Cat Pee Problems !!!HELP ME!!!

On 13 Jul 2005 22:47:13 -0700, wrote:

The weird thing is that he does USE the litter box. He just seems to
get moody for one reason or another sometimes. I feel like he is
attacking my personal space on purpose. He knows what he is doing is
bad because he runs away afterwards. ??? It just seems like he is
trying to get my attention... ???


Have you tried different types of litter, different boxes, and
different locations?

When Chase was young, I switched from my regular litter to another
kind. He immediately started peeing on my bed. He did not like
pellets, and I got the message loud and clear. I changed back to the
other litter, and the problem was solved.

On another occasion, I let the box get dirty, and he went and peed on
the bed again. Got my attention very quickly. After that, he knew if
he wanted the box scooped, all he had to do was go to the bed, meow,
and paw. I would instantly jump up and go scoop the box.

He doesn't do it much anymore, as the box is usually good. But if
Jay Jay leaves a nasty, and Chase is upset, he just does that funny
meow, and I go scoop it for him. He doesn't even have to go to the
bed. I know that meow.


--
Meghan & the Zoo Crew
Equine and Pet Photography
http://www.zoocrewphoto.com

On 13 Jul 2005 23:00:38 -0700, "JJ" wrote:


cats with litter issues. And try various scents. feline pine has a new
clumping litter - I like it! Cat ATTRACT is available at Petsmart and
so is the new feline pine clumping.


Is that clumping litter a small grain? I tried the pellets and Chase
hates it. I can't get my litter at the grocery store, only the pet
store, which closes before I get off work. If I need it before a day
off, I have to buy the old clay kind. I won't use scoopable silicone
litters, so I'm limited on choices.

You need a variety of cat litter box styles (covered, shallow, deep)
and put a thinner layer of litter - some believe that cats do not like
going in litter if it is too deep.....we humans like it deep because
this means less changing....

I would try it both ways. You can set up two boxes, one each way, and
see what is preferred. Most of my cats do not care, but Chase likes
his really deep. He can't wait to jump in when I top it off.

I use large sterilite plastic bins that I
buy at Walmart because I have a cat that misses the box and also sprays
her urine - the high sides of the Sterilite box prevent a mess!

I use a box, possibly the same brand, that has a separate piece that
locks onto the bottom. It is not covered, but gives higher sides. I
like it because I can fill it deeper for Chase, and he doesn't shovel
it all out onto the floor. He's pretty excited about his digging.

I also recently discovered that it helps protect the liners. I tried
another larger box whihc was great, expect that the cats totally
shredded the liner by pawing at the edges of the box. I'd love to go
back to the larger box, but I don't have a way to protect the liners,
and I really like being able to use the liners.


Also, if cat insists on going in one certain spot (in a corner of
bathroom for instance) put a litter box there - at least do this now
until this situation is figured out.

Very good idea. The first goal is to get them using the boxes,
regardless of what you have to do to convince them. Once you have them
using the boxes consistently, *then* you can work on compromising on
the terms.

When I got Jay Jay, he would spend the day upstairs whiel I was at
work. But the litter boxes were both downstairs (where the cats
normally hang out). The door was always open, but Jay Jay was afraid
of dogs, and they hung out in the living room. Jay Jay would only walk
through the living room if he walked with me.

So, I put a litter box upstairs. There wasn't a good place for one as
it needs to be away from the dogs. So, I put it in the bathtub. I a it
annoying to remove each time we took a shower, but the dogs would
never jump in the tub, so it was unavailable to them but still
available for Jay Jay. It worked great. Jay Jay had soem diarrhea from
the food change, but he never missed the box. After a month, I took
out the box. He was good with the dogs by then, so no problems.



Also, buy a plastic/water-proof matress cover to save your mattress!

You can also cover the top of the bed with a vinyl tablecloth or two.
I used to do this when Kira would get seperation anxiety. I would go
out of twon overnight and come back to a mess on my bed. Usually
diarrhea. I would put the tablecloth on, fuzzy side up, and toss a
throw blanket on part of it. She had a cozy place to stay, and I could
peel off the mess and have a nice clean bed underneath.

--
Meghan & the Zoo Crew
Equine and Pet Photography
http://www.zoocrewphoto.com

"JJ" wrote in message
oups.com...
Help for pee problems:

Increase the number of litter boxes you have - and have them in
discreet places that are easily accessed by the cat.

snip
Also, if cat insists on going in one certain spot (in a corner of
bathroom for instance) put a litter box there - at least do this now
until this situation is figured out.

Good idea! Duffy insists on having a litter box in a specific location.
Shortly after I adopted him, I tried to change the location of the box. He
would "usually" use it but would occasionally return to the previous
location and use the floor. I experimented, and the same thing happened
each time. So, Duffy won! One of the boxes now remains in his "preferred"
location, and I have not had any problems since then. The suggestion about
the number of litter boxes is also a good one. Some cats like to use one
box for urine and one for feces. The general rule of thumb is to provide
one box per cat plus one extra.

