In several threads, which I won’t link to, I have mentioned the problem I have with one of my two cats. Road Warrior pees on the carpet.
I have tried everything to get him to stop. Cleansers, deoderizers, two cat boxes always kept fresh. I’ve asked for advice here and tried the answers. They will work for a while, then I’ll go into the hallway and there his is, squatting right in front of me. Punishment doesn’t work either.
He has ruined the carpet in that hallway. I wanted to get new anyway, but I can’t because he’d still pee there. My other cat, Tobermory, doesn’t do this.
I have had it. I love RW dearly, but I won’t have people over to my apartment because there’s always a faint eau de pee. I can’t give him away to strangers, as I don’t know how they would treat him. If I took him to the shelter he probably wouldn’t get adopted, as he’s an adult with a bad behavior problem. He can’t go outside as he is declawed in front.
I have treated both my cats well. Regular vet care, all the shots, he’s neutered of course. I’m teary eyed as I write this.
I have to go to the vet tomorrow to pick up my other cat, who is spending the night prior to dental care and some bloodwork. I’ve made up my mind to ask him about having the cat put to sleep. The vet knows about the problem. Shoot, I once spent $100 for medical tests, to be sure it wasn’t a medical problem.
It makes me feel like shit to think about having him put down, but he’s relatively young(not quite four), and I can’t put up with the smell for several more years. Is there any morality to what I am thinking of doing?
There is one no kill shelter in town, but it has a long, long waiting list for admission. I should have mentioned that I did call them, as I have made donations to them before, but it could take a long time to get him in. They are always full.
I’m sorry, Baker. What a terrible position to be in…definitely one that would drive one to the brink.
Talk to your vet–perhaps he’ll have some last-ditch suggestions, although it sounds to me like you’ve done about everything I could think of.
My kittens were really bad about not using the litter box, and I finally started shutting them into the (very small) laundry room at night, where they have a bed, food, and litter box. That seems to have solved most of the problem. BUT…they are very young, and their behavior wasn’t so much a behavioral issue as one of inexperience and lack of “getting it.” Your cat gets it, I’d wager, and is doing this for some reason that you may not be able to address.
I don’t know if a pet behaviorist would be available to you, but maybe your vet can advise. Again, you may have already done all that you can.
My heart goes out to you. I’ll be thinking of you, and know that you can email me anytime.
Hugs
karol
Been there, done that. Although Mizza made it to 12 before we put her down. She was crapping where the mood hit her, and wailing all night long. The crapping we dealt with, The wailing would make the baby sit bolt upright, and then she’d be awake for a couple of hours sometimes. We dealt with that too. Then the pee stains started, ad we knew it was too much.
I feel for you. It sounds like you have really given this a lot of serious thought. You didn’t say how long the list for the No Kill shelter is but maybe if you were on the list you might feel better about keeping RW because an “out” was in sight at least. Wish I had a better idea or a good solution to offer. sad for you and RW.
Hiya Baker…I know you didn’t ask for advise on the peeing, seems like you’ve tried just about everything, but I had the same situation a few years ago with one of my cats, and eventually the vet put him on a tranquilizer for about a month, the brat never peed on the furniture again (peed on me once, but he was mad at me so it was understandable…but totally offensive). Vet couldn’t find any medical reasons for the peeing, he thought maybe the other cat was giving him stress, and it looks like he was right.
Horrifying Howler Monkey, that’s interesting, and thanks for sharing. In this case I suppose it could be stress, but it’s not from the other cat. They get on very well together, play, wrestle, even groom each other.
bodypoet, I may take you up on that offer.
This has been a long time coming. Up until the last couple of days even I wouldn’t have thought I’d ask about it. But now RW has even peed right in front of me, twice, and when I got upset he just ran off. I’m afraid if I kept him I would get so resentful that I would strike him, and he doesn’t deserve that. He may be “mentally ill” but it’s not his fault.
In an odd way it reminds me of getting a divorce. Once the decision has been made(mine will be decided by what the vet says) there’s a feeling of relief. I will call the no-kill place again and ask again about their list.
Baker forgive me if I am overstepping here but I was intrigued by Horrifying Howler Monkey’s comment about tranquilizers as I had not heard that before. Googling it got lots of info including the fact that the peeing behavior is sometimes a sequelae of declawing. Seems to correlate “behavioral peeing” as responsive to tranqs. Might be worth a shot. I tried to paste several of the links but only got one and you have to slog through a lot of things you have probably already tried to get to the blurb about tranqs.
My google was simply: tranquilizers for peeing cats…you might get better info on a vet site.
Hi again Baker…I said the same thing with the brat, he seemed to get along great with the other cats, they groomed each other and slept together in the sun. The vet told me it could be that he wasn’t getting enough alone time or some such thing and was stressing himself over that (again, this was a few years ago, I can’t remember the exact wording of the diagnosis, the sum up was is that he was a neurotic guy I think but the tranqs worked for him). I don’t know if it is something your vet would try, but it was very inexpensive (less than 20 for the month I think), and it didn’t seem to affect his personality in any other major way.
