Stray Cat not using Litter Box
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| Sun, 07-10-2005 - 2:29am |
Hey Everyone, new to this board, but not ivillage. I have a problem and need some advice.
On Easter, I took in a stray cat that was wandering around my work. She was declawed and spayed and was very friendly. My coworkers said that she had been here for about a week and the staff at the restaurant had been feeding her. Well, on Easter it was pretty busy with traffic for Easter brunch and I didn't want her to get hit, so I brought her home. I watched the papers and called the local shelters and no one reported her missing. About 2 months ago, a month after I brought her home, I noticed the rug in our bathroom (about 3 feet from the litter box) was soaking wet. You could ring it out and fill a glass! So, who knows how long it had been going on. My husband scoops the box and was finding pee clumps in there daily. So, she was sometimes using the box. Anyhow, he threw the rug out and no problems. Then about 2 weeks later I noticed that wonderful (not!) odor of cat pee in the family room. I thought maybe it was the Guinea Pigs (we have 3 cages and the ammonia smell from them is similar to the cat pee) I yelled at my husband about not cleaning the poor things cages and then went to do it myself, but, lo and behold, they were clean! So, I narrowed it down to the cat. I finally located the area she was going in, right along the wall next to the guinea pig room and across the hall about 6 feet from her litter box! The carpet was saturated. My husband tried to get the smell out, but he didn't do a great job because we caught her doing it again a week ago. I don't know if it is behavioral or medical. As far as behavioral, she is an outdoor cat, or was and was used to the freedom of going were ever she pleased. I've read that strays tend to do this. Other than that she is perfectly content with us. As far as medical, we just had her at the vet and she checked out ok. We didn't mention the problem, thought we had solved it. The vet said her stomach seemed a little enlargered, but was probably just how her stomach was. She was not concerned about it. The only thing that makes me wonder if she does have a UTI is that she will sit and drink and drink water forever it seems! Shes picky and will only drink from the dogs bowl and sometimes does not have full access to it. We have caught her in the act in the hallway and she did not seem to strain at all, just let loose. Could it possibly have something to do with the guinea pigs being on the other side of the wall? I have no idea. Any suggestions would be wonderful! My house just reeks right now and I can't stand it! I have a sensitive nose.
Sorry so long and thanks in advance for any help/advice you can give me.
Courtney

*WELCOME* to Cats Courtney.
Hi & Welcome,
i think you need to speak to your vet again and run tests.Since your cat seems to be well adjusted and is not sharing her box with other cats it looks like a medical problem.!There are quite a few things to try out if its behavioural,but lets rule out medical first.I can imagine how bad this must be for you,better hurry up so you can go ahead with the treatment!
Hi Courtney.