So I moved about 2 months ago into my boyfriend's place. I have 2 cats - one 5 and the other 3 - both rescues that I adopted when they were kittens. Up until 2 months ago, they have always lived in the same place (my condo) and it has always been just them (except for when I had my older cat - I had my dog for a year of overlapping time but she passed away and my cat was so depressed I got him a friend, hence how I ended up with 2).

The older cat is male and the younger cat is female. Both fixed. Both been good cats with no history of problems in the past.

Well I move them into the townhouse and my boyfriend and I have a dog. The dog is very friendly and over the course of the 2 months, the cats and the dog have definitely been adjusting. They will touch noses, the cats don't freak out as much as before, the cats are moving around the townhouse moreso than when they first came in, etc.

I got the cats a new covered litter box with a doggie door when we moved so a) the cats had a new litter box and b) the dog wouldn't eat the cat litter. well after about a week of the covered litter box, I noticed one of the cats kept pooping outside the litter box. I took off the doggie door thinking one of the cats was just dumb and couldn't figure it out but the pooping kept happening at least 3 times a week. I did some research and found that cats really don't like odor and the odor can be blocked inside the little box if it has a lid, so I removed the lid and continued to clean the litter box everyday (like I always have). The pooping stopped (yay!)

Except for last night when I found that one of the cats had pooped outside the (clean) litter box. As I'm cleaning, I'm thinking well at least it's not cat urine.

I spoke too soon. One of the cats peed on the guest bedroom comforter last night.

We don't let the cats into our bedroom because my boyfriend is allergic to cats. He's taking claritin to help with the wheezing but I'm afraid that by letting the cats into the master bedroom his allergy will just get worse. But we think that might be the problem considering the female cat wails and cries outside our bedroom door at night wanting to come in. My cats are very social....they like to be around people all the time.

TWW Vets - HELP!!!

6/15/2010 8:24:32 AM

this thread is relevant to my interests...my fiancée and i are adopting the stray we took in to have its leg amputated, so we'll have a three-legged cat come the end of the week...the dogs like to "play" with cats, and we're not sure how this former stray will handle

1.) being confined inside (at least while she's still healing), and
2.) being around two friendly dogs

6/15/2010 8:45:21 AM

I would think the cats would have acclimated to the new place after two months. [When I say we, I refer to my parents and me living at home] Typically when we get a new cat, we will have it stay in a smaller room closed from the rest of the house so it can start to adjust to the new surroundings. Cats typically don't like new places and will hide in small dark areas like caves until they start to venture out on their own. For us this was the laundry room, which doesn't get a lot of traffic and they can hide from the dog. We also keep the litter box and cat food in the room they isolate themselves in.

A litter box with a lid should be fine, maybe they don't like the litter. Has that changed? I will agree the doggy door may have freaked them out. The box should also have a vent on the roof to allow for circulation. As for the dog, try and put the box in a room/location where the dog can't get to it, or block it off (like face the entrance against a wall) so the dog can't get his face in there.

Are your cats sick? Usually the tell-tale sign is that they start pissing/shitting in other places.

Or the cats may be trying to exert their dominance, since they are comfortable in the house now and want to take it over now and get their smell everywhere. This became a huge problem for my parents with 4 male cats, all fixed, because they started pissing all over the house; on the walls, on the TV, on my mom's artwork and frames (work at home artist). The cats would also fight all the time. My parents ended up getting some kind of aromatic plug in for cats that has hormones to lessen territorial urges and the cats got along great. I'm not sure what to say about stopping them from doing that though

You may be able to keep an eye out and see if one or both of the cats are marking. Do they fight the dog, or get along with your boyfriend?

Its hard to say about the female cat wanting in the room, I've never seen someone able to shut out a cat and get it to last. Usually the cat wins and gets let into the room

Quote :

"this thread is relevant to my interests...my fiancée and i are adopting the stray we took in to have its leg amputated, so we'll have a three-legged cat come the end of the week...the dogs like to "play" with cats, and we're not sure how this former stray will handle"

Definitely isolate the cat from your other animals for the first few days. Keep it in a room with the door closed so the dogs can not see or bother it. This would freak the cat out on top of being in a new and strange place. Affection shown towards the cat in the form of petting, scratches, and readily available food will help it calm down [/obvious]. Once you start introducing the dogs to the cat, do it in a controlled way, and make sure the cat has some place to escape to away from the dogs if it becomes unnerved. Don't be afraid to smack your dog if it starts acting too aggressively, it needs to know that this cat is here to stay and under your control.

My parents have taken in many strays, and this is pretty much what they always do.

[Edited on June 15, 2010 at 9:05 AM. Reason : lkj]

6/15/2010 8:59:29 AM

when my fiancee and I moved in together, there was definitely an adjustment period. She has a cat and a dog, and I have dog. The dogs get along great, but both dogs would sometimes chase the cat. My dog has pretty much stopped that, but her dog still will. I'm still not a fan of the cat, but I tolerate him because it makes my woman happy. We are in agreement that once he dies, no more cats. Ever.

