving
her an infection.

Karen

She has been seen by the vet twice since this started. She has been peeing
on the floor for almost 2 years now. She is obviously stressed, but this is
NOT change in her life. Maybe at first, but that was 8 months ago!!!

It is NOT a physical problem. She sometimes does pee in the box, and NEVER
strains or has blood in her urine.

Any other suggestions?

Has kitty seen a vet? Sounds like stress from all the change could be
giving
her an infection.

Karen

She has been seen by the vet twice since this started. She has been peeing
on the floor for almost 2 years now. She is obviously stressed, but this is
NOT change in her life. Maybe at first, but that was 8 months ago!!!

It is NOT a physical problem. She sometimes does pee in the box, and NEVER
strains or has blood in her urine.

Any other suggestions?

Has kitty seen a vet? Sounds like stress from all the change could be
giving
her an infection.

Karen

in article VGw3c.66769$Ff2.53055@clgrps12, Melissa at wrote
on 3/9/04 10:19 PM:

She has been seen by the vet twice since this started. She has been peeing
on the floor for almost 2 years now. She is obviously stressed, but this is
NOT change in her life. Maybe at first, but that was 8 months ago!!!

It is NOT a physical problem. She sometimes does pee in the box, and NEVER
strains or has blood in her urine.

Any other suggestions?

Then I agree with the other poster. I would add a box elsewhere and get a
couple of Feliway diffusers. Feliway is a synthetic pheromone that calms
cats and can help with behaviour like this. Check out www.feliway.com. I use
it for kitties that don't get along and it has been quite helpful, but it is
also pretty successful with inappropriate elimination. But also add a box.
It could not hurt and it may help.

Karen

in article VGw3c.66769$Ff2.53055@clgrps12, Melissa at wrote
on 3/9/04 10:19 PM:

She has been seen by the vet twice since this started. She has been peeing
on the floor for almost 2 years now. She is obviously stressed, but this is
NOT change in her life. Maybe at first, but that was 8 months ago!!!

It is NOT a physical problem. She sometimes does pee in the box, and NEVER
strains or has blood in her urine.

Any other suggestions?

Then I agree with the other poster. I would add a box elsewhere and get a
couple of Feliway diffusers. Feliway is a synthetic pheromone that calms
cats and can help with behaviour like this. Check out www.feliway.com. I use
it for kitties that don't get along and it has been quite helpful, but it is
also pretty successful with inappropriate elimination. But also add a box.
It could not hurt and it may help.

Karen

Hi Melissa,
I understand how frustrating it can be to have a pet that pees in the
wrong place. If a cat pees next to the litter box its usually because
they don't like something about the litter , the box itself , access
might be difficult or they dont feel safe to use it e.g. being
ambushed by another cat and other reasons like this rather than it
being a behaviour problem . What also can happen is the original
reason for not using the litter box is forgotten by the cat and it
becomes conditioned to using another surface.

You wrote :
I do NOT punish
her when I don't catch her doing it. When I do catch her doing it,
she gets
yelled at (she HATES being yelled at and will literally run away and
cower
for 10 minutes), but nothing worse.

I have to disagree with you and say that yelling *is* punishment and
she is very frightened and cowers so I don't feel you can dismiss it
as "nothing worse"
Just as you've been through the mill emotionally, so has your cat .
The moving home , the kennels , new cats are very all upsetting for a
cat . Your cat won't understand why you are so upset and aggressive to
her, she'll just see you as someone who's unpredictable and to be wary
of . She'll eventually lose any sense of security she has left,
exacerbating any behaviour problems.

For advice about cats go to my website
http://mysite.freeserve.com/petinfolinks/
Click on the page 2/C button for the page with links to Cat Behaviour
websites and page 6/V for veterinary websites.
HTH Alison



"Melissa Coderre" wrote in message
news:p4w3c.66407$Ff2.36213@clgrps12...
Yes, I have posted this to a lot of groups. And if there are any
more that
it would be appropriate in, PLEASE let me know.

I am at my wit's end. I love my cats, but one of them is making me
so mad I
just want to rip her head off (but I won't).

History: the offending cat (Aubrie) was a rescue. Got her when she
was 2,
she is now almost 5. A month after I got her, I got 2 more cats. She
always
got along well with them.
She also always peed on the floor. But only when I'd forgotten to
scoop the
litter boxes (we had 3 for 3 cats).

A year ago, I got divorced. She and one of the other cats spent 4
months in
a kennel, and then we (Aubrie, me and one of the other cats--the
third
stayed with the ex) moved here. I didn't hear any reports of her
peeing on
the floor at the kennel, and they only had one litter box for the 2
cats I
had there.
A week after moving here, a 4 week old kitten was found at my work
place and
I brought him home. He lived in the bathroom for basically the first
3 weeks
he was here, and has since been integrated into every part of our
lives. I
now have 4 litter boxes for 3 cats, which I scoop once a day.

