Someone please HELP my cat!!!!!?

Question

My cat is already litter trained. I moved and noticed he was peeing outside his litter box I figured it was a behavior problem I took him to the vet anyway found out he had a urinary tract infection. The vet said he was not using his cat box because it hurt when he would pee and he associated the pain with the cat box. He has taken medcation for his problem however is still not using the cat box the vet says he has to be re-litter trained I really need to fix this problem. I love my cat and do not want ot get rid of him. I need some suggestions I also have a job and I am not home all the time. I can't stand this any longer and I am expecting a baby in 7 weeks and can't have a cat peeing in my house. I need a quick fix without having to get rid of him anything he is already neutered. I never littered trained him to begin with he was adpoted and has always used his cat box. Someone please HELP!!!! ANY SUGGESTIONS???

Answer 1

Hi Jennifer..I hope I can provide some helpful suggestions to get your little guy to improve his potty habits. Because the Yahoo Answers can limit the ability the learn as well as share all the necessary details to determine the problematic causes and to provide solutions I will try to assume any possibilities to consider likely reasons as well as some helpful retraining ideas.

It is best to isolate him into a small room with his litter box (food and water as well) until he consistently uses the box. Please don't fret by keeping him in this small room awhile longer (such as a bathroom). As long as you provide him food, water, fun toys and attention he will not become bored or neglected. The reason it's best to confine cats to a smaller area is that it helps with litter box retraining time again.

While he is confined to the small room it's imperative to remove the urine odour stains with a urine neutralizer product such as Nature's Miracle (PetSmart or Petco). If any hint of the odour remains cats will continue to mark this area to cover it up repeatedly especially with male cats. Ideally these areas will need to be soaked deeply and thoroughly in order to remove all of the urine scent as animals can smell even the slightest lingering odours which humans cannot detect. This product is considered to be environmentally friendly and effective if used as instructed.

As a feline trainer I have found that any time a cat has an accident it is best to not scold or punish a cat in any manner. The reason is that they will associate that whenever they need to go potty they will be punished for the act that nature intended rather than understanding it is WHERE they are going potty that is bad. Cats are unable to separate these two ideas so it's best to quietly clean up the accident and reward the kitty with favourite food treats whenever you catch her using her litter box. This way he learns that the box is a fun place because he’ll be rewarded with yummy treats. This method can also be applied to train cats to scratch appropriate places versus bad places...whenever they scratch somewhere you do not want touched pick them up quietly and place them to the scratch post/toy and reward with food treats.

As a very final resort some cats can benefit with antidepressants prescribed by your vet. However, depending on his age if he is young still I would suspect he would benefit more from litter retraining.

Aside from the above suggestions there are also products such as Feliaway to help calm stressed felines, which sometimes may or may not work. These additional ideas however don't control the inappropriate soiling effectively as well as isolation into a small space and the UTI exam. They are only supplemental in nature.

It's wonderful that you are trying to learn how to best resolve the inappropriate soiling early. I hope you will take into consideration some of the above suggestions.

Answer 2

Start with changing your brand of kitty litter. If you normally use chalky stuff, change to crystals or pellets or whatever. Something that is different and won't bring back the painful memories every time he scratches it.

Change your kitty litter tray colour too. This will offer a further change of environment and it should really be replaced after his infection anyway. Clean trays never hurt no one and they're cheap as chips.

Close off any rooms you can, like bedrooms, so that the cat has no access to pee in them. It'll annoy him because he doesn't have his usual roam of the house, but if he starts making a habit of peeing in other rooms it'll just give him more room to not use the kitty litter.

When your cat pees outside the tray, catch him and take him back to the soiled spot. Show him that you noticed it and that you're unhappy about it. Chances are he knows he shouldn't be doing it anyway and will feel guilty that you noticed. Show disappointment and not anger because anger will only scare him too much to think about what's going on.

After making a big deal about the mess, take him over to his tray and make sure he takes notice of it. You can carry him close to the ground so that he gets a cats perspective how how to find it. But being pregnant that's probably a bit hard. Carrying or calling is just as fine.

