Peeing - perhaps not the run-of-the-mill reasons

My cats are 7 years old and have been 100% indoor cats all their lives.
The female, Imp, has a history of urinary tract infections that have
caused her to pee on my bed and futon. The male, Tiger, has never had
this problem.

For three months now, I have been fighting a losing battle with peeing
on those two peices of furniture. I finally had to start closing the
door to my bedroom to save my bed early in this period, but the futon
in the living room has continued as a target and can't be restricted
unless I lock her in my library... not an ideal solution to throw her
in "jail" for her offenses.

The first of July, I had both of them in for their annual check-ups and
I had the vet run a urinalysis on her. No infection found for once.
Rather bad news for me since that has always been the problem before
and easily fixed (if you want to call giving this cat medicine easy).
They sold me some Science Diet CD/S and told me to ween them onto it
and see if it helps. Six weeks later and it hasn't.

In the meantime, I bought a new futon mattress with two vinyl covers to
protect the mattress... just in case after four years of her peeing
there when she had an infection that I simply couldn't get it clean
enough now. That turned out to be a good investment... not because it's
stopped the peeing on the futon, but because it's much easier to clean
than the cloth one I had on the old mattress and keeps the pee away
from the actual mattress. She also did something she has never done
before the other morning... peed on the comforter on the futon while I
was under it sleeping.

So now what is left to try?

They both still use the litter boxes. No change in litter... still
using the only one they've ever liked, Fresh Step Scoopable. (I've
always only had two boxes for them, but I even went out a week ago and
got a third... so far neither of them has touched the new box... any
ideas how to get them to know it's ok to use it?) The current behavior
doesn't seem to match previous "my litter boxes aren't up to snuff"
behavior of peeing next to the box instead of in them anyway.

After reading through the Planet Urine web site
(http://planeturine.com/catpethappy.html) a while ago, I only saw one
thing there that seemed a possible explanation since the surface
texture has changed but the location of the inappropriate peeing
hasn't. Therefore, I've moved one of the old boxes that they do use
into the living room near the futon. All have been by the back door of
the house since I moved in a year ago. We'll see if that improves
things any.

Since there was no UTI found in July, what other medical conditions
could contribute to this type of behavior? Planet Urine states there
are several, but doesn't list any and the only one I ever see mentioned
here is UTI.

Any other ideas from anyone? My ability to think like a cat is
obviously not being very successful on this matter.

--
Jeff Traigle

http://www-personal.si.umich.edu/~traigle/

So now what is left to try?

They both still use the litter boxes. No change in litter... still
using the only one they've ever liked, Fresh Step Scoopable. (I've
always only had two boxes for them, but I even went out a week ago and
got a third... so far neither of them has touched the new box... any
ideas how to get them to know it's ok to use it?) The current behavior
doesn't seem to match previous "my litter boxes aren't up to snuff"
behavior of peeing next to the box instead of in them anyway.

After reading through the Planet Urine web site
(http://planeturine.com/catpethappy.html) a while ago, I only saw one
thing there that seemed a possible explanation since the surface
texture has changed but the location of the inappropriate peeing
hasn't. Therefore, I've moved one of the old boxes that they do use
into the living room near the futon. All have been by the back door of
the house since I moved in a year ago. We'll see if that improves
things any.


Jeff, you have my sympathy. That's about the toughest problem to deal with.
I've read, and heard from my vet, that sometimes a cat who's had bouts with UTI
will start to avoid the box because they associate it with the pain, and then
it simply becomes a behavioral issue long after the medical issue is cleared
up. I've known people who have had success with Buspar (an anti-anxiety drug,
one often used in humans for anxiety and also anger management). But this is
only after every other avenue has been exhausted. I don't like the idea of
drugging a cat, and you probably don't either, but it's something you can ask
your vet about. Feliway is another product that produces a feeling of
well-being in a cat; it's actually a pheromone and doesn't drug the cat. I
don't know if it would work in a case like yours, but it's a benign product and
won't hurt the cat. Good luck.

Sherry

So now what is left to try?

They both still use the litter boxes. No change in litter... still
using the only one they've ever liked, Fresh Step Scoopable. (I've
always only had two boxes for them, but I even went out a week ago and
got a third... so far neither of them has touched the new box... any
ideas how to get them to know it's ok to use it?) The current behavior
doesn't seem to match previous "my litter boxes aren't up to snuff"
behavior of peeing next to the box instead of in them anyway.

