Need Advice...Cat problem

[RhodyNewf]

I have a cat named Gus that is destroying my house. He has a urination problem...he pees on my walls if his dinner is late, he pees on the front door if I am late getting home, he has peed on my bed, kitchen counters, carpets, etc. He is anxious and bossy. He is 13. He had urine crystals at 9, but after a diet change he has not had any more problems. He has been tested for all medical problems and the vet believes, as I do, that it is 100% behavioral. He has been on prozac for the past year, which in some cases has shown to help cats with elimination behavior problems, but it is not helping him.

I dont know what to do. The vet thinks that my best bet is to take him to a no-kill shelter and hope that someone without other animals adopts him. Honestly, who adopts a 13 year old cat that pees where ever he wants??

What would you do? The vet wont put him down, nor do I feel right about that....I am not comfortable taking a cat that I have had for 13 years to a shelter.....I have tried everything...different litter, different litter boxes, medicine, etc. I just dont know what to do... He is part of my family, but, right now, he is living locked in a room because I figure destroying a room is better then my whole house. I dont think it is fair to him.

Ideas please?

 

[OurnewfDarwin]

Have you tried Feliway Plug-ins? We have a cat who gets pissy when my husband goes out of town, if the cat box hasn't been scooped in the last 12 hours, Darwin is being a brat to her, etc. She was SO MAD when we got Darwin. But the plug-ins really helped. We put one in each room that she was peeing--namely, both bedrooms. We also bought Cat Attract cat litter.

Both of these products saved Bali's life. I was reaching my wit's end with finding pee on my bed. She still occasionally pees on articles of clothing left on the floor, but that's harmless compared to replacing our mattress again...

 

[Ocean's Edge]

I've been going through the same thing with our Valentine... completely behavioral, she's always been pretty much hanging on the edge - sanity speaking - once we moved here .. it just never stopped ... 1000's of dollars worth of furniture and the like destroyed...

I really thought we'd have to put her down - I ran out of options, we'd tried everything from tranqualizers to therapy. I couldn't let her destroy my house anymore, but I couldn't see unloading the problem on someone else. However the idea was so horrible to us.... I've lived with cats my whole life and I'd never faced a challenge like this before, James ... his heart is so big the thought of it was just killing him. I posted a thread about it about a month ago (my local rescue friend suggested an animal communicator). The James found a crowd Barn Cats Incorporated (and another site I'll get him to post it in the morning) on moving these unhouseable cats to barns, sheds, garages, where they'll be sheltered and safe and cared for - but without the destruction of our homes. Fortunately we already have a small two stall stable (currently unoccupied), we've moved her out there in Buddy's kennel for two weeks to acclimate her, and added a new cat door to the stable door. In the next day or two we'll open the kennel and hopefully she'll treat the stable as her new home. With a bit of luck she'll be less stressed in a sole animal environment, with no people or dogs or kittens or cranky ol' maine coon to make her crazy.

I'll let you know how it goes after we open the kennel.

 

[YorkvilleNewfie]

Honestly, I feel for you. I'm presently in the exact same situation as you are with my 8 year old cat who is no longer happy being a member of this household (because of the introduction of the Newf and our baby, 3 months later) and as a result is territorially urinating everywhere. Like you, we ruled out medical issues, and tried absolutely everything, everything including medicating him for months with Buspar. Nearly 7 months after this all started, for the sake of my house, my sanity and my marriage, I'm having to make the same difficult decision as you are now.

I'll PM you. I am so sorry you are going through this. It's so heartbreaking and so frustrating...it just sucks. :hugs:

Here's my thread about it..

http://www.newf.net/Forums/showthread.php?t=99212

 

[OurnewfDarwin]

I looked at the other thread... they all seem to be siamese, balinese, etc! Here's my 'pisser':

 

[Goofy Newfy]

I have to give an opinion of your vet. He sounds like an idiot. His only suggestion is to give a 13 year old cat who has known problems to a no-kill shelter! So, it becomes someone else's problem. Someone else who may not be as understanding may physicall hurt the cat or take it to a kill shelter. I have 7 cats (down from 11 in the last 7 years), so I completely understand.

