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I'm so sorry. I understand your frustration and worry though, I would worry about the baby and the cat urine as well.
This is so sad. I feel bad for you and your kitties, but a baby (of the human variety) definitely takes precedence over a stubborn cat. You're making the right decision, in my opinion.
I'm so sorry... It must be really hard for you. That's one of my biggest worries, that one of my kitties would start acting up like that when we have a baby in the future.
Hate to add to your worries, but have you considered the fact that with her age and litterbox problem, your cat may be unadoptable? If she ends up in a shelter, she'll probably be put to sleep eventually. Are you prepared for that? I totally understand your reasons and commend you for trying every option before giving the cats up, but still felt you should be aware of that worst case scenario before making your decision.
I had a cat that I loved more than any cat I've ever had and I had to give her up for the same reason. She never peed consistently in her litterbox. She peed all over the damn carpets and it was making me effing crazy. I loved her and I tried EVERYTHING to fix the problem. I even hired a pet psychologist! But nothing worked and finally I just had to let her go.
I found a woman who rescues cats and has an outdoor/indoor sanctuary and agreed to take her. I still miss her so much, a year later, and sometimes I even cry about it, but it had to happen. If she's not peeing in her box, sometimes there's nothing you can do about it.
I am soooo sorry. I also have a cat that has an attitude problem that will pee in front of the litter box, not always in it. By the way Natures Miracle is a lifesaver. Don't spend your money on the other cr%p, its not like Natures Miracle. I was going to get rid of her, FI fell in love with that cat. We now have a new baby kitten and my cat is back to peeing on the floor. This stage better end soon!
Yeah, I'm not giving them up to a rescue or anything. They are staying with us until I can adopt them to another family, with a "give them back at any time if you don't want them" clause so if it doesn't work out they don't end up in a shelter. I'd rather lock her (not both since ONE of them is smart enough to use a litterbox) in the bathroom with the litterbox than put her in a shelter. I just don't think that's a very high quality of life. That's more like my last resort, just lock her in a large dog crate. (But wouldn't that be a sad way to live!!)
@megan215: We have a 4-gallon jug of Nature's Miracle. (Did you know they sell it in bulk amounts?) We have had to soak practically the entire floor and most of our chaise lounge in it. We use a blacklight to figure out where she's peed. (Another problem, I haven't been able to smell cat urine since I got pregnant, weird factoid.)
I'm really, really sorry. As an owner of two csts, I can only imagine how sad you are. It's admirable that you've tried so many things to fix the situation! I wish I had a fix for you :(
Actually, I think Simple Solutions works better. Simple Solutions was developed when there was a dispute between the Natures Miracle company and the people who developed the solution. They couldn't resolve it, so the people who developed the solution split from Nature's Miracle, took the patented formula with them and formed Simple Solutions. I used to use Nature's Miracle all the time and couldn't figure out why it had stopped working well until I discovered that. :)
Anyway, even as I wrote I had to suddenly get up to see where one of my cats went. I can't get him to use the litter box to save my life, and I'm near my wit's end, too. C has resorted to putting up barriers to keep him in the living room, where he pees on the carpet, instead of allowing him into the rest of the house, where there are hardwood floors. He'll go in little nooks and crannies near furniture, which go undiscovered and cause black stains on our hardwood. It sucks. Not to mention not being able to walk around barefoot for fear of walking into a disgusting wet spot.
I bought a carpet shampooer because of him (Hoover SteamVac with Clean Surge, a Godsend), and we'll have to refinish the hardwood floors. I don't know what I will do when we have a little one crawling around someday, though. I can't help but sympathize with what you're going through, and I'm so sorry that it's come to this. Especially since she's peeing on the couch. The SteamVac with Clean Surge does have an upholstery attachment. It works really well for us, but my cat only pees on the floor so I've never used it to clean urine. It cleans the carpet amazingly well, though. First I run the SteamVac "dry" (no shampoo) to clean up the urine, then I shampoo the area. Maybe that'll help a bit while you're trying to find a new home for her?
aw, I'm sorry :( I'm sure that must be super hard. At least you can sort of rest easy knowing that it sounds like you've exhausted every resource you could imagine trying to solve the problem. As much as I LOVE animals, I'm definitely in the mindset that people come first, especially children. I think you are making the best choice for the cats and your family. Good luck!
