Bed "presents"

Hi,
I’m just wondering if you could advise on a specific problem. My mother-in-
law is at the end of her tether because her cat has taken to defecating
specifically on her bed (and no other bed in the house) even though he is
happy to use the litter tray which is always clean (Catsan). We thought he
tended to do it as a protest when my mother-in-law had been out for the day
but he now does it when she is at home all the time. He even did it yesterday
whilst she was asleep in the bed! He doesn’t have a cat door but normally
asks to be let out of the back door (which has toughened glass , the main
reason a cat door has not been put in).

Many thanks if you can help!

"ChrisS" u33566@uwe wrote in message news:710ed24fb6e7c@uwe...
Hi,
I'm just wondering if you could advise on a specific problem. My
mother-in-
law is at the end of her tether because her cat has taken to defecating
specifically on her bed (and no other bed in the house) even though he is
happy to use the litter tray which is always clean (Catsan). We thought he
tended to do it as a protest when my mother-in-law had been out for the
day
but he now does it when she is at home all the time. He even did it
yesterday
whilst she was asleep in the bed! He doesn't have a cat door but normally
asks to be let out of the back door (which has toughened glass , the main
reason a cat door has not been put in).

Many thanks if you can help!


Something might be upsetting the cat, but the first thing to do is to have
the cat see
a vet to make sure there is not a health problem.

For sure the cat is trying to tell her mama something--either he is not well
or he is
upset.

Once she has determined that he is not ill, she should think about anything
that has
changed around the house. A new household member, new sounds, a new animal,
things moved around, that sort of thing. This might give her some idea about
what is
bothering him so she can solve the problem. Has she been going somewhere and
getting the scent of another animal on her hands or clothes? Has she closed
him
out of her room at night? Has she changed his food? Is she out more? Is
there
a cat coming around outside and challenging him?

That said, the only way I know of to stop inappropriate elimination once
issues such
as the above have been addressed is to confine the cat to a comfortable room
with
a bed and cat box and toys and frequent visits for a number of days until he
is back
in the habit of going in his box. Any regression means back in the room.
Cats do
at times use elimination as a way to send a message, but they are smart and
do not
like being confined. It worked with my very assertive tuxedo girl. Good
luck.

On Sat 21 Apr 2007 08:12:39p, ChrisS wrote in
rec.pets.cats.health+behav news:710ed24fb6e7c@uwe:

Hi,
I’m just wondering if you could advise on a specific problem.
My mother-in- law is at the end of her tether because her cat
has taken to defecating specifically on her bed (and no other
bed in the house) even though he is happy to use the litter tray
which is always clean (Catsan). We thought he tended to do it as
a protest when my mother-in-law had been out for the day but he
now does it when she is at home all the time. He even did it
yesterday whilst she was asleep in the bed! He doesn’t have a
cat door but normally asks to be let out of the back door (which
has toughened glass , the main reason a cat door has not been
put in).

Many thanks if you can help!



If a specific unacceptable spot is singled out for toileting, I'd
shut the door to that room until kitty is "re-trained". Even at
night. Be aware though, that if access is re-granted to the
bedroom, the cycle could start again. During the banishment period,
make sure that the litter box is clean, free of other animals that
might be ambushing, and that if kitty normally goes outdoors, that
nothing out there is scaring him away from his "normal" spot.

--
Cheryl

On Sat 21 Apr 2007 09:16:06p, cybercat wrote in
rec.pets.cats.health+behav :

Something might be upsetting the cat, but the first thing to do
is to have the cat see
a vet to make sure there is not a health problem.

For sure the cat is trying to tell her mama something--either he
is not well or he is
upset.

Very true. I'd ask what does the poo look like? Is it normal, is it
hard (indicating possible constipation and difficulty doing it in the
litter box) or could it be just pieces that were stuck to the fur?

Inappropriate elimination that started "out of the blue" always
suggests something is wrong, including a health problem.

--
Cheryl

cybercat wrote:

"ChrisS" u33566@uwe wrote in message news:710ed24fb6e7c@uwe...


Hi,
I'm just wondering if you could advise on a specific problem. My
mother-in-
law is at the end of her tether because her cat has taken to defecating
specifically on her bed (and no other bed in the house) even though he is
happy to use the litter tray which is always clean (Catsan). We thought he
tended to do it as a protest when my mother-in-law had been out for the
day
but he now does it when she is at home all the time. He even did it
yesterday
whilst she was asleep in the bed! He doesn't have a cat door but normally
asks to be let out of the back door (which has toughened glass , the main
reason a cat door has not been put in).

Many thanks if you can help!




Something might be upsetting the cat, but the first thing to do is to have
the cat see
a vet to make sure there is not a health problem.

For sure the cat is trying to tell her mama something--either he is not well
or he is
upset.

Once she has determined that he is not ill, she should think about anything
that has
changed around the house. A new household member, new sounds, a new animal,
things moved around, that sort of thing. This might give her some idea about
what is
bothering him so she can solve the problem. Has she been going somewhere and
getting the scent of another animal on her hands or clothes? Has she closed
him
out of her room at night? Has she changed his food? Is she out more? Is
there
a cat coming around outside and challenging him?

That said, the only way I know of to stop inappropriate elimination once
issues such
as the above have been addressed is to confine the cat to a comfortable room
with
a bed and cat box and toys and frequent visits for a number of days until he
is back
in the habit of going in his box. Any regression means back in the room.
Cats do
at times use elimination as a way to send a message, but they are smart and
do not
like being confined. It worked with my very assertive tuxedo girl. Good
luck.





I second all of this.

I had a cat who did the same thing. He'd even defecate on the floor,
right in front of me. I took Ari to the vet to make sure it wasn't some
sort of eliminatory malady that was causing him pain. The vet said there
was no physical cause. He said Ari was demonstrating anger because we'd
recently moved to a new domicile, and the poor cat didn't feel he had a
place there that was "his".

So I took to shutting Ari in an unused bedroom with his toys, dry food,
water bowl and litter box, and a cat pole so he could both strop and
climb up to peer out the window. He was very unhappy for several nights,
and would howl to be let out. But after a fortnight he came to realize
that that room was "his place". Then he'd go in there of his own
volition. Once that happened, the problem ended.

"Aleks A.-Lessmann" wrote

Lest you think it was all our idea, we were helped by a behaviourist in
this matter.


Pretty smart!