Help with cat peeing problem....PLEASE! :) updated AGAIN post #24

[ohiominnie]

There's a thread going on the budget board and it's turned into a cat loving thread...
and I've posted lots of nice stuff about my kittty and how much we love him yada yada....
and then....
Last night I saw him do something and I just may KILL HIM!!!!

I saw him on the couch "digging." Went over to look and he had peed down into the crack of the leather couch! Totally not visible on top, all down into the crack. Perfect aim.

Got to looking, and he did it in the OTHER crack of the couch AND in the crack of the loveseat. GRRRRRRR. Thursday we came home and smelled something funny, that must have been it.

The only thing we can figure is my parents came this last weekend and had their dog. The dog peed on the carpet. We think he may be "marking" his territory.

But will it END? We have all the cushions out and Pet-zymed them....but it's LEATHER! ARGH!

Suggestions? (I know one of them will be to take him to the vet and have him checked out for problems first)

 

[Planogirl]

I agree with taking him to the vet to rule out urinary or any other problems however behavior like this is supposed to indicate that something is wrong. I agree that he may just be reacting to the dog scent. You might have to get an animal repellent to keep him from the couches for a while because they do seem to often return to a spot once marked.

Good luck with getting the odor out. I know that it can be very hard.

 

[Laugh O. Grams]

How old is your cat? Our Sydney was 13 years old when he, out of the blue, used our bed as a litter box, twice in one day. We took him to the vet and it turned out he had kidney disease. He eventually passed away because of it, but because of a special prescription diet of Science Diet K/D, he lived for an additional 2 years. When cats start peeing on stuff, there's typically something wrong with their health.

 

[ohiominnie]

How old is your cat? Our Sydney was 13 years old when he, out of the blue, used our bed as a litter box, twice in one day. We took him to the vet and it turned out he had kidney disease. He eventually passed away because of it, but because of a special prescription diet of Science Diet K/D, he lived for an additional 2 years. When cats start peeing on stuff, there's typically something wrong with their health.

He's not quite 2.
And he's not been eating any of the food that is in the recall that can cause kidney failure (b/c that crossed my mind)

 

[Disney Ella]

I would take him to the vet too. My cat was two or three when he first developed urinary tract problems. It started with an infection. He started urinating in small amounts in the corners of the room. I took him to the vet and they started him on antibiotics. He has had two urinary tract blockages and one surgery for bladder stones since then and every time, it starts with him urinating out of his box.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Take to the vet....

Clean every square inch of the couch.

Buy a big wire dog crate to retrain the cat. Just like a dog....no free roam, until you trust him again. It is expensive however, breaking a cat of peeing is vital to your existence.

Get a squirt bottle.
When you are home, squirt the cat or tell it no when it gets on the couch.
Put bowls of cat food where he pees.

 

[ohiominnie]

Ok, vet will have to be Monday. This is not an emergency to warrant the ER vet.

I've emailed friends of ours who borrowed our dog crate when they had a puppy. Will see if they still have it (I may have said "do what you want with it when you're done b/c we won't need it)

This morning he peed on the afghan on the sunroom couch. And everytime we've taken him to his litter box he's peed a small amount. When we leave we're going to put him and his litter box in the bathroom. At least in there he can't do TOO much damage (it is, after all, only the size of a small closet!)

Thanks everyone....
Anyone else who has any ideas is free to respond!! I'll take any and all advice.

 

[disneygals]

I had the same problem when my female was about 2. In her case, she started marking when our older cat had a kidney infection and went around the house. He stopped and she never did until $$$ and time later, we had to let her become an outside cat. She is such a wacko and needs to protect the house from outside animals, too.


I don't know if crating her will help. Our cat stopped too when we finally had to get rid of our couches. We had a futon for a while, thought she stopped, bought new couches and she marked them all over again. If you do crate, I'd suggest a new one without dog smell, if you think that's what set her off.

Good Luck, it's such a frustrating situation.

 

[Nancyg56]

I had a similar issue with one of my cats recently. He is a bit nervous and my DH had put a screen type thing in the path down to the litter box. Well he pooped by the fireplace. I thought it was an accident and simply cleaned it up. We woke up to his little surprise again the next morning, but this time he peed in front of the fireplace. DH moved the screen, showed him the way to the litter box, yet it happened again. I took him to the vet to make sue that there was nothing wrong. Turns out we got him upset and this was his reaction. I have 4 cats so i had to keep them in the cellar with the litter boxes for a few days until he forgot his "issue".

