# Weeing near the front door. Please help, it's complicated!



## charlottep88 (Sep 18, 2013)

I'm new to posting to this forum (hi!) but have read it for advice for as long as I've had my cat. and I've need ALOT of advice!

Basically, I'm having trouble with my cat weeing near the front door  She's three years old, neutered and an indoor cat. I know this will have been covered before but her story is little more complicated then just the weeing, I feel I need to say it all!

I think to get the full complexity of the story I need to start from the beginning of when we first got her and her ongoing medical problem. 

We adopted Poppy (my little black and white moggy) when she was a tiny kitten. The house we bought her from was a little downtrodden to put it politely and she seemed VERY young. Her mother was no where to be seen and she was the last of the litter. I know she wasn't brought into the best environment and I could not leave her there. As soon as I picked her up she purred. Then the next morning we discovered she was absolutely flea infested!

For the first few months she was the sweetest little kitten with her own little personality. Until we started to notice she has become a bit 'grumpy' and withdrawn - then her face became scabby.

We took her to our local vets and she had a course of steroid injection and she became her pretty self again, although he wasn't able to tell us what had happened? 

Fast forward another couple of months and it had returned. With complete vengeance. It was HORRIFIC. Her face was weeping and neck was bloody for scratching and licking. There was blood and scabs all over the house and this time the injections did nothing. 

In desperation, I found a pet dermatologist. I knew that was going to be pricey but I didn't care. A few hours later and many pounds lighter, we were no further forward except for skin tests and more medication for the poor thing.

Fast forward again to the present (18 months later) and we still aren't any the wiser. I'm managing the condition with Piriton when it flares up (about twice a year) but we don't know what sets it off. It isn't food (we tried that) it isn't dust or pollen (they tested for that) so if it's not an allergy, I'm wondering if it's behavioural.

This also leads me to the weeing thing. That if she is an anxious moggy with some sort of OCD could the weeing now be part of the that too? Is there anyway to stop it if it's is behavioural?

We have removed the carpet she is weeing on (it was the small bit of fitted matt neat the door) and we've used an enzyme cleaner.

Now at a loss of what to do? Sorry for the long winded question but I think it's better to know all the facts.

Thanks in advance. It's getting exhausting cleaning up her urine! She's lucky she's so bloody cute, I tell ya!

(Sorry for any spelling/grammatical errors, I'm typing inbetween doing some work!)


----------



## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

Hi Charlotte, welcome to Pet Forum

One of my cats has eczema, so I sympathise with you, as it can be quite frustrating trying to manage it, until you get it under control.

Skin conditions like you describe can often start with a flea allergy, and even when the fleas are eradicated the skin problem remains, as an allergic response to environmental factors or to certain foods has been triggered by the flea allergy.

So first of all, treat your cat every month with an anti-flea spot-on. Do this as a *preventative * measure, whether you see any fleas or not, as even one flea bite could trigger the allergy again. Use only effective products such as Advantage or Activyl. Do not use Frontline or Effipro, as they contain fipronil pesticide which is no longer fully effective in the battle against fleas.

Next -- you say "it isn't food" causing the skin problem, as you tried that. Can I ask you for more detail on that? e.g. what did you actually try?

The only certain way to identify a food allergy is to do it methodically by putting your cat on a novel protein diet for 6 weeks. This means giving her a protein she is likely to have never eaten before such as horsemeat, kangaroo, venison. And giving her absolutely nothing else except water. There are companies who supply this food in cans. (e.g. The Happy Kitty Company sells cans of venison by Ropocat). The food is also grain free btw.

If at the end of 6 weeks her skin is much better then you can start introducing single protein foods, one at a time every 2 weeks, and keeping a daily log of symptoms. So you might start by adding chicken, then lamb, then pork, then beef. It should become apparent quite soon after you add it to her diet which protein she is reacting to. If she is Ok with all the meat proteins, then you can conclude it was perhaps grains or additives she was reacting to.

So, it is important to only feed single protein foods (none of which can be bought in the supermarket), and not to give any dry food at all as it is rarely single protein, and is not good for sensitive cats anyway.

My cat is now fine on a diet of Grau grain free, Feringa, Macs Sensitive, RC Sensitive, JWB, and a meal of raw rabbit or lamb once a day. The only protein I found he reacted badly to was beef. And he cannot tolerate grains other than rice sometimes. All the foods can be bought on line from Zooplus or The Happy Kitty Company.

As your cat is frequently in discomfort from her skin I would not be surprised if it caused behavioural problems. Stress-related cystitis is not uncommon, and this might perhaps be the reason she is peeing in places she shouldn't. However the fact she pees in the same spot (by the front door) would much more suggest to me she is scent marking her territory. Interestingly it is far more common for indoor cats to scent mark by the front door than cats who go out, as outdoor cats will scent mark outside their house.

First, you need to scrub the soiled area thoroughly with an enzymatic cleaner such as Urine Off or a solution of Biotex, and then finish off with Surgical Spirit. Clean the inside and the outside of your front door, the threshold and any steps outside *every day* as there may be strange cats scent-marking outside your door, which is causing your cat to respond.

Remember that door mats hold many strange scents that humans have walked in on their shoes, and your cat may be reacting to one. If she is peeing on a door mat, replace it with a machine washable mat such as a Turtle-grip (amazon sells them), and wash it every time she pees on it.

Preferably don't have carpet or rugs (other than a door mat i.e) in the hall, as the smell will be much harder to eradicate from these.

Place a small litter tray on the spot where she has been peeing. Scent marking and straight-forward urinating are 2 different instincts, so your cat may well not use a litter tray you place there. It is intended as a deterrent in fact. I understand it is a bit inconvenient to have a litter tray by the front door, but if it is to deter her it will need to be in situ for a month or so, whilst you continue with the cleaning routine of the outside of the door etc.

Even tho I don't think the weeing is caused by a litter tray problem, it is still a good idea to cover all bases and always provide her with 2 or 3 large litter trays and a nice, soft, clumping cat litter such as Cats Best Oko Plus, which is easy to scoop to keep the trays clean.

Just in case her skin is reacting to a household product, do not use bio laundry powder/liquid. I use only Boots Sensitive Laundry Liquid or Surcare (from Tesco) for all the humans and cats bedding. I use only soap-based products for cleaning floors, and a touch of washing-up liquid and hot water for washing the litter trays. The only place I use bleach is in the toilet.


----------

