# New cat



## Taseri (Jan 11, 2014)

Hi all, I'm new here so firstly I want to say hi 
Secondly, last night I adopted/rescued a cat from someone who wanted to rehome her. I'm glad I have taken her in as she is in very poor health and was obviously neglected at her previous home. I'll give a little bit of background....

Apparently she has had a rough life, she is about 6/7 years old (although the vet today thought she was three due to her good teeth). She is extremely nervous, although is happy enough lying on the bed with me or my partner and is very affectionate. The nervousness comes if there are any sudden movements or noise. This is not surprising as her last home she was surrounded by cats and a very boisterous german shepard. It's taken her all of today to realise she does not need to be scared of the door opening. I've had to take her to the vet (as I've mentioned) where she had 2 jabs for her skin condition due to fleas and when shes a bit more settled she has a lump on her stomach that will need attention.

Ok now to my problem... She won't leave the bed. I know its her safe zone and that I should let her explore at her own free will but the problem is she won't use the litterbox unless I put her on the floor beside it. She has urinated all over the bed and judging by her last home she was allowed to do this anywhere and everywhere. (the smell gave me a full blown headache during the 15mins I was there).

I am an experienced cat owner, however I have not dealt with a cat that is both nervous and affectionate before. My experience in this is any nervous cat I've had took a long time for them to allow any sort of contact, this cat loves it.

So, how do I increase her confidence? Is it worth purchasing feliway? Secondly how can I nip this urinating outside the litterbox in the bud? I am not going to be able to watch her 24/7 and ensure she is put near the box every hour or 2.


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## Jannor (Oct 26, 2013)

Hi, well done on rescuing her 

Others with more knowledge will be along soon - but don't order the Feliway just yet - there is a better alternative that I can never remember the name of!

Is it your bed? or is she in a spare room? Do you have an old shower curtain you could put over the bed until you can get a proper waterproof thingy?

Do you think it could be a UTI after all the stress she's suffered? or did the vet check for that?


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## moggiemum (Mar 28, 2013)

hi and welcome , sounds like your girl has had a very bad start in life and they are just the bits you know , firstly you might want to rule out medical reasons as uninary tract infections (can be very dangerous if not treated )can cause cats to wee on soft things like the bed , clothes ect , 

also i would encourage her to not be on the bed so much as it might be terrortial,is there a cat tree she could use instead,
maybe use soft paper pellets in tray and see if this helps,some cats dont like the feel of certain litters on their feet.
best wishes for her she sounds like a really lovely girl

edit- hi jannor , are you thinking of zyclene??


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

Hi, very pleased to hear you have taken in this little cat, who sounds sorely in need of some proper TLC. 

I wonder why she got into the habit of weeing everywhere in her last home, as it is not normal behaviour unless the cat is unwell (with a UTI) or she is shut indoors with no litter trays, the litter trays are filthy, or she is too afraid to get to the tray.

The thing is, if she has been used to weeing anywhere and everywhere for some time, it might take her a while to unlearn this habit. Not wanting to sound discouraging you understand, just realistic. In fact I am sure in a cat of her age (still young) she can be re-trained to use the tray.

I agree with Moggiemum I would try and get her not to use the bed as her safe area. Is there perhaps a room where she can spend her time when you are not with her, that has no bed or soft furnishings in it, e.g. perhaps a dining room?

Now, she apparently feels safest when she is off the floor, perhaps due to the dog at the previous home. So would it be possible for you to accommodate this need I wonder? If it were me I would buy one of those cheap white folding trestle tables from Costco (around £30), put it in a quiet room, place her bed at one end and her litter tray at the other, with her water bowl in the middle. That way she would not have to jump down to the floor to use the tray. I am not saying you will need to provide this table for her forever, just until she has settled in and gained confidence in her new home, and feels safe on the floor.

I would also give her a course of Zylkene, which is a supplement that is calming to cats who are anxious, especially in new environments. Give 75 mg daily for a month to see benefit. Open capsule and add powder to food. Cats find it palatable.

Zylkene Capsules - Priced Per Tablet - 75mg - Animed Direct

As she has bladder issues I would not feed her any dry food as it will only make matters worse. She may not have an actual UTI (I assume you already ruled this out with the vet visit) but she could have stress related cystitis (no test for that) which might make her avoid the tray and choose a soft surface like the bed to pee on. So she needs a dilute urine so she pees more often and her bladder is flushed out. A dilute urine is best achieved with a wet food diet, to which you add a little water every meal.

