So, I think I hate my cat.

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

I’ve had my cat Todd for about four years now, adopted him as a one year old, and he’s generally been a good pet: gentle, snuggly, purrs a lot, basically what you want in a cat. So, two years ago, I got a second one. McCoy is not really what you want in a cat - he’s a fifteen pound brute who fights, doesn’t generally let you pet him, and wakes you up at five in the morning.

You think I’m going to tell you I hate McCoy. Nope.

For the last two months, Todd has started peeing on everything I own. My bed is his favorite spot, but he’s also gone for the laundry basket, the foam mattress topper in my closet, and every blanket in site. I took him into the vet right away, and they said he didn’t seem to have an infection, that it was stress related, and they gave me some bladder-ease tablets and a kitty relaxation air refresher plug in. No dice, and 150 dollars down the drain.

This morning, after I get up, I find him squatting on my comforter again. And I lost my mind. I screamed at him, he ran away, and I didn’t follow because I might have actually killed him. I called the vet in tears, who said they couldn’t do anything unless I brought him in. Considering how well that went last time, I declined.

The internet has no help for me. “You might be working too much.” Yeah, well, I need to do that. “He might need more of his own space.” I’ve provided separate areas. McCoy takes both over. “Put a litter box upstairs.” No. A thousand times no. I’d dump them outside before I even considered it. The litter boxes go in the garage, and the garage is already a depressing sea of litter that they track EVERYWHERE.

Anyone have any experience with this? Ideas? Humane methods of cat euthanasia?

2

Really?

https://www.google.com/#newwindow=1&q=cat+peeing+everywhere+in+house

That took me about 10 seconds to find. There’s thousands more results for this, too.

Seriously? Your cat has a problem and is clearly unhappy, and your first reaction is euthanasia? :dubious: :frowning:
I hope you don’t have any children.

3

Your best bet is getting rid of McCoy unless you can get them to peacefully coexist.

It sounds like Todd is getting all out of whack and can’t handle the stress anymore, and is just looking for a safe place to take a dump. I had this problem with one of my cats when he was being harassed by a much larger cat (who is someone else’s problem now).

4

When cats get urinary infections they pee everywhere. Even right in front of you!

Your cat may be screaming, “Take me to the vet dammit! Can’t you see, something is wrong!”

This should be your very first action. Behavioural stuff is doomed to failure and you to frustration if it’s actually a medical issue. See a vet!

5

He or she did. From the OP:

From the evidence, I would guess that the peeing is caused by stress and unhappiness. It is difficult to deal with an unhappy pet, because the source of the unhappiness may be your lifestyle choices - and it is asking a great deal to fundamentally change one’s lifestyle to accomodate a pet - it may require making some hard choices.

For example, in this case, part of the problem may well be the second cat, who is dominant. Solving the problem may require re-homing one or the other, which is a big wrench for everyone. It may be difficult to find a good home for a cat with a peeing problem on the one hand, or 15 pound “brute” on the other.

One thing is for sure - it is very, very difficult to live with a peeing problem. I sympathize with the frustration and anger (though it is not helpful to give way to those emotions!).

6

I feel your pain; I’m going through something similar with my 12 year old cat Cosmo.
I went to the vet and he had no UT issues but they did find a bad tooth so they pulled it. That didn’t make a difference so I got a kitty relaxer plug in thing. That didn’t seem to work either. I’ve come to the conclusion that he’s smelling the neighborhood cats that are always hanging around my house, so now I let him hang out in the (fenced) backyard during the day. It keeps them away and he can spray to his heart’s content out there. I’d rather not let him be outside but it was that or get rid of him. Which leads me to agree with others that are saying your cat’s problem is with the other cat. You say the other one is a brute and not much fun. Could he survive as an indoor / outdoor cat? Again, I don’t really like the idea but it’s better than the alternative.

7

We have 4 and had the same problem with the oldest one. She hates other cats and takes it out on us. It’s gotten to the point that she is shut into the bedroom (with toys, a nice window view, and all necessary amenities for a grumpy old cat.). The peeing stopped as soon as she was isolated from other cats, and, frankly, she seems a lot happier with our undivided attentions in the evenings.

8

Small Hen, I feel for you guys. I don’t have any advice but I can tell you the folks on this board probably saved my kitty’s life a few years ago when we were ready to wring his furry neck (different issue). Listen to their advice!

Good luck to you and the boys.

9

I’ve done these things - I’ve spent more time petting him and playing with him. It works for a day. Then I have to work, and he pees on stuff. And it’s my bed. Of course I wash it every time he pees on it.

Saavik: “Humor. A difficult concept.”

Thanks to everyone answering. I had a lot of frustration to get out this morning. I’ll see if I can try something different. I’ve considered trying to find a new home for McCoy, but he’s an adult, and it’s tough.

