Need To Stop Inappropriate Elimination

[TJAnonymous]

OK, there's a lot going on here so I apologize for the long post. I adopted Lily from an animal shelter in September 2013. At first they said she was a boy and approximately 6 weeks old. The shelter does mandatory sterilization upon adoption. It was during their prep for neutering that they realized HE was actually a SHE and possibly a little younger than they thought. They asked if I still wanted her and I said yes. The vet serving the shelter spayed her even though they were concerned she might be too young. I brought her home the next day after she was spayed. We had an older neutered male (Bel) cat who belonged to my teenage son. Lily became quite attached to Bel. Over the past few years we've had a couple of other kittens (all males we've neutered before puberty) and Lily has never liked any of them but wasn't peeing outside her litter box. They only stayed a short time before moving to other homes.

My son grew up and joined the military. A few months before we knew he would be taking his cat, we brought home a new male kitten (Lucifer) who was about 8 weeks old. We were hoping it would help Lilly when it came time for Bel to leave. Lilly had little interest in Lucifer and Bel really disliked him. Bel was simply too old to deal with kitten antics. He started showing his displeasure by peeing next to the litter box on the floor. This lasted a few months until my son came and took Bel with him on base. The peeing stopped for a few weeks. At that time, it was just Lilly and Lucifer in our house. Lilly (about 3 yrs old at this time) would call Bel a lot at first.

Within a month of Bel leaving, a little stray female ended up in our garage. My youngest daughter begged to keep her. I relented. My daughter named her Maze. Lilly took an instant dislike to Maze. It was about 6 months before we got Maze spayed so she was just beginning puberty and started acting aggressive towards Lilly. Soon after Maze appeared, Lilly began peeing outside her box. It was minor at first but over the past 2 years has gotten more dramatic.

We have 3 litter boxes all over the house. I also keep Lilly shut up in my bedroom at night (with a litter box, food, and water) so she can feel secure. We have done numerous play activities with all 3 cats together. Lucifer and Maze have bonded. Lilly is tolerant of Lucifer now half the time but really hates Maze. Lilly is attached to my person if I am at home. She has to be in my lap or touching me in some way... I give her loads of attention every day to make her feel secure but I can't seem to get her to stop peeing on everything. She pees on anything left on the floor in any room - clothes, towels, shoes, book bags, trash bags, boxes, papers, anything. She was also peeing for a period of time directly behind my recliner and in laundry baskets. However she does not pee on elevated surfaces such as beds, counters, tall laundry baskets, etc...

My husband and family are pushing me hard to put her down since she won't stop. I don't know what else to do. I have tried Feliway with no success. I have tried to help the cats adjust to each other and make them feel secure. No luck. Is my only option to put her down?

 

[Furballsmom]

My husband and family are pushing me hard to put her down since she won't stop.

The short answer, no, this is not the only option, and I'm SO glad you're here. At the very least, rehome her. If there is no health problem that's causing this, she is simply having difficulty adjusting to all the changes, the new cats coming in to her territory, losing her best friend etc etc.

So, with that said, you already have her in your room part of the time. I would suggest that you increase that time to 24/7 until this gets squared away.

Does she use the litterbox overnight? If not, take something she's peed on and try putting it in a box to help convince her the box is an ok place to do her business. Have several boxes just for her in your bedroom. There is a litter called Cat Attract, and you could even put unfertilized potting soil in a box.

Also, if you haven't already, I would get her to the vet sooner than later. The kind of stress that she has and is going through is hard on a cat's body.

Start playing music for her in your bedroom, softly/low volume, and not all of the time. There is MusicForCats . com, there is an app called Relax My Cat, and even classical harp music is known to help cats be more calm.

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A couple other products are Nature's Miracle, The Equalizer, or Fizzion or Scoex10.

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You could try taking her for walks, in a harness or a buggy;
Harness And Leash Training For Cats

Additionally, you should look into these;
Only Natural Pet has a product called Just Relax Calming spray with essential oil (catnip oil).

There's this one, be sure and scroll all the way down the page;
Bach Flower Remedies - Rescue Remedy Pets Dogs Cats Horses Birds

Richard's Organics Pet Calm-this one is drops that you put on the tip of the tongue. Also, Quiet Moments Cat treats, and there is Calming Care, Calm-o-mile, Sentry, Natures Miracle calming spray, Vetri-Science's Composure is another item to look at, Pet Remedy (it has valerian) is yet another, as is Essential Pet Pet-ease, Only Natural Pet (brand and website) has calming products, Pet Naturals also has one I believe.

Also Thunderease has diffusers as does Sentry, Comfort Zone and feliway as mentioned although diffusers are expensive and not always the answer.

If it's legal where you are, you might want to check with your vet but some people have good results with CBD oil, plus there are vet-prescribed calming products too.
Lambert Vet Supply is a website to look at, and of course chewy, also there's Petwishpros, animaleo, 1-800-petmeds, Petco and PetSmart, and other pet stores.

