Member

Posts: 84
From:Hull, UK
Registered: Nov 2003

posted 11-08-2003 01:49 PM         

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I have a problem with one of my cats. She is coming up to three years old and she has started to pee on my sofa, always in the same place with no real regularity, maybe once every couple of days.
A bit of background, she was a house cat until 3 months ago when we decided it was better for all three of them to go out, the other two cats has adjusted fine but she started wetting first on my computer chair, which she stopped after a while but then moved on to the sofa. She has always been a nervous cat but seemed a bit better since she started going out and also she stopped fighting with our youngest cat.
I am at my wits end, she doesn't have cystitis, she goes outside to excrete. She is put out two or three times a day, she eats well and doesn't seem to be unhappy, though she does meow alot. Can anybody help? I would hate to have to get rid of her but she is ruining my furniture and my whole house smells and as much as I love her it is driving me crazy!

Thanks

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From:MO, USA
Registered: Nov 2003

posted 11-08-2003 03:11 PM         

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exessive mewing is sometimes caused by a tramatic change in their life. If she is mewing alot and you said that she just started going outside maybe she is tramatized by the outdoors.
She might be mad at you for changing her routine which is causing her to urinate on your things.
I would start keeping her inside again and confine her to a smaller room so she can get used to using the box again.
There are many dangers outside for cats. They are much better left indoors.
Also treat the areas where she has urinated with a repellent. I use an all purpose cleaner called Get Serious and it removes stains, odors, and pheromones. It also blasts stains away.
Do you still have litter boxes inside? If you dont she may just not have anywhere else to go except of your furniture. It might also not be clean enough for her.

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From:Hull, UK
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posted 11-08-2003 06:46 PM         

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Yes she still has a clean litter box (done whenever it has been used) which she uses to pee in. She has always been a noisy cat but now she only meows at me and won't go near my partner. I know he has not been cruel to her, infact he is the one that feeds them. She seems to go outside fine and it has cured all the aggression in the household with our other cats. Everything was fine with her going out until a month ago, she had already been going out for a month. I am kinda baffled at why she would sunddenly start this behaviour now after seeming happy. before she started peeing on the furniture.

Caitlyn
(just a small point that most cats in the UK are indoor/outdoor cats as opposed to being kept in fulltime so we decided to let them out as it is a more natural and healthy for them and gives them more environmental enrichment. We can't start keeping them in again as it would be unfair on the one that has the problems)

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From:MO, USA
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posted 11-08-2003 11:35 PM         

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Well I guess the UK dosent have the same problems outside that the cats have here. We have cars that run them over, stray cats that fight with them and infect them with virus's such as feline leukemia and FIV. Dogs that attack them, wild animals that eat them, and sick people who torture them.
I have noticed the exact opposite. Usually outside cats die at an early age because of all the dangers outside that they face. Indoor cats usually live into their teens.
If she has always been a nervous cat wouldnt the great outdoors be a little stressful on her?
I am assuming that you have taken her to the vet bc you ruled out cystitis. If not get her checked out for a bladder infection. Alot of females are prone to urinary tract infections and such.
Have you changed the location of the box? There are so many questions to ask.
Sometimes litter box problems can be a little tricky to solve. A slight change can upset the cats desire to use the box.
Sometimes they are just upset with you. I have a tortie that expresses her anger by urinating on my clean clothes. I tried to sleep in one day and she kept waking me up and when I wouldnt get out of bed she decided to make on my fresh clean laundrey.
check out www.dumbfriendsleague.com they have alot of tips and suggestions on litter box problems.
I wish you the best of luck! Post any updates

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From:sheridan, wy
Registered: Aug 2003

posted 11-09-2003 02:19 PM         

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I read somewhere that the life expectancy of an outdoor cat is 3-5 years while an indoor cats is 15-20. Amazing difference. Your cat is obviously unhappy about something if it isn't a medical problem. Peeing is often the only way they have to tell us that something is upsetting them. It's usually trial and error to figure out what it is.