The biggest issue is the fact that your cat has already peed on most every part of your house. The smell is going to keep him doing it. I would definately comfine him to a smaller room, like a bathroom. The smaller space, the better, so he has less places to use other than his box.
I would have Stanley Steemer come out and clean everything they possibly can. And, what they can't, get out of your house. Recently, one of your cats peed on a microfiber couch, that we had purchased less then 4 months prior. The best part was the cushions were attached. Out of despiration, I called SS, they came out and cleaned the couch. The smell went completely away. I had to have them come twice because they needed to get between the attached cushions better but the secone time, the smell was completely gone. This was 8 months ago, and noone has peed on it again.

 

[OurnewfDarwin]

You could also try Biokleen Bac-out. That's what we used to clean all of the pee spots. The cats don't go back to those spots---and you can use it in your washer to clean washable items.

 

[mareserinitatis]

Have you tried something like amitriptyline? Sometimes cats with crystals can develop something like an overreactive bladder, and it sometimes helps. I would also second cleaning everything up, preferably with an enzymatic cleaner.

Is there a substrate preference? I know ours likes smooth things and canvas. I can deal with him peeing in the sink, though I don't like it. However, we make a serious effort to avoid leaving plastic bags and most canvas bags out. On the other hand, I can tell when his crystal problem is flaring because the first thing he goes for is a canvas bag in those situations.

The other suggestion I would have is to confine the cat to a medium sized dog kennel with a litterbox when you're away and/or can't supervise the cat. I've done this before with limited success. Start by confining the cat most of the time and gradually increase the amount of time out of the kennel. The problem I had was that the medical problems were overriding the 'training', so after she had achieved the ability to be outside of the kennel most of the time, the litterbox issues ended up returning.

I've had two cats with litter box issues. I'll say that one has been hard to deal with, but he's a love and we want to make sure he's okay. It's a pain to deal with, but it's very clearly connected to a medical issue.

The other cat wouldn't poo in the box, and we tried everything with her. She had some major IBD issues. She became withdrawn and antisocial, and we finally couldn't deal with it any more. I tried my hardest to find a home for her where she was be a single cat, hoping that would reduce the litterbox anxiety. I honestly think the problem was that she felt so awful, she couldn't do anything else. She stayed under our bed all day and wouldn't even play with the other cat. We finally put her down. The vet knew I had tried everything and spent hundreds of dollars working with her. She said that, honestly, most people aren't as patient and willing to try as I was, and that putting her in another home (if I could find one) would be more inhumane than putting her down because chances are she would end up either severely neglected or abused if her issues continued in that home.

Honestly, I think your choice is to keep trying to work with it or put the cat down. I'm not trying to be cruel to the cat, but I'm guessing that the stress will be horrible for the cat, being separated from you after being with you most of his life. If you really have tried everything you can and your vet is providing you with suggestions, then maybe that would be less hard on him.

 

[RhodyNewf]

Well, Gus is in a guest bedroom right now. It breaks my heart because he yowls. He is lonely. But, he is using the litter box, for the most part. The vet increased his dose of prozac. And they said I can give the drugs twice a day.

I am very torn. Gus would suffer immensely in a shelter and I doubt that he would be adopted. But this is no life for him. Secluded from his family. Drugged.

I feel so guilty.

 

[mulenag]

I'm so sorry. My kitties are my heart and I understand how this is tearing you up. If you were closer I would offer our barn as an option. We have had to "kick out" two of our boys due to territorial spraying. They have both done wonderfully and my vet always comments that I have the best looking barn cats she ever sees. They are quite spoiled even though they live outside.
I wish I had some more helpful suggestions but it seems like it has been covered. Hugs to Gus.

 

[BoundlessNewfs]

Gillian, maybe another vet would agree to put your kitty down, if that's what you think is best. Only you can decide this issue. You're right to not foist the problem off on somebody else, as having a cat peeing all over the house is not an option most folks would accept. ((HUGS))

Our "pee-ers" are banished to the outside only, and not allowed to come in. They truly do not suffer, though. They live like kings, on the back porch, with acres of woods to play and hunt in.

