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You are here: Home / Open Threads / Cat Help

Cat Help

by John Cole|  October 27, 20038:07 pm| 21 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads

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I need help from cat owners regarding a recent unpleasant change in the behavior of my cat, Oliver. Two weeks ago, he started urinating at various places around the house. It started with a blanket on my bed, then a comforter, then a pillow, then some dirty clothes in a hamper, then a couch, and in the last few days he has nailed my sheets twice and tonight he nailed my bed again. I have not changed his diet, I have not moved anything, I have not changed his kitty litter, I have not moved the litter box, I have not moved the water dish. In fact, there is no reason at all for this behavior that I can tell.

Since it started, other than doing laundry every day, I took Oliver to the vet to see if he had a urinary tract infection. As he had nailed a blanked five minutes before leaving for the vet, they were unable to get a urine sample, so he went on antibiotics anyway. No change in behavior. The last few days, I have been keeping my bedroom door shut, but today when I came home from work, in the time it took me to change clothes and walk into the bathroom to brush my teeth, he came in and hammered the bed again (missing my last pillow, thank goodness).

My biggest fear is that Tunch is going to start doing the same thing because Oliver is doing this. So, what I need are any suggestions you might have.

*** Update ***

Oliver is neutered and approaching 1 1/2 years old.

*** Update #2 ***

He nailed my bed, with me in it, at 4:49 am. I am not amused.

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Reader Interactions

21Comments

  1. 1.

    Dale Franks

    October 27, 2003 at 8:21 pm

    How old is the cat, and has he been neutered? If he’s reaching sexual maturity, he may be marking his territory. Or, of there is a female cat in heat nearby, he might be doing it too.

    Spraying is a problem with male cats.

  2. 2.

    MommaBear

    October 27, 2003 at 8:36 pm

    Apparently there are two methods of neutering males, one of which does not remove his sexual reactions. Perhaps this may be the problem.

  3. 3.

    ac

    October 27, 2003 at 9:21 pm

    Give the antibiotics more time, a couple of weeks. It may take a while to recover. Also he may need a different antiobiotic. UTI is not necessarily the problem, but it hasn’t been ruled out yet.
    Good Luck

  4. 4.

    Oliver

    October 27, 2003 at 10:06 pm

    I’ve got the same name as your f’ing cat?

    Oh, god. :)

  5. 5.

    John Cole

    October 27, 2003 at 10:17 pm

    You know what- as stupid as this may sound, I never even thought about that before. He just looked like Orange Marmalade, which made me think of the Brits, and Oliver just sounds very British to me.

    Besides, Oliver Ross is a Steeler lineman, and my other cat was named after Tunch Ilkin, another Steeler lineman.

    But in short, yeah.

  6. 6.

    Meezer

    October 27, 2003 at 10:31 pm

    I don’t breed cats but I know several breeders and I asked a couple about this. 1)Besides the infection there is the urinary blockage thing; especially a problem in males. In the beginning stages (pre-blockage) the sharp crystals can cause enough irritation to drastically change urinary habits.
    2) Change in romantic life (yours, not the cat’s) like arguing, new people invading his space, etc.
    3) Change in your schedule. Are you gone from home in a different pattern from usual?
    Assuming that the cat has no medical reason for the problem, one thing that has just about a 100% ‘cure’ rate is to give the cats a large(!) litter box – as in, not kidding here – a small kids wading pool. Sounds crazy but this has worked in many “impossible” situations. Of course, space is a major problem. The litter isn’t a big deal, since once it gets it’s first fill, you just scoop daily as usual.
    Finally, get some good deoderizer from a kennel supply house or your vet. If you don’t get rid of the smell, they will keep coming back and others may join the original culprit.
    Good Luck! From Meezer (as in Siameeeze)
    Good luck!

  7. 7.

    platosearwax

    October 28, 2003 at 2:58 am

    My cat was fine until I moved and had to give him to my dad who already had 2 cats. My cat (Hobbes) started peeing down the heat vents (never smelled anything worse than burning cat pee) and wouldn’t poo in the litter box anymore.

    That was probably of no help at all but I enjoyed sharing.

  8. 8.

    Michelle

    October 28, 2003 at 7:25 am

    A UTI probably is the most likely–do a careful check to make sure that there isn’t something causing it that you might have missed–our small cat started to urinate anywhere but the litterbox, and it ended up being a urinary problem–she was drinking the water from the plant saucers–after I fertilized the house plants. (Yetch)

    Secondly, as someone mentioned, he might be showing his displeasure at something you’ve done. Someone who mentioned schedule change or addition of another creature to the house may be on the right track.

    Thirdly, get a good bottle of pet urine remover and wash *everything* with it. *ALSO* to remove the temptation, place food in places where he is urinating. Cats typically don’t like to urinate where they eat. It might be a pain to have an extra bowl of cat food on your bed for the time being, (or many extra bowls strewn throughout the house) but if it works, it’s better cat food than cat urine.

  9. 9.

    sean

    October 28, 2003 at 9:47 am

    *** Update #2 ***

    He nailed my bed, with me in it, at 4:49 am. I am not amused.

    BUT I AM. HEEHEE

  10. 10.

    radtec

    October 28, 2003 at 9:56 am

    The vet can and should run a chem pannel on the cat just like they do for humans. If there isn’t a blockage or infection it could be a kidney thing. Blocking him from all but maybe the bathroom for a few days may help. The enzyme sprays which are good, used for clean up can help to keep the other cat from doing this.
    I feel your frustrations. This happened years ago with a small female I had. I kept blaming the other cat until I caught her peeing on the counter top. Spent hundreds at the vet, found nothing. Tried all the tricks and eventually she had to be taken out of the house. She was always a bit “touched” if you get me drift.
    Good luck!

