cat going to shelter in 3 days please help!

chantynicole

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I have had my spayed female cat for 4 years. 2 years ago she started peeing not spraying in places other than her letter box. My husband has had it and we are taking her to shelter on Tues if I don't get more info soon. We keep her box clean.She does not do it evry day. Maybe every 2 weeks. i am 90% sure it is her and not the other cat. It may be both but i won;t knwo until one is gone. I am devasted. We have 2 dogs and 2 cats including her. Nothing seems new or different.
Please give me some help! Her life is a stake now!
Chantelle
 

gap

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chantynicole,

I wish I had some answers for you but I'm pretty ignorant about behavior issues myself. Have you tried researching behavior issues?
Have you seen your vet? I know I've heard of sprays that you can use so your cat won't continue going in the same place. If she only does this every 2 weeks or so and has been doing it for 2 years, why is your husband now so determined to get rid of her?

The fact that you have 2 dogs and 2 cats tells me your husband must love animals also. Call your vet for any suggestions that might be related to health issues and plead with hubby to give you a chance to get info.

Wish I had more knowledge for you. Good luck.
 

sandie

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There are several reasons she could be doing this. How many litter boxes do you have? It is very possible that the other cat is invading her privacy when she goes to use the box. Is it in one spot or is it several? Where does she seem to be going? Have you taken her to the vet to see if she may be developing a urinary tract infection? I am more than willing to provide you with several ideas to find the problem. However all of them may take more than 2 days to show results. What are you going to do if it wasnt her? Take the other one to the pound? I am very disturbed that a cat that has been in taken into a home for 4 years is going to be discarded because something is wrong. I can't stress enough that pets are a lifetime commitment not to be thrown away or put to their death because of a problem.
 
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chantynicole

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Thank you Sandie for your reply.
I will need your help here.
I have not gone to vet yet because if it were a Tract infection I believe the peeing would happen everyday and it does not! Is that true?
They have only one litter box. 2 years ago one cat got outside. Before that they were best buds and then after that they hated each other and now one or both have potty problems. The cat never goes in the same place. It is usually on laundry or bath towels left on the floor.The last straw for my husband is when she went on our couch.
We can't live for the next 15 years with cat pee all around our house.Please offer some solutions.I will try to convince my husband to try longer.
~Chantelle
 

sandie

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It sounds like it may be a box problem. If they are not getting along, then one of them could be harrassing the other out of the box. The first thing I would do is add another litter box. To find out which one it is you put them in seperate rooms for a short while. Let one roam and the other in a closed room. Then you can switch them. If there are no accidents you can try to re introduce them with the 2 boxes handy.
With 4 animals I can't see a reason why this cant be worked out. All cats are different and almost all behavioral problems can be resovled with a little work. If this is not the case then it's possible all your animals will be put down before they go on their own. Geriatric animals sometimes have a hard time controling their bladders. I am sure if you go through all the steps you can find a way to keep everyone happy.
 

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I was going to respond with suggestions, but I looked at the date and realized that I'm probably too late. I am saddened that anyone would wait until two days before putting a cat in the shelter before asking for help. It is absolutely possible to train a cat to urinate only in the litter box, but it takes time and effort. Two days is not enough.
 
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chantynicole

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Cat has not gone to shelter. You are not too late Told hubby that I could not do it without trying everthing possible. I am open and ready for suggestions. Please help.
 

havel1hv

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First thing you must do is confine the felines - if they aren't getting along prob. separated would be best. Then you have to give your home the cleaning of a lifetime! Make sure you use an enzyme cleaner and a black light (it helps find spots you may have missed). I also suggest taking them to the vet and getting a fecal and urine sample looked at. Then you can start bringing out of confinement when you can watch them - also I'm getting rid of all of my carpeting - it just doesn't work with felines and canines! We are replacing it with pergo.

Best of luck and keep us updated!

Heather
 

lotsocats

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I agree 100% with Heather. I think a big part of the problem is that your cat is stressed out about the box...probably because the other cat or the dogs are keeping her from feeling safe when she goes to pee.

The first thing I would do is to get her her very own litter box and put it in a place where she can use it without being surprised by the other cat or the dogs. Make sure there is a little privacy but that she can see whether another critter is sneaking up on her. A cat will not use the box if she is afraid she will be attacked while on the box!

Then...like Heather said...you may need to separate the cats for a week or two. Lock one in a room while the other is out. Don't let both out at the same time for at least a week. Then, when you do let them both out, give them a little tuna water or tuna so that they associate the other cat with a pleasurable event. Give lots of treats whenever the two are together in a peaceful way.