I know that my story has no bearing on the OP at all, just wanted to share. Good luck getting it all settled!

6/15/2010 9:01:58 AM

Quote :

" would think the cats would have acclimated to the new place after two months. [When I say we, I refer to my parents and me living at home] Typically when we get a new cat, we will have it stay in a smaller room closed from the rest of the house so it can start to adjust to the new surroundings. Cats typically don't like new places and will hide in small dark areas like caves until they start to venture out on their own. For us this was the laundry room, which doesn't get a lot of traffic and they can hide from the dog. We also keep the litter box and cat food in the room they isolate themselves in. "

We did that. We put the cats' things into the guest bathroom and left the doors open but let them make their way out of the room on their own. Within a week they were moving around a bit more but still keep to the guest bedroom/bathroom area because that's where my stuff is and I think they recognize my smell and it makes them feel better.

Quote :

"A litter box with a lid should be fine, maybe they don't like the litter. Has that changed? I will agree the doggy door may have freaked them out. "

The litter hasn't changed. They've been using the same litter for years.

Quote :

"Are your cats sick? Usually the tell-tale sign is that they start pissing/shitting in other places."

I saw that in some of the research I had read about online but other than them going to the bathroom outside the litter box, there hasn't been any other behavioral changes. still eating and drinking normally. not lethargic.

Quote :

"Or the cats may be trying to exert their dominance, since they are comfortable in the house now and want to take it over now and get their smell everywhere. This became a huge problem for my parents with 4 male cats, all fixed, because they started pissing all over the house; on the walls, on the TV, on my mom's artwork and frames (work at home artist). The cats would also fight all the time. "

Well what your parent's cats were doing is spraying. When a cat sprays, they pee against something vertical. My cat peed on something horizontal which isn't so much a dominance issue as it is she's just pissed off. And she has never peed on the bed before! Especially my bed (which is now the guest bed).

Quote :

"You may be able to keep an eye out and see if one or both of the cats are marking. Do they fight the dog, or get along with your boyfriend?"

I really dont think the cat is marking. I think she's just pissed off and is doing this to get attention. Both cats get along with the dog okay. They will go up to him and then when they're done they'll run off. They've never been trapped with the dog or felt like they couldn't get away. The cats love my boyfriend.

ugh so frustrating!

Quote :

"when my fiancee and I moved in together, there was definitely an adjustment period. She has a cat and a dog, and I have dog. The dogs get along great, but both dogs would sometimes chase the cat. My dog has pretty much stopped that, but her dog still will. I'm still not a fan of the cat, but I tolerate him because it makes my woman happy. We are in agreement that once he dies, no more cats. Ever. I know that my story has no bearing on the OP at all, just wanted to share. Good luck getting it all settled!"

hahahahaha yeah we agreed no more cats after my cats die. with my boyfriend's allergy and the amount of hair, it's just not worth continuing having cats around the house.

[Edited on June 15, 2010 at 9:28 AM. Reason : edit]

6/15/2010 9:27:30 AM

def get the cat(s) checked at the vet. like previously mentioned, a lot of times the first sign of illness in a cat is going outside the litterbox.

try those pheromone plug in things. they worked wonders for my neurotic cat.

6/15/2010 9:28:18 AM

^ but i don't think the cat is marking her territory. I would imagine if she wanted to do that she would pee on the dog's bed or on the sofa. The dog never goes into the guest bedroom unless one of us is in there. I don't think the plugs would do anything.

I might take the female in to get checked. She's had a UTI in the past and while these symptoms aren't similar to what she experienced when she had the UTI, there could be something going on.

6/15/2010 9:29:45 AM

i didn't say anything about marking

the pheromone thing just calmed my cat down. he wasn't marking or even going outside the litterbox, he was just hiding all the time and seemed miserable & grouchy. he checked out fine at the vet, a friend suggested the plug in, tried it and it was great.

6/15/2010 9:31:14 AM

hmmmm interesting. where did you find one? (and thanks! )

6/15/2010 9:32:13 AM

petsmart has them but they're $texas there. look on the intarwebs for comfort zone w/ feliway. i found them cheapest at upco.com iirc.

6/15/2010 9:33:43 AM

Its possible the food is causing recurring UTIs. My mom did a ton of research and discovered that a lot of commercially available foods will cause cats to constantly get UTIs after our male cat kept getting them over the years...or was that kidney stones...its worth looking into one way or another.

Yeah get the plug ins online, they run between $20 and $30 depending on the vendor

[Edited on June 15, 2010 at 9:38 AM. Reason : lkj]

6/15/2010 9:37:42 AM

they've been on the same brand of food for years and my female only got a UTI once about 2 and a half years ago. i don't think it's a UTI but i'm going to keep an eye on the female again in case it is. i noticed last time when she had one that she was spending a lot of time in the litter box and not going and was acting out of it.

6/15/2010 10:21:06 AM

There are also pheromone collars. I had to get one for the dumbass cat I am sitting because he'd pee EVERYWHERE and I could not stand it.

