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S/O adopting animals... WWYD?
(Sorry in advance for the length... I've been really stressed about this...)
I have a cat that I love DEARLY. I've had her for about 7 years (she's 8 years old and was a stray for the first year of her life). For the most part, she's a really good cat (friendly, doesn't jump on tables and counters, etc). Except for one little problem that I've been battling for about 5 or 6 years: her inconsistent use of the litter box.
I have tried everything: changing the litter, adding an additional box, praising her when she goes in the box, changing the box location, getting her physicals to make sure it wasn't health-related (we thought for a while that it was related to possible urinary track infections, but it turns out that's not the case because she does it when she doesn't have the infections, too). She has ruined two chairs and she is the reason we needed to get rid of the carpet in our living room/dining room a year ago (she had totally destroyed the carpet in the dining room).
We have been wary to replace the carpeting in the bedrooms (despite it being really old and desperately needing to be replaced) because we've been afraid she would ruin that, too. She really hasn't peed outside the box (that we know of, at least) since the dining room incident, although she does poop outside of it occasionally (annoying, but not a huge deal since it's fairly easy to clean up). With me being pregnant, and us redoing the second bedroom as a nursery, we had to give in and get new carpeting. We spent a lot of money to get some really nice stuff that we were hoping would be stain/pet odor-resistant.
Over the weekend (just three weeks after getting the new carpet), she pooped AND peed in the middle of the nursery. I just can't deal with this anymore. It's brand new carpeting, it's the baby's room, which we've spent a ton of time, energy and money trying to make nice, and now it's already got a pee spot. (For those of you who've never dealt with it... cat pee is, bar none, the WORST smell in the world and is nearly impossible to get rid of, which means once she's "marked" a spot, she's likely to mark there again.)
I'm at the end of my rope. We have a small 2-bedroom condo, and for now, we are keeping the bedroom doors closed so she can't get in there. We had to move the litter box to a non-desirable place (the tiny main bathroom), and now I'm afraid one of our couches will be the next target. There is simply no pattern to where, when or why she does this. We think she just occasionally gets spooked or freaked out for some reason and goes.
I love this cat. I feel like she is a part of our family, but I have a baby on the way, and the thought of him crawling around in this type of environment really upsets me. I've got to put him first. But I don't know what to do. I can't imagine anyone will want to take a cat who sometimes goes outside of the litter box, nor would I ever feel right lying about that. I want to give full disclosure to anyone who would take her. I doubt I'd find anybody willing to take this on, but the thought of surrendering her to a shelter completely breaks my heart. I don't think I could do it.
I'm hoping someone has a suggestion for me. An adoption agency for cats that they've used or a way to foster her out. Any kind of solution that I haven't thought of yet.
Sorry this was so long... Thanks for any suggestions!
Re: S/O adopting animals... WWYD?
Aw Meghan I'm sorry! That is such a terrible situation. We adopted our puppy from Sun Valley Animal Shelter, they are located in Glendale. They are a no kill shelter. I'm not sure what kind of services they offer, but they are very nice and helpful. Here is their website:
http://www.sunvalleypets.org/
Can't wait to meet my baby boy!
Just a question - have you taken her to the vet to have them run tests on her? This might not be a behavior problem, but a medical one that could be resolved with proper medical attention.
Yes, we have. We thought for a long time that it was related to bladder/urinary track infections (she is very prone to them). Once we switched her food and got her treated, she seemed to be better and wasn't peeing on the carpet (to our knowledge...) for a while, although she was still pooping occasionally.
But she was recently at the vet again after being sick and was diagnosed with another very bad infection, yet she had peeing in the litter box just fine. We got the infection cleared up and she just got a totally clean bill of health about a month ago and we've had her on this super-duper-infection-preventing medication since then. So the timing of this incident indicates it's not a medical problem, since she was going in the litter box during the infection and went outside of it a few weeks after it was cleared up.
I volunteer for a rescue up in Prescott and have also volunteered at a shelter. I can tell you that there are so many homeless cats (and it is kitten season) - you'd be hard pressed to find a rescue or no kill shelter with room to take her to. Especially with her problem. I mean, honestly, do you think someone would adopt a senior cat with a known litterbox problem when there are millions of cats without problems? Also, many so called "no kill" shelters will euthanize for litterbox issues. A regular shelter most definitely will. It just makes the cat unadoptable and they need the space.
That being said, I totally understand how frustrating it is. You've tried a lot of the standard things. The Pets board has this in their FAQs so I suggest you check it out to see if there is something else you can try-
http://sites.google.com/site/petsboardfaqs/home/just-for-cats-and-kittens/my-cat-is-not-using-the-litterbox
Cats are stressed very easily and it sounds like your cat may be stressed. I have heard they can sense a pregnancy (something about the hormones?) and the behavior could be related to that. I would definitely get a Feliway plug in. (see #9 in FAQs). You can get them at pet supply stores or cheaper on Amazon.
As a last resort your vet may prescribe kitty prozac. I know it has worked wonders for some when nothing else would work.
- Martin Luther King Jr.
I was the proud owner of a HELL CAT myself and ended up purchasing one of these: http://www.petedge.com/product/ProSelect-Foldable-Cat-Cages/45682.uts
He would jump up on my counters and knock my glassware off and would also pee on my walls. I stuck his litter box and food/water bowls in there so he would have to go in there to eat and drink, and every time I would leave the house or go to bed I would shake his treats and put some in there so he would go in.
Eventually he would figure out when I was getting ready to leave and start going in on his own.
Hope this helps.
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