Hi, I need some help with my cat....
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Hi, I need some help with my cat....
| Sat, 07-02-2005 - 7:45pm |
She's really a sweet and wonderful cat, but lately I'm very fed up with her.
| Sat, 07-02-2005 - 7:45pm |
She's really a sweet and wonderful cat, but lately I'm very fed up with her.
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Hi Liz!
I'd suggest taking her to the vet. She could have a medical condition that would cause her to do that. If she has, like, a bladder infection and it goes untreated, it can lead to other problems, like kidney failure.
My mom's cat, Sascha, is 13, as well. When she was 10, she started peeing in other locations than the litterbox. She used the box about 90% of the time. The rest of the time, she'd choose towels, laundry, duffle bags. We didn't take her to the vet until I noticed that she had lost a TON of weight. It turned out she'd had a urinary tract infection, and was in the early stages of kidney failure.
The good news is, Mom has been giving her weekly fluid treatments (have a medical-type bag with some sort of saline solution in it, and she sticks this needle into the skin in the scruff of Sascha's neck and gives her 1.5ltr of solution)....she's been doing that for 3 years, and Sascha is still doing well. She's eating, playing with the other cat, etc. But it's expensive and distressing. So I try to make sure to tell people to take the cat to the vet when they start having peeing issues. Sascha is the first cat my family ever owned, and we just didn't know she might be sick. :)
Once the vet rules out medical issues, then you can look into possible behavior issues.
** Noelle
Thank you.
Sascha never had litterbox issues, until she started peeing in other places. Since she got sick, she does go more often. My mom put a second litterbox on their screened-in porch, because in the Summer, Sascha LOVES to just sit out there all day. This way, she doesn't have to make a huge trip to the box.
My 2 cats also freak out when we go to the vet. (Baby Kieran doesn't yet, but I expect he'll learn.) Luckily, the vet is 2min from my house, so there's not a long car ride involved. But honestly, this last vet visit, I sprayed Feliway in their carriers, and I didn't have a single vomiting issue after getting home. They were fine. First time in 7 years.
** Noelle
What is Feliway?
Feliway is this product that has, like, cat phermones in it. (probably pseudo ones) You know how cats rub their cheeks on places they like? They leave their phermones there, marking it as a nest area. Means it smells good and familiar to them. So Feliway simulates that scent. It comes in a spray bottle or an oil diffuser. The spray is around $18 or so. You can use it for litterbox behavior issues. For example, my cat, Bad Annie, and a pooping accident on one of my rugs. After I cleaned it up, I sprayed the Feliway on the spot. That changes the spot from a litterbox area to a nest area. Cats don't like to potty where they eat (aka, nest) So it was to deter her from pooping on that spot again. In your case, though, since she's peeing in front of the box, you probably don't want to spray Feliway there. It might confuse her.
Feliway can also be used to calm the cats down. It relaxes them. When I moved into my new condo in October, I sprayed my cats' carriers with Feliway. I also had the diffuser running in my bedroom, which was their "sanctuary." They had no issues adjusting to the new home. They usually had issues with EVERYTHING. Every vet visit has always been followed by an hour of multiple vomiting. (It was so disgusting) This last time, I sprayed the Feliway in the carriers, and they were fine. I was shocked.
I have a question for you, though. Do you have a covered litterbox? My mom's cat would sometimes pee in front of the covered box. What she was doing, was she'd get in the box, then back up to the door and pee out the door. She liked to pee along the sides, and she felt too confined within the box, to pee anywhere but the front. Sometimes her aim was off, and she'd pee out the front. In her mind, she wasn't doing anything wrong, as she was IN the box! My mom took the top off the covered box, and the cat hasn't had a problem peeing in front of it since.
** Noelle
I don't have a covered box.
Hi Liz.
Could you put something like a piece of plastic under the litter box (like a plastic trash bag)
I was actually going to suggest putting a garbage bag under the box. That's what I do with all my boxes, and I learned that from Mom. When her cat misses the box, more often than not, it hits the garbage bag. That's easier to clean up, as you can just throw it away.
** Noelle
That won't work because she loves going on plastic bags.
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