Post # 1
Member
6747 posts
Bee Keeper
I am just so frustrated with him. Back story is that I had adopted him and his brother when they were about 3 months old. He will soon be 7 years old. I had to rehome his brother because he was “raping” his brother. Yes, I kept “the rapist.” He was so much better without the brother.
Now, out of no where, he has started “peeing” on things. He peed last night in his litter. Then this morning, we saw him in the dog’s crate, on her blanket, doing that kneading thing cats do. My FI says, “It looks like he’s peeing” and I said, “No way, he’s just kneading.” I went to check, it looked dry. I left it alone. FI left for work and then I saw the cat on the tree skirt (it’s also a really soft material, much like the dog’s blanket), in the same position. This time, I could see his paws, they were not moving. He leaves the tree skirt and I realize that on the white part of the tree skirt are these dark yellow stains and it smells like cat pee. I go back to the blanket and pick it up, it smells like cat pee. I was furious. I took the blanket out of the crate and left it by the treet skirt – if he’s going to pee while I’m not home, hopefully he will do it on those two things only (we’ll throw it in the wash tonight).
What do I do with him? The only time he ever peed outside the litter box was when we bought him a cat bed and we had just moved and he peed on the brand new cat bed. I think he was mad at us, he stared at us while he was doing it – so I think he was mad that we moved him.
But, this time, nothing has changed in at least a year. The only thing I can think of is that we left him alone for a few days while we went away for Christmas, but even that we’ve done before and he hasn’t responded this way. He’s usually just extra affectionate when we return. I don’t board him when we’re gone bc I think it’s worse to put him in a tiny cage and he HATES the car (he really freaks out).
What do I do? If it’s not one problem with him, it’s another. I’m not going to give him up for adoption bc the shelters here are kill shelters and he’s 7 years old, so no one is going to adopt him, so that’s not an option for me.
Post # 3
Member
1274 posts
Bumble bee
When was the last time he was at the vet for an exam? I have heard of cats doing this because they are “mad” or stressed out at household changes. It’s very possible that could be it, even though you have left for a day or two in the past without it happening. But I might suggest calling your vet and just letting them know what is happening and see what they suggest. He’s fixed right? Sorry that sounds kind of funny after you mentioned the raping part, lol. But that could be part of the problem if he’s not fixed.
Post # 4
Member
635 posts
Busy bee
Take him in for an exam. Cats don’t drink a lot of water and let their urine get pretty concentrated, often to the point crystals form. He may be trying to find new places to pee because it hurts to pee and he just figures it’s a problem with the place. Also, while correcting the behavior, I can not reccommend Cat Attract ENOUGH. It helped get my boy back on track with where he should be doing the deed.
Please don’t take out your anger on him. He is likely doing this to try to cope with something, and while it’s easy (and a natural function of tge human mind) to anthromorphize this into him being spiteful or other emotional reasons, it’s unlikely to be his actual motive.
Post # 5
Member
361 posts
Helper bee
@Bracelet00: +1.
my cat who lives at my moms was urinating EVERYWHERE and we thought he was just being a brat, but he was urinating crystals and was trying to tell us he was in pain. it was so long ago i can’t remember if he was put on medication or what, but i know he was put on a special diet that he still eats years later.
Post # 6
Member
76 posts
Worker bee
Just wanted to throw my own recommendations out there.
We adopted/rescued an adult kitty that showed up at my FI’s step-sister’s house. She refused to feed it and it was declawed and she was forcing it to stay outside..so waaa-laa FI comes home with a cat. -.-
Who hated me.
So. She peed on my clothes one random evening.
No biggie. We knew she was adjusting. Not to say I wasn’t angry as hell though.
Well. We keep this cat for MONTHS. No new changes. Nothing is rearranged. We have phermones in the house because our younger cat is going through his teenage months and has become a bit cranky but the phermones keep him 100% in check.
Older kitty seems to be doing great.
Turns out she has been peeing on things and FI hasn’t told me. So off to the vet she goes. She has plenty of problems, but her urinalysis is the ONE thing that is normal.
So. We get her all back to great health. Everything is sorted out.
She continues peeing on things. So. We make an extra effort to keep everything off of the floor, keep her stress-free, etc.
Well. She jumps four foot into our laundry basket yesterday just to piss on FI’s clean clothes. So she found a new home last night.
Sometimes it really is just a behavioral issue. Medicine, stress free, etc…sometimes it just isn’t enough. She was clearly pissed off about something but when we adjusted our whole lives for her…we weren’t dealing with nasty cat urine on our clothes. It was only a matter of time before it became our bed…and there is no way I’m dealing with that especially when we want children in the next few years.
Post # 7
Member
6747 posts
Bee Keeper
@jlc3:
@Bracelet00:
@Missknicole:
Thanks everyone – I had no idea it could be that he’s in pain. He’s been to the vet about a year ago. He’s due soon for shots, so I guess I can do that a little sooner and take him to the vet.
Can you see the crystals? I didn’t see any when I looked, but I also wasn’t looking for them.
I did NOT take my anger out on him, I would never. I actually never spanked him or anything like that. For the most part, he has been a good cat. Even when he was “raping” his brother, I just rehomed his brother. I didn’t try to correct his behavior or teach him not to do it. I actually don’t think cats learn like that anyway (it’s not like having a dog, so much easier to train).
And yes, he’s fixed.
