I don't know what to do with my cat - suggestions?

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

So, as I’ve posted before elsewhere, earlier this year we had five cats–a nice little family who got along great together. We pushed our luck a bit by getting two more kittens because we fell in love with them at our vet’s office, but aside from a bit of grumbling by one of our older cats, everything seemed to be back in harmony again.

The problem is our last (involuntary) cat. He wandered into our backyard a few months ago (around the end of May)–scrawny, raggedy, but very sweet and purry and friendly. So we decided to feed him in our backyard and try to find his owner (we doubted he had one, in the shape he was in). We fed him up, got him a cursory vet exam (just to make sure he didn’t have FeLV or fleas or anything) and he seemed to want to stay. But it started getting hot out there, and softhearted folks that we are, we eventually decided to bring him inside. We took him to the vet again to get him a clean bill of health and found out he had hyperthyroidism, which is why he wasn’t gaining weight despite the fact that we were feeding him up. We got him some medication for that and began the grand experiment.

First few days he lived in the bathroom, first with the door closed, then with a baby gate up. He’s a low activity guy (he’s like 13-15 years old) so he didn’t need much room to roam around. The other cats’ reactions to him ranged from “want to play” (the kittens) to “active dislike” (a couple of the older cats, including some that are unexpected). We let him out after a few days and he found a couple of places he liked to lay around. We thought everything was going fine.

Cut to yesterday: we found two different locations where he likes to be, just soaked with urine. He’d been using the box so we figured he was okay, but apparently not. There’s nothing wrong with him physically–we think he’s just intimidated by all the other cats. He’s probably not going to do well in a multi-cat household, at least not with this many.

I’ll be frank: I like this cat. He’s a sweetheart. But the one thing I don’t have the time or the bandwidth to deal with is finding “pee nests” at inopportune times (or worse yet, not finding them). If he’s not getting along with our crew, we need to find him a home where he’ll be happy. I’m not going to hand him over to some place that’s going to euthanize him–I’m afraid since he’s older and has the thyroid problem, this is what will happen if I take him to the Humane Society. I don’t want that. But I’m at the end of my rope here.

Does anyone have any suggestions for where I might find a home for a sweet, gentle older gentleman? I’m willing to keep paying for his thyroid medication, if that’s what it takes. It seems cruel to put him outside again, especially in the long term (since it does get cold and rainy enough that an old cat probably wouldn’t appreciate it). Thanks in advance.

2

You said older. How old? We had a cat with thyroid problems and an indoor inappropriate use problem. He began wasting away regardless of treatment and we finally let him cross the bridge. However, he was past middle age, approaching elderly.

As you probably know already, once a spot has been marked the cat will return to it, and so may the others in an attempt to re-establish territory, so you have to seek out those places and de-scent them, which is very difficult. The cats will sense it long after you think it’s gone. A UV light will show the spots. When we did that after our troubled kitty’s problem, we found that there were so many spots, from pools to sprinkles, that we redid the rooms entirely. That meant removing the carpet, and the padding, and sanding down the floors, and replacing the carpets. Not trivial.

As far as who would take him in, I have not a clue. Maybe someone who had all linoleum floors.

3

Our vet recommends this guy is 13-15 years old, so he’s not a spring chicken. But he does seem to be responding to the treatment–he’s put on weight, his fur is “fluffier,” and he’s good-natured. He just doesn’t move around a lot.

As for marking, it doesn’t seem that the other cats have an issue with it–they’re not very territorial, for the most part. I hope it stays that way. Pulling up the carpeting really isn’t an option for us in the foreseeable future.

4

I don’t know how cold it gets but can’t he live outside? Give him food and a nice place to sleep and he’s likely to hang around.

I’ve see these, what we used to term, barn cats. They are semi-wild and don’t do well in the house but are nice and friendly and pet-able and live in a barn.

When I worked in Florida, I worked in a hotel with an outdoor lobby and we had a "hotel/barn"cat. The buiding was about 75% our hotel and the remaining units were 25% user owned.

The cat was fine as a hotel cat. He walked around, the guests liked him, and played with him. He kept the raccoons and other things away from the pools and other areas. A few well meaning oweners or guests would try to take him in from time to time, but he’d have none of it.

The hotel fed him, gave him a litterbox (outside) and shots once a year. And while he was cuddly and would even sit on your lap, he just would not tolerate any attempt to “tame” him. He was a barn cat. Of couse this was Florida, so he never got cold

But perhaps you could fix an outside place for your cat to live. You could feed and dose him daily. If there’s food, he’ll soon learn it’s easier to come to you than hunt.

5

Cats deal with temperature extremes pretty well, I’ve found, as long as they have a dry place to avoid rain and wind. A dog house for the cat with a blanket and some toys inside would probably be an excellent solution and would keep him close enough for you to medicate him.

6

Can you give him his own space in your house? Somewhere he doesn’t have to be bothered by the other cats, and can find a sunny spot to lounge in. Maybe with his own room and litter box he’d be happy.

StG

7

Yeah, that’s what we’re doing now–we’ve got him in the upstairs bathroom. He doesn’t have a window (it’s frosted glass) but he’s got sun, food, water, a nice cool dry shower to nap in…but we can’t help feeling like that’s not really much of a life for him, you know? I think both of us are guilty of anthropomorphizing our cats a little too much.

As for living in the yard…yeah, I guess he could do that. It just seems cruel to send him out again when he obviously enjoys living inside.

8

I have heard of several animal adoption programs called “Seniors for Seniors” – pairing up older animals with older people. Here’s the website for one such program. Is this something you can be trying to get the cat in to while keeping the cat in his current bathroom situation?

9

Thank you very much for this idea. I poked around for “senior cat” in my area and found a lovely shelter that takes in older and hard-to-place cats, to live at their sanctuary. I’ve sent them email–don’t know if they have a spot for him, but it sounds like we can sponsor him if he goes there, to pay for his upkeep and medication. This would be a fantastic solution, if it pans out.

Thanks again.

10

That’s great, the Seniors program sounds perfect if it pans out.

If not, or in the meantime, I’m curious about the litterbox situation. Do you have a box for each cat, plus 1? It’s the most common problem, and can most times be solved with more litterbox placements. Of course, it isn’t always feasible, but even additional boxes side-by-side may work, they don’t all have to be scattered all over the house. But the spots where you found soaked, can a box, even a small box, be placed in those corners? Also covered boxes are a turnoff for a lot of cats - especially if they may feel vulnerable, they won’t use a covered box because another cat can corner them in it. They need to feel like they can escape if they’re approached while doing their vulnerable business.

Maybe this is old hat to you, I’m just trying to cover all your bases if it’s not. I only have 2 boxes for 4 cats, myself, and have been counting myself lucky I haven’t had any problems, but scoop them twice a day, and they’re far apart so those more comfortable in one area of the house don’t have to venture to other territory.

Also for removing urine and all the pheromones and smell that comes with it, the best product, even better than Nature’s Miracle, is Anti-Icky-Poo. You can google it and buy it online, it’s bacterial and enzymatic and it’s used for crime scene cleanup by soaking the carpet with it. It’s the best, best, best odor remover you can get. The enzymes and bacteria eat it all up.

I hope things work out for you/him. This guy had to have had someone taking care of him, outdoor cats don’t usually reach double-digit ages without some close-to-home indoor time along with it. He was either dumped because he started having medical issues (or behavioral), or because his people moved or were evicted and didn’t take him along. It’s a sad case.

11

You seem like such a kind a generous person for doing all this; I’m glad I could help point you in a good direction.