Posted on 08/10/2008 9:17:48 PM PDT by Huntress
Dear FReeper Cat Fanciers:
I've had a one human, two cat household for the past six years. I moved into my current home about nine months ago. Since then, both cats, Norman and Betty (see my homepage for pics), have lived in relative harmony and shared one large litter box. Recently, however, I've started to hear yowling at night from the litterbox room, and one of the cats has taken to urinating on the carpet in the corner of the dining room. I've cleaned up numerous messes, and have been trying to figure out what the problem is.
My first theory was that one of them has a urinary tract infection, and is going outside the box because it associates the litterbox with pain. In order to figure out which cat has an aversion to the litterbox, I picked up each one and attempted to place it in the box. Betty resisted vigorously, and I was unable even to force her inside. Then I tried the same thing with Norman. He seemed displeased, but didn't resist too much. I got him halfway in, when Betty went absolutely berzerk and attacked him. I've never seen her behave this way, and she stayed mad for a long time, growling at me whenever I approached.
After this encounter, I came up with my second theory: they are having a litterbox territorial dispute. So I got a second litterbox. I wanted this one to be Norman's, so I picked him up and set him down inside it. He jumped out and ran off as Betty went berzerk again. Norman sought refuge in the garage, where he and Betty are in the midst of a standoff.
Betty is the dominant cat of the two, and she is definitely the agressor in this situation. I am now at a loss. I can't figure out why this problem is happening now, after six years, why Betty is behaving this way, and what to do about it.
Any ideas, theories, or possible solutions?
Thanks.
Huntress
Given their age and the fact that they're both fixed, a urinary tract infection is the obvious culprit. In the case of the male cat it could also be stones in the urine (which can cause a partial or complete blockage). I would definitely take them both to the vet for a checkup. The vet also probably has some kitty psychology expertise. (I wouldn't think it was senility because the cats just aren't that old.)
Assuming they both check out healthy, the move is the next most likely problem. Cats are "place" animals, not "people" animals (like dogs) and they get very upset when they lose their "home place". We moved with 3 cats in 1994, and it took them months to settle down. There was a lot of hissing and fluffing up and general sulking, but no actual physical attacks. We had multiple litterboxes but had them all in the same room, separated by cardboard screens (and a cover on one box).
The strategies that have been suggested (separate boxes, separating the cats and re-introducing them, kitty calming pheromones, and kitty valium) all sound good. There are animal behavior specialists who can advise you, your vet can probably recommend a good one (or the vet if in a small practice may take a hand him- or herself).
But if I had to bet, I would say a UTI is the most likely problem here.
I won’t admit to how many cats I have but one thing that helps with litter boxes is a product called, zero oder.
I’m so glad, and I hope it works. We can’t have cats (hubby is allergic) but I hate that behavior problems create such issues for people and their pets. I hope this resolves yours. The vet I worked for was a cat person and we had so many calls for cat behavior issues. I wonder why there’s not a Cat Whisperer out there!
susie
ROFLMAO!
When I worked at the vet’s office, I used to hold all sorts of dogs when she did procedures without concern. She NEVER even let us hold cats, they have weapons on every end and they will use them! I do remember one cat who cat really riled up when the vet was doing something (I don’t recall what, but not something any worse than a vaccination or drawing blood) and the cat managed to get out of her hands and raced up her body to the top of her head, where she sat and urinated on the vet’s head! It was funnier because it wasn’t my head.... ;)
susie
That’s a big no no. Put the food or litter box else ware.
After having a vet confirm that Betty is not physically ill (in my experience, pain, such as from a tooth abcess or stones/crystals in the urinary tract, can cause uncharacteristic bouts of aggressiveness in cats), I’d suggest:
1) If at all possible, litter boxes in 2 different rooms; and absolutely NO COVERS on the litter boxes — covers allow a cat outside the box to corner another cat inside it, making a cat who has once been cornered like this be disinclined to use a covered box in the future (and it may even take a little while after removing the cover for the cat to feel comfortable using the uncovered box, especially if it’s in the same location);
2) Amitriptyline, an anti-depressant with anti-anxiety and mild sedation effects http://marvistavet.com/html/body_amitriptyline.html
Go back to the old brand.
ACK! Didn’t need to see this thread!
Swap them for dogs......
_______
10 posts before a sensible response.
Both my cat and my in-laws’ cat suddenly began peeing outside the litter box. We took them to their respective vets, and it turned out they both had diabetes. It’s very treatable if you catch it relatively early.
Good luck.
Just stick with one.
LOL. Maybe you got it!
You can fix the problem permanently. All it takes is a pillow case, a couple of bricks, and a large body of water....
BRING THE CAT BAG!
It looks like a little mini-straitjacket with zippers all over it. You insert the cat in the bag, strap him down, and then unzip the zipper nearest to the part to be treated.
I used to help my vet draw blood from my 15 pound Attack Siamese, mostly because none of the techs particularly wanted to mess with him . . . we would put him headfirst into the Cat Bag, tighten the straps, and then pull one hind leg out and zip the bag closed around it. I held the bag (you have to imagine it bouncing around as though THREE cats inside are using it for a punching bag) while the vet drew blood from the big vein on the inside of the thigh.
Boy was that fun! (he really was a nice cat, to me anyway, he just HATED the vet. Bad things happened there.)
BTW, I am howling here! I have had cats use me for a ladder, but never had one pee on me when he got to the top!
My thoughts!
On a sad note though, we moved our cats into a house in which four cats had lived. They had all been moved before with no problem, but this time the big brother left the first night and we never saw him again.
Four years ago and 2 new cats later we still miss him. We hadn't had to lock them in after a move previously, but from now on we will remember to.
Yeah, they came out with cat bags about the time I was working for my vet. We didn’t have one, the vet had an interesting way of holding all the legs (I couldn’t begin to do it myself) that had worked for her for years, but I thought the cat bag was the best invention ever!
susie
I have to admit, everyone but the vet was in stitches! I mean laughing, not requiring medical suturing!
susie
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