 

[RhodyNewf]

I don't know what I think is best. It feels like a lose lose lose situation. Living in a room is awful. A shelter is worse. And who am I to play god and put him down?

I am grasping at straws here...and honestly thinking of contacting an animal communicator for help.

 

[Windancer]

Are all cats like this? My lacy is about 13 we think...I love her.. A couple years ago I baby sat my G daughters cat...a great neutered male.. Lacy got SOOO angry, she started peeing on the wall..She would back up to it like a male cat and just squirt on it...She still does this now from time to time If everything does not go her way. I have my own steam cleaner....I use vinegar on the fresh stuff, and a "urine remover' product.....what a pain...but I will put up with her for the rest of her life.

 

[mareserinitatis]

I had one other thought: what are you feeding the cat? Is it dry food?

Our vet has tried all kinds of foods, wet and dry, with our 'pee problem' cat. Nothing seems to really work. I think it's because they all add too much in the way of minerals to the food.

In the past 3 months, we switched him over to a raw food diet. I got some of the frozen nugget kind (http://www.primalpetfoods.com/). He only likes it warm, so it ends up mostly cooked by the time we're done heating it up to his particular tastes. I feed him 2 oz. in the morning and 2 oz. at night. I also add about a tbsp. of water to each feeding.

Since we started doing this, he has not been going anywhere but the litterbox and the sink, even if a plastic bag happens to be lying around. Like I said - still not crazy about him going in the sink, but I can deal with it a lot better than my backpack.

Anyway, I'm just throwing that out as a possibility because you said he had crystals in the past. It's so hard to get enough water into them, so maybe doing something like that would help.

I'm sorry you're in such a tough position.

 

[mulenag]

I currently have 7 house cats (yes, you can say it, crazy cat lady) and 4 of them are boys, 3 girls. So far they are living harmoniously together and using their boxes without incident. This even after we tore down our house, moved into the in-laws garage while we built a new house, then moved into our new garage, then finally into the new house. That is a lot of stress for a cat and they have dealt with it all very well. So, NO not all cats do this. But the ones that do are not easy to live with.
Laurel, I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one who has "banished" some cats from the house. I totally understand that they live like kings! It's too bad that others don't have that option like we do.

I agree with mareserinitatis, if you haven't tried raw yet, that might be an option. Although I think you and I already had the raw-for-cats discussion a while back.

 

[mareserinitatis]

(yes, you can say it, crazy cat lady)

Crazy cat lady!!! :groovy:

 

[mulenag]

Crazy cat lady!!! :groovy:

:fce32f95:

 

[lacey9875]

This raw-for-cats-diet sounds interesting. did I miss the thread? My male cat, who is a Ragdoll, has been having loose stools, and if he gets in trouble he'll poo on an article of my clothing. Sometimes while staring me right in the face. It's not really the same issue as the peeing cat I don't think ( well, it's his dominance issue ) but the raw might help him with his other issue.

 

[RhodyNewf]

Gus has been on a raw diet for 4 years. He actually has not had crystals since the diet switch. My vet doesn't agree with the raw food either, so I just tell her that he eats canned food.

I wish making him an outdoor cat was an option. He doesn't have nails (not by me, I found him as a young cat, without nails but but not neutered in my sorority house parking lot. I smuggled him in, treated his ear mites and neutered him (not personally) and he lived in my bedroom, till my house mother found out... I got in big trouble). Anyway, he does not have front claws and is dumb as rocks...and I live on a mildly busy road. And I think I would worry that he would be cold.

The vet told me that he needed dental work, I have this hope that he will get a tooth extracted and stop peeing on my walls.

 

[new_2_newf]

I had an old cat that used to do this...she went on kitty prozac, i put the Feliway plug ins all over the house, and got the spray and put it on a cloth and tied it to her collar so she always had the 'happy' smell near her. After a few weeks of steam cleaning everything, spraying the **** out of everything with the Feliway and having the plug ins good and hot, she stopped pissing on my stuff, as long as there were no clothes on the floor or anything obvious like that. After a few months I was able to take her off the prozac and i used the feliway until she died.