Post # 8
Member
9194 posts
Buzzing Beekeeper
- Wedding: August 2013 - Rocky Mountains USA
@futuremrsk18: I agree with the suggestion to get him to a vet asap. Have them check for the crystals in his urine (no you can’t seem them, they’re microscopic but painful) as well as a bladder infection or other urinary tract issue.
One of my kittens was peeing on the floor for weeks after we got her. I thought she was just not getting trained and kinda stupid, but it turned out she had the urine crystals AND a bladder infection. Poor baby!
I know it’s easy to get really really frustrated, so I’m glad you’re not taking it out on the kitty at all.
Oh and if it is a urinary tract or crystals issue, one thing that helps is to get one of these fountains. Cats don’t like stagnate water so they’ve quite often dehydrated, which makes the urinary stuff much worse. Our kitties quite like their fancy little fountain and are always drinking at it. They’re only $45 so not too bad.
http://www.amazon.com/Drinkwell-Platinum-Pet-Fountain-168oz/dp/B000L3XYZ4
Post # 9
Member
10456 posts
Sugar Beekeeper
Another vote for a vet visit. My cat growing up had pee issues and it turned out she had bladder stones. After those were cleared up, we had to completely change her diet because she was very susceptible to future problems. We tried one of those filtered water fountains too but it was the devil machine to her… she was terrified of it!
Post # 10
Member
635 posts
Busy bee
@futuremrsk18: It’s awesome to hear you have temper control. It’s so hard for people to keep it together, particularly with bathroom issues, as we find someone soiling our posessions (or our homes. Or our legs.) in that way to be degrading. I was never able to see the crystals with the naked eye on things my cat soiled. I actually didn’t realize that was causing his suddenly increasing bad behavior until they actually blocked his urethra and he nearly died from being unable to evacuate (Took less than a day for it to go down. Luckily, as soon as he looked unhappy, I got him to a vet, and they were able to diagnose the problem and clear the blockage.)
Apparantly the male cat has a VERY very small urethra, and in decades past, cat mortality from this kind of blockage was pretty common.
Post # 11
Member
2566 posts
Sugar bee
A lot of urinary issues it cats is caused by an inflammatory condition of the baldder that is not very well understood. There may or may not be crystals present, and rarely there could be an infection. The inflammation is uncomfortable and makes them feel like they have to pee all the time (like we do with a UTI, however cats usually don’t have an infection). As has been mentioned, this condition can progress to a urehtral obstruction which can be life threatening.
A trip to the vet is important to look for urinary crystals and the rare chance there might be an infection. The vet can also give him a pain medication to help him feel better. A small percentage of cats with this condition are on anti-anxiety medications to help control flare ups, even if you think nothing has stressed your cat out to cause this we aren’t really good judges of how anxious/stressed out our pets may be.
Post # 12
Member
9122 posts
Buzzing Beekeeper
Since you’re going to the vet, I won’t suggest that.
I had an issue with a cat going outside the litter box but it was a territorial issue (2 adult females in one house). Are there any new cats around? Have you noticed any cats outside? I could see that causing territory issues where kitty would pee outside the box.
Post # 13
Member
217 posts
Helper bee
@futuremrsk18: I had the same problem with my cat. Nothing worked, so I finally took him to the vet. After testing him for a UTI (negative), the vet gave me some stuff called “Cat Attract.” You sprinkle it in their litter box, and it literally attracts the cat. I mean almost instantaneously. He hasn’t peed on anything since.
Post # 14
Member
486 posts
Helper bee
We’ve been dealing with a pee-er too. Still not sure what all of his issues are, but his behavior improved once we ensured he couldn’t see outside. Every once in a while stray cats and raccoons will come up to the door, which has windows all the way to the floor. We assume he’s marking territory. Knock on wood, he hasn’t peed in the living room since we got door curtains.
Good luck at the vet. I know how frustrating it is to feel like you can’t have nice things because of the cat’s issues.
Post # 15
Member
6747 posts
Bee Keeper
@lolot: I got that for him once! He was terrified of it lol. Crazy cat.
@Bracelet00:
@pixiecat:
@kes18: Nope, we do not have any new cats. There is really nothing new that isn’t new for a full year. So, it’s either he’s having a problem that I didn’t understand OR he’s mad that we left him again. Maybe he’s finally had it and he’s fed up with us leaving him home alone for our short trips.
@TroubadourTango:
@Nellular: Interesting, we’re on the 3rd floor apt, so I don’t think it’s other animals. But, maybe it’s the dog. He did pee on her blanket. But, he clearly had peed on the tree skirt when we were not home bc there were 3 spots on it and we just got home last night. I don’t think he had done it overnight. I think that was there before.
I will try the cat attract and I will also schedule a vet appt. I hope he’s not in pain. I thought cats hide when they’re in pain, so it didn’t even register that it could be a non-behavioral issue. He has been acting completely normal otherwise.
Post # 16
Member
9194 posts
Buzzing Beekeeper
- Wedding: August 2013 - Rocky Mountains USA
@futuremrsk18: oh haha, poor guy. I put my fountain out without it running for a couple days until they got used to it, and then turned it on. That seemed to help.
Re: acting like they’re in pain, my kitten seemed to be totally normal and happy, apart from blatantly squatting and peeing on the floor like a little shithead. So I was surprised when she had really high crystal formations AND a bacterial infection 🙁
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