Baker I’m sorry if I’m being a pest posting again, but I just reread your last post, your cat sounds exactly like the brat what with the peeing right in front of you. As you have probably noticed it is almost impossible to do any sort of training with cats, and any attempts usually do just result in stress for you and the cat, which is just going to keep the cycle going if he is peeing because he is stressed. I can see why the cleaners wouldn’t help a great deal, he isn’t peeing because he is confused about the litter box, he is peeing because of some mental reason.
One other question, and I am very sorry if you answered this already, but is your vet 100% it couldn’t be a recurring bladder infection? Friends had a male cat that would pee infront of them when he got infections, and it was hard to determine that’s what it was because the blood work wasn’t all that off.
With him being so very young and otherwise healthy, I think I’d lean toward taking him to the shelter. Sometimes these sorts of behavioral problems are situational, so if he’s being good about the box at the shelter, he has a chance at getting adopted. Best case scenario, he does wonderfully with a new family and has a long, happy, healthy life. Worst case scenario, he either doesn’t get adopted or gets brought back to the shelter for peeing on stuff and gets euthanized. You’re already planning to euthanize him, so he’s really got nothing to lose going to the shelter. You might as well him the chance.
Baker - I know how much you love your cats (and all cats) from reading your posts. I also have one cat who refuses to use the litterbox, but he’s here to stay. Once you take them in, you take on the responsibility and clean the pee/poop up, I say. Sort of like living with toddlers. I’ve considered taking my beautiful kitty in for therapy, but have figured it’s just easier to clean it up. I figure he gives us so much back in love that we’ll have to forgive him for his digresses. My personal advice would be to stock up on cleaners, stake off an area for him to be in, and accept the fact that your house will never smell like a “non-animal owner’s” house. And, who cares for that matter? Good luck!
Baker, definitely ask your vet about trying BuSpar or Valium - it’s not expensive and could very well help (just remember the Valium is for the cat, not you ;)).
Also, does your kitty tend to pee in the same places (you mentioned the hallway)? You can protect the carpet in the problem areas by putting down protector pads - Drs. Foster and Smith sell these:
I have a couple that I’ve used for various reasons over the years with my dogs and they work very well (it’s amazing how much pee they can hold!). You can also use waterproof crib mattress protectors - those are available anyplace that sells baby stuff. If he pees on these, you can just throw them in the wash.
And CrazyCatLady is absolutely right about these types of problems being situational in a lot of cases. I’ve been involved in greyhound adoption for a long time now, and sometimes a dog is just unhappy being in a particular home and acts out - chewing, howling, barking, peeing/pooping, etc. When he/she is placed in a different enviroment, the problem goes away completely. So if it’s possible to wait to get him into the shelter, it’s definitely worth a shot.
Baker, as someone who is facing a similar decision with an elderly greyhound, I can sympathize with the difficulty of your choice. At least mine’s not young and relatively healthy any more, which makes the situation even more difficult. As much as we love our animals, it does no one, human or pet, any good to live in a home that reeks of urine.
Assuming you’ve exhausted the veterinary and behavioral training angles to the extent you’re able (and there are many courses of action to try), I think euthanasia might be the kindest decision. Unless you can find your cat a cageless sanctuary, he’s probably facing a stressful life in a small cage, in a building full of other cats. Some adapt well to that environment, but many do not. I know many people involved in cat rescue, and I can tell you that the odds of a cat with a known litterbox problem being adopted are next to nil. There are simply far too many young, healthy, friendly cats in shelters and agencies who are looking for new homes through no fault of their own for people to choose from.
I’d certainly encourage you to see if you can locate a no-kill shelter or permanent sanctuary for problem cats, but usually there’s an incredibly long waiting list, if they forsee the possibility of admitting a new resident at all. Such organizations might also be a useful starting place to find local resources that can help you curb your cat’s problem behavior.
My heart goes out to you, Baker. My mom had a problem with two of her cats peeing everywhere, and she did end up putting them down. I imagine that she felt as you did; at the end of her rope, out of options.
Mom was isolated; nobody had any good advice for her. Her vet just kept telling her to offer them more litterboxes (they eventually had four!) and finally, to put them to sleep for their behavioural problems.
It’s so cool to see the community of Dopers able to offer you some possible solutions! Best of luck in finding one that works for your cat!
Do you know anyone who lives in the country who might be willing to take him in? Sounds like he might be better suited as a farm cat, where he can pee wherever the heck he wants and nobody will care. You could try putting an ad in your local paper or free shopper.
I just hate the thought of putting a young, healthy cat to sleep!
The peeing sounds like it is stress induced. Try some sort of hormone, aroma-therapy for cats. This worked wonders for my cat, calmed him right down and brought his behavior in line with what I wanted. Sounds silly, but it worked for me! Give this a try before you put him down!
Is he an indoor-only cat? Start letting him outside. Cats want to be outside, they are animals afterall. I have found that giving my cats the freedom to go outside and play has eliminated errant peeing. They are never so happy as when they are outside, and they stay in the yard, never go far and always come directly when called.
forgive me if I am overstepping here but I was intrigued by Horrifying Howler Monkey’s comment about tranquilizers as I had not heard that before. Googling it got lots of info including the fact that the peeing behavior is sometimes a sequelae of declawing. Seems to correlate “behavioral peeing” as responsive to tranqs. Might be worth a shot. I tried to paste several of the links but only got one and you have to slog through a lot of things you have probably already tried to get to the blurb about tranqs.