posted 09-08-2003 09:04 AM         

She is a very loving, gentle cat- never bites or scratches... she doesn't even fight back if confronted by other animals. (Which is why she watched carefully around other animals to make sure they don't get the best of her.) She also isn't vocal unless she wants her canned food. All around, she has a mellow personality and isn't demanding.

She has been declawed in the front and spayed when she was a kitten. The first time she peed, was on the vetenarian. But we just figured she was scared. She didn't pee on anything for a year after that incident, and she had lived with 3 other cats at the time, which belonged to my roomates. I ended up moving to my parents' house temporarily for about a year or two to go to college and that's when she began peeing on my mom's rocking chair cushion and rugs. Although we couldn't figure out if it was her or my parents' cat. (now I know) She also began to pee on me whenever I tried to give her a bath... but once again I thought it was related to the vet incident... and she still does it to this day.

Then I got married to my husband who's in the military, so I had to move to where he was stationed. She then became the only cat and has been since. The first apartment we lived in, she didn't pee on anything (atleast to our knowledge) but she started to stand to pee in her cat box... so the pee would end up on the floor. She poops on one side and pees on the other- very organized I tried higher sided cat boxes, but somehow she still managed to make it go over the edge.

A year later we moved to where we are currently. That's when she began not only peeing out of her box and peeing during her bath time, but now peeing on anything left on the floor and even directly on me for no reason. She used to love car rides but now she pees when she gets in the car. Once I was sitting at the computer and she had just got done eating her canned food so she wanted to thank me by hoping into my lap and kneading me... suddenly she just started peeing all over me the chair, and the carpet... I was shocked! I took her to the vet the following day and had her stay overnight for urine tests, etc. They sent her home telling me it's behavioral, that she's depressed, and gave me pills. Trying to give her pills, only made her run around foaming at the mouth so I stopped. So I took a different route and went through 5 different sized cat boxes... finally settling on two huge long tupperware bottoms. I put one on each side of our apartment. But this really didn't help.

Then I brought home a brand new futon to surprise my husband who was off for a month in military training. My cat immediately jumped on it and peed right in the center. So I bought a huge bottle of neutralizer cleaners and doused the whole couch with it. Then she started peeing on my husband's military gear on the floor, whenever he tried to get it organized and put away after he came home from work. The last straw was when he had his military exercize clothing laid out for the next morning and she peed on his pants so he had to go to work the next morning smelling like urine. So then we bought her a huge dog cage and confined her to it or our bedroom and bathroom, while we weren't there to supervise her. We thought by keeping her away from the areas she peed in might help and maybe she just needed some territorial adjustment. But that didn't help any so we let her have run of the house again.

Then, from May thru July of this summer, there was no peeing incident and I thought it was finally over. Then, just a couple of weeks ago we went to go to bed, and laid down on over a foot wide path of cat urine. So we were up till 2 in the morning taking showers and washing the sheets (luckly I had a waterproof cover on the bed at the time)... We ending up sleeping on the futon. So we started keeping the doors closed. Only days after, she peed on the futon. Then days after cleaning that up, I was sitting on the futon and she jumped into my lap- once again kneading me- and peed... soaking not only me, but the futon and the carpet below. I cleaned it up yet again. Then my husband was trying to brush her and she peed right then. A week ago, I was carrying her into the bedroom with me to keep me company (figuring I'd keep an eye on her) and she peed on me as I was carrying her! Ever since then I haven't even tried to pick her up because I've completely lost all trust in her.

Anyway, that's her story... I have been out of work since June of this summer due to surgery, doctor's visits, and current new health problems. My husband was supposed to be able to get out of the military this coming October, but now has to stay in because we won't be able to afford my medical coverage compared to the benefits of the military. Which means more relocating and adjustments for my poor cat on top of only living off of one income instead of two. I just want her to have a secure, non-changing home... maybe that's all she needs to get back to the way she used to be. I don't think she likes all the moving, new people, pets, and the overlying stress we show her from financial and health problems. I just need to find her place quickly. I've tried family and friends but they all have their own pets and busy life styles...

Please help! I'm about to move again so we have to find a stationary home for her very soon

posted 09-08-2003 08:01 PM         

Before I took her in for medical attention I had done alot of research on the internet and that's when I became concerned about UTI, crystals, kindney problems, etc, like you mentioned. That's when I brought it to the attention of my veternarian. They did several tests and kept her over night for a urine sample as well. Everything came back normal. They couldn't find anything physically wrong with her.

That's when they gave me "Prozac" for cats. I wasn't expecting to hear it was all in her head. She already has a mellow personality... if she gets any calmer, she'd be a blob on the carpet...

My husband built her a huge 7' cat tree and I brought home a catnip playground, thinking that maybe she needed some more activities to keep her mind off everything else... But I was wrong again. Recently, I called 2 different cat specialists for help and they just told me a repeat of all the things I've already tried...

That's why I think she just didn't have it in her for so many relocations, new people, and animals. If I knew 4 years ago that I would be having lots of changes in my life during the time I had gotten her, I would've left her for another family that would've hopefully been better suited for her. I just thought I was doing a good deed at the time- giving her a loving home and taking her away from owners who didn't spay or neuter their cats so she could be born along with all the other "free kittens" in this world.