My cat Snapple recently decided to stop urinating in the litter box and instead, every morning goes in the hall outside the bathroom. I wake up every morning lately to hear FH cursing that 'he did it again' (and threatening to get rid of him ), and with bleach and scrub brush in hand, I roll out of bed and burn my eyes and choke on the bleach fumes just so my apartment doesn't get condemned. Thank God I don't have carpet or wood floors or anything like that....
We've tried so many things to get him to stop. FH says he's just being spiteful. At first I thought I wasn't paying enough attention to him as I was to the other cat, so I make extra effort not to ignore his cries (he's a loud cat, always has been) and spend an extra few minutes playing with him every morning and night. No good.
Then we thought maybe because his dish was empty and he was just being nasty - so we make sure his dish isn't empty. That's not it either, although it worked for a few days.
I moved the litter box to the spot where he goes and he just moves about a foot away.
Yesterday, I left the house for school at 6:00 - FH was walking up the block and saw me pull away and when he got upstairs at 6:05, Snapple did it again! I don't understand why? Except for this behavior change, he seems healthy, he's eating, he's still fat as ever, his nose is wet and cold, he still purrs like a madman whenever I pet him...I just don't know what to do. I am bringing him to the vet on Monday to get him checked but I wonder if anyone has any advice???
michele31
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Re: Who knows about cats? (long)
You feel like a bad cat mommy? My Beemer is on VALLUM! And pees in one corner of my LR- which is killing me, my DH and will kill Beemer very soon! She hates that I had Molly and stares at me with sad eyes if I am holding her or feeding her. She wakes up ALL night long crying and wanting me to get up and sit with her in the LR. I don't, instead we lock her in the bathroom with her box. she just cries and cries. she was ALWAYS needy but now it is worse. And we were just at the Vet- the Vet said she is feeling the need to act at and upset over the baby- nothing medical is wrong. And now we need stronger meds because the Vallum is not helping....I need a kitty therapist soon!
Sage10.03
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Re: Who knows about cats? (long)
Posted by michele31
You feel like a bad cat mommy? My Beemer is on VALLUM! And pees in one corner of my LR- which is killing me, my DH and will kill Beemer very soon! She hates that I had Molly and stares at me with sad eyes if I am holding her or feeding her. She wakes up ALL night long crying and wanting me to get up and sit with her in the LR. I don't, instead we lock her in the bathroom with her box. she just cries and cries. she was ALWAYS needy but now it is worse. And we were just at the Vet- the Vet said she is feeling the need to act at and upset over the baby- nothing medical is wrong. And now we need stronger meds because the Vallum is not helping....I need a kitty therapist soon!
AW....poor kitty!!! They can be sooo sensitive!!!!
princess99
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Re: Who knows about cats? (long)
My cat was doing the same thing and found out it was out of spite, if there is one drop of poop in the box she will not go in the box, one time I was changing the litter and my 'darling' Tiffany peed next to my foot becuase I was not changing it fast enough!!!!!!!!! I was so mad. I love my 2 cats(Icarus and Tiffany) but Tiffany can really be a you know what when she wants to. You are a good cat Mommy!
september2004
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Re: Who knows about cats? (long)
Posted by michele31
You feel like a bad cat mommy? My Beemer is on VALLUM! And pees in one corner of my LR- which is killing me, my DH and will kill Beemer very soon! She hates that I had Molly and stares at me with sad eyes if I am holding her or feeding her. She wakes up ALL night long crying and wanting me to get up and sit with her in the LR. I don't, instead we lock her in the bathroom with her box. she just cries and cries. she was ALWAYS needy but now it is worse. And we were just at the Vet- the Vet said she is feeling the need to act at and upset over the baby- nothing medical is wrong. And now we need stronger meds because the Vallum is not helping....I need a kitty therapist soon!
same thing happened to my mom when i was born...
just be careful and monitor kitty around baby - my mother was always worried that kitty would scratch me when she was not looking...
