Cat behavior problems ... sigh

[JulieL]

Ok it seems like we have a lot of cat owners here. I'm having issues with one of my two cats. We have had her for 6 years since she was a kitten, and the other cat for almost 6 years. We've never had behavioral problems with her - other than the occasional cat crazed tear around the house. Well she always has had a thing for our cups, and would knock them over, but it wasn't all the time. In the last couple months this annoying behavior has become more and more blaitent. She has done it in front of me lately, for no good reason - she has water in her bowl. So that is one problem. The other is she for a couple months now has been having pee issues. She started peeing on our bathroom rug - so we got rid of it. We just used a towel on the floor when getting out of the tub, but if we forgot to throw it in the laundry right away she would pee on it too. So we stopped that, and for a few weeks no pee. Now she started to pee on our bathroom scale. It took about 6 weeks for us to figure it out if it was our toddler who is potty training. We thought DS might have been sloppy from time to time putting his pee into the big toliet from his little potty. Well I figured out one morning it was indeed the cat, as there was pee early in the morning, and DS still had his overnight daiper on. This week we had a towel drying on the side of the tub, and apparently she peed on it too. Now to today - this morning she peed right in front of DH on DS's school bag. I'm a little beside byself. She's never had issues with peeing - and I really love her. But I'm going to have another baby in a matter of months and I think she sences that and is upset about it. We live in an apartment and can't afford her to ruin the floors. I'm gonna get her a vet appt soon, but am so frustrated. She's obviously mad, but I don't have time to give her lots and lots of attention, honestly she is going to get less when little miss shows up. Does anyone have any thoughts? I was forced to get rid of another cat this year, and don't want to give up this one. :(

thanks for any thoughts you may have.

[Rachels]

Have you had her thyroid checked? This sounds a lot like what my mom's cats were doing when it turned out that they were having thyroid problems.

-Rachel
Mom to Abigail Rose
5/18/02
New baby coming in October!
(Holy smokes, it's a boy!!!)


"When you know better, you do better."
Maya Angelou
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Nursed for three years!

[elliput]

It is possible that she has a UTI, so the vet visit is a good idea. The vet should have some good advise for the behavior problem too.

My cats have all been cup tippers also. I have gotten used to using a covered glass (plastic drink cup with straw), but DH for some reason won't and gets upset when the cat tips his cup over that he left sitting by his computer overnight. I think this is more of an attention getting ploy than anything, as my kitties also try to drink out of DH's cup.

Your cat knows something is going on, and is concerned about it. She will most likely go back to more or less her old self when your hormones are back to what she remembers. Cats smell a difference in us when we are PG. My youngest cat was really bent out of shape the last couple monthes of my pregnancy. We ended up buying a different type of toy for him to re-direct his energy, and it helped a lot. However, now he won't leave DH alone if DH sits down in front of the TV. Kitty expects DH to play with him, and has even scratched DH on the leg trying to get his attention.

So if there isn't a medical issue, I would suggest some sort of new toy/scratching post/cat condo.

HTH!

[ribbit1019]

Don't have much advice, but I agree that a vet visit is a good idea. Just to make sure everything is o.k. Sounds like a cry for attention to me too, so there may be something minor that is wrong and it is making her uncomfortable. You said you recently had to get rid of another kitty, so she may be bored too.
It is hard to redirect cats. Mine of recent has started meowing like a nut ball in the morning. It is driving DH bonkers. She has always meowed a lot though, so I think this is just her way of letting us know that it isn't cool when her food bowl isn't completely full and that she really doesn't like being chased by DD.
GL! I hope the vet can recommend something more helpful.

Christy
Maddy - walking finally!

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[NEVE and TRISTAN]

I thought infection too...
and my male cat has done this same sort of thing twice and both times had a urethra stone in him. Our water leaves red marks on glasses if standing etc... and I am convinced that builds up in him. Two surgeries and he hasn't done it since.

I knew I was pregnant several times due to how my cat cuddled with me and purred I do think they know something is going on...but I still think you have a medical issue on your hands...

good luck and keep us posted...I know cat pee is the worst thing!!!
Neve
Reichen (6), Karsh (3), Tristan (2) and baby girl Bronwyn born March 10th!!!!