Let us know how things go ?


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## emma20 (Feb 7, 2012)

Might sound silly but what's the cat litter tray like?
She might be more likely to use it if it's enclosed as it might make her feel safe
Cat It Hooded Cat Litter Pan by


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## Jannor (Oct 26, 2013)

moggiemum said:


> edit- hi jannor , are you thinking of zyclene??


yes, I was! thanks.


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## Taseri (Jan 11, 2014)

Thank you everyone for your input. It is much appreciated. I've been using wood pellets in the litter box and she likes being on my bed. I think it might be because of the fleecy throw on it as she is constantly kneeding it.

At the vets I mentioned her doing her pees in the litter box, but they weren't all that substantial considering the water she was drinking. They did mention stress related cystitis so this could be what the problem is. She has been good overnight using the tray although I cannot be 100% certain yet as I haven't got down and felt the carpet yet.

She definitely feels more safe up high. She was sleeping on top of the desk last night. I have two chest of drawers she could easily get on top of so will clear one and put her bed up on top of it.

She must have explored a bit last night while I was asleep as she seems a lot more confident this morning. She keeps batting me for more food but I need to be strict with her little and often food regime for the minute as the vet said she is very underweight and that I should keep doing this until she is a bit better.

She is definitely a happier cat, a massive improvement over the past 36 hours since we got her...she seems more settled and her fur has got a lovely sheen to it now as she is happily grooming herself again. It's strange how quickly a change of environment can help!


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## Jannor (Oct 26, 2013)

Great that she's doing better 

Wood pellets - aren't the softest litter for cats to stand on. My dad's cat will go on the bathroom floor if we dare to put them in his lit tray! He's fine with Catsan or similar though. Maybe try that next time just to check it isn't the litter. There are much better litters to be found on Zooplus so if you want to explore that, read the reviews on there or ask on here. I like Golden Grey, a lot use Oko. 


Cystitis - you need to get liquid into her, so strictly no dry food. Add a little water to her canned/pouch food, make her a chicken broth, or buy some frozen whitefish (any sort, I just buy a £1.99 bag from Aldi) and microwave a piece it for a couple of mins - lots of liquid in that.

A plus side to Catsan litter is that its white so you'll notice if her pee is ever pink (a sign that she needs antibiotics for Cystitis).

Good luck.


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## Lilylass (Sep 13, 2012)

Glad things are seeming better this morning & she's happier 

Excellent suggestions already from the others & would also vote for a change in litter - I used to use wood pellets and neither of mine buried "solids" but since I've changed to very fine clumping clay -everything is now buried & there are no smells! 

You need to keep it deep so the wee goes into little balls which are easy to scoop out and with that and removing solids, you don't need to do full changes very often


Also another vote for the zyklene - Mia is on this long term and it's made a huge difference.

They both also have RC Calm which is fantastic BUT if she's having wee issues I'd stick to the Zyklene just now and see how that goes

Best of luck & please let us know how she settles in


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## Guest (Jan 12, 2014)

Golden grey has got my vote oko is highly rated on here but I've never brought it because if you want to get a good deal you have to buy a 20 or 40 kg bag and I would probably end up slipping a disc every time I needed to change the tray


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## Taseri (Jan 11, 2014)

Going to change her litter for definite. She is drinking ok and eating wet food and seems to be ok now with her going to the toilet....

She has had another "accident" she both pooed and pee'd on the bed again and knew she did wrong as when we entered the room she tried to run and hide. Unfortunately we will have to make her comfortable in the bathroom when we aren't present. Thankfully we work on the same road as we live so can pop in multiple times throughout the day to ensure she is ok.

I think she is still too scared to move from the bed onto the floor by herself so will work on that and give her cuddles and treats on the floor to let her know only good things will happen. She is happy enough going on the floor when I feed her but she jumps straight back up onto the bed when she is done eating.


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

Taseri, I do still think if you could find a way of positioning her litter tray above floor level, so she did not have to go down to the floor, then she might use it. 