There is also a product called a lickimat which could be helpful, as cats can be calmed by the process of licking. The LickiMat - Food Puzzles for Cats

This discussion's post talks about some other products;
Calming Treats For A Very Picky Cat

 

[Furballsmom]

If you find that none of that brings peace to your cat and your household, take a look at this - it contains valuable information for rehoming cats as well as kittens.

"kittens To Good Homes" - How To Find A Good Forever Home For Your Kittens

For yourself, try some chamomile tea with honey. I'm wishing you all the VERY best of luck with this!

 

[TJAnonymous]

Thank you Furballsmom....

I can't imagine rehoming her. Who would want to take a cat that's nervous and pees on everything? She is very affectionate with me (her chosen human) and occasionally with my teenage children. She steers clear of young children and doesn't really like Adult men or strangers.

I have a two story outdoor cat house that is accessible from a doggy dog placed in a window. She (and Lucifer) LOVES to go outside in the cat house. As a bonus, Maze will not follow her out there.

So I've had this large white rug in my bathroom for years. She has never bothered it or peed on it... Yesterday I washed it and hung it outside to dry. Within an hour of me putting it back in the bathroom, she peed on it. Completely unprovoked by any of the other cats. I was so mad.... So I washed it again (on Sanitize setting for 2.5 hrs!) and this time after it dried, I sprayed it with an organic bug spray which is pure Lemongrass oil. Makes my bathroom reek like Pledge but it's better than cat pee. I watched from the bedroom as she walked in, sniffed it briefly, and walked right past it. So far we are going on hour 3 without her peeing on it again.

I understand that cats are territorial animals. They urinate to mark their territory. And our house is really small so it puts stress on Lilly to "cope" in that small space with another cat that she dislikes. I have tried keeping her shut up in my room but she just squalls and my husband (who is NOT mindful or cat friendly) inevitably opens the door to go in the bedroom and forgets to close it.

I am looking over the links you posted and other options to calm her down. CBD oil is legal all over the US so it is worth a try,among other things.

 

[TJAnonymous]

This is Lilly

 

[TJAnonymous]

This is the outdoor cat house which, in this picture, has my oldest daughter's 3 cats in it. They were temporarily staying with me for a few days until she moved into her new apartment. They are no longer at my house. Next to her "spot" on my bed, this is Lilly's favorite place in the house.

 

[TJAnonymous]

Ha ha ha, I just noticed Lucifer looking at my daughter's cats quite angrily through the doggy door. He was very unhappy that they were in HIS house.

 

[TJAnonymous]

*Sigh*

She did it again. Peed on the very edge of the rug that I've just rewashed and sprayed with Lemongrass oil.

 

[Suru]

It's really not her fault that her environment keeps changing, her best buddy was taken away and two other cats that make her nervous has come into her territory. I think you will really need to address the root of the problem before she will stop peeing outside of the box.

This may has been addressed previously, so sorry if I missed it, but did you go to the vet to rule out any medical issues?

 

[Furballsmom]

Oh, she's absolutely gorgeous!!

 

[maggiedemi]

What's her diet like? My cats only pee all over the house when they eat too much dry food.

 

[daftcat75]

I agree with the others. Inappropriate litterbox habits should always start with a vet visit to rule out a medical issue BEFORE you explore all the behavioral reasons or fixes. No behavioral fix can cure a medical condition.

Having ruled out medical issues, I will say it’s going to be easier to train the humans in your house than the cats. Now you say she pees on anything left on the floor. Don’t leave things on the floor for her to pee on. My Krista peed on my bath rug twice. That’s all it took for me to decide the bath rug gets hung on the shower door now and never left on the floor after I’ve showered. Krista is a good cat and doesn’t pee outside the box. But if I leave a bath rug or a towel on the floor, she’ll prefer this over her boxes. It may take some effort to train the humans. I suggest whoever leaves something on the floor that gets peed on is responsible for cleaning that item and the surrounding area. Pick up a UV light and enzyme cleaners. Clean until your house doesn’t glow. Throw out anything that can’t be cleaned with an enzyme cleaner. Anything that is still glowing under a UV light is going to be a landing lights for her nose.

As far as the interactions with the other cats, that’s for someone who has more than one cat to comment on. My Krista is an only cat. The only time she pees outside her box now is if I leave a bath towel on the floor or if if her teeth are bothering her. In this case, it’s a cry for help. I spent at least a year trying to cure her of inappropriate marking before I took her into the vet for something else. I mentioned the marking. The vet peeked into her mouth and said, “thought so. She’s acting out because she’s in pain.” We removed the problem teeth and she stopped peeing my walls. This is why I always recommend a vet visit before the behavioral reasons are explored.