Problem is, basically since we moved here, Aubrie has been peeing on
the
floor a lot. She will only pee NEXT to the litter box (in the same
room),
though ocassionally she pees on a throw rug in my adjacent kitchen.
She has
NEVER peed on the carpeted floor, or anywhere that isn't at least in
the
general vicinity of the litter boxes. She has been examined by a
veterinarian (twice) for this, and it is NOT a health issue. I am
using the
same litter I have always used with her (it took a couple to get one
that
she would use at all). The room with the litter boxes is easily
accessible,
and even if the kitten scares her away, she still goes in there to
pee on
the floor...

Basically now she pees on the floor when she's hungry, when the box
is
dirty, when the litter box is clean, when I've left her for more
than 3
hours on a weekend...pretty much anytime that she wants to. I do NOT
punish
her when I don't catch her doing it. When I do catch her doing it,
she gets
yelled at (she HATES being yelled at and will literally run away and
cower
for 10 minutes), but nothing worse. I've tried everything I can
think of, so
now I'm coming to you. The other two have PERFECT litter box habits,
and
have only had the ocassional "miss" when they sit too close to the
side.

Please, if you have ANY suggestions, please post them here or email
me at my
personal email. I am NOT going to give up this cat, but I'm getting
so
frustrated with her I dread coming home from work because I know I
will have
another puddle to clean up. My apartment perpetually smells like
urine.

Please help me.
Melissa

Hi Melissa,
I understand how frustrating it can be to have a pet that pees in the
wrong place. If a cat pees next to the litter box its usually because
they don't like something about the litter , the box itself , access
might be difficult or they dont feel safe to use it e.g. being
ambushed by another cat and other reasons like this rather than it
being a behaviour problem . What also can happen is the original
reason for not using the litter box is forgotten by the cat and it
becomes conditioned to using another surface.

You wrote :
I do NOT punish
her when I don't catch her doing it. When I do catch her doing it,
she gets
yelled at (she HATES being yelled at and will literally run away and
cower
for 10 minutes), but nothing worse.

I have to disagree with you and say that yelling *is* punishment and
she is very frightened and cowers so I don't feel you can dismiss it
as "nothing worse"
Just as you've been through the mill emotionally, so has your cat .
The moving home , the kennels , new cats are very all upsetting for a
cat . Your cat won't understand why you are so upset and aggressive to
her, she'll just see you as someone who's unpredictable and to be wary
of . She'll eventually lose any sense of security she has left,
exacerbating any behaviour problems.

For advice about cats go to my website
http://mysite.freeserve.com/petinfolinks/
Click on the page 2/C button for the page with links to Cat Behaviour
websites and page 6/V for veterinary websites.
HTH Alison



"Melissa Coderre" wrote in message
news:p4w3c.66407$Ff2.36213@clgrps12...
Yes, I have posted this to a lot of groups. And if there are any
more that
it would be appropriate in, PLEASE let me know.

I am at my wit's end. I love my cats, but one of them is making me
so mad I
just want to rip her head off (but I won't).

History: the offending cat (Aubrie) was a rescue. Got her when she
was 2,
she is now almost 5. A month after I got her, I got 2 more cats. She
always
got along well with them.
She also always peed on the floor. But only when I'd forgotten to
scoop the
litter boxes (we had 3 for 3 cats).

A year ago, I got divorced. She and one of the other cats spent 4
months in
a kennel, and then we (Aubrie, me and one of the other cats--the
third
stayed with the ex) moved here. I didn't hear any reports of her
peeing on
the floor at the kennel, and they only had one litter box for the 2
cats I
had there.
A week after moving here, a 4 week old kitten was found at my work
place and
I brought him home. He lived in the bathroom for basically the first
3 weeks
he was here, and has since been integrated into every part of our
lives. I
now have 4 litter boxes for 3 cats, which I scoop once a day.

Problem is, basically since we moved here, Aubrie has been peeing on
the
floor a lot. She will only pee NEXT to the litter box (in the same
room),
though ocassionally she pees on a throw rug in my adjacent kitchen.
She has
NEVER peed on the carpeted floor, or anywhere that isn't at least in
the
general vicinity of the litter boxes. She has been examined by a
veterinarian (twice) for this, and it is NOT a health issue. I am
using the
same litter I have always used with her (it took a couple to get one
that
she would use at all). The room with the litter boxes is easily
accessible,
and even if the kitten scares her away, she still goes in there to
pee on
the floor...

Basically now she pees on the floor when she's hungry, when the box
is
dirty, when the litter box is clean, when I've left her for more
than 3
hours on a weekend...pretty much anytime that she wants to. I do NOT
punish
her when I don't catch her doing it. When I do catch her doing it,
she gets
yelled at (she HATES being yelled at and will literally run away and
cower
for 10 minutes), but nothing worse. I've tried everything I can
think of, so
now I'm coming to you. The other two have PERFECT litter box habits,
and
have only had the ocassional "miss" when they sit too close to the
side.

Please, if you have ANY suggestions, please post them here or email
me at my
personal email. I am NOT going to give up this cat, but I'm getting
so
frustrated with her I dread coming home from work because I know I
will have
another puddle to clean up. My apartment perpetually smells like
urine.