Also, like Heather said, make sure you thoroughly clean all old urine spots. To find them use a flourescent black light (a regular black light bulb won't work) which will make the old urine (and barf) glow. Saturate old spots with an enzymatic cleaner.

If she tends to pee in the same spots, you can lay strips of aluminum foil over the old places which will keep her from using them.

Also...explore using different types of litter. Many cats won't use scented litter and most prefer the fine grained clumping type.

If you use a covered litter box, remove the lid...many cats refuse to use covered boxes.

Please have her checked for a urinary tract problem. Even when sick they will not avoid the litter box every time. When my cat had the urinary tract problem she only peed outside the box once or twice a week! Once her physical problem cleared up she never peed on the rug again!

Good luck!
 
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chantynicole

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HEATHER,
ONE OF MY CATS PEES OVER THE SIDE OF THE BOX. IF THEY DO NOT LIKE COVERED BOXES THEN WHAT ELSE CAN I USE? oR ELSE IT HITS THE WALLS. EXACTLY WHAT TYPE OF CAT LITTER DO YOU USE?? We have used the same litter for 4 years. Why do you think her peeing is so interminent?
SHE NEVER GOES IN THE SAME PLACE TWICE. It is always on things we can pick up and wash so far!
Also, they don't constantly fight. They growl and hiss and pounce on each other every few days or so.. They use to sit around and love on one another and clean each other. Is it possible for then to be that way again or am I asking too much? They eat at the same time and out of the same bowl.
Thank you for your advice.
 

rene

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You need to have two litter boxes - that is a definite and they should be cleaned twice a day - many cats will not use the litter more than once or won't use it at all if they are not the first cat of the day, so to speak. I would still take my cat to the vet to see if there is a medical problem - don't be too quick to feel that cannot be the case. Yes, it could also be behavioral, but you need to rule out the medical to begin with. The cat really should be confined - you may feel bad about it, but I assure you it is better than being taken to a shelter or pound - I usually recommend a cage - with litter, a bed, food and water, where she gets "retrained" in using the litter box. Also, if there are accidents happening in your home when she is caged, then it will show it is either not her or not just her.

I am glad you are trying to find out the cause of this behavior - if you take her to a shelter with litterbox problems you are condemning her to either a life in a cage or euthanasia. You have had this cat for four years and your husband would consider leaving her at a pound after loving her for that long? - you saw her through her kitten hood and all the other cute things she did as a young cat teen. Why do you think someone would take her as an older cat, who has no history with her and put up with litterbox problems right at the start? You can't stop a problem by giving it up - you need to correct the problem first.
 

sandie

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Just in response to the last few questions, I would try getting one of the x large covered boxes but dont use the top. Usually when they miss the box a little it is just a little to small for their preference. As for the peeing on piles of clothing/towels etc it is actually normal for a lot of cats to do this. They find it just as suitable as their litter. The best way to deal with that is to make sure there's no piles of clothing,towels etc laying on the floor or in a nice basket they can jump into. First thing first, seperate them and put the one you think is the culprit in a small room to try and re train and reintroduce the 2 cats. Having the 2 boxes and keeping them clean will probably give you great results as well.
 

havel1hv

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About the feline missing the box - I thought seriously about buying a large plastic box and cutting out part of a side and putting the litter box in it (with out a cover to the large box or the kitty litter). That way if Mort (the cat in our case that was missing) missed it was easy to clean up. However, we just bought a dog litter box and that has fixed the problem because it is so large.

I agree with everyone with the covered box - we can't use one because we have several that ambush others as they are going into and out of the box. With out a cover they don't do this - prob. takes all the fun out if the other cat can see them


Heather
 

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chantynicole

Do you still have your cat? What is the update?
I have been wondering about this ever since you started
this thread. Any update you could give would be appreciated.
 

gap

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I second the motion.

Chantynicole, please give us an update. We are very concerned that someone would give their cat of 4 years away so readily. Please inform us....
 
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chantynicole

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Shannon,
I think we may have found the problem. Duh?The cat box was located in a covered box outside. They would go through a kitty door and use it ( or not) in there. We moved it in the house and have not had any problems for about 4 days. They both seem much happier. It is in the roman tub now and we are trying to decide where else out of the way we can put it! So so far so good! Thank you for asking!
~Chantelle
 

swalker

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That is absolutely wonderful. I am so glad you had a little
bit of time to figure out the problem. There is always a solution
to a cats problems!! Sometimes it's just a little harder to figure
out.

I am really thrilled that you get to keep your cat!!! Thank you for the update.
 
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