Cat Question

[Mich Otter]

Our cat has developed a new, bad habit of peeing in a place he should not be peeing. It is a part of the house we don't want to keep him from getting to. And his cat-box is kept clean, so he has not got that for an excuse.
Any suggestions on discouraging him from peeing where he isn't suppose to?
The area he is peeing in is where I have put up some plastic to surround an area I am doing some plaster repairing in. We think he might like the plaster dust. I'll be getting the work done ASAP, but it will still be a few more days.

[xultar]

1. Put the box in that spot.

[Mich Otter]

12. Moving his box

This sounds like a simple solution which I'll give a try. It can't hurt.
Thanks everyone.

[Lannes]

2. There is a stray cat that lives in the neighborhood

That likes to pee near some plants on my lawn I used a spray called hartz help and it worked.

[flvegan]

3. Is he neutered?

Sometimes this behavior can be rectified with a little snip-snip, if not.

[Mich Otter]

6. He has been neutered.

That isn't the problem with this fellow.

[WilliamPitt]

4. Do you have kids?

More pointedly, could there be someone in the house pestering, bothering or abusing the cat?

I ask because sometimes, when cats start pissing and crapping in non-normal places, it is because they are being messed with. This happened to a friend of mine who didn't know his four-year-old was harrassing the hell out of the cat, until the cat let him know by becoming a poo hurricane.

If that isn't it, pet stores usually sell stuff you can spray on the unacceptable pee place to dissuade the cat.

[Mich Otter]

7. Nobody is pestering the cat.

That's not the problem here.

[LaurenG]

5. Does he hve a UTI (bladder infection)

Sometimes they pee in odd places when that's going on.

[Mich Otter]

8. This is possible.

I have no reason to suspect he has an infection, though it is possible. What do I need to watch out for to tell if he has an infection?

[China_cat]

13. Inappropriate urination is the biggest sign

of a UTI or urinary calculi. Take him to the vet, please. ASAP.

We had one that did the same thing. By the time my husband decided to take him in and was getting ready to go, he came out of the bedroom to find the cat dead on the floor. He hadn't looked or acted that sick, just peeing everywhere but his box.

You also need to get an enzyme cleaner and make sure the places he's gone are thoroughly clean so he isn't continuing to go back to it because of the smell.

[Kathy in Cambridge]

23. Sometimes the only symptom of a kitty UTI is peeing outside the box

one of my kitties had no other symptoms-he was still frisking around the house like normal. take kitty to the vet for some tests.

[davsand]

28. Is he straining when he pees?

Is he sitting up kind of funny when he does it? (they have an odd posture when they are hurting with a FUI.) Does the urine look darker than normal? if so, that would possibly indicate blood in the urine.

Male cats are more prone to FUS (Feline Urinary Syndrome) because they have a narrower urethra. I am DEAD serious when I tell you that left untreated in a male cat it can and will kill them pretty quickly. They can block up and the kidneys will shut down.

Male cats need to drink a LOT of water to keep healthy, plus you need to be very aware of what food you are feeding them. I have had vets tell me it is the ash content of the food, I have also had vets tell me it is the PH in the urine.

I have no idea which is the real culprit, but I do know that my cats have never had issues with a premium cat food like Science Diet or Eukanuba (just examples--not an endorsement for either) rather than anything you buy in the grocery store. I also have found that feeding some wet food every day can help along with buying a pet water fountain that provides running water on demand...

Short article on the subject of fountains here:

http://www.felinediabetes.com/cat_water_fountain_health_why_use.htm

Good luck with the kitty, but PLEASE consider taking him to the vet


Laura

[Parche]

9. bladder

That is what I am thinking, its a bladder infection

[arcane1]

10. I had a cat that did that

and it turned out to be crystals in his bladder... fortunately we found out about it in time to have it treated, it's apparently something that can kill them in a short time if un-treated

I hope that's not the case here :(

is he acting strangely in any other way? Or is he seeming to pee "normally" but just in weird places?

[Mich Otter]

14. He always acts strangely..

After all, he is "the cat".
But, nothing out of the ordinary for him lately.

[man4allcats]

11. It sounds to me like your cat is... - Are you ready for this? -

Pissed Off!

Sorry. I just couldn't resist. :rofl:

[Der Blaue Engel]

15. Or it might be the plastic itself

For some reason, my cats think plastic *is* a cat box, and I can't leave plastic bags on the floor.

