# Last Chance For Cat With Problems



## Superfly108 (Oct 28, 2008)

Im posting for my girlfriend, we have 14/15 year old persian/tabby cross female. shes been my girlfriends cat for years now but previously lived with another owned some time ago. This cat is very attached to my girlfriend and in March 2007 we moved out and didnt take the cat with us, it stayed at her mums with another cat, it became very stressed after months away from her and started hiding under beds all day, not eatting and scratching its neck to pieces, eventually we took the cat to our place and she seemed to destress, she started going out side again and we thought all was well, then she started to wee on the floor in our hallway. Now to be honest im not a cat lover im primarily a dog person and from my experence of teaching animals right from wrong with regards to urine, you rub their nose in it and give them a small slap on the backside and tell them "No", she slowly has started to act up more and more to the point shes weeing by the door once every 2 weeks or so, every time with the same treatment after, shes now gone back to hiding under beds not eatting and scratching her neck open. im at ends wits as i cant stand the smell of cat urine it makes me feel physically sick, but i try to put up with it, and the cat because i no how much the cat means to my girlfriend, can anyone point me at a way to stop her doing it, we've tried deterents such as lemon juice, we've put down a plastic runner to stop it going into the carpet but occationally she will still managed to get some on there. 
thanks in advance for any advice


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## big blue betty (Sep 3, 2008)

It might be worth taking her to the vets for a quick check up. As shes an old girl now there may be an underlying problem that is causing her to urinate. 

xxx


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## MelanieW34 (Sep 28, 2008)

Superfly108 said:


> then she started to wee on the floor in our hallway. Now to be honest im not a cat lover im primarily a dog person and from my experence of teaching animals right from wrong with regards to urine, you rub their nose in it and give them a small slap on the backside and tell them "No",


I dont have any experience of cats, but I wouldnt think that method would work with any animal TBH. No wonder she is now hiding away.


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## Superfly108 (Oct 28, 2008)

big blue betty said:


> It might be worth taking her to the vets for a quick check up. As shes an old girl now there may be an underlying problem that is causing her to urinate.
> 
> xxx


we did take her to the vets a while ago to see if she has any urinal infections or simular and said she was fine and the weeing was purely behavoural and they advised using the lemon juice or anything strong smelling.

i thought id add, she has a litter tray and does still use its just occasionally she will go in the hallway, she knows im not happy when shes done it because half time before i even realise shes done it, i pick her up and she goes mad trying to scratch me because she knows thats where im taking her. problem is she only has a limtied number of chanced left before i make her go back to my girlfriends mums which will make her depressed again but i cant stand not only the smell but the embarasment when people come round and notice before i've cleaned it up, shes been living with us about a year now so it has nothing to do with change of surroundings



> I dont have any experience of cats, but I wouldnt think that method would work with any animal TBH. No wonder she is now hiding away.


i've always gone but you have to differ between if its behaveral or a health problem, you cannot punish an animal for a health problem but if its doing it purely for attension then it needs to learn that every time it wee's in a place it shouldnt it will have to sit their and clean it off its face, 
she has pooped down that end a few times but thats worn off now, she hasnt done that for a few months. this has been causing relationship issues and thats why it cant go on


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## Guest (Oct 28, 2008)

First - hate to be the one to disagree with you - BUT - you don't rub an animals nose in urine - old wives tale!!! they do not know why the hell you are doing it and it won't make the problem go away.

It could be something simple like a urine infection - seek the advise of a vet.

regards
sue


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## Guest (Oct 28, 2008)

Seems like I treplied to your post as you were posting - maybe you could take her back to the vets - water problems can be treated - and personally I do not class 14 in a cat at old - well not old enogh for their waterworkks to have gone up the spout anyway! Do you feed her dry?? does she drink enough fluid!.
regards
sue


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## Superfly108 (Oct 28, 2008)

DoubleTrouble said:


> First - hate to be the one to disagree with you - BUT - you don't rub an animals nose in urine - old wives tale!!! they do not know why the hell you are doing it and it won't make the problem go away.
> 
> It could be something simple like a urine infection - seek the advise of a vet.
> 
> ...


as said , we had her chekced about as we thought being shes had cystitis a lot before, it was this returning but they said she was fine, they gave her some injection that theysaid should calm her down but it didnt really work, ill stop rubbing her nose in it but i dont quite no how to punish her for it

she drinks as often as she needs to, and has wet and dry foot, to be honest she rarely comes out for food anymore, id understand her hiding if she felt threatened by me but im nice as pie to her every other time other than that 15 minutes after shes done it. if you dont get her out from under the bed she'd quite happily stay there all day and come out for some food/Toliet/Water in the evening and go back under there


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## Guest (Oct 28, 2008)

sorry she should not be punished - she is doing this because of some underlying reason - the hiding underbeds is not normal - I am wonderiing it she has been very scared in some way, maybe hurt or involved in a accident.