FeliciaDA
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Re: Who knows about cats? (long)
please please do NOT be hard on yourself. you are a good mommy, and you are doing the right things.. first instinct is to always think the animal is being spiteful, that's what i would assume off the bat
You are trying your best and it is really hard to figure out what is wrong with our pets, especially kitties.. they cannot tell us how they are feeling after all
eroxgirl
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Re: Who knows about cats? (long)
Posted by michele31
You feel like a bad cat mommy? My Beemer is on VALLUM! And pees in one corner of my LR- which is killing me, my DH and will kill Beemer very soon! She hates that I had Molly and stares at me with sad eyes if I am holding her or feeding her. She wakes up ALL night long crying and wanting me to get up and sit with her in the LR. I don't, instead we lock her in the bathroom with her box. she just cries and cries. she was ALWAYS needy but now it is worse. And we were just at the Vet- the Vet said she is feeling the need to act at and upset over the baby- nothing medical is wrong. And now we need stronger meds because the Vallum is not helping....I need a kitty therapist soon!
OMG I could so definitely see that happening w/ Bubba and FH (his spoiled cat, lol). I don't envy you!! And locking him in the bathroom was FH's next suggestion...but I won't let him do it. I think he's planning on bring home another litter box today as well but now I'm convinced its either a UTI or heaven forbid what Sage's cat had . He does look a little fatter lately...
Julybaby
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Re: Who knows about cats? (long)
I'm just concurring with the advice above. We had the same situation with Edna, and it turned out that she has kidney disease. She's now on a special diet, and thankfully uses the litter box again. I do remember one time, though, when the litter box was dirty, and she went on our bathroom rug. Once the litter box was clean, she used it again.
Please don't berate yourself for being a bad mommy to your cat. I find that I'm always on the Internet looking up the meanings behind my cats' quirks. This is how you educate yourself - by asking questions.
I hope everything is fine with your cat!
jvs77
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You are not a bad cat mommy! Please don't feel bad! You are having him checked out, which is terrific. (A bad cat mommy would not have even noticed a problem, or - would have gotten rid of the cat!) It's very clear that you love Snapple a lot and that you want him to be okay. I'm crossing my fingers for you that everything will be worked out quickly and easily. Hugs for you and Snapple!
Jordan
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Posted by jvs77
You are not a bad cat mommy! Please don't feel bad! You are having him checked out, which is terrific. (A bad cat mommy would not have even noticed a problem, or - would have gotten rid of the cat!) It's very clear that you love Snapple a lot and that you want him to be okay. I'm crossing my fingers for you that everything will be worked out quickly and easily. Hugs for you and Snapple!
Ditto.
You are so not a bad mommy - you are taking the time to find out what is wrong instead of just giving up. I hope the vet can answer your questions and get to the bottom of this.
AtticaQT
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Definitely take your kittie to the vet - that is the first sign of a urinary tract problem
michele31
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how about eating electrical cords? she ate thru 2 Dell cords and now is trying to eat the baby monitor cord. I yell, put her in the bathroom...nothing works. This cat is killing me.
sophie78
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This is a very SERIOUS problem!! I had the same problem with my cat. I thought he was being rebellious because we had just gotten a dog. But it turned out that he was having urinary problems. This is extrememly common in male cats that are neutered. He ended up having three urinary blockages. Anytime a cat is blocking, it is extremely dangerous. They can die within 24 hours. I wish I would have addressed the problem with a vet before it got to that point. I would have saved the cat a ton of agony and us a ton of money.
Cats are VERY clean animals. They do not pee outside the box out of spite.
Jen_n_Dale
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This happend to my cat. He started on the floor. Turns out he is a diabetic and needs insulin shots twice a day as well as medicine. He was also a fat cat. 22 pounder and now he is down to 12 pounds. Take him to the vet.... Good luck!
djkatscan
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I hope your kitty turns out OK. Thats good that you are taking him to the vet. He does not sound like he's being spiteful. (I think thats silly, and someone had said thier VET told them that? I'd get a new vet!) Hopefully its just minor, and some meds will help kitty get better!
Kel
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As our kitty was trying to get settled into our apartment when we first got him years ago .. he seemed to adjust just fine .. using the litter box no problem .. however .. we found he started going where he wasn't supposed to .. eventually, we figured out that the refrigerator in the adjoining room was leaking water onto the floor, which was settling in the corner under the carpet where he was going .. once we took care of the leaking fridge .. the leaking cat was taken care of too!