MaryL

On Thu, 14 Jul 2005 01:07:31 -0500, "MaryL"
-OUT-THE-LITTER wrote:

box when she was older, and I always believed that it was associated with
pain in trying to use litter (arthritis is one of the physical problems that
is often associated with declawing). I looked for the very softest clumping
litter I could find and finally settled on one called Better Way. It can be
hard to find, but it helped a great deal. There is also a litter known as
Cat Attract. I have never used it, but it is a scoopable litter blended
with an herb extract that is supposed to be an attractant to cats. That
might be worth trying.

A couple people mentioned arthritis being associated with declawing. I
would suggest adding a supplement. Glucosamine will help with that.
Even if she doesn't have it now, it can help prevent it.

You can supplements to mix in with food, flavored tablets to give the
cat directly, or some foods come with it in it.


--
Meghan & the Zoo Crew
Equine and Pet Photography
http://www.zoocrewphoto.com

wrote in message
oups.com...
He is a Bengal cat... if that helps any of you experts. Oh...
PAWSFORTHOUGHT... he is declawed... and come to mention it... most of
the major problems have taken place since then. Why do you ask? You
seem concerned... I am now too. The vet recommended it for his breed
and personality. I always trust professionals... Should I not? He
said there were no drawbacks and/or side effects. ???


He probably holds a deep and permanent grudge against you for mutiliating
his feet. You rip his claws out, he pees all over your house - what goes
around comes around.
--

Niel H

Thank you captain obvious! I was asking for HELP ... not negative
criticism... Until tonight I never knew what they did to cats in a
declaw! I know it's my fault for being so ignorant to the topic...
But you would think that your vet wouldn't recommend something so
horrible for your cat, would you? Well... he did... and I did. Now my
cat's ****ed, literally, and it's my entire fault. I'm sorry. I
know I can't take the pain away from kitty... but I'm going to do
everything I can to make him feel better... and stop others from having
this procedure done on their cat. I'm not a mean or malicious person,
and I feel awful for what I did... but you can't change the past,
right?

I wrote this to someone earlier:
I was told to check out stopdeclaw.com. ... I just did and I started
gagging and crying. I made my husband come take a look at what we did
to our little guy. We both feel like IGNORANT ASSES. We are not going

to give up on him. It's our fault he acts the way he does... and we
have to live with it now. We will get educated... and work together on

helping him. We realized that him peeing on the bed was probably
because the bed is soft and does not hurt his paws. =( We kind of put
pieces of the puzzle together. We always wondered why he would "scoop"

at everything. Now we know.
Our vet recommended that we do the procedure. I asked my husband why
he would recommend such a thing... He said that everyone has to make
there money somehow... jerks... that's just as bad as being a drug
dealer. I'm going to call the vet in the morning and let him know what

I found out... We will look for vet services elsewhere now... from a
vet that is against declawing. When we find that vet, we are going to
take Brody in to get checked out for a bad declaw. Sad. So sad. We
feel horrible.

wrote in message
oups.com...
Thank you captain obvious! I was asking for HELP ... not negative
criticism... Until tonight I never knew what they did to cats in a
declaw! I know it's my fault for being so ignorant to the topic...
But you would think that your vet wouldn't recommend something so
horrible for your cat, would you? Well... he did... and I did. Now my
cat's ****ed, literally, and it's my entire fault. I'm sorry. I
know I can't take the pain away from kitty... but I'm going to do
everything I can to make him feel better... and stop others from having
this procedure done on their cat. I'm not a mean or malicious person,
and I feel awful for what I did... but you can't change the past,
right?

snip
I found out... We will look for vet services elsewhere now... from a
vet that is against declawing. When we find that vet, we are going to
take Brody in to get checked out for a bad declaw. Sad. So sad. We
feel horrible.


Don't beat yourself up over this -- just move on and do whatever is best for
your cat now. Many of us have gone through the stage where we honestly
didn't know that there was anything wrong with declawing. I know I did,
years ago. Fortunately, I did not have my cat declawed (although I later
adopted a previously-declawed cat); but I could easily have made the same
fateful decision you did. Many people simply considered it "normal" or
"routine" to declaw a cat. That was also before we had the Internet, so
research was not as easy (but definitely not impossible). Still, I just
didn't think about researching it -- I just casually accepted the "thinking"
that there was was nothing wrong with declawing. That is what happened to
you. You know better now and have made it clear that it won't happen again.
So, as I said, now you need to move forward and do whatever you can for your
cat. You can't undo this terrible butchery, but you can take steps to help
your cat as much as possible (and not "blame" your kitty for what people
often mistake for "malicious" behavior).

I hope you can find a vet that opposes declawing. At the same time, I know
that can be a formidable task -- and may even be impossible, depending on
where you live. Unfortunately, declawing is a lucrative part of many
(probably most) veterinary practices. Still, you could at the least search
for a vet who is open to a frank discussion of the consequences and who does
not "recommend" this brutal procedure.