Scratch the kitty litter with your hand as if your cat would before using it, and use a very kind and positive happy voice. Associate the tray with a simple but unique word (eg "tray") and only ever use that word in a positive or commanding sense.

Go back and clean up the mess, and every time your cat looks as if he's returning to that spot, herd him away and say the word you've use for his box. If he keeps trying to get back there take him to the kitty litter tray and do the scratching thing again. Cat's usually keep a particular spot for peeing for a while before they move on.

It will take a bit of time, a day or a week, depending on how old your cat is and how long he's not been using the cat box. But he should be back to normal well before 7 weeks. Kittens normally get the hang of where to go in about 3 days, older cats can take a bit longer depending on the case.

Answer 3

Okay, try changing the type of litter you are using. Or get a new box with a different kind of litter. Also, if he is not peeing in the area of the box, try moving a new box to the area he is now peeing in. When you are home, get you a nice squirt bottle and fill it with nothing but tap water. Every time you see him start to pee outside his box, squirt him. Don't let him see you do it, do it sly...he will associate peeing in the new place with getting sqirted, and might decide to start using his box again. Good luck with your cat and your new baby.

Answer 4

Try using a New Kitty Llitter...Maybe the Pine stuff.. (Its possible the smell of the litter reminds him of the pain)...and re training simply takes you showing him the box and taking his paw and doing the bury motion ...ya know like scratching the litter..and tell him good boy...even if he doesnt seem to like it and runs off...he will investigate it at his next time he has to pee...try this one or two times oh...and they also have the stuff that you can spray in spots he has peed that will distract him from peeing again...this is helpful especially if he seems to pee in same spots every time...I would definately try to introduce him to a new type of litter though..also if there is more than one cat use more than one box...Another thing to remember is that certain litter is not good for you to be breathing during pregnancy, therefore changing to the pine stuff might be benefecial for you all..
GOOD LUCK
Hope it all works out for ya

Answer 5

Try using old news paper. Put this where he does go pee. After he gets used to the paper, put the paper into a low cut box, (he may not like the height of the box) then you can change to shredded paper, then shredded paper with some litter, then using less and less paper until you are only using the litter.
This is a long process and will take some time, But it should work.

Answer 6

I used to cat-sit for an otherwise lovely cat that had the same problem. Once the infection was cleared up, I isolated him in the bathroom with a nice clean litterbox, and no other options for elimination. He had food and water, and of course we would play with him when we went into the bathroom, but if he had to urinate or defecate, his options were limited. I had to clean up a couple of messes, but it was easy in a bathroom, and I transferred (using gloves) poo to the box so he would get the idea.

It took about two weeks until he was consistently using the box, and after that he was able to have the run of the house again, with no further toileting issues.

Male cats are particularly prone to urinary tract infections, and it can help to feed them dry food specially formulated for urinary tract health.

Answer 7

If you look carefully, try and find the place he pees the most. Put the litter box where he pees the most. If he pees a lot in several places, maybe keep a couple other litter boxes around the house!


GOOD LUCK!!!! :)

Answer 8

the only thing i can think of that may help, would be to put him in a small room (say bathroom), with his water, food and litter pan.

Purchase a product called: Cat Attract from your local pet store it is designed to lure your cat back to using his box-follow its instructions.

Good Luck it is a tough problem and I have been there. Congratulations to you on your new baby!

Answer 9

lock your cat in a small room with his litterbox and some water, at feeding times bring his food in there as well, do try and keep the food and water as far from the litterbox as possiable. your cat will eventually learn that he has to go in the box or he will be living in it. Do make sure that the box is cleaned out at least once a day.

Answer 10

I would lean heavily toward training the cat to spend at least part of his time outdoors. You might also experiment with other kinds of cat boxes.

You can also try treating areas where he has urinated with a spray repellent. That sometimes works. They tend to want to find a safe and private place to do their business. Cats want to be clean and neat, for the most part, but they definitely have a mind of their own.