Has there been any tests done by the vet to confirm it is was they say it is.
could it by crystals? 

sorry i am not really a cat person although i do have some - hope a cat person with knowledge comes along soon.
love
sue


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## MelanieW34 (Sep 28, 2008)

Just a thought...as she is peeing by the door.... has she got a catflap to enable her to get in and out as she needs to?


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## Spudmols (Sep 17, 2008)

Cats do not respond to punishment the sames as dogs do they do not understand.
Do not ever rub her nose in the wee again i have to say it is a horrible thing to do.
It probably is the reason that she is hiding under the beds again, cats are very good at sensing the fact people are not too keen on them she may feel pushed out.
If she can still smell her urine on that patch it could be a reason why she still does there.
Also i would take her back to the vets just to double check that there are not problems.
Also if she is an outside cat aswell she may have been trying to hold it in and then just done it by the door if she wanted to go out.


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## Superfly108 (Oct 28, 2008)

DoubleTrouble said:


> sorry she should not be punished - she is doing this because of some underlying reason - the hiding underbeds is not normal - I am wonderiing it she has been very scared in some way, maybe hurt or involved in a accident.
> 
> Has there been any tests done by the vet to confirm it is was they say it is.
> could it by crystals?
> ...


i spose im just going by how we trainned my dog. although she rarely played up she'd get a slap on the bum if she misbehaved, and she rarely steps out of line and is a very very loving animal.

the doctor did to some test to check but he said if there was a health problem it would more than likey be all around the house or u'd notice spots of blood around the house, rather than one area, there is an issue there with the hiding as she used to do it before at my girlfriends mum and she would stay under the bed unstairs all day until someone went up got her out and made her eat, watching her until she'd finished, shes not really an outdoor cat and if she goes outside its just around our garden, she rarely leaves out garden and if she does there no roads. i did orginally think maybe something had spooked her but this has been going on for abot a month now (the hiding) and weeing started when she first come her and has not improved


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## Superfly108 (Oct 28, 2008)

MelanieW34 said:


> Just a thought...as she is peeing by the door.... has she got a catflap to enable her to get in and out as she needs to?


we have glass doors so we cant have a catflap but shes let outside if ever she needs to cat tray is changed every other day or whenever its been dirted. 
shes always had a cat tray from the day she was born as shes always been an indoor cat and none of the previous owned (still friends of family) have said there was never a problem like this before)

just thinking should i just not do anything when she wee's in future, i fail to see how the cat would differ between whats right and whats wrong


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## Spudmols (Sep 17, 2008)

it could be the distruption then of moving around and not being with your girlfriend. 
If my cat does her business outside of the litter tray i just take her and place her in the tray.
Cats respond from things after being shown a million times, well mine do.
If they jump on a surface they shouldnt i make a sharp noise and take them down and just do it everytime they jump up


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## Guest (Oct 28, 2008)

Superfly108 said:


> we have glass doors so we cant have a catflap but shes let outside if ever she needs to cat tray is changed every other day or whenever its been dirted.
> shes always had a cat tray from the day she was born as shes always been an indoor cat and none of the previous owned (still friends of family) have said there was never a problem like this before)
> 
> just thinking should i just not do anything when she wee's in future, i fail to see how the cat would differ between whats right and whats wrong


The root of the problem needs identlfying then it should be easy to solve. Seriously - she has not a clue what she is being punished for and this wuill just make her more nervous and timid. Onre thing - do you put eath or cat litter in her tray - does she have access to it at all time?
regards
sue


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## Superfly108 (Oct 28, 2008)

wizzadora said:


> it could be the distruption then of moving around and not being with your girlfriend.
> If my cat does her business outside of the litter tray i just take her and place her in the tray.
> Cats respond from things after being shown a million times, well mine do.
> If they jump on a surface they shouldnt i make a sharp noise and take them down and just do it everytime they jump up


see tam is quote arrogant and we had the rule she wasnt allowed on the sofas, when she jumps onto the arm of the chair i usally shout off but she just stairs at me, she has to be moved off, dont worry she isnt deaf as she comes in from the garden when called.

be honest she seemed more at home shortly after coming her than now shes been her for a year

also to do with the placing them in the littery tray, we have only once in a year caught her doing it its always when we're not looking, when my girlfriend caught her the one time, she just walked down the hallway turnt round and did it and ran off


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## Spudmols (Sep 17, 2008)

i would say even if you dont see her doing it still put her in the litter tray.
Also you could try feliway diffusers to calm her down.
We had a cat once that got to your cats age and she suffered from a weak bladder and used to do it anywhere.
Hvae you changed anything since she started, ie moved litter tray, changed the type of cat litter, Food and water bowls near the litter.
like double trouble said you need to try and source the issue. It could be a number of things


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## Superfly108 (Oct 28, 2008)

DoubleTrouble said:


> The root of the problem needs identlfying then it should be easy to solve. Seriously - she has not a clue what she is being punished for and this wuill just make her more nervous and timid. Onre thing - do you put eath or cat litter in her tray - does she have access to it at all time?
> regards
> sue


we use the eco safe wooden chip cat litter stuff, its what shes used for years



wizzadora said:


> i would say even if you dont see her doing it still put her in the litter tray.
> Also you could try feliway diffusers to calm her down.
> We had a cat once that got to your cats age and she suffered from a weak bladder and used to do it anywhere.
> Hvae you changed anything since she started, ie moved litter tray, changed the type of cat litter, Food and water bowls near the litter.
> like double trouble said you need to try and source the issue. It could be a number of things


we knew moving an older cat would be stressfull enough so we used the same water bowl same food, same litter ect. the littertrays in the bathroom and the food bown in the kitchen


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## Spudmols (Sep 17, 2008)

does she also use her litter tray? How much does she do when she doors it near the door.
Maybe if she can see out of your glass door she is marking her territory by spraying near the door. Just a thought


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## ChinaBlue (Feb 3, 2008)

Wizzadora is giving you sound advice. Cats are very different to dogs and rubbing their face in the urine will have just reinforced the belief for her that that is where she should go. It is so totally the wrong course of action to take and by doing this I suspect you have exacerbated the situation further (though you obviously didn't realise this). 

You should clean the affected area with diluted biological detergent, allow to dry and spray with a little white spirit to help eradicate the smell.

Have you tried a hooded litter tray - perhaps the tray is in the wrong spot and gives her little privacy? Have you had any local tom cats hanging around and weeing around the door outside - she maybe trying to overmark.

The feliway diffusers may help alleviate the stress she is obviously feeling. 

Cats are extremely sensitive and will pick up on your anger towards her hence her hiding.

I hope you manage to find a solution but please be patient with her - she isn't doing it to wind you up - she is doing it because something is upsetting her.


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## Superfly108 (Oct 28, 2008)

ChinaBlue said:


> Wizzadora is giving you sound advice. Cats are very different to dogs and rubbing their face in the urine will have just reinforced the belief for her that that is where she should go. It is so totally the wrong course of action to take and by doing this I suspect you have exacerbated the situation further (though you obviously didn't realise this).
> 
> You should clean the affected area with diluted biological detergent, allow to dry and spray with a little white spirit to help eradicate the smell.
> 
> ...


i wont wipe her face in it anymore, the door she does it by is the front door which only has a small glass window at the top the cat would not see out, there isnt any cats near by either, only one is one next door which is also an indoor cat and doesnt go out.

we'll try and move her litter tray into the hallway and see if she chooses to go there instead of where it is now, she does use the litter tray just not always, when she goes its full on whole bladder full (amazing what a cat can hold)


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## kozykatz (May 18, 2008)

Hi
Youi've been given excellent advice so far, from waht you say it does seem as if your cat is nervous about using the tray perhaps because she feels insecure. Trying a covered tray might be an idea, or if you could perhaps even have 2 trays in different locations that might help too (may not have to be a permanent thing)

Thsi website gives lots of very useful info on feline toileting problems, it'd be worth a read I think:

Re-Directed Aggression Towards Other Cats

I do hope you get this sorted as there's nothing worse than constantly having to clean up


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## big blue betty (Sep 3, 2008)

Maybe try dotting a few trays around the house. At least then she doesnt have to go far to get to one!

xxxxxxx


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## Superfly108 (Oct 28, 2008)

we've put her tray in the hallway and put down some cat "get off" spray, so we'll see if that makes a difference ll keep everyone posted


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## Spudmols (Sep 17, 2008)

if that works and she still keeps hiding and i know it can be upsetting when your pet does not want to some near you try the feliway diffuser to see if that helps to relax her.
Hope what you have done works for you


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## Leah100 (Aug 17, 2008)

A lot of cats with a history of urinary infections can be funny about using trays, they associate the pain with the place they are, and it puts them off using them. 
If she is nervous it could also be something about where the tray is, try moving it to the place she is weeing, put it on top of the patch she is going on. If she starts going in it instead you can gradually move it back away from the door.

You need to saturate the place she's been with a proper biological washing powder solution and a pet odour remover , so that the carpet backing is soaked too, so that you can get rid of the scent [do make sure that you test for colour fastness or you could have a faded patch]

Whatever you do, do NOT punish her, by making her more stressed and insecure, she will do it MORE, not less. A stressed cat will start weeing all over the place, and make your problem worse.

Bear in mind she is getting on a bit, you might have accidents too one day when you're older. Does she have any stiffness in her legs that could make using the tray awkward or painful?

Remember, that through no fault of her own, she has been put through seperation anxiety and upheaval, and she is a cat not a person or a dog, she is behaving as a cat, it is not aimed at you or your girlfriend personally.

Feliway plug in or spray can help relax a cat, as can a little drop of bach flowers rescue remedy.

Treat her quietly and gently to help build her confidence back up. 
If you keep in a stock of the proper odour remover, it will help you not to be stressed either as it will make it quicker and easier to clean if there are any accidents.


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