Help with cat and unacceptable behavior... (x-post)

I'm wondering if anyone has any advice for a fairly annoying situation...

We have a cat, Sally. We've had her since the day she was born, as she's
from a litter of kittens my cat had (accidently) back in September '04, so
she's about a year and a half old now. She's spayed. She was a strictly
indoor cat until she would constantly sneak out, and it got so we could not
keep her in anymore. I'm not a fan of cats outside, but we now keep her in
our back yard with a tie out lead.
About 6 months ago, or so, she started digging and peeing in the house
plants - anything she could either reach from the ground or even the plants
that are up higher, like the ones on the piano. Anything big enough for her
to dig in, she'd make a mess in. Quite often she would dig and we'd wake up
in the morning or come home during the day to cat pee in plant dirt and the
dirt all out of the plant around the pot.
THIS behavior is NOT at all acceptable. Just getting rid of the cat or
getting rid of the plants is not an option at this point, as we'd like to
keep her as part of our family and keep the house plants as well. We want
to do what we can to break her of this habit. She refuses to use a litter
box, just out of nowhere, and she uses the plants, boxes of toys or outside.
Is there ANYTHING we can do? Can she be 'kennel' trained - as the case with
a dog? Should we repot all of the plants with new soil or will that be a
pointless waste of money? Is there anything on the market to stop cats from
peeing in places they shouldn't - something that actually works?
No one's sure where this bad behavior has come from. We've had the plants
around for as long as the cat. If nothing works, then we might have to
start looking for a better home for her, because it's not just the plants,
it is also boxes of toys as well. We can get rid of the plants, but we
really can't get rid of the toys, and to be honest, I'm getting tired of
sweeping up dirt and finding the cat in the plants, and I'm getting more fed
up when I have to constantly toss Lego and other toys in the bath tub to
wash and sterilize them so they're not filled with cat urine. Should we try
a new, different litter box totally? New litter? ANYTHING?
We just can't figure out why she's doing this and we've had very luck trying
to break this habit for a couple months now.
Anything that's worked that we could try would be greatly appreciated!

"xkatx" wrote in message
news:uZyUf.5586$%H.4790@clgrps13...
I'm wondering if anyone has any advice for a fairly annoying situation...

We have a cat, Sally. We've had her since the day she was born, as she's
from a litter of kittens my cat had (accidently) back in September '04, so
she's about a year and a half old now. She's spayed. She was a strictly
indoor cat until she would constantly sneak out, and it got so we could
not
keep her in anymore. I'm not a fan of cats outside, but we now keep her
in
our back yard with a tie out lead.
About 6 months ago, or so, she started digging and peeing in the house
plants - anything she could either reach from the ground or even the
plants
that are up higher, like the ones on the piano. Anything big enough for
her
to dig in, she'd make a mess in.

Go to a home and garden store, buy a few bags of gardening pebbles- they're
smooth, round and oval. Put a few in each flower pot or planter around the
plant to cover most of the dirt. That should keep her out of the planters.
Don't use aquarium gravel.

While you're at the garden shop, buy a few small bags of potting soil.
Cover the litter in her box with about an inch of the soil until she uses
the litterbox regularly. Once she's using the litterbox normally, gradually
reduce the amount of dirt until she's using only litter. Don't reduce the
amount of dirt by too much or too abruptly- the slower the process the
better the chance of a successful transition.

Phil

Cover the plant's soil with tin foil. Many cats hate the feel of it on
their paws. Or, tin foil covered in double sided sticky tape. As far
as the tox bins, can you add lids to these? Or keep them in a closet
with the door shut? There is also a product called "cat attract" to
put in the litter to help retrain her. I have heard good things about
it.

HTH!
Beth

Beth not all cats hate tin foil ask Phil to post one of his pride on tin
foil
Mine try to chew on it
wrote in message
oups.com...
Cover the plant's soil with tin foil. Many cats hate the feel of it on
their paws. Or, tin foil covered in double sided sticky tape. As far
as the tox bins, can you add lids to these? Or keep them in a closet
with the door shut? There is also a product called "cat attract" to
put in the litter to help retrain her. I have heard good things about
it.