  11. 11.

    physics geek

    October 28, 2003 at 3:16 pm

    There are several possibilities that can cause a cat to go pee-pee crazy. Most have been mentioned before, but here goes anyway:
    1) UTI: treat with anitbiotics. The unfortunate thing here is that it takes a week or two to clear up.
    2) Crystals blocking the urinary tract: while much more common in male cats, I’ve discovered much to my chagrin that females are not immune. Feeding cats low magnesium cat food is a good preventative. For what it’s worth, all of the IAMS cat dried cat foods are low mag.
    3) Behavioral problems: this one is the worst. Did you bring home another cat or new baby, change your work schedule, or in any way change the schedule that your cat is used to? Cats are very sensitive to change and sometime relatiate by inappropriate urination. You can try to modify the cat’s behavior by spending more time coaxing/soothing the cat. If that fails, there are a myriad of chemicals that vets use to treat behavioral problems, similar to what psychiatrists prescribe for humans. And like people, you sometimes have to try several before finding one that works. Amitryptaline(or however it’s spelled) is one of the most common; I call it kitty Prozac. If the medication helps, the cat can be weaned off of it. There can be some side effects, though, so ask your vet for details. My cat acted like she was having a bad acid trip on it. The next prescription worked, though.
    Good luck.

  12. 12.

    Devon

    October 28, 2003 at 3:55 pm

    Is Oliver a Democrat? ;) That might explain things.

  13. 13.

    Blackavar

    October 28, 2003 at 6:06 pm

    Two other things often cause a cat to freak out and start peeing all over the place – a dirty litter box, and unsettled relations with the other cat in the house leading to territorial marking.

    Sometimes when cats mature, or get a little bit older, their toilet habits change. All of a sudden, a litter box that was cleaned twice weekly, just isn’t good enough any more. Try cleaning it twice as often for a few weeks.

    As for the territorial thing… you mentioned that the cat is nearing 1.5 years of age. He may be getting in some fights with Tunch, in an attempt to assert territorial dominance. One way to do this is to mark everything in the house – that would explain his rush to get into your bedroom and mark the spot where you sleep. “I was here first, this is mine, where master sleeps. Ha ha ha.”

    The other thing that may be happening is that Tunch may be reacting, in part, by stinking up the litter box. I have two cats, and when the younger and weaker cat acts up, the stronger cat goes into the litter box and takes an enormous crap – then refuses to cover it up. The whole downstairs of the house will stink when I come home – and the younger cat will have “struck back” by peeing in the corners of the living room.

    How to settle it? Damned if I know. Keep the doors closed, encourage ’em to fight it out. After a few weeks of particularly severe beatings by the elder cat, the young one stays in line for 6 months or so.

    And you thought humans were contentious…

  14. 14.

    bg

    October 28, 2003 at 6:15 pm

    my father in law is a vet and he says that sometimes cats just do this without explanation. Sometimes the stop. Sometimes they don’t. Good luck.

  15. 15.

    Michelle

    October 29, 2003 at 9:07 am

    Also, try adding extra litterboxes. I’ve heard that you should have one more litterbox than you have cats, although for us the same number of litterboxes as cats works out fine.

  16. 16.

    Rick

    February 20, 2004 at 7:02 pm

    Uh, why deal with all of this mess? If my cat pissed all over my bed, like 50 times like yours did, she’d have been gone already. Its a cat. Your a human being. It is depositing its waste on your sleeping area. Uhh, get rid of the cat maybe?

  17. 17.

    Alicia

    March 19, 2004 at 7:53 pm

    To Michelle:
    It’s sad that you aren’t capable of comprehending the bond between human and animal. Scientific studies have shown us that the cat is remarkable to us in almost every regard, from physiology to emotional reactions. Perhaps if you were a bit more well read, you would have discovered this by now. I pity the animals whom have the misfortune of coming into your life.

  18. 18.

    Caleb

    March 24, 2004 at 12:01 am

    Genuine health problems, and kittens aside – Me, well I’m putting the cat outside permanetly, or getting rid of him, if he can’t stop peeing in the bed. I’m in the same spot as Oliver’s owner, and it’s freaking killing me. I’m not into martyrdom or self-abuse – my contract with the cats is pretty cush and simple – be cute and furry, don’t obliderate anything too bad and I’ll keep the food, love, and litter comin. No where do I remember signing up for a yellow bed, floating in urine, or having the washers running twenty four seven (not to mention what soaks into the mattress and will never come out – yummy).

  19. 19.

    Kelly

    April 13, 2004 at 5:43 pm

    have you found anything to help with the smell in the heat vents??? My cat did the same thing and I am having a heck of a time getting rid of the smell.

  20. 20.

    Eric

    April 16, 2004 at 2:20 am

    Okay, this probably sounds silly, but it’s 3:17 AM and one of our cats just did this. We woke up to find my girlfriend’s back completely wet with piss because our oldest, Bailey, a neutered 7-year-old cat, pissed himself. I did a web search right after stripping the bed and putting the girlfriend in the shower, and here I am. I guess we’re going to take Bailey to the vet very, very soon. Ugh.

  21. 21.

    Noname

    June 17, 2004 at 3:00 am

    Cats piss-get rid of it. Get a dog instead – at least they don’t piss everywhere.

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