- Joined
- Jan 29, 2019
- Messages
- 37
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my cat Patch is about 13-14 years old. she was born a stray and was spayed by a spay & neuter clinic. I adopted her after about 3 years, she's been with me through a lot of moves and life changes but we've been in a stable living situation for about 2 years now. when we moved in here she got her shots and a verification that she'd been spayed. it's a pretty small apartment - a central kitchen/living room area, our room, roommate's room and a bathroom. her previous homes had more space & access to the outdoors (irresponsible for the other cats but patch has always been extremely sluggish and uninterested in hunting or playing of any sort, and it wasn't my decision or control).
she'll pee on our bed, or on anything we happen to have on the floor. she has a very large open litterbox in an open closet off the living room, and another next to our bedroom door. she is our only pet & i clean the litterboxes every few days as I'm able.
in trying to get this fixed we've taken her to the vet a few times. the vet said there was a large chance she was arthritic and prescribed her pain medication. they also got from her urinalysis and bloodwork that she had bacteria in her urine, and she was on an antibiotics course for a week. during and a bit after this week she was leaving puddles of diarrhea everywhere. neither of these things have changed her bathroom behavior; she'll still leave a bit of poop under our desk or pee on our bed. she'll poop just about anywhere if she feels like it but she'll only pee in our room typically. I clean everything with carpet cleaner or general cleaner & a liberal application from a spray bottle of vinegar.
I have to admit there's not much to keep her attention in here, but that's never seemed to be a problem before, but she's had more room to explore and look around before. when she's playful for about five seconds we wiggle spare shoelaces for her, and sometimes I give her some treats of freeze-dried chicken, or a tiny bit of a potato chip or cracker (she really loves crunchy things, but only has one tooth and vomits from dry food, so she can't eat it often). I'm getting her a cat tree of some sort for christmas, but her mobility is generally pretty limited and we're not sure how much she'll use it. we're surprised and congratulate her when she's able to jump on the couch by herself.
I have a little leash and harness for her, but it's always felt more for me than for her. she doesn't mind it, but doesn't like it either. sometimes I take her outside without it; she moves very slowly, one step at a time, and I've never had any trouble. there is a small courtyard of grass and bushes outside, and a line of grass, rocks, and trees beside the parking lot. I let her explore these sometimes, and she likes to look around and listen. I have chronic fatigue and pain so it's a little hard to carry her up and down the three flights of stairs too often.
I'm really starting to think it's an environmental thing. what else can I do to make my kitty's world a bit bigger? I'm thinking of using random boxes we have to put together a little cat castle, with ramps so it's not too hard to navigate. I made her a soft bed out of old pajama pants, but she mostly just pees or poops on it. we have our (very drafty) windows covered with blankets for the winter, but when we don't she likes to get on the back of the couch and look outside for a bit. I will admit i'm afraid that whatever I make for her will just be another place to go to the bathroom.
she'll pee on our bed, or on anything we happen to have on the floor. she has a very large open litterbox in an open closet off the living room, and another next to our bedroom door. she is our only pet & i clean the litterboxes every few days as I'm able.
in trying to get this fixed we've taken her to the vet a few times. the vet said there was a large chance she was arthritic and prescribed her pain medication. they also got from her urinalysis and bloodwork that she had bacteria in her urine, and she was on an antibiotics course for a week. during and a bit after this week she was leaving puddles of diarrhea everywhere. neither of these things have changed her bathroom behavior; she'll still leave a bit of poop under our desk or pee on our bed. she'll poop just about anywhere if she feels like it but she'll only pee in our room typically. I clean everything with carpet cleaner or general cleaner & a liberal application from a spray bottle of vinegar.
I have to admit there's not much to keep her attention in here, but that's never seemed to be a problem before, but she's had more room to explore and look around before. when she's playful for about five seconds we wiggle spare shoelaces for her, and sometimes I give her some treats of freeze-dried chicken, or a tiny bit of a potato chip or cracker (she really loves crunchy things, but only has one tooth and vomits from dry food, so she can't eat it often). I'm getting her a cat tree of some sort for christmas, but her mobility is generally pretty limited and we're not sure how much she'll use it. we're surprised and congratulate her when she's able to jump on the couch by herself.
I have a little leash and harness for her, but it's always felt more for me than for her. she doesn't mind it, but doesn't like it either. sometimes I take her outside without it; she moves very slowly, one step at a time, and I've never had any trouble. there is a small courtyard of grass and bushes outside, and a line of grass, rocks, and trees beside the parking lot. I let her explore these sometimes, and she likes to look around and listen. I have chronic fatigue and pain so it's a little hard to carry her up and down the three flights of stairs too often.
I'm really starting to think it's an environmental thing. what else can I do to make my kitty's world a bit bigger? I'm thinking of using random boxes we have to put together a little cat castle, with ramps so it's not too hard to navigate. I made her a soft bed out of old pajama pants, but she mostly just pees or poops on it. we have our (very drafty) windows covered with blankets for the winter, but when we don't she likes to get on the back of the couch and look outside for a bit. I will admit i'm afraid that whatever I make for her will just be another place to go to the bathroom.
!