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posted 11-10-2003 07:19 AM         

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Yes, I also read that an outdoor cat's life expectancy is 8 years and an indoor cat's is 20 years. Big difference there. I couldn't survive, wondering if my babies were being run over by cars.

Does the cat seem to like going outside? I understand that you don't want to take it away from the other cats, but you don't have to keep all three in. Try keeping just the one inside and see if it helps the peeing behavior. If not, then you can start letting her out again.

The easiest way to have happy indoor cats is to never let them outside to begin with. Sure, it's more "natural" but have you ever noticed that in nature, animals tend to die young and violent deaths?

Jamiya

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From:Hull, UK
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posted 11-10-2003 07:31 AM         

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My cats are far happier going outside. I have to say I feel the statistics are unrepresentaive of the UK as my family are life-long cat owners, all of which have been outside cats and all of which lived well into their teens, one to the grand old age of 22.
I agree there are some factors like FIV and FeLV that can shorten your animals life but neutering and vaccination are the best prevention of these. Yes there are cars but my cats rarely stray from the backgarden or the garden behind ours, we don't have such a problem with wild animals attacking cats in this country. In all three of my cats I have noticed a marked improvement in their general health, all their coats are far glossier, they do not get tired quickly and have a far better muscle tone. Even the cat that has been peeing is far less 'skitty' and seems happier with being able to go out and explore, and I generally have less aggression in the household now. I have personally come to the conclusion that I would prefer my animals to have quality of life rather than quantity and all of my cats love to be outdoors sunning themselves and one of them even loves to be out in the rain.

Anyway back to the problem at hand. The female has not used the sofa for a couple of days, though I am yet to get them back after having them cleaned. I have been spending alot more time with her and making sure she gets plenty of one on one interaction.
I have not moved her litter box, it is in the same place it has always been and I am still using the same litter. I am not sure if the problem is cured though and won't know until I get the cushions back on the sofa.

[This message has been edited by Caitlyn (edited 11-10-2003).]

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posted 11-10-2003 03:31 PM           

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Cats don't urinate in unusual places because they're mad at you. If there upset about a routine change or having a health problem then they might go in a place other than a litterbox but they wont do it out of spite. They don't think like that.

Caitlyn,
Is the furniture, she urinates on, leather?
Search the net for litterbox problems. There's gotta be a solution but first you have to find the cause.

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From:sheridan, wy
Registered: Aug 2003

posted 11-10-2003 09:26 PM         

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In my experience, cats do pee when they are mad or upset. When I go out of town for more than a couple of days they pee on my bed even though the boxes are clean and they have food.

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posted 11-11-2003 06:25 AM         

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Right, but they aren't doing it "to spite you." It's just what they do when they are upset.

Who can know what's in the mind of a cat?

Jamiya

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From:Hull, UK
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posted 11-11-2003 08:06 AM         

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Personally I feel cats are probably alot more sentient than people give them credit for. My partners cat will come and sit on me, he never sits on me any other time, when my partner pushes the cat off because he is busy. He then sits and stares at my partner until he makes room for the cat to sit on him! Tell me that isn't the cat trying to make my partner jealous!

Still I can see what you are all saying about the cat being mad, i think really she is just more insecure than anything. We have started to go outside with her at least once a day, spend plenty of time with her when there are no other cats about and fingers crossed we put the sofa back together yesterday and no accidents as yet.

I am going to get some of that feliway room deoderiser too as it can work wonders for nervous cats according to a animal shelter friend of mine.

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posted 11-11-2003 10:54 AM         

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Oh, I definitely think cats and dogs (and other animals) are very sentient. I just think their minds work in much different ways than ours do. I think they do get jealous and angry and upset and what have you. They just don't follow the same thought processes as we do, and they react on an emotional level instead of using logic or abstract reasoning. Which, of course, some people do, too.