Have you tried shutting her in a large or extra large dog crate (with a litter box, food, and water) until she is consistently using the box in the cage? I have heard that since it's such a small space they learn quickly that they really want to go in the box. My aunt had to retrain a cat; she had to keep it in her office (a small, wooden floored, soft fabric free room) for months until it was reliably doing the right thing. She even kept it there after to make sure the pattern was ingrained.
I'm sorry that ou're going through this. As it is, I have a cat who loves to poop outside his box (tub, sink, the DDR pad, lol) but this would be a whole lot harder to live with. Good luck!
@MightySapphire: That's a very sad situation. I'm so sorry that you have to give up your kitties...and amazed at how much you have already tried!
Bute if you have enough energy left to try one more thing, then maybe putting the additional litterbox next to the current one could help, so that she can see it easily.
this has happened to us as well!!! We found that putting him outside has helped a lot...can you try making him an outdoor or outdoor/indoor cat?
We are moving to a house with a backyard, so if no one comes forward by then, we can try letting her out into the backyard. We don't have a yard right now, so we'd have to wait. But that is one thing we haven't tried yet.
I would definitely try the outdoor method, but that won't necessarily be a solution unless the cat was 100% outdoor only.
Currently, I have an elder cat who also refuses to pee in her box. When she lived at my parents house, the cats all went outdoors (cat door), but she started not bothering to go out. They gave her a box, and then occasionally she would pee elsewhere. They then tried limiting her space to hard floor spaces only (kitchen, guest bath, etc.) and putting puppy pads down around her box. It worked. She only peed on the pads.
Now I have her. For a while she was peeing exclusively on her pads, but then she got confused by the kitchen rug being in the next room and peed on it. After that, she would pee where it used to be sometimes. She did it often enough we had to put down a pad there. *sigh* Now we're in the process of removing the marking so she can't smell it, and marching the pads across the floor, back to their original spot. No clue if it will work, but I feel an absolute obligation to her to take care of her in her old age just as I would want for myself. If she started peeing on furniture, or if I had a baby around, then I would keep her to the kitchen.
When my first cat became too old to keep his bladder together, he lived the remainder of his life outdoors and in the garage, so you might try that in the new house if possible. Otherwise, segregating the cat to an easily cleanable area is best. I would try retraining as others have suggested, absent an illness of course.
That's really sad :(. How long until you move? You can make a cat outdoor pin for her in the new backyard! Until then, I think the keeping her in a crate so she re-learns to use her box is a great idea! Or keeping her in the bathroom/kitchen/some type of tile area. Maybe the garage?
Have you tried using a different brand of litter? You probly did, but just wondering. Maybe get a few extra litter boxes & get a small bag of a few different types of litter. Put them all in the same room & put her in the litterbox.
I think you're going to have a really hard time rehoming her to someone unless they keep her as an outdoor cat. That means both your cats would become outdoor cats if you want them kept together. Not meant to discourage you, but something to consider, do you think they would be good outdoor cats?
I know you have had her checked, but you may want to look for a cat specific vet.
I see 2-3 out-of-box pee-ers a week and I am able to get all except 2-3 per year under control. Has your vet mentioned trying medication such as amitriptylline?
How old is your kitty? Why can't the younger one stay? If you want to email/message me with her details and her blood and/or urinalysis results I can see if I can think of anythings that haven't been tried yet.
I thought I had my pee handout online, but I don't. Here is my general one- it has basic pee info, but nothing in depth http://www.mycatcareclinic.com/cat_info.html
I am involved in cat rescue and am currently caring for over 40 cats. Most are ferals. I have had success with this problem using crate training, which sounds harsh but it has worked for me several times. Basically it involves a large dog-sized crate. Kitty is put into the crate when he/she pees inappropriately and when humans are not at home. There is a comfy bed, a small litter pan and water in the crate. Kitty is left out only with supervision (to eat, play, etc.). Lavish praise for use of the litter box. Return to crate when pees in the wrong place. Kitty hates it but I have seen it work. I am assuming the kitty is apyed or neutered.
Hmm, we'll have to try the crate training. Although everytime we do something like that she becomes harder to catch because she doesn't trust us to pick her up anymore. Our version of crate training was locking her in the laundry room with the litterbox. Does anyone know if a ferret cage would serve this purpose? Like an upper area for her to lay down and the lower area for a litterbox? I'm having a hard time imagining a dog crate working.