After reading through the Planet Urine web site
(http://planeturine.com/catpethappy.html) a while ago, I only saw one
thing there that seemed a possible explanation since the surface
texture has changed but the location of the inappropriate peeing
hasn't. Therefore, I've moved one of the old boxes that they do use
into the living room near the futon. All have been by the back door of
the house since I moved in a year ago. We'll see if that improves
things any.


Jeff, you have my sympathy. That's about the toughest problem to deal with.
I've read, and heard from my vet, that sometimes a cat who's had bouts with UTI
will start to avoid the box because they associate it with the pain, and then
it simply becomes a behavioral issue long after the medical issue is cleared
up. I've known people who have had success with Buspar (an anti-anxiety drug,
one often used in humans for anxiety and also anger management). But this is
only after every other avenue has been exhausted. I don't like the idea of
drugging a cat, and you probably don't either, but it's something you can ask
your vet about. Feliway is another product that produces a feeling of
well-being in a cat; it's actually a pheromone and doesn't drug the cat. I
don't know if it would work in a case like yours, but it's a benign product and
won't hurt the cat. Good luck.

Sherry

From: Jeff Traigle

Any other ideas from anyone? My ability to think like a cat is
obviously not being very successful on this matter.


Hi Jeff,
Sorry to hear about your kitty problem. You say they like the litter, but do
they really? Isn't Fresh Step a scented litter? Maybe if you try something
more natural like Swheat Scoop they would like it better. Are the boxes
covered? Some cats don't like covered boxes. Lastly, have you tried totally
retraining them to the box? Seems like that website you posted has a lot of
good information. Lastly, your cats aren't declawed are they? Some declawed
cats will avoid the litterbox because of pain in their paws from the
amputation.

Lauren
________
See my cats: http://community.webshots.com/album/56955940rWhxAe
Raw Diet Info: http://www.holisticat.com/drjletter.html
http://www.geocities.com/rawfeeders/ForCatsOnly.html
Declawing Info: http://www.wholecat.com/articles/claws.htm

From: Jeff Traigle

Any other ideas from anyone? My ability to think like a cat is
obviously not being very successful on this matter.


Hi Jeff,
Sorry to hear about your kitty problem. You say they like the litter, but do
they really? Isn't Fresh Step a scented litter? Maybe if you try something
more natural like Swheat Scoop they would like it better. Are the boxes
covered? Some cats don't like covered boxes. Lastly, have you tried totally
retraining them to the box? Seems like that website you posted has a lot of
good information. Lastly, your cats aren't declawed are they? Some declawed
cats will avoid the litterbox because of pain in their paws from the
amputation.

Lauren
________
See my cats: http://community.webshots.com/album/56955940rWhxAe
Raw Diet Info: http://www.holisticat.com/drjletter.html
http://www.geocities.com/rawfeeders/ForCatsOnly.html
Declawing Info: http://www.wholecat.com/articles/claws.htm

In article ,
Karen Chuplis wrote:

Has the location of the futon moved at all? If not, you might give it a try.

Karen


Not since I moved in. I had the living room torn up while i was
remodeling for several weeks (painting, laying wood floor, putting
baseboards in), but this peeing didn't start until a couple of months
after the work was finished and the futon moved back to it's spot.

If the litter in the living room doesn't seem to help, I can try moving
the futon a little bit... not much I can do in that regard other than
turn it 90 degrees from it's current position though. Rather small house
and the futon is my only seating in the place.

--
Jeff Traigle

http://www-personal.si.umich.edu/~traigle/

In article ,
Karen Chuplis wrote:

Has the location of the futon moved at all? If not, you might give it a try.

Karen


Not since I moved in. I had the living room torn up while i was
remodeling for several weeks (painting, laying wood floor, putting
baseboards in), but this peeing didn't start until a couple of months
after the work was finished and the futon moved back to it's spot.

If the litter in the living room doesn't seem to help, I can try moving
the futon a little bit... not much I can do in that regard other than
turn it 90 degrees from it's current position though. Rather small house
and the futon is my only seating in the place.

--
Jeff Traigle

http://www-personal.si.umich.edu/~traigle/

In article ,
(Sherry ) wrote:

Jeff, you have my sympathy. That's about the toughest problem to deal with.
I've read, and heard from my vet, that sometimes a cat who's had bouts with
UTI
will start to avoid the box because they associate it with the pain, and then
it simply becomes a behavioral issue long after the medical issue is cleared
up. I've known people who have had success with Buspar (an anti-anxiety drug,
one often used in humans for anxiety and also anger management). But this is
only after every other avenue has been exhausted. I don't like the idea of
drugging a cat, and you probably don't either, but it's something you can ask
your vet about. Feliway is another product that produces a feeling of
well-being in a cat; it's actually a pheromone and doesn't drug the cat. I
don't know if it would work in a case like yours, but it's a benign product
and
won't hurt the cat. Good luck.