HTH!
Beth

"Phil P." wrote in message
...

"xkatx" wrote in message
news:uZyUf.5586$%H.4790@clgrps13...
I'm wondering if anyone has any advice for a fairly annoying situation...

We have a cat, Sally. We've had her since the day she was born, as she's
from a litter of kittens my cat had (accidently) back in September '04,
so
she's about a year and a half old now. She's spayed. She was a strictly
indoor cat until she would constantly sneak out, and it got so we could
not
keep her in anymore. I'm not a fan of cats outside, but we now keep her
in
our back yard with a tie out lead.
About 6 months ago, or so, she started digging and peeing in the house
plants - anything she could either reach from the ground or even the
plants
that are up higher, like the ones on the piano. Anything big enough for
her
to dig in, she'd make a mess in.

Go to a home and garden store, buy a few bags of gardening pebbles-
they're
smooth, round and oval. Put a few in each flower pot or planter around
the
plant to cover most of the dirt. That should keep her out of the
planters.
Don't use aquarium gravel.

I thought aquarium gravel wouldn't be a good choice... We do have lots of
that (as we've switched all the aquarium gravel that I hate to sil9 in all
the tanks) and I've had a suggestion about rocks earlier, so maybe we will
try that.

While you're at the garden shop, buy a few small bags of potting soil.
Cover the litter in her box with about an inch of the soil until she uses
the litterbox regularly. Once she's using the litterbox normally,
gradually
reduce the amount of dirt until she's using only litter. Don't reduce the
amount of dirt by too much or too abruptly- the slower the process the
better the chance of a successful transition.

Phil

I never thought to use dirt in her box. Maybe that will help to gradually
encourage her to go back to the litter box and away from the plants... Worth
a try, anyways! Thanks!

"Matthew AKA NMR ( NO MORE RETAIL )" 10 points a troll
@linethetrollsup.com wrote in message
...


Beth not all cats hate tin foil ask Phil to post one of his pride on tin
foil
Mine try to chew on it

I'll try the foil anyways. She hasn't really had any incidents with foil,
so maybe something new might keep her away. She does hate tape on her feet,
though We know that for a (fun) fact.

wrote in message
oups.com...
Cover the plant's soil with tin foil. Many cats hate the feel of it on
their paws. Or, tin foil covered in double sided sticky tape. As far
as the tox bins, can you add lids to these? Or keep them in a closet
with the door shut? There is also a product called "cat attract" to
put in the litter to help retrain her. I have heard good things about
it.

HTH!
Beth

I'll see if the pet store has this stuff, or see if I can locate it
somewhere close to home.

Besides the dirt in the litter box being a solution. When was the last time
she was taken in for a check up? Have you discussed the problem with a vet?
And has she been checked for UTI or crystals? Both of which will cause a
cat to change litter habits if they associate the pain of going with a
litter box they will start going other places.

Celeste

"xkatx" wrote in message
newsnBUf.713$Ph4.573@edtnps90...

"Phil P." wrote in message
...

"xkatx" wrote in message
news:uZyUf.5586$%H.4790@clgrps13...
I'm wondering if anyone has any advice for a fairly annoying
situation...

We have a cat, Sally. We've had her since the day she was born, as
she's
from a litter of kittens my cat had (accidently) back in September '04,
so
she's about a year and a half old now. She's spayed. She was a
strictly
indoor cat until she would constantly sneak out, and it got so we could
not
keep her in anymore. I'm not a fan of cats outside, but we now keep her
in
our back yard with a tie out lead.
About 6 months ago, or so, she started digging and peeing in the house
plants - anything she could either reach from the ground or even the
plants
that are up higher, like the ones on the piano. Anything big enough for
her
to dig in, she'd make a mess in.

Go to a home and garden store, buy a few bags of gardening pebbles-
they're
smooth, round and oval. Put a few in each flower pot or planter around
the
plant to cover most of the dirt. That should keep her out of the
planters.
Don't use aquarium gravel.