In fact I think it is highly probable that if litter trays were provided in her previous home they were located above floor level, simply as a way of keeping them away from the dog. As you may know, dogs quite often treat the contents of litter trays as a snack bar, if they are allowed access to them:arf:

So your cat may be used to having her litter tray above floor level, and finds it hard to adapt to going down to the floor to use it. As said earlier, placing the tray above floor level would be a temporary state of affairs. But what it would do is give you a starting point to begin working with your cat. Your cat would see that you have made a compromise and would respond to that. It may sound strange, but there is a fair chance it will work. 


An alternative would be crate-training her each night (using a dog crate), but I doubt this would as effective as what I am suggesting. I have the feeling she would use the tray without problems if she felt safe shut in a crate, and this would not translate into her every day behaviour when she is back on the bed.


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## moggiemum (Mar 28, 2013)

Taseri said:


> Going to change her litter for definite. She is drinking ok and eating wet food and seems to be ok now with her going to the toilet....
> 
> She has had another "accident" she both pooed and pee'd on the bed again and knew she did wrong as when we entered the room she tried to run and hide. Unfortunately we will have to make her comfortable in the bathroom when we aren't present. Thankfully we work on the same road as we live so can pop in multiple times throughout the day to ensure she is ok.
> 
> I think she is still too scared to move from the bed onto the floor by herself so will work on that and give her cuddles and treats on the floor to let her know only good things will happen. She is happy enough going on the floor when I feed her but she jumps straight back up onto the bed when she is done eating.


hi Taseri i think chillminx idea of raising litter tray to the height of bed is brilliant idea , also if she s doing it to mark her territory -the bed- then it would greatly help if you coulg get her a reasonably high cat tree , with a very comfy bed on it , i'd be surprised if she did her buisness up there
best wishes and hope you have a dry bed soon


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## ForeverHome (Jan 14, 2014)

Wow I would really not be worried if the cat is jumpy on her first night, I would consider that totally normal. 
My 2nd rescue girl is 6 years old, had a great life with the people I got her from, but had a traumatic time before she was 9 months old. It took her a week to come out from under the bed, during which time I didn't even know what colour she was. My other very calm placid gentle cat brought her out while I was away for a day. 
It's been 7 months now and only at Christmas did she come to me for the first time for affection. I can sometimes give her affection and she loves it but only sometimes and she lets me know when is enough. 
I know this is going to be controversial but I would put the litter next to the bed if she will use it there. It can be moved gradually later when she is settled. I know diffusers have their uses but I would try everything to make her feel at home first and only ever use a diffuser for a very short time of real distress. It's a new environment and it will take time.
Love the idea of raising the litter tray. In the same idea would it be possible to cover the bed with plastic sheeting and old blankets? I just feel that moving her away from her safe place every time you go out will set her back a long way and damage the trust you are trying to build with her.
Call me soft but I will do anything for a new cat in my home to work with their fears and oddities rather than force absolutely anything. You can build such a strong relationship if you really limit discipline and disagreement to the absolute essentials. Unlike dogs, you do need to meet a cat half way!


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

ForeverHome said:


> > I will do anything for a new cat in my home to work with their fears and oddities rather than force absolutely anything. You can build such a strong relationship if you really limit discipline and disagreement to the absolute essentials. Unlike dogs, you do need to meet a cat half way!
> 
> 
> Very wise words ForeverHome:thumbup1: So very true!


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## Taseri (Jan 11, 2014)

Giving everyone an update 

Amy has settled in marvelously, apart from 1 other mishap she has taken to using her litterbox perfectly, is running around like she owns the place and has fallen in love with my partner and likes to sit in his way while he is on the PC. I mean why isn't he spending all his free time petting her?? 

She is a little scavenger, as I expected, so we have to be careful with food. I'm breaking up her food to small amounts over 4 times a day, she is getting 2 pouches and a little bit of dry food now that her toilet issues are solved. She is acting like she is constantly hungry but I'm guessing that's her trying to eat as much as she can due to not being fed properly in her old house.

Her fur is looking fantastic, she is a beautiful sleek glossy black now. Her flea related dermatitis is slowly clearing up thanks to the vets jabs and her regularly grooming herself now.

Thank you all for your amazing advice, Amy and I appreciate it!


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## moggiemum (Mar 28, 2013)

aww shes beautiful , maybe give her some raw as well as this is really satisfying cos they have to tear and chew it , it is good for building condition and makes their coat really glossy too


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