Sherry

Hmmm... yeah... drugging her isn't the answer, I think. Though she's
quite skittish around anyone but me (on the very rare occasions I have
someone over to the house), she doesn't seem anxious in general...
concerning using the litterbox when I see her using it or any other time
that I can tell. My parents were here for almost a week last week and
she didn't pee inappropriately the entire time (though she stayed hidden
in the closet behind the waterheater when we were home and they were
awake... as soon as they went to bed, she was next to me on the futon to
sleep for the night). As soon as they left, she went right back to
peeing on the futon again within a couple of days. And she hasn't had a
UTI, thankfully, in over a year so any inappropriate behavior related to
something like that, I think, would have developed long before a couple
of months ago.

--
Jeff Traigle

http://www-personal.si.umich.edu/~traigle/

In article ,
(Sherry ) wrote:

Jeff, you have my sympathy. That's about the toughest problem to deal with.
I've read, and heard from my vet, that sometimes a cat who's had bouts with
UTI
will start to avoid the box because they associate it with the pain, and then
it simply becomes a behavioral issue long after the medical issue is cleared
up. I've known people who have had success with Buspar (an anti-anxiety drug,
one often used in humans for anxiety and also anger management). But this is
only after every other avenue has been exhausted. I don't like the idea of
drugging a cat, and you probably don't either, but it's something you can ask
your vet about. Feliway is another product that produces a feeling of
well-being in a cat; it's actually a pheromone and doesn't drug the cat. I
don't know if it would work in a case like yours, but it's a benign product
and
won't hurt the cat. Good luck.

Sherry

Hmmm... yeah... drugging her isn't the answer, I think. Though she's
quite skittish around anyone but me (on the very rare occasions I have
someone over to the house), she doesn't seem anxious in general...
concerning using the litterbox when I see her using it or any other time
that I can tell. My parents were here for almost a week last week and
she didn't pee inappropriately the entire time (though she stayed hidden
in the closet behind the waterheater when we were home and they were
awake... as soon as they went to bed, she was next to me on the futon to
sleep for the night). As soon as they left, she went right back to
peeing on the futon again within a couple of days. And she hasn't had a
UTI, thankfully, in over a year so any inappropriate behavior related to
something like that, I think, would have developed long before a couple
of months ago.

--
Jeff Traigle

http://www-personal.si.umich.edu/~traigle/

in article , Jeff
Traigle at wrote on 8/12/03 8:35 PM:

In article ,
(Sherry ) wrote:

Jeff, you have my sympathy. That's about the toughest problem to deal with.
I've read, and heard from my vet, that sometimes a cat who's had bouts with
UTI
will start to avoid the box because they associate it with the pain, and then
it simply becomes a behavioral issue long after the medical issue is cleared
up. I've known people who have had success with Buspar (an anti-anxiety drug,
one often used in humans for anxiety and also anger management). But this is
only after every other avenue has been exhausted. I don't like the idea of
drugging a cat, and you probably don't either, but it's something you can ask
your vet about. Feliway is another product that produces a feeling of
well-being in a cat; it's actually a pheromone and doesn't drug the cat. I
don't know if it would work in a case like yours, but it's a benign product
and
won't hurt the cat. Good luck.

Sherry

Hmmm... yeah... drugging her isn't the answer, I think. Though she's
quite skittish around anyone but me (on the very rare occasions I have
someone over to the house), she doesn't seem anxious in general...
concerning using the litterbox when I see her using it or any other time
that I can tell. My parents were here for almost a week last week and
she didn't pee inappropriately the entire time (though she stayed hidden
in the closet behind the waterheater when we were home and they were
awake... as soon as they went to bed, she was next to me on the futon to
sleep for the night). As soon as they left, she went right back to
peeing on the futon again within a couple of days. And she hasn't had a
UTI, thankfully, in over a year so any inappropriate behavior related to
something like that, I think, would have developed long before a couple
of months ago.

--
Jeff Traigle

http://www-personal.si.umich.edu/~traigle/

Do try the Feliway. She sounds easily stressed. It's indeed somekind of
message. Maybe if she can only be up on the futon when she is with you? this
is a toughie.

Karen