I thought aquarium gravel wouldn't be a good choice... We do have lots of
that (as we've switched all the aquarium gravel that I hate to sil9 in all
the tanks) and I've had a suggestion about rocks earlier, so maybe we will
try that.

While you're at the garden shop, buy a few small bags of potting soil.
Cover the litter in her box with about an inch of the soil until she uses
the litterbox regularly. Once she's using the litterbox normally,
gradually
reduce the amount of dirt until she's using only litter. Don't reduce
the
amount of dirt by too much or too abruptly- the slower the process the
better the chance of a successful transition.

Phil

I never thought to use dirt in her box. Maybe that will help to gradually
encourage her to go back to the litter box and away from the plants...
Worth a try, anyways! Thanks!

"Spot" wrote in message
news:AAGUf.6570$kB1.6136@trndny07...
Besides the dirt in the litter box being a solution. When was the last
time she was taken in for a check up? Have you discussed the problem with
a vet? And has she been checked for UTI or crystals? Both of which will
cause a cat to change litter habits if they associate the pain of going
with a litter box they will start going other places.

Celeste

She had seen the vet right after she was spayed at about 6ish months old, so
this was in about March last year - I had a couple concerns about her
healing, which turned out to be all in my head and nothing out of the
ordinary and then right after this last Christmas. We had no real
concerns, but we didn't think it would hurt for her to see the vet just as a
regular checkup. I did call the vet and explained what was going on, and,
of course, still no word from them. I would assume that there's no real
concerns about what I had told them, which is why they didn't call me right
back. They would call right back, I know, if they thought there was
something serious going on, and I know because I did get a call right back
from the vet when we had that litter of kittens and one was not eating at
all.

"xkatx" wrote in message
newsnBUf.713$Ph4.573@edtnps90...

"Phil P." wrote in message
...

"xkatx" wrote in message
news:uZyUf.5586$%H.4790@clgrps13...
I'm wondering if anyone has any advice for a fairly annoying
situation...

We have a cat, Sally. We've had her since the day she was born, as
she's
from a litter of kittens my cat had (accidently) back in September '04,
so
she's about a year and a half old now. She's spayed. She was a
strictly
indoor cat until she would constantly sneak out, and it got so we could
not
keep her in anymore. I'm not a fan of cats outside, but we now keep
her
in
our back yard with a tie out lead.
About 6 months ago, or so, she started digging and peeing in the house
plants - anything she could either reach from the ground or even the
plants
that are up higher, like the ones on the piano. Anything big enough
for
her
to dig in, she'd make a mess in.

Go to a home and garden store, buy a few bags of gardening pebbles-
they're
smooth, round and oval. Put a few in each flower pot or planter around
the
plant to cover most of the dirt. That should keep her out of the
planters.
Don't use aquarium gravel.

I thought aquarium gravel wouldn't be a good choice... We do have lots of
that (as we've switched all the aquarium gravel that I hate to sil9 in
all the tanks) and I've had a suggestion about rocks earlier, so maybe we
will try that.

While you're at the garden shop, buy a few small bags of potting soil.
Cover the litter in her box with about an inch of the soil until she
uses
the litterbox regularly. Once she's using the litterbox normally,
gradually
reduce the amount of dirt until she's using only litter. Don't reduce
the
amount of dirt by too much or too abruptly- the slower the process the
better the chance of a successful transition.

Phil

I never thought to use dirt in her box. Maybe that will help to
gradually encourage her to go back to the litter box and away from the
plants... Worth a try, anyways! Thanks!

"xkatx" wrote in message
news:uZyUf.5586$%H.4790@clgrps13...
I'm wondering if anyone has any advice for a fairly annoying situation...