 

[ohiominnie]

ugh. it's annoying!
why do they have to be so emotionally unstable?
what the cat doesn't realize is that *I* am emotionally unstable when they pull stuff like this.
we did have another cat long ago who decided the world was his litterbox. he pooped and peed on our old futon mattress (like you can EVER get cat pee out that soaks deep into a futon mattress) he became an outside cat. That was in 2001 and he's still there! loves it out there. brings us a "present" of a dead animal nearly every day.

(sigh)

I ordered some urine-off and a black light off the net. hoping that comes soon......and works.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

This morning he peed on the afghan on the sunroom couch. And everytime we've taken him to his litter box he's peed a small amount.

OK...that says infection to me.

 

[Disney Ella]

OK...that says infection to me.

Me too.

 

[acadia1960]

Please watch for unusual behavior this weekend, like sitting in the tub or sinks, or on cold tile, little spots of urine with possible blood trace. If you see any of this get to a vet pronto, kitty may be plugging up. This is very painful condition and it also can cause death.

 

[ohiominnie]

Please watch for unusual behavior this weekend, like sitting in the tub or sinks, or on cold tile, little spots of urine with possible blood trace. If you see any of this get to a vet pronto, kitty may be plugging up. This is very painful condition and it also can cause death.

We had to go to my daughter's play this afternoon. We kept him in the bathroom with food/water/litter box. He seems great now. He was happy to see us, purring, acting fine. Will keep a close eye on him and if he's fine through tomorrow, I'll take him in Monday. Thanks for all the help!

 

[DMRick]

If he's got an infection, it hurts him to pee. It prob hurt him to pee in the box, and so he's avoiding it..sort of like thinking if he pees in there, it's going to hurt. I assume the leather was nice and smooth. Cats, when hurting, like to pee on smooth, cool things. If he's getting blocked, it is an emergency. If it's behavioral..good luck

I just remembered why I prefer girl cats.

 

[suzij13]

Ok I watch way to much animal planet and one of my favorite shows is barking mad which deals with pets behavior problems. The show's solution for this problem is take a damp cloth rub it over the cat and then rub the cloth on the spots he likes to pee on. This distributes his scent in a way that you can't smell but he can. If it's not a medical problem he is most likely doing it because he feels like his teritory is being/has been invaded. Like I said I watch way to much animal planet.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Ok I watch way to much animal planet and one of my favorite shows is barking mad which deals with pets behavior problems.

I also watch that!

However as a former car owner for 30 years...your cat has an infection more than likely. Please get him to the vet, as he may be suffering right now.
You could take his temp. and see if he has one. Just a thought.

 

[MaryJ]

Having owned 5 cats over that last 30 years, we've had our fair share of this problem. As others have said, he may have a urinary track infection and using something other than the litter box is his only way of telling you something is wrong. The vet may be able to get a urine specimen from him to confirm this.

In the meantime, the best enzyme product I have ever used is called Simple Solution. You can get it at PetSmart.

Good luck!

 

[ARLO1]

It could be out of spite also. When I was dating my dh his ex girlfriend dropped off her 2 of her cats because she couldnt keep them any more. well anytime I came over(usually for the weekend) one of cats would go right over to my clothes and pee on them. She didnt want anyone to take away attention from her daddy.

After we got married she started liking me and when my husband slept in the bed(he often slept in the recliner due to his bad back) she would pee in the bed. She didnt want him sleeping in the bed. well finally she started peeing on one of my couches. sorry that was the last straw. We unfortunetely had to put her to sleep. I put up with the peeing for 10 years. I loved the cat and it hurt terribly so please dont flame me over it.

 

[ohiominnie]

update:
took Mowana to the vet today. His bladder was completely empty so they are keeping him until it's full (but they said it sometimes takes 36 hours to catch them with a full bladder) then they will put a needle in his lower belly to get a sterile specimin of urine and test that for a UTI and for crystals. if there are crystals, they'll do an x-ray to look for a stone. if he won't keep urine in his bladder (he won't have a litter box, but if he pees anyway) they give him Lasix and then hold him until he has a full bladder!

just waiting on word from the vet. poor little thing. as annoying as he can be sometimes, i miss him already.