I wrote a few weeks ago. We had gotten two ragdolls ages 2 & 3. One day i locked the one cat in my daughter's room my mistake for about 3-4 hours and she peed on my daughter's bed of course. I have also had the cats downstairs as my husband was doing major work and was going to keep them down their until i returned from my trip on Thursday (leaving tomorrow for 2 nights). They were down there about 2 weeks with lots of room to move about, 2 litter boxes, a nice big cushion to sleep on, and plenty of visits from us all day long. Everything was fine until x-mas when i noticed a big amount of pee & poop on the cushion.
I would also like to add i think it may be a territorial issue. The 3 year old cat thinks she rules everything, my younger one isnt allowed to eat until she is done, (i have bought two seperate dishes now) the 3 year old will hiss alot at her, for example if she comes too close or wants to share sleeping quarters. I went back downstairs yesterday and again some pee & poo in another spot on the cushion. I then decided to try a new cat litter which i did yesterday and do change out the litter twice a day. My husband said why dont we bring them upstairs now and see what happens maybe she needs to be upstairs again. My 3 year old was very loving yesterday and when i was lying down to watch t.v. came over many times to lay on top of me which i thought was so cute. I was suspicious that she may try to pee on my couch being she spent a good portion of the day lying there yesterday with me, so before going to bed i put down a big piece of plastic and a towel. Sure enough there was pee on the towel (thank god i thought ahead and covered this area last night) this morning when i went to check. Also when i went downstairs in the basement i saw nothing on the cushion. I put the cat back downstairs for the meantime, went down a few minutes later and saw poo on the cushion this time (its obvious she was mad i put her back downstairs). Now i'd like to add she uses the litter box during the day. I cant help but think this is a territorial issue with her as my younger cat seems like she walks on egg shells around her. . Should i keep them seperated and cover my couch again tonight. Im pretty sure the more aggresive cat is doing this but want to see what happens tonight if my younger one will do anything (i dont think so but want to be sure).Any thoughts and exactly what should I do. Is it possible that the more aggresive cat is better off in a one cat home. I honestly dont see this getting better and dont want my home turning into a litter box.
The best links with ideas about possible triggers (do not think of a cause being anger, etc., because that is just misleading as to it being willful rather than a response to an odor, stress, emotion acting ON the cat, etc.) are at tallyville.
http://tallyville.com/litterboxhelp.html
Keep in mind that rubber, plastic, newsprint, high loft bedding and down may attract the behavior. Also, the most common sources are infections and a course or more of antibiotics is never a mistake.
Try a feliway diffuser in the problem rooms, and the feliway spray directly on the problem sources... and definitely talk to your vet about this problem. There are some medications available to help alleviate stress and help with urine retention to reduce the urge for marking if it is indeed territorial. Also don't forget, like Jan already pointed out, it could be an infection too even if the vet tests come back negative. So just to be sure I would also start her on some antibiotics
Don't feel too terrible if you decide to rehome either. Everyone knows that their limitations are. But also remember that if the issue persists elsewhere, she may continue getting rehomed and rehomed until the issue is addressed...
(12-27-2010 03:31 PM)Solo Wrote: [ -> ]Try a feliway diffuser in the problem rooms, and the feliway spray directly on the problem sources... and definitely talk to your vet about this problem. There are some medications available to help alleviate stress and help with urine retention to reduce the urge for marking if it is indeed territorial. Also don't forget, like Jan already pointed out, it could be an infection too even if the vet tests come back negative. So just to be sure I would also start her on some antibiotics
Don't feel too terrible if you decide to rehome either. Everyone knows that their limitations are. But also remember that if the issue persists elsewhere, she may continue getting rehomed and rehomed until the issue is addressed...
thanks ladies for the replies! I know i would hate to rehome her due to this, other than that she is a great, loving, beautiful cat. I guess i should have known my limitations beforehand that it probably would have been best to start off with one (i had two 20+ years ago and although it didnt happen often it did happen a few times but probably due to a dirty liter box).
Past accidents by other cats can cause overmarking, so be sensitive to that by either removing anything that might have been stained or cleaning it with bleach or an enzymatic cleaner form a pet supply store (following slow drying instructions carefully). Of course, the obvious trigger is the stress of adjustment to a new home and you should not ignore just adjustment and time correcting the problem.
I would eliminate the possibility of it being a medical issue first before thinking it was just purely behavioral. Animals hide and mask their pain quite well, and you may think they are just fine but there could be something wrong. I fostered a cat before and it sporadically eliminated in the bathtub (pee and poo)- I thought the same thing...cat had to have some kind of territorial thing going on or a behavior issue...nope, turned out he had crystals in his urine. So I would definitely have that checked if at all possible. Then, if that checks out okay, I would surmise it may be behavior issues and unfortunately they can't talk to us and tell us what the beef is, so at that point you have to think of yourself and what you are willing to tolerate. It certainly sounds as though you are trying your best to pinpoint the issue - best of luck to you!!
(12-29-2010 10:57 PM)MeowMeow Wrote: [ -> ]I would eliminate the possibility of it being a medical issue first before thinking it was just purely behavioral. Animals hide and mask their pain quite well, and you may think they are just fine but there could be something wrong. I fostered a cat before and it sporadically eliminated in the bathtub (pee and poo)- I thought the same thing...cat had to have some kind of territorial thing going on or a behavior issue...nope, turned out he had crystals in his urine. So I would definitely have that checked if at all possible. Then, if that checks out okay, I would surmise it may be behavior issues and unfortunately they can't talk to us and tell us what the beef is, so at that point you have to think of yourself and what you are willing to tolerate. It certainly sounds as though you are trying your best to pinpoint the issue - best of luck to you!!
Just an update, i have seperated the two cats and the problem seemed to have gone away. I feel bad now with the other downstairs and know i cant continue with this. I opened the door and it took a while for the older cat to come up but now it really seems like they hate each other, the younger one didnt want her upstairs and actually walked up to her to start something which she never did before and the downstairs cat went upstairs to hide in our room (we accidentally left the door open)
Are they both speutered? I found out my Monkey wasn't neutered when he started spraying around the house, and the problem went away as soon as we had him fixed. We also bought the feliway spray and after bleaching the spots that he marked we sprayed the areas with that and it seemed to help quite a bit. I think its Katleen's Bubba who is very stressed out unless she uses the feliway diffusers, so it might be worth trying one of those as well. It does seem as if your two are not getting along at all, did they come from the same house? If so, can you contact the breeder and find out if they had any aggression problems prior to being homed with you? (I apologize if you've gone over all this in another post, my forum time is so limited now with the new baby!
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Aww, I'm so sorry to hear they aren't getting along! I'm not sure how to handle that kind of scenario..anybody else got any tips?
(12-31-2010 07:37 PM)MeowMeow Wrote: [ -> ]Aww, I'm so sorry to hear they aren't getting along! I'm not sure how to handle that kind of scenario..anybody else got any tips?
Yes they have both been fixed. They did come from the same home and were brought into the shelter together requested they leave together by the past owner. I was told on the phone by the vet when i inquired about them before adopting them that they were close but not too close. When i saw them in the cage together Amelia did hiss at the younger one while i was there (i guess i should have saw this as a big red flag) and she had continued doing this to the present.
Another update i left the door opened today and of course she saturated my couch when i brought her upstairs she did it in front of my husband who was in the room (luckily i was able to take the cushion cover off from the zipper and it seems she just missed the inside of the foam). She is back downstairs today and of course using her litter box since the other doesnt go down there so isnt threatened as its her space, very strange situation. I doubt very much its a medical issue since this only happens when she is around the other or if i bring her upstairs for a while.