We have a cat, Sally. We've had her since the day she was born, as she's
from a litter of kittens my cat had (accidently) back in September '04, so
she's about a year and a half old now. She's spayed. She was a strictly
indoor cat until she would constantly sneak out, and it got so we could
not
keep her in anymore. I'm not a fan of cats outside, but we now keep her
in
our back yard with a tie out lead.
About 6 months ago, or so, she started digging and peeing in the house
plants - anything she could either reach from the ground or even the
plants
that are up higher, like the ones on the piano. Anything big enough for
her
to dig in, she'd make a mess in. Quite often she would dig and we'd wake
up
in the morning or come home during the day to cat pee in plant dirt and
the
dirt all out of the plant around the pot.
THIS behavior is NOT at all acceptable. Just getting rid of the cat or
getting rid of the plants is not an option at this point, as we'd like to
keep her as part of our family and keep the house plants as well. We want
to do what we can to break her of this habit. She refuses to use a litter
box, just out of nowhere, and she uses the plants, boxes of toys or
outside.
Is there ANYTHING we can do? Can she be 'kennel' trained - as the case
with
a dog? Should we repot all of the plants with new soil or will that be a
pointless waste of money? Is there anything on the market to stop cats
from
peeing in places they shouldn't - something that actually works?
No one's sure where this bad behavior has come from. We've had the plants
around for as long as the cat. If nothing works, then we might have to
start looking for a better home for her, because it's not just the plants,
it is also boxes of toys as well. We can get rid of the plants, but we
really can't get rid of the toys, and to be honest, I'm getting tired of
sweeping up dirt and finding the cat in the plants, and I'm getting more
fed
up when I have to constantly toss Lego and other toys in the bath tub to
wash and sterilize them so they're not filled with cat urine. Should we
try
a new, different litter box totally? New litter? ANYTHING?
We just can't figure out why she's doing this and we've had very luck
trying
to break this habit for a couple months now.
Anything that's worked that we could try would be greatly appreciated!


You already have several good suggestions here, such as using rocks or
pepples (and also *new* potting soil to eliminate any scent that may attract
your cat). The suggestion to have a medical checkup was also sound. I saw
you comment that your vet did not return your call. The cat should be taken
in for a checkup, and specifically request that the urine be tested.
Inappropriate urination is one of the most common signs of UTI. I don't
know why your vet did not return the call, but that simply cannot be
diagnosed over the phone.

Finally, I would like to comment on something else in your message. You
said you "now keep her in our back yard with a tie out lead." If you mean
that you leave her tied outdoors by herself, that is *very dangerous.* A
cat should *never* be left tied up. She would have absolutely no protection
from a dog or other predators while tied up and and could not escape from an
attack. Please do not do this! There are a number of ways to build an
inexpensive screened-in shelter if you want your cat to be outside part of
the time (and I could post some links if you are interested).

MaryL

Photos of Duffy and Holly: 'o'
Duffy: http://tinyurl.com/cslwf
Holly: http://tinyurl.com/9t68o
Duffy and Holly together: http://tinyurl.com/8b47e
Recent pics: http://tinyurl.com/clal7

"MaryL" -OUT-THE-LITTER wrote in message
newsAIUf.192$C85.22@dukeread10...

"xkatx" wrote in message
news:uZyUf.5586$%H.4790@clgrps13...
I'm wondering if anyone has any advice for a fairly annoying situation...

We have a cat, Sally. We've had her since the day she was born, as she's
from a litter of kittens my cat had (accidently) back in September '04,
so
she's about a year and a half old now. She's spayed. She was a strictly
indoor cat until she would constantly sneak out, and it got so we could
not
keep her in anymore. I'm not a fan of cats outside, but we now keep her
in
our back yard with a tie out lead.
About 6 months ago, or so, she started digging and peeing in the house
plants - anything she could either reach from the ground or even the
plants
that are up higher, like the ones on the piano. Anything big enough for
her
to dig in, she'd make a mess in. Quite often she would dig and we'd wake
up
in the morning or come home during the day to cat pee in plant dirt and
the
dirt all out of the plant around the pot.
THIS behavior is NOT at all acceptable. Just getting rid of the cat or
getting rid of the plants is not an option at this point, as we'd like to
keep her as part of our family and keep the house plants as well. We
want
to do what we can to break her of this habit. She refuses to use a
litter
box, just out of nowhere, and she uses the plants, boxes of toys or
outside.
Is there ANYTHING we can do? Can she be 'kennel' trained - as the case
with
a dog? Should we repot all of the plants with new soil or will that be a
pointless waste of money? Is there anything on the market to stop cats
from
peeing in places they shouldn't - something that actually works?
No one's sure where this bad behavior has come from. We've had the
plants
around for as long as the cat. If nothing works, then we might have to
start looking for a better home for her, because it's not just the
plants,
it is also boxes of toys as well. We can get rid of the plants, but we
really can't get rid of the toys, and to be honest, I'm getting tired of
sweeping up dirt and finding the cat in the plants, and I'm getting more
fed
up when I have to constantly toss Lego and other toys in the bath tub to
wash and sterilize them so they're not filled with cat urine. Should we
try
a new, different litter box totally? New litter? ANYTHING?
We just can't figure out why she's doing this and we've had very luck
trying
to break this habit for a couple months now.
Anything that's worked that we could try would be greatly appreciated!