Please help me.
Melissa

It is very difficult the break the pattern, and I can only second all the
motions of phermone diffusers, etc.

Something that seems to have worked for our household is prolonged
confinement. We have a little headcase who worked herself into such a
state of anxiety that she developed a habit of peeing directly into the
stove top of our gas range (fortunately one of the sealed variety). At
wit's end, I isolated her in a small room we call the nursery. She had
the best view window in the house, her own litterpan and food supply and
no contact with the other cats. Eventually (several months later) she was
joined by another cat (caged) who needed containment in order to be
medicated. A few weeks later, the caged cat was released into the nursery
to keep her company; he was allowed back into the community perhaps two
weeks after that. Then (we're talking maybe 6 months after her
confinement began) the nursery door was opened; closed only at night and
when I was not at home.

Now the door is open all the time, and our little headcase is free to roam
the house. So far (though it has only been a few weeks) no pee on the
stovetop or anywhere else other than the litterpan. Now if I could just
figure out who is pooing just outside the litterpan every day, all would
be well.

Sharon Talbert
Friends of Campus Cats

It is very difficult the break the pattern, and I can only second all the
motions of phermone diffusers, etc.

Something that seems to have worked for our household is prolonged
confinement. We have a little headcase who worked herself into such a
state of anxiety that she developed a habit of peeing directly into the
stove top of our gas range (fortunately one of the sealed variety). At
wit's end, I isolated her in a small room we call the nursery. She had
the best view window in the house, her own litterpan and food supply and
no contact with the other cats. Eventually (several months later) she was
joined by another cat (caged) who needed containment in order to be
medicated. A few weeks later, the caged cat was released into the nursery
to keep her company; he was allowed back into the community perhaps two
weeks after that. Then (we're talking maybe 6 months after her
confinement began) the nursery door was opened; closed only at night and
when I was not at home.

Now the door is open all the time, and our little headcase is free to roam
the house. So far (though it has only been a few weeks) no pee on the
stovetop or anywhere else other than the litterpan. Now if I could just
figure out who is pooing just outside the litterpan every day, all would
be well.

Sharon Talbert
Friends of Campus Cats

when you took her to the vet, did they do any xrays? My cat had been peeing
outside of the litterbox for a couple of years. We were first was told it
was behavioral, and then they kept checking urine for UTIs. Finally, the
vet we have now took an xray, and he has kidney stones, and probably have
had these for a couple years!!
I know (believe me) it's a pain taking the cat to the vet so many times, but
I would encourage an xray if that hasn't been done yet.
Good luck. I know how frustrating this can be.




"Melissa Coderre" wrote in message
news:p4w3c.66407$Ff2.36213@clgrps12...
Yes, I have posted this to a lot of groups. And if there are any more that
it would be appropriate in, PLEASE let me know.

I am at my wit's end. I love my cats, but one of them is making me so mad
I
just want to rip her head off (but I won't).

History: the offending cat (Aubrie) was a rescue. Got her when she was 2,
she is now almost 5. A month after I got her, I got 2 more cats. She
always
got along well with them.
She also always peed on the floor. But only when I'd forgotten to scoop
the
litter boxes (we had 3 for 3 cats).

A year ago, I got divorced. She and one of the other cats spent 4 months
in
a kennel, and then we (Aubrie, me and one of the other cats--the third
stayed with the ex) moved here. I didn't hear any reports of her peeing on
the floor at the kennel, and they only had one litter box for the 2 cats I
had there.
A week after moving here, a 4 week old kitten was found at my work place
and
I brought him home. He lived in the bathroom for basically the first 3
weeks
he was here, and has since been integrated into every part of our lives. I
now have 4 litter boxes for 3 cats, which I scoop once a day.

Problem is, basically since we moved here, Aubrie has been peeing on the
floor a lot. She will only pee NEXT to the litter box (in the same room),
though ocassionally she pees on a throw rug in my adjacent kitchen. She
has
NEVER peed on the carpeted floor, or anywhere that isn't at least in the
general vicinity of the litter boxes. She has been examined by a
veterinarian (twice) for this, and it is NOT a health issue. I am using
the
same litter I have always used with her (it took a couple to get one that
she would use at all). The room with the litter boxes is easily
accessible,
and even if the kitten scares her away, she still goes in there to pee on
the floor...

Basically now she pees on the floor when she's hungry, when the box is
dirty, when the litter box is clean, when I've left her for more than 3
hours on a weekend...pretty much anytime that she wants to. I do NOT
punish
her when I don't catch her doing it. When I do catch her doing it, she
gets
yelled at (she HATES being yelled at and will literally run away and cower
for 10 minutes), but nothing worse. I've tried everything I can think of,
so
now I'm coming to you. The other two have PERFECT litter box habits, and
have only had the ocassional "miss" when they sit too close to the side.

Please, if you have ANY suggestions, please post them here or email me at
my
personal email. I am NOT going to give up this cat, but I'm getting so
frustrated with her I dread coming home from work because I know I will
have
another puddle to clean up. My apartment perpetually smells like urine.

Please help me.
Melissa