[pb&j]

What a tough situation! My IL's are having a similar problem with their cat - a Maine coon, so the volume is just staggering.

FWIW, we used to have 4 cats, and two of them always preferred drinking water from a glass rather than their bowl, so we could never leave a water glass unattended. One of the cats doesn't actually like to drink from the glass, but he can't resist knocking it over, even when empty. He does it just because he can. One cat has had very occasional peeing issues - like 5 times in his 13 years. They've all been directly associated with stress and/or an overly dirty litterbox. The last time it happened, when we moved, he would look DH or I directly in the eye, and then pee on something, as if to say, "I can't talk, but I sure can whiz. I'm not happy!!!" This is the same cat who I think is the only one who can tell I'm pg. He even will sit next to me and put his paw on my belly!

Some of the PP's mentioned going to the vet for a workup - this is a great idea. I'd also keep the door to the bathroom closed if you can, if this is the main place the peeing is occurring. If she gets into the habit of peeing somewhere, and it smells like her pee, she'll be more inclined to keep going there. And have your DH keep the litterbox SPARKLING. If he can (and you shouldn't get near it w/ the risk of toxoplasmosis), clean it out twice per day. Use clean litter liberally. Don't punish her unless you catch her in the act. And try to give her a little extra "mommy time" if you can.

HTH, and I hope this ends soon.


-Paige,
mom to Emma, s/b 11/04/04
and Max, edd 01/15/06 - it's a BOY!

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[RwnMayfair]

For the peeing, if moving things around and everything hasn't stopped it, I'd suggest the vet. Just to make sure it's not an infection or anything of the sort.

As for tipping cups, we solved that problem with a recirculating water bowl. Our cats were convinced that the water in our cups was better than theirs, and would try to drink from them, generally tipping them over in the process. I lost two or three keyboards to this. Anyway, after we got a recirculating water bowl, they stopped being so interested in our cups because their water was better. We have the drinkwell pet fountain - it costs more than some of the others, but honestly, our experience with the cheap ones is that they die quickly. Now granted, this may not solve your problem, she may be tipping cups for another reason (attention, or whatever), but I figured I'd mention it since it solved our problem with it.

-Melissa

Taran, November 20, 2003

http://www.gynosaur.com/assets/ribbo...merald_18m.gif - Eighteen months!
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[pritchettzoo]

We have a furry little pee-er too. Nothing physically wrong with him. He hates things lying on the floor apparently. ;)

Definitely check with the vet. You might want to put her on happy cat meds right before you have the baby just in case transitions wig her out. There's also a pheremone-plug-in thing that is supposed to work wonders in some cats--since yours is focusing on the bathroom, you could plug it in there.

Good luck! Cats! x(

Anna
Mama to Gracie (Sept '03) and Eli (July '05)

[SweetTooth]

Oh, I can empathize with you!! Our female cat has had peeing issues that were behavioral in nature. We took her to two vets & ruled out any medical problems. It happened after we moved, got new furniture, and had a baby. That's a lot of stress for a cat. We've tried almost everything....Feliaway, anti-anxiety meds, and about a dozen different carpet cleaners. Unfortunately, nothing worked for very long & she went back to doing it. I do remember reading somewhere that the rubber part of bathroom rugs can remind cats of their litterbox (for some reason), so I'm wondering if that's what got it started & now she smells the urine in the bathroom, thus pees in there? Cat pee is the most potent, stubborn smell to get rid of & even the slightest odor can make a cat continue to go there. Like PPs have said, I would definately take her to a vet to rule out any medical problems & get suggestions on what to do. A super clean litterbox is key & vets suggested we keep at least one litterbox per floor. Good luck!
HTH,

[mommy_someday]

Jules, the only experience I have with it is when we had Lightning. She ended up having interstitial cystitis and she would get stressed out if we moved anything big around (like furniture) or changed her environment. Every time we moved something, she went on a crazy pee-spree. I don't think it's very common, although the U of Ohio has an entire vet research program about it and it's connection to the same condition in women...so who knows? Anyway, I doubt that's Asia's problem, but I thought I'd throw it out there just in case. Sorry she's driving you bonkers lately...like you don't have enough stuff to stress about! Good luck.