keepmotoring
North Carolina
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Joined: 10/18/2001
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I almost hate to post this but I need advice from anyone that has gone through this situation. My 15 yr old cat started urinating at the front door on the carpet in the middle of the night in Feb. I took her to the vet and no know reason for this. The first of March we left for Myrtle Beach and the 6 months that we were gone she used her litter box faithfully. When we returned home it started again. I know there is a cat that roams the neighborhood so now I think it is due to marking her territory. It normally happens in the early am (2/3am) and she will meow very loudly. I have bought a product called Boundary to spray outside our house and in the area that she urinates on the carpet. I have put old towels on the carpet and spray those. For the first two weeks of using the produst, it seem to be working. Now she is urinating on the towels (better than the carpet!) Needless to say, I am at my wits end. Has anyone else gone through this? Did you come up with a cure? Since our return home we have not taken her to the vet and we really didn't discuss it with the vet when we took her in Feb because at that time we weren't thinking about the possibliity of it being a territory situation. Any recommendations will be appreciated. Just a FYI - she was spayed when she was young.
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Hiker3
Florida
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Joined: 01/21/2007
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Just curious, did the vet run a test to see if your kitty had a bladder infection? My indoor kitty had an infection once and had similar behavior.
You may need to ask for the test -- if your vet did not offer.
Just my two cents. Others will answer soon for more ideas.
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CatandJim
Tulsa, as in Oklahoma
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Joined: 08/23/2004
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Due to the advanced age of your cat I would think this might be a medical problem rather than a behavior issue. Many things could be the cause. A few that come to mind are a bladder infection or similar UTI, diabetes, or kidney issues. Cats often avoid painful places and if it hurts to urinate your cat could associate that with the litter box. The loud meowing seems like it might indicate pain. You can get answers or rule out medical issues, by having bloodwork & a urinalysis done at your vet's office.... if they come back clear then you can move forward with changing location of the litter box, perhaps buying a different brand litter, etc.
Best of luck, please let us know how it goes at the vet.
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mainetom
Maine, near Augusta
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I would suspect a medical problem if you hadn't noted that he'd "behaved" perfectly for the six months you were away. I'll bet that your cat is aware of the roaming cat outside at night and is marking his territory, meowing loudly for same reason. Try confining him to a place where he can't hear or see the visitor: the cellar, a room, a cage. He'll no doubt protest loudly, but if it's a place he likes, and he has food and a litter box there, maybe not. There are ways to discourage the visitor from visting, but I won't get into that...
* This post was
edited 10/01/08 04:55pm by mainetom *
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dhamblet
Olympia, WA
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Make the cat sleep in a cat carrier. They like caves anyway.
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Code2High
Agoura, CA
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Definitely worth ruling out a physical cause again. That failing, a combo of stress (cat left alone, the cat in the area) and old age/dementia can kick in also, could be at fault. Possible fixes include confining the cat part of the time, using a feliway/comfort zone diffuser, and also you might consider, outside chance, trying some sam-e, which is good for cats (talk to vet about dosage, I've never used it) and normally used for liver issues not mental, but which is also good for mental function and stress. I've used it in older dogs to good effect on their mental function.
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What I want to know is, when are they going to start selling Comfort Zone for HUMANS????? 'Cause some days...
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CatandJim
Tulsa, as in Oklahoma
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mainetom wrote:I would suspect a medical problem if you hadn't noted that he'd "behaved" perfectly for the six months you were away. ............
Well cats are interesting and finicky critters, as we all know. Could be that there was less stress during the trip. Yes, perhaps because the other cat wasn't in her territory or perhaps the litter box being in a different place, a different litter box, or a combination of things.
Stress does things to older animals and can induce urinary problems, even autoimmune challenges.... so this could be a combination of health and behavior. A trip to the vet will at least give the owner a better idea of anything healthwise.
Something else that might help since this area has become a "habit" of sorts is to clean everything thoroughly with a good cleaner meant to rid surfaces of pet smells. A product like Nature's Miracle might help. The suggestion of using stress reducing natural remedy (like Feliway) added to her water could also be beneficial.... but first a trip to the vet just to be sure there is no underlying health issues.
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keepmotoring
North Carolina
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Joined: 10/18/2001
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Thanks for the replies. Catand Jim, is Feliway ok for dogs to drink? Sassy (the cat) does like to drink water from the dogs bowl even though she has her own water bowl. Also will get Nature's Miracle. I don't mind taking her back to vet but I really do not think there is a problem since UTI's etc were ruled out in Feb, we left in March and no problems until we returned in Sept. Her kitty litter box is cleaned out twice daily and clean kitty litter put in twice per week. Confining her might work. She could go in the bathroom where the litter box is. I guess she is 17 instead of 15. We adopted her in 1992 and she was about 1 then. Again, thanks for the helpful suggestions.
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Hiker3
Florida
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You mentioned meowing very loudly. My 15 year old cat does that more and more. And her eating habits change -- especially if I leave for a long weekend.
My point is that like others said, our older kitties tend to have weird little quirks (medical and otherwise). Some of it is "normal." (e.g. stress is harder for older cats)
Please keep us updated on how everything is going.
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Code2High
Agoura, CA
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Cat is so distracted by my troublemaking elsewhere on the board, she's gotten her remedies confused. Feliway is a pheremone solution that comes in either a spray (for use on furniture and in crates and such) or in a "Comfort Zone" diffuser.
Rescue Remedy is probably what she was thinking of, and it is a flower essence remedy for stress and shock. You would use that in the drinking water. It is worth a try, for sure, though you might find a more specific flower remedy if you really dug in a bit. There are companies (such as Anaflora) that make some different combination remedies in the flower essence line, specifically for animals and the types of problems pets have. RR is great though and good to have on hand, I should spray myself more often. In its undiluted form, it tastes pleasantly of the brandy it is preserved with, and Heaven Knows I could use a little help on the stress issue lately. I carry a spray bottle in my purse at all times, for emergencies of either the human or animal variety.
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