MaryL

Duffy: http://tinyurl.com/cslwf
Holly: http://tinyurl.com/9t68o
Duffy and Holly together: http://tinyurl.com/8b47e

wrote in message
oups.com...
The weird thing is that he does USE the litter box. He just seems to
get moody for one reason or another sometimes. I feel like he is
attacking my personal space on purpose. He knows what he is doing is
bad because he runs away afterwards. ??? It just seems like he is
trying to get my attention... ???

Yes. A vet recommended it. When I brought him in as a kitten he said
"Oh. A Bengal?" ... "Have you thought of having him declawed?" ...
"Because most people can't handle that breed of cat... and those who do
usually get them declawed to save their furniture and their skin." I
asked about the side effects, like I would ask for myself... and he
said there were no side effects. In fact, he said that his two cats
were declawed... and members of his staff who were cat owners had their
cats declawed as well. I swear... or else I would have never done it.
I feel horrible.

I'm going to make an appointment at another vet to check out the
kitty paws. I really hope he was not "butchered" or something. I
feel so bad. I hope he is not in pain. Thank you for bringing this to
my attention.

What are the side effects of a bad declaw? ... Or a declaw in general?


OMG!!!! Run, do not walk, away from that vet!! I can't believe it! How
can a vet be so ignorant of cat behavior? Yes, Bengals are very, very
active and he *needs* his claws. Taking them away just makes things worse!

As others suggested, he may be in pain from the declaw. Get that checked
out (at another vet!!!) pronto. Also, try a different type of litter;
Swheat Scoop, World's Best, or a paper-based one. It may be that the
traditional clay litter is hurting his feet.

As for the other behavior, knocking things over and stuff, make sure he has
LOTS of adequate climbing area and toys. Get some huge, floor to ceiling
cat towers, lots of mousies to bat around, play with him frequently with
those fishing pole toys.

-Kelly

"MaryL" -OUT-THE-LITTER wrote in message
news:zinBe.115969$yV4.41368@okepread03...

wrote in message
oups.com...
Thank you for the posts... kellyh & paws for thought. =) I didn't
indicate so in my first message... but I posted one immediately after
saying that a UTI or any other physical cause is not a factor. He has
been to the vet several times and he said that he was perfectly
healthy.
snip
He is a Bengal cat... if that helps any of you experts. Oh...
PAWSFORTHOUGHT... he is declawed... and come to mention it... most of
the major problems have taken place since then. Why do you ask? You
seem concerned... I am now too. The vet recommended it for his breed
and personality. I always trust professionals... Should I not? He
said there were no drawbacks and/or side effects. ???


This is tragic! Declawing involves amputation, and it often leads to
physical and behavioral problems. Inappropriate urination is one of the
most common problems associated with declawing. This doesn't mean that
all declawed cats will develop the problem, but it is much more common for
declawed cats and for others. Unfortunately, that damage can't be undone.
However, you may be able to do a few things to help alleviate some of the
problems. I adopted a cat some years ago that had previously been
declawed (all four paws!!!). In her case, she started to urinate outside
the litter box when she was older, and I always believed that it was
associated with pain in trying to use litter (arthritis is one of the
physical problems that is often associated with declawing). I looked for
the very softest clumping litter I could find and finally settled on one
called Better Way. It can be hard to find, but it helped a great deal.
There is also a litter known as Cat Attract. I have never used it, but it
is a scoopable litter blended with an herb extract that is supposed to be
an attractant to cats. That might be worth trying.

Assuming that this may be at least partly behavioral and not completely
related to pain or other physical problems, I also suggest that you get
some Feliway. I prefer the plug-in diffusers instead of the spray because
the diffusers/dispensers release premeasured amounts at regular intervals.
Feliway is used for behavior modification and can be very useful in
reducing stress. As a last resort, you may need to consider medication
such as Prozac. Tufts Veterinary Hospital has an online service to help
people deal with behavioral problems in their cats, and they might be able
to help if you subscribe to their service.

Oh, yes, please search for another vet. It is *outrageous* to hear that a
vet would actually "recommend" declawing for a particular "breed and
personality."

MaryL

Duffy: http://tinyurl.com/cslwf
Holly: http://tinyurl.com/9t68o
Duffy and Holly together: http://tinyurl.com/8b47e

Where do you get your Feliway? I ordered some online from BioVet because of
the low price but it didn't seem to last as long. My imagination maybe?

W

"Wendy" wrote in message
...

"MaryL" -OUT-THE-LITTER wrote in message
news:zinBe.115969$yV4.41368@okepread03...


Where do you get your Feliway? I ordered some online from BioVet because
of the low price but it didn't seem to last as long. My imagination maybe?

W



How long did yours last? I find that one refill usually lasts for about 5+
weeks. I ordered mine from http://www.valleyvet.com. You could also try
www.petguys.com or www.petfooddirect.com.

MaryL