How can you stay mad at this "little" cutie?
Well I will tell you how you can be pushed "this close" to making him a permanent basement kitty for life.
Since we went home to Michigan for the Martian 10k about 5 weeks ago, this little man has defecated on our couches about 5 times, has "wet' the bed, peed on two of the couches, and this morning on my way out the door I found that a wind jacket had fallen off the hook onto my trail shoes and some flip flops which master Monte decided was the perfect place to leave his mark. I have handled the couch messes and even the bed mess with delicate reprimands and trying to make sure he is a happy guy, but I lost my shit this morning when he pissed on my perfectly good trail shoes.
In the past I have lost every single pair of my dress shoes to his pissing fits and many a gym bag but I finally lost my cool this morning and screamed "Really my f$%^ing trail shoes?" at him. And I know that was completely the wrong thing to do and he is probably even more upset now and will go and pee on my Boston medals or something.
We are pretty much lost as to what to do about it. In the past this has been a once every six months or so thing. Having it happen this many times in the past few weeks is really starting to grind on us. Before we were using feliway plug ins and I stopped using those because he seemed happy and they are really expensive, and we are broke (and they didn't stop his fits completely, they were actually more for Milford who had kidney issues).
So any cheap remedies you guys have for bad cat attitude that results in bathroom stops in inappropriate places let me know (and no getting rid of the cat is not an option) although I am seriously tempted to find someone that owns a large farm for him to roam on. I just can't figure out what the heck he is so upset about. He's lucky he is so cute and a snuggler when he isn't being bad.
For those that don't know the history we already put tin foil on our couches to keep him off them when we are not there. However since we got the girls they have become his little enablers. They are not afraid of the tin foil at all and think it is great fun to play with the time foil and knock it off the couch leaving the couch bare and ready to be marked. I just hope they don't catch onto this whole marking thing. Paivi was way too interested in the smelly flip flops this morning.
And to think a month ago I went and got him catnip bubbles and an automatic laser toy, and this is how he repays me!
11 comments:
TJ (my persian) pees in the same spot (which originally was on the carpet). I've cleaned it and I use Nature's Miracle (you can get it at a pet store).
Nature's Miracle must dry completely for it to be effective (read the label). It eliminates the phermones so the cat can't smell it and think he can pee there.
Now - do you think that stopped TJ? Hell no. So - I've made accommodations. Fortunately for me - he pees in the same spot. So I bought those vinyl hallway runners (the clear kind) and I put it where he pees. Then I use those puppy pee pads and put it there. He pees on that, and then I just have to keep replacing it. It's a pain in the ass, but it's better than him peeing on the carpet.
I would definitely keep the stuff he normally pees on (dress shoes) behind closed doors.
Also - cats smell things differently than humans. I know plastics smell funny to them.
The defecating thing - I have no clue about that. How many litter boxes do you have? Maybe he thinks that it is too dirty and doesn't want to use it (cats are weird like that).
And then again - cats do stuff like that when they are upset and if you were out of town - it is stressful to the cat.
Yikes. I feel your pain. Honestly - I've just learned to deal with it and made accommodations that way.
Sucks, but I love TJ too much to get rid of him (and Rox, the other cat, would miss him).
Do a search online and see if there's anything to help you out.
Monica
Just a suggestion: have your vet check him out. There may be a physical problem.
OMG, I feel for you, I really do. I had an unrepentant tinkler of my own some years ago. I dealt with it the best I could. I used Nature's Miracle cleaner by the gallon. I used unscented litter and cleaned the litter boxes every other day. I learned through bitter experience that nothing could ever be left lying on the floor. Not even a scrap of newspaper. If nothing else it taught us to be very, very tidy as even a stray magazine or sock was liable to be tinkled on. He would use the litter box to poop, but the pee landed anywhere and everywhere. It drove me crazy. He didn't have a urinary tract infection (have you checked for that?) and in the end...well, my house was being destroyed and after two years, steps had to be taken. Or one step had to be taken, unfortunately. Indiscriminate peeing is so difficult to deal with. They can't tell you what the problem is so you fumble around, desperate for a solution. Maybe yours was just mad at being left for a weekend. They're "emotional little creatures," as one vet of mine once put it. But when you look into that little face, how can you stay mad? It broke my heart. I can't offer any helpful hints, really. We ended up having to keep most of the doors in our house closed to deny access to our tinkler and kept the Nature's Miracle on hand under the sink for instant deployment. I really, really hope your situation resolves itself soon. It is so not fun living with a rampant peeing cat.
Have you tried to change their litter? Or he might have something wrong w/ his bladder like an infection. It might hurt him when he goes to the bathroom. That's what I read online anyway.
When/if you find an answer, I'd be interested.
Nature's Miracle is the best stuff ever. We used to have pee issues with a diabetic cat. She went constantly, and that was due to her disease. Like the others have said, make sure your kitty doesn't have any health issues.
we have all shorts of potions from the cat store which spray on things and seem to work a little bit .... then there is white vinegar which neutralise's odor .... i say fight back and pee on his favorite places
That is a sad story. My cat insists on vomiting on any new furniture I get.
Male cats tend to spray more when they aren't neutered early. Introducing new cats can make them more territorial for a while. I don't know if there is a therapy for this.
Just lock him in the basement when you are not home.
http://video.yahoo.com/watch/2369949/7403850
I strongly suggest "cat yodeling"
I feel for you. WE have had the same issue with the cats pooping on the couch. Luckily it has been only a hanful of times. But we went through one period where it happened several times in a row. What we did and it has worked, knock on wood, was get 4 big tubs (large tupperware containers you would store clothes in) and we put them in the basement with different kinds of litter and then paid attention to which ones they used. They always use 2 serperate boxes from each other and we found that unscented litter was okay. Also I was cleaning the box every single stinking day for awhile. We also sprayed feline deterant spray alllll over the living room which was the room they always went in and basically shooed them out of there whenever they went in there and they pretty much stay out of that area now. I also locked them in the basement with the litter boxes for a few weeks. Best of luck, I know how hard it is.
My wife makes me sleep in the car when I do it. This may help you too!.
It sounds like you have had some great suggestions.
I will throw out there the location of the litter box and if lids are involved or recent changes.
I agree rule out medical problems and seek out behavioral corrections with the vet or on line.
are you sure it's not your husband?
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