You already have several good suggestions here, such as using rocks or
pepples (and also *new* potting soil to eliminate any scent that may
attract your cat). The suggestion to have a medical checkup was also
sound. I saw you comment that your vet did not return your call. The cat
should be taken in for a checkup, and specifically request that the urine
be tested. Inappropriate urination is one of the most common signs of UTI.
I don't know why your vet did not return the call, but that simply cannot
be diagnosed over the phone.

I have already tried this cat spray stuff for plants that's supposed to keep
cats from plants... Don't know if it works. Made me gag from the smell and
bits of spray that I somehow managed to get in my mouth, but then again, I
sprayed the heck out of the plants since the instructions didn't say how
much to use, other than use as much as needed, as often as needed...
I will be calling them back come morning. This, to me, doesn't warrant
calling the emergency, after hours vet. I just don't have the money to take
her in to the emergency clinic to be told she's just moody or something, and
this is behavior that has gone on for a while without any other symptoms of
distress. It's just the plants and boxes of toys... Not beds or clothing or
anything else. It also doesn't seem to bother her, but I don't know...
She's a cat. She is not a talking cat lol

Finally, I would like to comment on something else in your message. You
said you "now keep her in our back yard with a tie out lead." If you mean
that you leave her tied outdoors by herself, that is *very dangerous.* A
cat should *never* be left tied up. She would have absolutely no
protection from a dog or other predators while tied up and and could not
escape from an attack. Please do not do this! There are a number of ways
to build an inexpensive screened-in shelter if you want your cat to be
outside part of the time (and I could post some links if you are
interested).

She's outside when the kids are outside, which means I am so lucky to sit
outside - rain or snow, sun and heat - to try and read a book or whatever it
may be, unless, of course, she sneaks out. In that case, she ends up
turning into just a cat, and if she wants to run away, then fine. I'm not
chasing her. There really aren't any predators around, other than other
cats. No dogs can get in the yard. It's fenced in with a high fence.
We're right in the middle of the city, which makes for no other predators,
like a fox, wolf, giant cat-eating snake, coyote or anything. Worst wild
animal we see are rabbits hopping along happily in the field across the
parking lot.
We are also not allowed to put up any type of structure in our back yard.
We actually had to take down a small shed - about 3' high, that we had put
up to store the kids' toys in during winter. We did, however, keep a small
dog run, but that's just small - about 2' high, as our dog is a small one...
He can barely walk up the stairs, so this is small. I'm not about to put a
cat in something like that, since she'll jump out anyways, and if we put
some sort of top on something that is 2' high, well, that's just mean. She
goes out when she's being a brat, otherwise, when we actually allow her out,
someone is outside, but the yard is safe anyways. My fear, actually, wasn't
wild cat-attacking magpies, but I was always scared that the cat could end
up wrapping around the fence, patio furniture, bbq, whatever, or trying to
climb the fence to fall and strangle or something, which is why we use a
harness and do keep an eye on her.

MaryL

Photos of Duffy and Holly: 'o'
Duffy: http://tinyurl.com/cslwf
Holly: http://tinyurl.com/9t68o
Duffy and Holly together: http://tinyurl.com/8b47e
Recent pics: http://tinyurl.com/clal7