Hope all turns out well!!
eroxgirl
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While some of you have definitely scared the crap out of me this morning, I thank you for the information - because that's what I wanted/needed to know. This morning Snapple has once again gone in his new spot but there was no yelling or angry voices (as there have been every other day this week ). Instead I went over to him and pet him and told him I'm taking him to the doctor.
Of course, FH tells me last night (after I run down the list of possibilities you ladies gave me) that he has changed both the litter and his food in the past month - and has been giving him dry food which he knows he's not supposed to but today we're back to moist...
This happend to my cat. He started on the floor. Turns out he is a diabetic and needs insulin shots twice a day as well as medicine. He was also a fat cat. 22 pounder and now he is down to 12 pounds. Take him to the vet.... Good luck!
Jen, he's almost 30 pounds!!!!! And he's actually a SMALL cat (judging by his small head and short legs) I can't even picture him less than 20.
Xelindrya
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hugs to you and your kitty.
My Texan kitty (may the b@stards who stole him burn in hell ) used to go outside the box only when he was sick or mad at me. I know this has been said before.
I found going to the vet always helped. If he was angry at me then he would 'feel' me concerned and worried as I took him to the vet and spent time with him. If he was sick well we found early enough, he did get UTI's. Strange thing was he got them nearly as much as I did during a time in my life when I didnt realize I had bigger health problems. It was werid giving my cat and myself antibotics at the same time!
Going to the vet here is so grueling. Our kitty (Buddy) used to have a vet just two lots over on our block, but they moved. Now it's such a pain to take him in. He hates his carrier.
Jim thought I was nuts, but I NEVER let Buddy go if he urinates outside his box. I take him STRAIGHT in. Heck I freak out if he sleeps too long or is extra lethargic (sp).
It's ok to be worried. Being worried makes you a GOOD cat mommy!
regi
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Okay. how long has Snapple been doing this?Did it start before you and DH began living together? Did you get him after you moved in together?
You mentioned you are taking him for a check up do this so it will rule out any medical problems. If there are no medical problems, it could be that he is lonely during the day and does it for attention. What you need to do is stop moving his litter box around. It won't solve anything.Snapple will keeping peeing. Next time he urinates place his favorite blanket, box, or toy and in the urine and rub it in. Cats are very clean and your cat will not like having his things smelling of urine. GIve it time to work =at least 4 days. good luck.
PS if you feel you want to get him a companion, you can come to my animal shelter-Animals Can't talk in Little Neck. Our number is 718 393-7535.Website is on petfinders.com
eroxgirl
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Posted by regi
Okay. how long has Snapple been doing this?Did it start before you and DH began living together? Did you get him after you moved in together?
You mentioned you are taking him for a check up do this so it will rule out any medical problems. If there are no medical problems, it could be that he is lonely during the day and does it for attention. What you need to do is stop moving his litter box around. It won't solve anything.Snapple will keeping peeing. Next time he urinates place his favorite blanket, box, or toy and in the urine and rub it in. Cats are very clean and your cat will not like having his things smelling of urine. GIve it time to work =at least 4 days. good luck.
PS if you feel you want to get him a companion, you can come to my animal shelter-Animals Can't talk in Little Neck. Our number is 718 393-7535.Website is on petfinders.com
We actually have 2 cats and they grew up together, plus I've lived with Snapple for 4 years already (he was FH's cat to begin with and he had him practically since birth) and we've been in love since day 1 And it only took one attempt with moving the litter box for me to figure out that it was a wasted effort. If the vet tells me he's not sick, I'll take his bed and do what you said (no point in ruining it if its not his fault, right?) but I will definitely keep it in mind. Thanks for the advice!
LIWeddings
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Dont know if anyone mentioned this but make sure his food is no where by the litter pan. they dont like to go to the bathroom near their food. Also my cat has done this. Use more than one pan if you have more than one cat. he might not want to use litter pan after another cat was in there. hang in there. its a tough habit to break. Also my cat did not like the litter. I have scoop away and she has been so much better with it.
