scratching..

Background: my girlfriend's cat hates all men, girlfriend is a deep
sleeper.

The problem: The cat is put into our laundry room at night, where it
has fresh water, food, and her litter box, etc. The problem is that she
occasionally/frequently gets lonely during the night, scratches at the
door, and ruins my sleep (while my girlfriend is oblivious).

Until now I have resorted to "shushing" the cat, and have tried
spraying it lightly with a spray bottle. This works fine, but it
involves me getting up, going to the door, and it doesn't help the
cat's dislike for me.

After doing some googling, I came up with two options: a remote
controlled shock collar, or a remote controlled squirt gun.

Obviously a shock collar isn't my first choice, but there doesn't seem
to be any remote controlled squirt guns (I googled all the following
words and combinations: water gun, cannon, shoot, remote, radio, etc)

Does anyone else have any other ideas? I also considered a ScatMat, but
they are pretty expensive.

Why does the cat have to be in the laundry room at night?
Alison

"Eittom" wrote in message
ups.com...
Background: my girlfriend's cat hates all men, girlfriend is a deep
sleeper.

The problem: The cat is put into our laundry room at night, where it
has fresh water, food, and her litter box, etc. The problem is that
she
occasionally/frequently gets lonely during the night, scratches at
the
door, and ruins my sleep (while my girlfriend is oblivious).

Until now I have resorted to "shushing" the cat, and have tried
spraying it lightly with a spray bottle. This works fine, but it
involves me getting up, going to the door, and it doesn't help the
cat's dislike for me.

After doing some googling, I came up with two options: a remote
controlled shock collar, or a remote controlled squirt gun.

Obviously a shock collar isn't my first choice, but there doesn't
seem
to be any remote controlled squirt guns (I googled all the following
words and combinations: water gun, cannon, shoot, remote, radio,
etc)

Does anyone else have any other ideas? I also considered a ScatMat,
but
they are pretty expensive.

we have two cats

mine: quiet at night, can open laundry room door from the inside
hers: quiet some nights, pees on rugs and furniture when she's moody

when they are both loose in the house they are prone to racing around
the appt and playing, which means loud noises as they screech around
the corners on the hardwood floors.

Alison wrote:
Why does the cat have to be in the laundry room at night?
Alison

"Eittom" wrote in message
ups.com...
Background: my girlfriend's cat hates all men, girlfriend is a deep
sleeper.

The problem: The cat is put into our laundry room at night, where it
has fresh water, food, and her litter box, etc. The problem is that
she
occasionally/frequently gets lonely during the night, scratches at
the
door, and ruins my sleep (while my girlfriend is oblivious).

Until now I have resorted to "shushing" the cat, and have tried
spraying it lightly with a spray bottle. This works fine, but it
involves me getting up, going to the door, and it doesn't help the
cat's dislike for me.

After doing some googling, I came up with two options: a remote
controlled shock collar, or a remote controlled squirt gun.

Obviously a shock collar isn't my first choice, but there doesn't
seem
to be any remote controlled squirt guns (I googled all the following
words and combinations: water gun, cannon, shoot, remote, radio,
etc)

Does anyone else have any other ideas? I also considered a ScatMat,
but
they are pretty expensive.

"Eittom" wrote in message
ups.com...
we have two cats

mine: quiet at night, can open laundry room door from the inside
hers: quiet some nights, pees on rugs and furniture when she's moody

when they are both loose in the house they are prone to racing around
the appt and playing, which means loud noises as they screech around
the corners on the hardwood floors.

Alison wrote:
Why does the cat have to be in the laundry room at night?
Alison

Have you had the cat who 'pees on rugs and furniture when she's moody'
checked for a urinary tract infection?

She's recently been given a clean bill of health from the Vet, I'm not
sure if she was specifically checked for a urinary tract infection or
not.. would a urinary tract infection cause her to not use her litter
box but pee on the rug instead?


Wendy wrote:
"Eittom" wrote in message
ups.com...
we have two cats

mine: quiet at night, can open laundry room door from the inside
hers: quiet some nights, pees on rugs and furniture when she's moody

when they are both loose in the house they are prone to racing around
the appt and playing, which means loud noises as they screech around
the corners on the hardwood floors.

Alison wrote:
Why does the cat have to be in the laundry room at night?
Alison

Have you had the cat who 'pees on rugs and furniture when she's moody'
checked for a urinary tract infection?

so it can..

Cats may not be using the litterpan because they are ill. Cystitis (a
bladder infection or inflammation) is a common problem that can lead to
litterpan aversion. One theory is that the cat associates the litterpan
with the painful sensation or urinating with this disease and avoids
it. Some anatomical defects can lead to an increased need to urinate
frequently. Diseases that increase the need to urinate, like diabetes
and hyperthyroidism should be ruled out if that seems appropriate.
Disorders that might affect a cat's ability to get to the litterpan,
like low potassium levels in the bloodstream or arthritis need to be
considered. If there are no medical problems and good litterpan
maintenance is in place, then the problem is more likely to be
behavioral .

I had never thought of this, but will get it checked out for sure

Eittom wrote:
She's recently been given a clean bill of health from the Vet, I'm not
sure if she was specifically checked for a urinary tract infection or
not.. would a urinary tract infection cause her to not use her litter
box but pee on the rug instead?


Wendy wrote:
"Eittom" wrote in message
ups.com...
we have two cats

mine: quiet at night, can open laundry room door from the inside
hers: quiet some nights, pees on rugs and furniture when she's moody

when they are both loose in the house they are prone to racing around
the appt and playing, which means loud noises as they screech around
the corners on the hardwood floors.

Alison wrote:
Why does the cat have to be in the laundry room at night?
Alison

Have you had the cat who 'pees on rugs and furniture when she's moody'
checked for a urinary tract infection?

"Eittom" wrote in message
oups.com...
so it can..

Cats may not be using the litterpan because they are ill. Cystitis (a
bladder infection or inflammation) is a common problem that can lead to
litterpan aversion. One theory is that the cat associates the litterpan
with the painful sensation or urinating with this disease and avoids
it. Some anatomical defects can lead to an increased need to urinate
frequently. Diseases that increase the need to urinate, like diabetes
and hyperthyroidism should be ruled out if that seems appropriate.
Disorders that might affect a cat's ability to get to the litterpan,
like low potassium levels in the bloodstream or arthritis need to be
considered. If there are no medical problems and good litterpan
maintenance is in place, then the problem is more likely to be
behavioral .

I had never thought of this, but will get it checked out for sure

Eittom wrote:
She's recently been given a clean bill of health from the Vet, I'm not
sure if she was specifically checked for a urinary tract infection or
not.. would a urinary tract infection cause her to not use her litter
box but pee on the rug instead?


It's a place to start. If the cat does have an infection you'll never get it
to stop peeing on the rug etc. until it's cleared up. If that possibility is
eliminated then you can start looking at behavior modification.