Help! Cat peeing w/ new puppy!

[lucybaby]

*now not to sound bad, but before i hear 18 thousand times "oh she has a uti", she doesn't. when my mom put her dog to sleep she peed on his bed after a week and everyone said "oh she has a uti" so i took her to the vet and after $300, he said "she's just p'd off. cats don't like change. feed her half a can wet food twice a day and i guarantee she will never have a uti". she is real "opinionated" so i'd bet any money it's not a uti. and she went in her potty right before we noticed it and w/ a uti they generally stay away from their potties. she used hers.

but to my problem:

i'm 22, living at home with my parents, and have a cat. 2 weeks ago my mom got a puppy and the two of them have actually become friends more or less. well not too long ago my mom came in and said "smell your cat. she smells like she peed and rolled in it" and she did pee. she peed on her little bed-pillow.

now here are the 2 things we're thinking.

1) there was a little pillow bed thing that was in the family foom under a window that she would lean on and look out the window that had to be moved when the puppy picked it up and tried to carry it away. so we moved it to the dining room near her little box she lays on and watches birds.

2)the neighbors caviler king charles came over earlier to play with the puppy and after she she realized lucy was a cat, she started to bark at her while lucy was in the dining room. (i told my mom she should only take the puppy to the neighbors and not bring the neighbors dog here with the cat b/c it may be to much for her... which she agreed to.)


will lucy continue to pee? the last time the neighbors dog was over, lucy was upstairs so she didn't know she was here. could she continue to pee now that she has since the puppy is here and the puppy didn;t want to share attention tonight with lucy? we still pay attn to lucy and play w/ her even tho she's always been one to just play by herself with her little mice or just sleep upstairs.

i really don't like it when cats pee in peoples' houses and really don't want this to be a habit now for her so please, any behavioral advice is GREATLY appreciated.

 

[otto]

Hello and welcome to TCS!

First of all, just because your cat did not have a UTI before, does not mean she does not have one now. Stress can cause UTIs and/or the formation of crystals in the urine (two different things) and bringing in a new puppy or being barked at would certainly cause stress.

Cats don't pee on things because they are "p'd off". They do it because something is wrong with their world, and that is one way they have to let their people know it, or they are feeling territorial.

Stress can cause inappropriate urination. Dirty litter boxes, not enough litter boxes, litter box in a high traffic area can also be causes.

You can get some Feliway plug in diffusers to help with territorial issues, and to help kitty feel more secure.

Rescue Remedy can help with stress.

Be sure Lucy has plenty of vertical space. A tall cat tree, or a cleared shelf on a tall bookcase, where she can be with the family but out of reach of the puppy.

If the problem continues, please take her to the vet.

 

[white cat lover]

Welcome to TCS!

UTI tests are not suggested just to give the vets money, but because they can come on rapidly & easily under stress. And some cats just stress easily. While she may not exhibit any physical signs, it is possible she could still have a UTI. Feeding wet food does not guarantee she'll never have a UTI.

That said, a puppy barking at her could cause her to be stressed & go outside the litterbox. She is not doing it to spite you, or because she's angry at anyone - but possibly because she is agitated.

You can try a variety of things such as Feliway, Rescue Remedy, & Cat Attract litter. Is her litterbox located in a quiet area of the house easily accessible without having to go around the puppy?

 

[lucybaby]

true. and i understand that. but b/c she has used ehr box since and the urine wasn't cloudy and was free of blood, and she has her urinary tract food plus wet food, i still highly doubt that's what it is. she kept going closer to the baby gate to see the other dog and the other dog finally noticed her when she started barking.

the vet is a very colorful man. lol. he went on to say much more and say that she misses ducky and that she is upset/concerned b/c she and i came back home from our 2 month vacay and he was gone and that she's saying "hey! what gives" and the fact that it was on his bed told him, i'm upset w/ducky.

she has a very well-kempt box. she likes it cleaned out daily (she doesn't like to cover her poo so we smell it and we clean it out promptly) and it's thouroughly washed, relined, and refilled weekly. it's in the downstairs powder room but it's in an out-of-the-way area downstairs and the only people that use it are myself and my mother.

i can't see how she would be teritoral in the dining room tho. the puppy is blocked at that door and the kitchen door.

i will google rescue remedy.

she has one of those cat condos in the corner at 2 windows. it's not super tall. about 4'6" (my parents think the big carpet cat condos look junky). she goes in the bottom and on the 2n'd and 3rd level but is afraid of the top. the thing with that tho is that the puppy bites the post on the 2nd level and tries to jump on the 2nd level.

i plan on calling monday morning if she does it again, whether it's behavioral or not. if it is behavioral, i can try to take her to a "cat whisperer" and if it's medical, i can give her medication.

i do hope this gets sorted out quickly. they seemed to do so well the past 2 weeks. i'd hate to see them stop getting along now and i'm in no position to move out at the moment.