Try Feliway...it's a spray that deters the cat from peeing by making it smell like "neutral" territory. Or something like that. I don't know, I'm just making stuff up at this point. :D But try Feliway, I hear it works. (I haven't tried it yet myself.)

[bettyellen]

16. hey betty!

long time no see.
:hi:

[Der Blaue Engel]

18. Hiya, Betty!

:hi:

Can't resist a cat question. :D

[bettyellen]

19. i'm still getting over the tornado of poo pitt predicted.......

you'd think he was promoting a pussy peacr rally or aomething.
hope all is well with you, ms b.

[Der Blaue Engel]

22. Tornado of...?

Okay, what'd I miss? Lots of things are going over my head lately.

[bettyellen]

29. oh it was pit getting all scatalogical again.....

just above us, in this thread. LOL.

"...... his four-year-old was harrassing the hell out of the cat, until the cat let him know by becoming a poo hurricane."

i think all those deep thoughts kinda have an occasional boomarang effect sometimes.

[Der Blaue Engel]

31. Lol

Ah, I see.

[bettyellen]

33. i made you laugh.

score one for the east coast bettys.

[Mich Otter]

21. "my cats think plastic *is* a cat box"

This might be the problem cause he did pee on the plastic.
He has only peed in the one area, on the plastic. For now, I don't suspect bladder problems, just his usual "cat nuttiness".

[lady lib]

26. I have a cat that gets confused about plastic, also.

eom

[Der Blaue Engel]

30. My cats have major cat nuttiness

I took my little demon-boy, Neo, to the emergency vet a few months ago because he was going to the catbox obsessively, and I thought he was either having trouble peeing, or peeing a lot. They ended up traumatizing the poor thing trying to get a urine sample out of him, and even though they found nothing, they claimed he had a "stress" infection, but he's been fine ever since. I think he's just weird, and obsesses about the box. (He has this habit of trying to mark both catboxes as his own as soon as I've cleaned them and whenever the the other kitty has used one, and ambushes her mercilessly when he sees her head to the bathroom.)

I've said it before and I'll say it again: my cats are tiny psychopaths. But they're cute.

:shrug:

[LisaL]

17. My cat is also peeing all over the place because

he got a FIC, which is like CYSTITIS in humans. My cat is peeing in the sink, on my bed and in his cat bed. You might want to check your cat for UTI or bladder problems.

[bettyellen]

20. my cat started doing that before she had kidney failure......

she almost died, but she rebounded and lived another seven years.
if they don't stare at you as much as they used to, or sit facing away or hide more often-- that's a good sign they're not feeling well.

[Mich Otter]

24. Thanks for the tips

We will keep an eye on him. Right now, he is sitting in the window watching to see if any of the outdoor cats wander into his domain. He seems his usual self.

[Kathy in Cambridge]

25. Same with my girl kitty. One of my boys, as I explained above,

acted normal except for the puddles of pee left on the bathroom floor. He had a uTI and it cleared up quickly.

[bettyellen]

27. i had to inject water under my cats skin twice a day.....

but it tapered off to twice a month. now, my nurse uniform is just gathering dust. god rest her kitty soul.

[hyphenate]

32. He's bothered by the upheaval

Cats tend to internalize when something is bothering them. Whether it's the work you're doing in the area or whether there is some other major change going on in the household, he is expressing his displeasure about how things are going. Peeing in a spot which is not normal is the most blatant protest he can make.

Several solutions: 1) Spend more time with him and keep saying his name while you are patting him. The attention can help assuage some of the chaos he is feeling. 2) Get some "Rescue Remedy" for him and mix it with some food. You only need about five drops a day. It's available at health food shops, vitamin shops or other places like that, but I will warn you, it isn't cheap. 3) Give him sanctuary--make a spot in the house his and his alone. Whether it's a closet or a second bathroom, confine him to that spot for a "time out" each day. Make it pleasant for him, not a punishment. Sort of his "alone" time. Put a litter box in with him and water and food, and pretty soon he will get comfortable more there. Once the situation which is bothering him is over, he won't need it anymore, but he might find it valuable for time outs when he gets nervous. 4) Sometimes cats have trouble expressing displeasure with their litter. It might be clean, but there might be another problem. For instance, rough litter can irritate a cat's paws if he is declawed, for example. Clumping litter might be annoying him as well. Try changing the litter and see if it makes a difference.

Good luck. I hope the solution is found!