For instance, using dogs as an example. Your dog rips up a box full of tissues and you find it and get mad at him. The next time you walk into the room, there's another box of tissues destroyed! The dog gets up and creeps up to you, hanging his head in shame. You think - he KNEW that was wrong and now he is sorry!

No....he knew it was wrong for the ripped up tissues and you to be in the room at the same time. He didn't necessarily know it was wrong to rip up the tissues while he was doing it - because you weren't there! Nothing bad happened last time he did it until you walked in the room, so he associated the "badness" with the tissues and you being together. See?

Jamiya

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From:sheridan, wy
Registered: Aug 2003

posted 11-11-2003 10:23 PM         

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So that's why my dogs keep tearing up tissues! So I just need to punish them without being in the room.....

I don't think cats necessarily act out of spite, they just are limited in how they can convey their displeasure. They can't tell us they are unhappy like a person can.

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From:MO, USA
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posted 11-12-2003 11:51 PM         

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Ive just noticed when one of my cats is unhappy about something or "mad" she will urinate outside of the box. She is very expressive about her moods and how she is feeling. How do you explain putting cats on anti depressants for litter box problems? There is definately more on the surface to cats then most people give them credit for. Animals have emotions. How do you explain companion animals deteriorating after a loss of someone who they were bonded with?

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posted 11-13-2003 07:05 AM           

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Caitlyn....I wholeheartedly agree with you about the cats being happier outside. I am a LIFELONG AND FAITHFUL cat lover, and have four of my own, two of whom are outside/inside cats. The other two are much, much happier to be outside. If they do come in, then they only want to stay a few minutes and then cry to go back out. My inside/outside cats are Siamese, and frankly I got tired of trying to keep them from going outside, and started letting them out for short periods. They are MUCH happier to be able to go in or out at their whim. I keep a litter box in the house, and they do sleep in the house at night. I treat them regularly for fleas, and have their vaccinations up-to-date regularly to protect against diseases. I don't live on a busy street, and in fact have a huge field behind my house. I feel guilty sometimes when people "bash" me because I don't keep my cats in all the time, but I think it is a personal thing, and one should not be judged. Each cat is different, and I'm like you....I prefer my cat to be happy and have a "quality" life..for some cats that means being inside all the time (I have had some cats that were strictly inside), and for others it means going in and out. I love my cats dearly and would absolutely hate for anything to happen to them....but I want them to be happy to. So, I'm siding with you on this one.....

As for the peeing on the furinture, I personally DO feel that cats get ticked off at their owners - in the form of being stressed-out - but it sure does feel like their ticked off - I used to have a cat that would dig dirt out of my house plants - in a big circle around the pot - if I was late getting home from work. She ONLY did this if I was gone too long!! You say she is happy outside, but I do think that some cats enjoy only a SMALL time outside. Maybe she is one of those. (One of my cats only likes it outside for short periods of time while one of the others likes to stay outside for hours at a time - in fact, for the one I wouldn't need a litter box, because that is when she wants to go out..to potty, like a dog does...she doesn't use the box unless she absolutely has to....does her business and then wants back in) Maybe she needs to be in the majority of the time, and only go out for a few minutes at a time, while the others may like it outside for longer periods. Is she a special breed of cat? Black cat? Siamese and black cats are the most nervous cats of all, generally. I believe that any cat that "looks different" , ie. calico, special breed, etc...tend to have a little bit more eccentric personalities than some. This could be a contributing factor to her behavior as well. I do think that it will be hard to break the cat from it, especially if her "scent" is in the fabric. I had a cat once (strictly inside) that just out of the blue started peeing on the floor just outside of the litter box....she never stopped. I agree with someone else above that said start out putting her in a small room with a litter box, and go from there. Good Luck....

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posted 11-13-2003 02:36 PM         

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Thanks for that Razzy. I am think we are both on the same wavelength with this.

She does enjoy being out but all of my cats come home to sleep indoors.

She is a black and white moggy, mostly black funny you mention that really as my Mom's cat is almost exactly the same coloring and is very neurotic and nervous too!

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