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
4w3c.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