10

Then I must apologise for misunderstanding; but your post came across (to me, at least) as desperate rather than humorous. :slight_smile: I’ve come across a lot of people in the past that would really consider this - such thoughtlessness tends to rile me up.

Ruling out a UTI (which you seem to have done - but is it worth getting a second opinion from a different vet?), it seems like Todd is having a hard time with McCoy (although you probably know this already).
You say you had separate areas, but how separate are they if McCoy is taking them both over?

The ‘kitty relaxation air refresher plug in’ (Feliway?) wasn’t a bad suggestion IMO, it’s proven to work - we use it in our house to great effect for a very similar situation. It’s a shame it hasn’t worked in your case though.

I wonder if it’s worth taking McCoy out of the house for a week or so (staying with a friend or in boarding somewhere) to see if Todd settles down. If he does, you may have a tough decision to make…

Alternatively, have you tried changing their litter boxes? I mean completely - new boxes, new (different brand) litter? Different location? Todd might be having bad associations with the existing setup, hence going elsewhere to pee.

11

I kept my son’s cat for 6 months while he was on a job out of the country and couldn’t take the cat with him. His cat didn’t like my cat AT ALL. My cat was miserable, losing his hair and upchucking his food, and hiding all the time. My son’s cat peed on everything, everywhere he could smell my cat (which, of course, was pretty much everywhere). After making sure everyone was healthy, I finally wound up separating them completely - my son’s cat had the downstairs to himself and my cat had the upstairs to himself. That corrected the problem after about a week and the cats couldn’t easily smell one another anymore. Had it been more than a 6-month duration of separate kitty armed camps, I’d have had to rehome one of them.

You might try separating them completely for a few days and see if that helps.

12

It’s all cool. It was rather desperate - I was in tears over it this morning. But I’m not planning to hurt or kill my cat.

I might consider “lending” McCoy back to the lady I got him from for a bit, if she’ll take him. As for the litter boxes, they’re both in the garage and they’ll STAY in the garage. My house has small bathrooms with no real good place for a box, and my cats both seem to have deep paw pads - they track litter everywhere. Even with the boxes in the garage, the litter ends up in the kitchen, even in the living room. I could try changing the boxes and litter brand, though.

I talked with a woman I work with who has, like, 5 cats. She thinks they need more toys, and recommended a few. Okay. Worth a shot.

If I can’t figure anything else out, I’m going to make McCoy an outdoor cat. He’s tough enough to do well out there, I’ve got a few great cool-down shady areas in my backyard, and I think he’ll be happier anyway (he seems a bit pent up, I think). I don’t love the idea, but I don’t think it’s cruel either.

13

If McCoy is not declawed, and if your immediate vicinity isn’t close to wild areas like woodlands (sources of predators like coyotes) then you might have success with your idea of having McCoy outdoors. You might think about him being indoor/outdoor (letting him in at night) as a compromise.

Regarding the litter-tracking issue, you could try putting down an old beach towel under/around the litter box to “catch” stray litter. A front-door type of mat, that they walk across after exiting the box to force them to sort of wipe their feet, might work too. (If it’s too spiky, though, you might inadvertantly discourage them further from using the litter box.)

14

I would definitely try separating them. My cat Sabrina was very sick and I separated her in her own part of the house. Papi and Spike stayed pretty much in the other part. Even after she was well, Sabrina has chosen to stay in “her” part of the house, rarely venturing out. She’s content there, and Papi is not very cat-friendly, so she’s happier without Sabrina.

When Nick had a UTI he was peeing everywhere, even so much as to coming over next to me on the bed and peeing on me. It all went away after the UTI was cleared up. He was just in pain and miserable.

StG

15

Dumb question, but the boys are fixed, right? I mean, you can have this problem with two fixed males, but you are pretty much GUARANTEED to get it with two intact boys.

16

Are your cats fixed, Small Hen?

17

They’re both fixed and have their claws intact.

18

You say you have two litter boxes in the garage. Do both cats use them both, or does each use his own? Todd needs his own box, and as far away from the other as possible. He needs to know that he has a place to pee/poop that’s his, and doesn’t smell anything like McCoy.

19

It’s amazing what people who own cats will put up with (I’m one of them). All for an animal who could care less if we live or die. :smiley:

I agree about separating the cats. Toss is telling you he doesn’t like McCoy, never did, and he won’t put up with it anymore. Good luck.

Poor kitty.

20

Okay, but how the hell do I do this? I have two boxes, on in each corner of the garage. They both go in both, and ignore the little signs I’ve set up that read, “This is Todd’s box. This is McCoy’s box.”

Same thing with separating them. Since they both need access to the downstairs to get to the boxes, how can I make one area for Todd and one for McCoy? I’ve set up two sets of food and water, one upstair, one downstairs, and I tried setting one up right where Todd likes to hang out (on the cat tree, which McCoy doesn’t care for as much) and they both eat from both.