adopted cat keeps peeing everywhere (vaccine, lethargic, house, couch) - Cats - - Page 2 - City-Data Forum

Jill61 · 06-13-2009, 07:13 PM

Great idea to take her to the vet. You might also consider getting a Feliway diffuser. It emits a synthetic version of the pheromone that cats have in their mouths, that they use to mark their territory as being safe.

When we adopted Emma, she came from a home with multiple animals, where she was being chased around and tormented, which resulted in her peeing around the house. She did great for a few weeks, but she shook and wailed in terror every time one of the neighbors' cats came onto our patio (and I seem to be the Pied Piper of cats -- they come around constantly). Eventually she started peeing on the rug where she sat looking out the door, hoping to protect her new house from these interlopers.

We plugged in a Feliway diffuser and the results were instantaneous! She hasn't peed outside her box one single time since then. Not once.

There's also a spray that you can spray directly on the couch, to stop her peeing there, specifically.

Good luck!

What is FeliwayÂ®? - Feliway (http://www.feliway.com/gb/How-Feliway-R-can-help/What-is-Feliway-R - broken link)

yukiko11 · 06-13-2009, 09:22 PM

Cats are very fastidious and usually start peeing around the house to either get your attention that they are in distress or because there is something about their cat box they don't like.
In my experience, they are more likely to "scent" compete with another cat rather than a dog.
Cats have preferences to types of litter. When I changed from regular to clumping litter, all three of my cats began going into corners and avoiding the box. I quickly changed back. When my 23 yr old cat was in his last few days, he suddenly started peeing around the base of the toilet in the guest bathroom. That is also the room where the food and water is. I think he was trying to tell me he was in pain.
Ask the shelter what kind of litter they used and try confining her during the day and see if she still avoids the box. That will give you more information.

alixjack · 06-13-2009, 09:46 PM

well, i've been locking her in the bathroom with food, water, a towel, and a litter box every time i leave the house. and every time i open the door, there is nothing anywhere. so, i think i might try leaving her in there tonight while i sleep but i feel badly doing that because its so small...

i started out using world's best cat litter. she used the box just fine. everything was cool, and then this morning i purchased two additional litter boxes. one for the bathroom [because thats where the shelter kept theres, and where i keep the cat when i'm out] and one to put on top of the couch where she pees. i filled these with tidy cat, the same stuff the shelter uses. no result. hasn't used any of them. i don't think she has peed anywhere all day, actually.

yukiko11 · 06-14-2009, 03:45 AM

I think you are doing the right thing, give her a couple of more days and see how it plays out. Once she gets her scent into the box, she will be more comfortable. I think it is right that you are using the shelter litter, but I will tell you that none of my cats like tidy cat. Especially the scented one.
They will only use Johnny Cat. There are several versions of Tidy Cat on the market. If you have the scented one and the shelter used the unscented, your baby may reject it.
I can only guarantee one thing. When her eyeballs start floating, she will definately pee

I send my good thoughts and wishes for her tonight.

alixjack · 06-14-2009, 09:41 AM

I kept her locked up in the bathroom last night. She pooped in the litter box but peed on the towel next to it.. we're getting closer. I wish Monday would get here already so I know whether or not I can rule out the UTI.

Thanks for your support guys!

ShelbyGirl1 · 06-14-2009, 07:35 PM

Keep us posted...a UTI is certainly easier to fix than trying to break a habit. Peeing on the towel is one sign that it could very well be an UTI.

alixjack · 06-15-2009, 10:04 PM

So, today I took Suki to the vet, spent $180 on a wellness exam, rabies shot, boarding for the day [she didn't have any urine to test when I brought her], urine test, culture.. blah blah blah. I don't have the results on the test yet because they had to send it out to a lab, but when we got home, SHE PEED IN HER BOX! hahaha. i guess she needed a pee-in-your-box-or-we'll-jab-you-with-needles-and-stick-you-in-a-cage ultimatum.

ALSO, i wanted to update because i heard back from the behaviorist, and this may help someone in the future. she said that if its not a medical issue, we should try a couple of things, the first being feliway. good call on that one, Jill61. secondly, she said that my husband and i should team up and try to take away any negative associations she has with the dog: start by ignoring the cat. bring the dog into the room/area and simultaneously start petting the cat, giving her treats, talking in a soothing voice. after a little while, take the dog out of the room and simultaneously stop the interaction with the cat. she didn't say how often to do that, but i'm sure its something we'll be able to gauge...

yukiko11 · 06-16-2009, 10:56 AM

I am so glad that your baby is not seriously ill, but, also sorry you had to lay out all that $$. It is too bad that we are all so uninformed that we still depend on this expertise help to evaluate our pets .You did the right thing even though it was painful.

alixjack · 06-16-2009, 11:55 PM

so i guess suki has been miraculously cured. she doesn't use her old litter box, only the one in the bathroom and the one on the couch, both have tidy cat in them. i don't really understand that at all, since she used her old one, with the worlds best in it, for over a week before all of this began.. i put her in her old litter box and she jumped right out and walked to the bathroom box to pee. weeeeird.

however, i could be imagining this, but she almost seems... dizzy? she has been laying around a lot today, and she just failed on jumping onto her bottom-most shelf, which is odd because she jumps up there all the time. then after she peed she jumped onto the couch but she almost didn't make it. while she was at the vet yesterday they gave her a rabies shot and they injected her with fluids to make her pee. do either of those sound like something that might leave her dizzy/lethargic more than 24 hours afterward?

yukiko11 · 06-17-2009, 02:33 AM

It is possible she has pee'd too much and may be dehydrated. You can tell by pinching and raising the skin behind her neck and letting it go. The slower it is to return to its normal place the more dehydrated she is. You may need to call your vet to see if her reaction to his treatment is normal.