I should update to say that I also just went to Petsmart and purchased a five gallon jug of Nature's Miracle and soaked the chaise lounge in it. Then I sprayed the whole couch with No Mark. Then I searched the whole house with a blacklight and doused any spots with Nature's Miracle. I also purchased two Ssscat units so that we can keep her isolated to rooms with hardwood laminate in the new house. She'll HATE that, she loves carpet. If the Ssscat doesn't work I want to try letting her outdoors, but she'd need an electric fence. My younger cat is declawed, so making her an outdoor cat is, IMO, out of the question.
And yeah, at this point I'm doubting she'll find a new home so we're trying to find a way to make what we have work. It seems at this point she'll have two rooms to live in, and the only carpet will be her condo.
@MightySapphire: Have you tried or heard of Feliway? I have seen mixed reviews on it, but it might be worth a shot! It is supposed to help with peeing and scratching and meowing by calming the cat. We used it for my roommates cat who would get really nervous when she left and start clawing the carpet at her door. We sprayed it by the door and it seemed to help. They make diffusers the you plug in to your wall. If I were you I would try it before having to get rid of the kitties! :(
I think a crate/kennel like this: http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3195394&lmdn=Dog would be your best bet. It's larger, plastic bottom, the top pops off easily around the edges and would be large enough to put a litterbox and the cat in it if you get the X-Large size (my sister and dad both have this size for their german sheperds).
I had trouble with my cat using the bathroom outside the litterbox, I had to use vinegar and petzyme to clean up the areas she urinated on. However, she's improved since then and I lock her in the bathroom when she uses the bathroom elsewhere as punishment. I can sort of catch her "thinking" about going to the bathroom on the carpet, she'll start sniffing around/pawing the floor so I pick her up and lock her in the bathroom until she goes.
This is sad but I think crate training sounds like your best option. If you think about it its better than if she ended up at a shelter.
I know you would love to give them up to a family but trying to get rid of two cats together, one of which is old and not house trained is going to be very difficult.
The crate training will actually work better if it's only one level. If kitty if forced to "live" with the mess, she learn much quicker. If there is a second level, she may just avoid any messes and the point may be lost. Same with laundry room. The area is so big, kitty can just avoid the mess.
I am sorry that you are experincing all of these problems!
I personally think that crate training will not help and will simply piss your cat off more. Also, do NOT put your cat's food next to or in the same crate as their litter box. A cat will refuse to use a litter box if it is close to their food.
My friend went through this and her vet put her cat on some type of kitty prozac that completely fixed the problem. Maybe you can ask your vet about it?
Also, you had a baby awhile ago, correct? I think your cat may be reacting to that big change in its life...but who knows if this began before the baby!
If your cats haven't been declawed, having them be outdoors is a great solution. We've had about four outdoor kitties, and they were all really happy. Cats like as much freedom as you can give them, so it worked really well. :) Hold out for the backyard!
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For the last six months we have been fighting a losing battle. One of my cats has been repeatedly peeing anywhere but the litterbox. At first it was on our clothes on the floor, then it was fabric scraps in our sewing room, and now our couch! I have repeatedly had her checked by our vet (at GREAT expense) to make sure she has no kidney stones or UTIs. It's purely psychological, she is not sick at all. We have spent tons of money on urine-b-gone and every product that supposedly rids the urine via enzymes and whatever. We have steam cleaned. We paid a cat consultant to help teach US how to help. We have dedicated cat attention time (in case it was baby jealousy). We have done everything the vet and cat consultant have recommended, including changing the litterbox daily, not making any big changes in routine, keeping the litterbox area open and clean, keeping the dog in check, keeping the dog separate from the cat, getting new toys, and adding a litterbox upstairs as well as downstairs.
And for all of our effort, our oldest cat still refuses to pee in the litterbox. Poop? Sure. But her pee is always discovered in a different location. And NEVER in the litterbox.
I've finally reached my breaking point, I cannot afford to continue this tug-of-war. I need to give up the cat. And by giving up one cat, I need to give up the other as well. They are bonded, and I don't feel right separating them. Even though my younger cat has done nothing wrong and is perfect in every way.
I'm totally upset. I have done everything to try not to reach this point. But now it has become a health risk for our baby, and I cannot justify allowing cat pee in every room when I have a baby who is just learning to crawl and might get into it before we know it's there.
I've never given up an animal before, I'm always an advocate for intervention, but we have tried everything at this point and I feel like I exhausted every option. I'm emotionally exhausted, and so upset that I'm unable to keep my kitties.
If you read all that, thank you. I'm so torn up, and I needed to vent that somewhere since DH is sick of dealing with it at this point!