 

[lucybaby]

Originally Posted by white cat lover

Welcome to TCS!

UTI tests are not suggested just to give the vets money, but because they can come on rapidly & easily under stress. And some cats just stress easily. While she may not exhibit any physical signs, it is possible she could still have a UTI. Feeding wet food does not guarantee she'll never have a UTI.

That said, a puppy barking at her could cause her to be stressed & go outside the litterbox. She is not doing it to spite you, or because she's angry at anyone - but possibly because she is agitated.

You can try a variety of things such as Feliway, Rescue Remedy, & Cat Attract litter. Is her litterbox located in a quiet area of the house easily accessible without having to go around the puppy?

she may get stressed or angered easily; she's always been a bit mouthy.

it is away from the puppy. familyroom, kitchen, and dining room (puppy only in fr and k) are in the back of the house and the stairs, living room, and powder room (wher her box is) is in the front so if she's sleeping upstairs or in the living room, she can go in there w/o going near the puppy. she even has her food and water in both the kitchen and dining room now (it's usually on the kitchen table b/c the old dog would eat it so she couldn't have any but when the new puppy came, we moved it in the dining room for about a week so she wouldn't have to be bothered while she ate) that she peed in the dining room. we figured that may make it easier so she could eat w/ or w/o the puppy.

 

[otto]

I'm glad you are willing to work with Lucy. I'm glad her litter box is in a quiet place, is it easily accessible to her?

It's good that she's been doing okay with the puppy, but cats are the masters of hiding stress and illness. She may be feeling stress and you'd never know it. Cats hide illness and stress so well that often by the time the human notices something is wrong, the cat is very sick indeed (through no fault of the human's)

And, with stress can come illness. Not seeing any blood or cloudiness does not mean there is not a urinary tract problem. Urinary tract problems can only be determined by a urinalysis and, preferably, a culture.

The Feliway diffusers can help a lot. Rescue Remedy is good too, but I would reach for the feliway plug ins every time.

(but if she has an illness no amount of feliway or RR or behavior modification will help)

Please keep us updated on Lucy!

 

[otto]

Originally Posted by lucybaby

true. and i understand that. but b/c she has used ehr box since and the urine wasn't cloudy and was free of blood, and she has her urinary tract food plus wet food, i still highly doubt that's what it is. she kept going closer to the baby gate to see the other dog and the other dog finally noticed her when she started barking.

.

PS, you say she is on special urinary food? Why is that, if the vet said she did not have a problem? The prescription food is to help prevent crystal formation, and is designed to work best when it is the only food fed. Most prescription brands do have canned food also.

So if she is already known to form crystals, then this very well could be the problem

she has one of those cat condos in the corner at 2 windows. it's not super tall. about 4'6" (my parents think the big carpet cat condos look junky). she goes in the bottom and on the 2n'd and 3rd level but is afraid of the top. the thing with that tho is that the puppy bites the post on the 2nd level and tries to jump on the 2nd level.

The puppy should not be allowed to chew or jump on Lucy's scratching post. This could indeed cause her to feel territorial. What kind of training is this puppy getting? The puppy needs to be taught from the beginning that there are things that he must leave alone, and one of those things is Lucy's scratching tower.

 

[lucybaby]

Originally Posted by otto

PS, you say she is on special urinary food? Why is that, if the vet said she did not have a problem? The prescription food is to help prevent crystal formation, and is designed to work best when it is the only food fed. Most prescription brands do have canned food also.

So if she is already known to form crystals, then this very well could be the problem


it's just pro plan from petsmart. he told me when she peed on ducky's bed that i could buy her that as a precautionary/preventative step b/c it wouldn't hurt. and she just eats different' flavors of canned proplan. no urinary kind. what are crystals? are they in the food?


