I have CAT DRAMA.
We have 2 black cats.....and I think both decided our brand new carpet was perfect for their pee and poo.
Meet Cecil....our beloved 14 year old cat who has been with us since our first year of marraiage. He has seen it all and has been the most wonderful cat. He has also become more and more nuerotic with age, but who doesn't, really? These days he talks (meow, meow, meow) incessantly to us when he wants to be fed or wants water from the sink. I know, the sink. That is gross, but for some reason I indulge him. Want to keep him well hydrated to live as long as possible. Maybe I am the crazy one. But I think Cecil may be losing it. He has never had any major issues other than a his back teeth last year, which is totally resolved after removal.
He has been such an easy pet, so loving and soooo easy.
But recently he has decided that the basement is a great place to pee.....and not in his cat box which was a mere 15 feet away. Oh no. He has been using the carpet. And not just any carpet.....my NEW carpet!!! That's right BRAND.NEW.CARPET.
I have recently banned Cecil to the back section of the house where our bedroom and office are. His food, his box are all there now, which I also don't particularily like in my space. But I am TRYING to keep him there...all of his needs are met there: he can get water from the bathroom sink, he can snuggle with us at night and he can bask in the sun from the sky lights. But now there is an issue of keeping him in there....he is a keen escape artist like any cat, but seems to be accepting his new place in life.It is making me crazy that it is NEW carpet installed recently after we paid money to transport my in-laws pool table (VERY HEAVY) to our home. New carpet that we installed so we wouldn't have to replace it again after the pool table was installed! NEW CARPET! @#%@!
Now I feel like the neurotic one.....constantly sniffing, SMELLING FOR IT.
Sometimes on my hands and knees sniffing to find any spots. nice visual.
Purchasng multiple urine out products and using the wet vaccuum on it!
It seems useless.
I am beside myself and it is driving me crazy.
To make it more complicated we have another black cat, Felix. I have also banned him from the house beause I believe he is involved and may be the one who started it. He is to be a "garage cat" because I am also certain he is apart of this drama. We are trying to just keep him in the garage, but he is highly motivated to sneak in. Ugh. He is also a wonderful cat and loves the kids... our neighbor found Felix ans his sister in the median of the highway near our house. He was tiny and since he has been with the kids since such a young age loves them, follows them around the yard and even lays by the pool to be near them.
I can hardly think of the alternative to stop this...I can't even say it out loud here, but it is on my mind and I hate it and cried about it and hate it.
thoughts? cat loving people out there? honestly, what would you do? They are both perfectly healthy cats. Do we keep them sanctioned out of the house? Get some kind of carpet or door zapper? I don't think this behavior is going to stop. ugh.
5 comments:
I love cats. My tom, Alaska McGillicutty, is 14 years old too. He's getting weirder and weirder.
Anyway- can you maybe turn your cats into outside cats? They can still come inside (maybe a cat door?) but will be able to go potty outside?
I dunno. What an awful predicament.
The thing about cats is that I think this happens to all of them. Or at least it's happened to every cat my family has owned. At some point they turn against the litter box.
I'm so sorry. I don't know what to say. What does the vet say? Could they have diabetes or some old age disease that is causing this? Now that they've peed on the carpet I suppose it will draw them back to it over and over. UGH.
:(
Good news and bad news, bad news this pretty much happens to every old cat I know. Even some younger cats have this issue too (mine did/do). Good news sometimes there are things you can do. First, if you haven't already take them to the vet to make sure no one has a bladder/kidney infection or any crystals or stones. If that all checks out clear here are a few things to try (BTW I worked as a vet tech for 10+ years)
Make sure you have one more litter box than you have cats.
sometimes they need a different form of litter, clay, newspaper pellets, corn husks. Sometimes just switching up the kind of litter can help.
Make sure that where ever they have already peed is very clean, they can smell left over urine even when you can't and they will continue to use that spot since it smells like pee. Use some kind of enzyme cleaner and SOAK the spot so you get down through the pad to the concrete.
They make pheramone plugins (sorta like a glade airfreshener) that you can put in the room that is suppose to calm/ help with cat brain chemistry that has been shown to help them not use the bathroom everywhere.
they also make meds that you can give to your cat that sometimes helps with improper elimination (it helped my cats alot).
ALot of it is trial and error to see what works with your cats. Improper elemination is the #1 reason people give up/put down cats so there are a lot of things you can try but it can be very frustrating to work through. Good luck!
When our first cat got old(16 or 17)she would stand up in the litterbox and pee over the top ( mother of sons here so I thought she was just copying one of the boys as cats become so human to us. I put up with it for a very long time as it was near the toilet and on a linoleum floor- finally we had to put her down- very sad, but quite a relief. She was a wonderful and loving cat, but no diapers for cats were available. Our last cat of 12 years( much too young to be wearing out) had a hairball every day, then it started to be just throwing up everyday. we had her checked and they gave her a shot to keep her from vomiting for a month. Then it started again- not a great life even for a cat-I think how raw her throat must have been. So we had to put her away too. I cried my eyes out, but it has been such a relief not to wonder where the next mess is that you will have to clean up. I truly do not know how you keep up with 4 children, a husband, and a dog. Cats are supposed to take care of themselves and be more independent. It is an awful predicatment with only one solution. It seems so hard, but when you are mad enough at them for ruining your beautiful new carpet and home- make the decision.
I had a beautiful Calico cat for years. She came into my life when she was 2 months old and was always and indoor only cat. She was always by my side and lived til she was 21 yrs old, still had good eye sight, hearing, and walked fine. She died of old age. She ALWAYS used the litter box and never went elsewhere. I have two cats right now and both always use the litter. I find there are dirty cats and clean cats, and like humans have their own personality. They are affected by stress just like anyone else. Not all cats or any animal goes dirty. It just depends on the cats lifestyle, stress levels, and their personality. Some will do things out of jealousy just like humans have. They all are different in their own ways, just like people. Mine love to be close to me, and come when called etc. alot like a dog that way. Some cats are distant, others need to be close. Personality is important when dealing with them. All are unique and special in their own ways.
Post a Comment