OT - Cat peeing...

Johanna Gibson wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

Jo.. i have 2 cats ( brothers )and they use to do that too when they were younger.. They were in their "cat puberty" and stating their claim on the house and by peeing over things that smelled like me or like the dog they were trying to climb up in rank..after a while things settled and ranks were clear and the peeing stopped.. Could this be what's happening in your house??

FiederEls.

Hmm. They are sisters, 17 months old, and I've had them for 2 months. All I know is, however much it irritates me to wash my bags and laundry again, I do not want to irritate my guest! So...

-- Jo in Scotland

My best friend (and roommate at the time) had something similar happen with her cat (girl, that is her name) when our other friend moved out with her cat and we thought that she might be lonely so we went to the pound and got her a friend. After 2 weeks with the new cat we had to take it back because Girl started peeing and pooping on my friends bed!!!! After wee took the cat back she stopped for a while but then mysteriously started again a few months later for no reason at all. She took her to the vet and put her on Kitty Prozac for a few months and she never did it again. You might want to take them to the vet because a urinary tract infection or kidney infection can cause them to do that too.

I wonder if Feliway would have any effect, if this is a stress-induced action? . In message , Johanna Gibson writes

My female adult cats did that when a change happened in our household a number of years ago. (They targeted my computer keyboard). I never did find the solution, other than to find them new homes. The vet said it was a stress thing, and peeing was how they show their displeasure. :(

Jo - remove those collars - the cats don't recognize each other anymore. jennellh

If they're peeing (usually horizontal surface), it may indicate a cat with a bladder infection or bladder stones; if they're spraying, (which is usually onto a vertical surface) it may be a territorial and/or behavioral issue.

First thing, imo, is to get the vet to check on the health issues, and also to clean up any residual odors (try washing the laundry again with borax; ditto the backpack).

If it's behavioral, it could be anything from stress to substrate preferences. I'd suggest reading the old rec.pets.cats problem behavior faq and considering some Feliway.

Remove the collars.

If you have changed food or litter recently, go back to your old brand.

Have the cats checked for urinary infections as a cat will start doing that if it gets one.

Be sure to wash all the peed-on items with an enzyme cleanser to remove all traces of urine, including the bits we humans can't detect but the cats can. If they detect it, the behavior may never end. Debra in VA See my quilts at

Jo, quick... take both cats to the vet. This kind of peeing is very often a symptom of urinary tract infection. It hurts to pee, so they think it's the box. They look for something soft and comforting to pee on and usually find a nice piece of clothing. It hurts again, so they change pee spots again. Please take your kitties to the vet. It may require a dietary change, too. They make food specifically to keep kitties from getting UTI. My sister feeds it to her kitties all the time.

Hope you get relief and so do they.

Sunny

Exactly! I just wanted to add, the only time my cats ever urinated in an inappropriate place, it was a UTI. It's a classic symptom.

Sherry

Debra wrote:

Take the collars off first. If that's the problem, you should know within a day and save the expense of a vet visit -- assuming, of course, that the kitties are not displaying any other unusual behaviour that might suggest one of them is not well. Just to show how *any* change can lead to potty problems, here's a recent happening in my house. We have always sprayed both litter boxes with Lysol spray every day after we scoop the litter boxes. Well, a month or so ago, DH (he cleans the cat boxes) couldn't find any Lysol at the store so -- unbeknownst to me -- he bought the store brand. Next day Reno Black Cat started to poop on the floor every day and pee every few days. This went on for at least a week and I had NO idea why she would start doing this so suddenly. She had just been to the vet so I KNEW she wasn't sick. Anyway, DH goes away on business and I am cleaning the cat box. I look for the Lysol and can't find any -- just some strange store brand air deodorizer. I didn't bother with the strange stuff and when I talked with DH that evening, I asked him if he had been using the other stuff and he said yes, and for about as long as Reno had been misbehaving. I told him to stop at a different store on his way home from the airport that afternoon and to only come home if he had at least one can of Lysol. He came home with the Lysol, sprayed the litter box and there have been NO accidents ever since! Long story short -- most likely, your babies are not used to the collars and are letting you know this. My babies all wear collars but I started them off slowly -- put the collar on for about 30 minutes a day and then gradually increased that time until they were used to them. Anyway -- keep us posted, OK? I REALLY hope it's the collars!! CiaoMeow >^;;^<

PAX, Tia Mary >^;;^< (RCTQ Queen of Kitties) Angels can't show their wings on earth but nothing was ever said about their whiskers! Visit my Photo albums at