The puppy should not be allowed to chew or jump on Lucy's scratching post. This could indeed cause her to feel territorial. What kind of training is this puppy getting? The puppy needs to be taught from the beginning that there are things that he must leave alone, and one of those things is Lucy's scratching tower.

the puppy is 9.5 weeks. she gets consistant training (my mom's a dog person. she's had them her whole life) and she knows sit, treat, outside, potty, come, eat, and ofcourse her name. she doesn't understand off and no so well yet. since lucy's been playing with her more the past few days, she had just recently been going near it. when she bites it or tries to jump on it, we tell her no/off but when seh goes near it when lucy's on the 2nd, we don't because lucy plays "peek-a-boo" with her to play with her and lucy practically say "hey, i'm over here". but so far, the puppy is trained exceptionally well for her age.

 

[otto]

Crystals form in a cat's urine when the pH balance is upset. There are two kinds of crystals, Struvite and Oxalate.

Stress and/or bacterial UTIs are two common causes of crystals in the urine.

It can sometimes be a one time thing, and controlled with a diet change to a high quality all canned food, because lack of enough fluid in the diet keeps the urine too highly concentrated.

If the crystals come back, even after putting the cat on a high quality all canned diet, prescription food should be the next step, for struvite. Oxalate crystals sometimes require surgery to remove. This is why it is very important to know what kind of crystals, and that is found out with a urine culture. (usually sent out to a lab, the results take a few days)

Canned food is mostly water, that is why canned food is so much better for cats than dry food.

That is good the puppy is being purposefully trained. I hope she learns fast that Lucy's tower is Of Limits!

 

[lucybaby]

he said her urine was good. so from what you're telling me about crystals, he would have told me if she had them.

if there's one thing my mom can do, it's train a dog. lol. our old dog knew to come to her when he was going to throw up so she could get a bag and he'd throw up in the bag. it was pretty amazing.

 

[otto]

Originally Posted by lucybaby

he said her urine was good. so from what you're telling me about crystals, he would have told me if she had them.

if there's one thing my mom can do, it's train a dog. lol. our old dog knew to come to her when he was going to throw up so she could get a bag and he'd throw up in the bag. it was pretty amazing.

Yes I am sure your vet would have told you if your cat's urine was sent to a lab for a culture and crystals were found. However that was then and this is now. Lucy may appear to be getting along with the new puppy, but any change can cause stress, and stress can cause illness.

I think it's terrific that the puppy is being trained from day one, but please make sure the puppy is not harassing Lucy.

The inappropriate peeing is for a reason, it is either illness related or stress related, or both, and the one change/stressor that stands out in her life is the puppy.

(for future info, cats are trainable too. all my cats are trained to scratch on their own furniture and to not scratch people

)

 

[lucybaby]

we do. re remove the puupy from the situation b.c this is lucy's house. not to sound rude, but just b/c we're having an isse with the cat, doesn't mean we don't know how to train a dog. i've had a dog my enitre life. my mother has for over 40 yrs. we know dogs.

 

[momofmany]

When we first adopted our puppies 5 years ago, we kept them, for the most part, in our back porch away from the cats so that they wouldn't stress them out. At least 1 of my cats would go into that room and pee in their kennels. The puppies were a change to the house, a change to the house routine, and not all cats accept change very well.

I gave the cats tall perches in the rooms where the puppies were allowed to go (we brought them out of the porch under our supervision). They would sit on them and watch them. Once the house routine was re-established, the cats stopped peeing in their kennels. Had it gone on much longer, the cats would have gone to the vets for a UTI test. Things settled down in about 3 weeks.

 

[ldg]

I would definitely invest in Feliway if the dog is not going to be isolated from the cat.

Feliway is a synthetic hormone that mimics the "friendly" markers in cats' cheeks. It was designed to stop inappropriate peeing and works in two ways. The scent is "wrong" as it is not a "territorial" scent, which is what pee is. So spraying where kitty is going outside the box helps deter kitty going there again. It also has a calming effect, so when sprayed around the entire house - except anywhere near her box - it helps reduce her stress and has a calming effect.

It doesn't work for all cats, but it helps a majority of them.

It can be purchased here: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001HWQQOE/...l_26dlohkclv_e

Also, it is REALLY important to clean ANY area or thing she's gone on outside the box with an enzyme cleaner. Most pet stores sell them. Normal cleaners will not remove the scent of her urine to her nose - only to ours. The scent will continue to encourage her to go outside the box.