My cat "Big" keeps weeing in the bathroom and on the backdoor mat :(

[meaganandalbert]

Big is going on 8 years old, she is female and desexed. She is normally an outside cat and only comes inside during winter. She is one of four cats and is the oldest. She seems to hate all the others and freaks out as soon as they are close to her. She will eat with them however they aren't fond of each other. Big is especially skittish and while she is inside during winter she will continuously wee and poo on any clothing left in the bathroom or on the back door mat even though the door is open. Should we put a litter tray in the bathroom? She is extremely bipolar, she can be sitting lovingly on your lap and purring and the next minute lash out and jump away terrified. She can be sound asleep and suddenly jump up and run into the bathroom as if she is scared. She has skin problems but regular flee treatment seems to keep this under control to some degree however the two issues might not be related. She is missing a toe. Please Help.

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• meaganandalbert
• Jun 12, 2013

 

[ritz]

Welcome to The Cat Site.

Big is adorable!  And not so big....

Yes I think you should put another litter box in your bathroom, or perhaps next to the door she usually goes out of during the summer/warmer weather.

Some cats simply have a tight gradient between too much loving and just enough.

It's possible, but not likely, that the skittishness and skin problems are related--although the skin problems have to be uncomfortable.  What specifically are the skin  problems; are you sure its fleas and not, for example, a food allergy.

 

[meaganandalbert]

Her real name is "little big".. Don't ask. I'm not even sure how it became that..

She has reactions to particular flee treatment that gives her enormous break out sores that weep fluid and loss of hair on her back from scratching. We don't use that on her after that one time obviously, but her normal condition is a scabby back that is very itchy and when we give her the new treatment it goes away for a while. When i do give her the squeezy tube on the back of the neck, i don't see her for 3-4 days and she looks as me as though i beat her. She hates it, the other cats have squinted eyes for a couple of minutes but don't disappear afterwards. She doesn't seem to use litter trays, but i will give it a go. I just hope it isn't a mental thing and has to be scared all the time. She was a rescue kitten, crossed a highway with a stray mum and brothers/sisters, they were all hit by cars but her :'( We adopted her but she is missing a toe from the incident, perhaps she is still scarred from the experience? 

-M&A

 

[ritz]

Yes, very possibly she is just a skittish cat by nature/DNA.  That's my Ritz, herself a rescue. She lived the first five months of her life outside with her litter  mates, survived a 20" snow storm.

I don't know what medications you have in NSW Australia, but I'd try something like Frontline (prescription), once a month to keep away the fleas.

 

[meaganandalbert]

Frontline gave her the hideous break-out, We can not use that on her again, We use Advantix or Advocate, they seem to work best for her skin. I will try the litter tray in the bathroom and just continue trying to make her more confidant, it seems as though she is overly timid but i am unsure how to handle her, she would probably be better off as an only cat but i can't just get rid of her or the others. I love them all but would prefer them all to be comfortable.. i guess three others might be too many for her to handle? 

-M&A

 

[catspaw66]

Her real name is "little big".. Don't ask. I'm not even sure how it became that..

-M&A

Somebody been watching too much Word Girl on PBS?

 

[meaganandalbert]

HaHa!! Yes, i'm sure thats it, at one stage we had Little Big, Little Little and Little teenie... I guess my names aren't too creative 

 

[catspaw66]

HaHa!! Yes, i'm sure thats it, at one stage we had Little Big, Little Little and Little teenie... I guess my names aren't too creative 

I love all those names. And the person on Word Girl was Tiny Big, not Little Big. I guess I watch too much Word Girl and Arthur on PBS.

But, to your problem. Have you tried Cat Attract litter? Some that have used it say it is wonderful for getting cats to use the litter box. Are the other cats harassing her when she tries to use it, or has she never used it?

Probably being an outdoor cat in all but winter, she is stressed by not having the whole outdoors when she is inside. Cat claustrophobia is what I would call it. She has limited places to get away from the others. Is she a climber? A tree or something she could use to get away and feel safe might help her.

 

[meaganandalbert]

The Cat Claustrophobia is a good point, perhaps because she spends most of her time outdoors living in the garden she finds the cramped spaces stressful. I wish i could comfort her more though, nothing bad has ever happened to her in our care but she still seems to have massive trust issues with us.