Still pees EVERYWHERE

niki-nicole

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Hello!

One of my cats first had a problem when we took in some stray babies. You guys helped me reintroduce her to the new furry family members:
Help Cat Angry Pees Everywhere

It took a long time, but she is now tolerant of the "new" family. She can use their beds and they can use hers, she can eat near them, be in the same room, and sniff their butts. She still doesn't like them and will whack them if she thinks she can get away with it.

But despite this progress, she won't stop peeing everywhere. Rugs are the worst but she also sprays the walls, doors, pees on bare floor, a tray of shoes, in bathrooms, bedrooms, sunrooms, and even the room she mainly stays in. We have tried the wall plug-ins and they don't seem to work. We use the Jackson Galaxy magic drops (Scardy Cat, Safe Space, Peace Maker and others) and they help a lot with her angst, but not the pee. We have taken her to a doctor a few times and there is nothing wrong. She is on good food (mostly wet chicken Lotus). We have tried scent soakers, but they don't work. She peed on one rug so much (and we didn't know it) that she turned the wood floor underneath black. We use an enzyme cleaner when we clean a spot.

Oddly, she uses the litter just fine too. We use a wheat litter (Swheat I think) and we have seen her use it for pee and poop just fine.

She is probably around 5 years old and is easily overstimulated when we pet her (and has always been). If she approaches us for cuddles, she is fine. If we try to pet her out of the blue, she lets us once or twice, then nips at us or hits us with her paw. She gets worse if we don't stop, but we have all learned to stop.

There are three things that I know Jackson Galaxy recommends that we have not yet tried: more catification (we have toys and beds in nearly every room (we even tried putting it in the bathroom as the mats there frequently get hit) but we don't have the superhighway he talks about; a regular schedule; and regular playtime (she isn't the most playful cat and when we start to play with her, other cats want to play and she refuses to play with others so she quits).

It is now over a year that she has been doing this and we would really appreciate ideas! Thanks!
 
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niki-nicole

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Just curious is she declawed?
Nope! I think that is inhumane. She and one other cat we have are inside only (we adopted them from shelters). The other five are inside/outside as two were strays that found us and three were raised outside by their feral mama until they were weaned. They come and go during the day but we get them all in by 8:00.

I forgot to mention that while this is a chronic issue, she did get worse when my sister brought home her newborn for three days. She wouldn't stay in the room with the baby and mostly hid until 24 hours after they had been gone. She peed in random areas during that time, but not more or less than usual.
 

FeebysOwner

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Is Penny still being given CBD oil? If she has a space of her own, away from the other cats, does she prefer to spend time there? Does she act better, and use the litterboxes more often, when most of the cats are outside? I would look for signs of changes in her behavior/demeanor between when she is around the other cats and when she is not, whether there are some cats that bother her more than the others (last year it was Samuel Adams).

I think she just really doesn't like the other cats, they set her on constant edge, and peeing outside the litterbox often happens with cats who are highly anxious/sensitive. Since she was known to have crystals before, when you take her to the vet are you getting her urine analyzed each time, just to see if her crystals have resolved/gotten worse? Even if there is no infection, there could still be inflammation of the bladder brought on by crystals and stress.

If she likes playing, but is interrupted from doing so by some of the other cats, I would play with her away from the others so she can have your full attention.

Curious to hear more about how she acts if given the chance to spend time away from the other cats.
 
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niki-nicole

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CBD: we stopped it and her other medicine because she was better for a while and she was acting so paranoid around us because she was afraid that when we got near her that we were going to medicate her. We dosed her orally, but she hated it and wouldn't eat it even if we concealed it in her favorite food.

Other cats around or not: She is less anxious/twitchy when the cats are out, but not hugely different. She peed twice today (once on a wall next to a cat bed and once on a door to the plant room (most often kept closed because the cats knock over pots if they block the good windows) while the cats were out of the house.

Samuel Adams: Sadly, we lost him last November. We don't have any cats that activly annoy her anymore.

Crystals: She hasn't had any for a while. We finally got her off dry food and treats. That stopped the crystals.

Pandemic: She got worse when I moved home. Since I now only teach online, I moved home to save rent money and brought my cat with me. My cat was adopted a year before her and we both go home for all college breaks so Penny is used to living with her. But this move seemed worse. Molly (my cat) would have come home for a few weekends between Jan-March and we were home from Nov-Jan. So this move upsetting her was surprising.

Playtime: We are trying to give her more one-on-one time. She used to know the whole house belonged to her, now she is more skittish in places she doesn't go to as often, like upstairs where there are only two bedrooms that are only used at night. She pees on my bedroom door often. And the bathroom up there. We wondered if she pees more where our and her scent is less, but I don't know how to change that. I've been trying to get her to go upstairs with me and normalize the spaces for her. I've linked a video my sister took last night. You can see that she is uncomfortable but not as bad as she was. https://youtu.be/7-qn1ZQdo9Q
 
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niki-nicole

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UPDATE: Just in case anyone else has this problem....

While it has taken us years, we have made progress. We have seen her use the kitty litter! She has always used it for poop, but now I think she is peeing in it too!

Things that made a difference (I think):
  1. Found her a space close to us that was hers (basecamp). We tried different beds in different places, and she finally claimed the side table behind the couch. It has a bed, a scratcher couch, and a rug. That is her safe space.
  2. Clicker-Trained her. I think this helped boost her confidence. We were able to communicate and she understood what to do. She can give me a high-five, a low-five, spin, come, jump up, and touch an object. Her favorite jack-pot treats for this are Freeze-dried chicken and Orijen Freeze Dried treats. She loves these so much she will brave the other cats and sit among them for them.
  3. Me being home due to Covid. Sounds kinda vain, but my family calls me the cat whisperer. I can usually get ferals to trust me. I'm pretty sure I was a cat in a previous life. I talk to her all the time and tell everyone else to talk to her when they see her out of her comfort spot. She usually slinks around a bit with her tail down, but as soon as we say "hi" to her, her tail perks up and she realizes she can be there. I also give her cheese in the kitchen and pet her whenever she asks. She now claims my lap for a few minutes each day and before she was never really a lap kitty.
  4. Outside. She sometimes sneaks outside and has been doing it more lately. I think this is a result of her new confidence and we built her a catio so she can do it safely.
Things I think would help that we haven't managed to implement:
  1. Regular play. Every time I try to play with her, the other cats want to play too and she leaves and it seems to make her more upset than it is worth. She plays by herself when the other cats are asleep (afternoon and after midnight) but not when they are around. If I try to use a teaser or wand when they are asleep, the noise of it wakes them up.
  2. Regular schedule. No one in my family can stick to a schedule. Jackson Galaxy talks about how important this is, but we can't seem to do it. Will keep trying.
Note: she still pees on places (doors seem to be the worst) but she is much better!
 
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