6/15/2010 10:28:45 AM

my cats would not last with a collar.

6/15/2010 10:35:54 AM

I second the Feliway
After a check with the vet, the most likely thing is it is stress-induced behavior and the pheromone plug-ins should help with that.

How many litter boxes do you have? One box for two cats, especially if there's the chance it doesn't get scooped every single day can cause problems.

6/15/2010 11:23:52 AM

i do have only one box for 2 cats but i clean it everyday. it's always been this way with them. i even got them a bigger litter box when i moved to help some more. they've never had problems in the past so i don't know if a cat can all of a sudden be like, "oh i want my own litter box bia make that happen."

6/15/2010 11:43:37 AM

So I definitely figured out it's my female cat. I washed the bed stuff she peed on this morning and put it all back on the bed this afternoon. I picked her up and brought her into the master bedroom to cuddle in the bed with me but she was annoyed by the dog and took off to go pee on the bed again!!!!

I really don't know what to do. She's obviously angry and thinks this is the right thing. Help!!! I think she needs attention but now she doesn't want any.

6/15/2010 6:29:40 PM

Oh yeah and I had just cleaned the litter box

6/15/2010 6:32:59 PM

this is happening right now with one of my cats so i am interested in advice too

i finally figured out which cat cause i caught her in the act

she pees on my futon. she's NOT sick and the litter boxes (ALL THREE) are all clean.

i'm going to throw away the futon cover (sigh) because even after washing it i bet it still smelled like pee since cat pee sucks. and then put a new one on and spray it with:
http://www.naturemakesitwork.com/catalog/prod_detail.php?id=109

and see if it works. i dunno. i am also at a loss. so i feel your pain.

6/15/2010 6:37:09 PM

First things first, block access to the bedroom where they are peeing. Once a cat gets it in its mind to start peeing somewhere, it's hard to stop them from doing it without restricting access to that place altogether.

Another thing you will probably have to start doing, once you block access, is to make sure you don't leave clothing laying on the floor. That will be her next peeing location, trust me.

I also suggest buying a second litter box and placing it in a different location from the current one, perhaps in front of the door to where this bed is she's peeing on. Do that for awhile and start slowly moving that litter box to where you want her to be doing her business.

And while this is all going on, I second the recommendation of the pheromone plug.

6/15/2010 8:25:30 PM

The problem with blocking off the room is that you have to go through the room to get to te bathroom where the litter box is. I would just put the litter box in the hall but the dog likes to try to eat the litter and as you can see in the original post the cats aren't fond of the cover and doggie door for the litter.

I spent some time with the cat so I hope it helps some. I think she's feeling neglected but I am definitely keeping an eye on her. It's weird she's doing this 2 months in and not right when we moved.

6/15/2010 8:31:25 PM

You need to find a new place for that litter box then. I'm telling you, if she's already peed on that bed twice, nothing is going to stop her from peeing on it again if this is a behavioral problem. I've owned cats for going on 28 years and had my fair share of pissers

6/15/2010 8:35:45 PM

So they've gone from being good to randomly pissing on things? I've grown up with cats myself for the last 28 years but I haven't encountered this before.

I could move the litter box downstairs but the cats don't really like going downstairs. They still kind of keep in the guest room because it's familiar stuff (stuff from my house).

I'll look for some new places to move the litter box and look into the plugs and see how that goes.

6/15/2010 8:46:03 PM

Yep, one of my current cats started that two years ago. One day was fine about using the litter box, the next being a bitch about it. There was no change in their routine and she was physically fine. Problems went away once she was "retrained" to use the litter box.

One thing you can do to keep a lid on the litter box while also minimizing smell build-up it to ghettorig your own top. Take the top that originally came with the litter box and cut slats into the top of the lid. Small enough that the dog still can't get into the litter box but large enough and frequent enough that the litter box is essentially open to the elements. This will keep the smell from getting trapped in the box and also keep your dog out of the litter box. I also recommend sprinkling baking soda in with the litter every time you scoop it and also completely dumping and scrubbing the box with bleach on a weekly basis. This is what we would do when I volunteered at an animal shelter since some cats will even decide that old litter is excuse enough to not use the litter box.

6/16/2010 3:05:48 AM

Man, you guys have had some stingy cats. We had all four cats using 1 litter box at one point, though I'm not sure how often it was cleaned. It was large, but not like a kid's sand pit or something crazy

Sounds like she is definitely acting out, so she probably does feel neglected. You may try affection, more alone time with her, and treats.

obligatory"works for my girlfriend"

Does your litter box not have vents up top? One like these should be more than enough

Quote :

"i'm going to throw away the futon cover (sigh) because even after washing it i bet it still smelled like pee since cat pee sucks. "

They sell sprays at places like PetSmart that are designed to get cat urine odor out of fabrics, carpets, all sorts of stuff. We bought some recently because g/f's cat peed in my car and it just needs a good heavy spraying, soak, and airdry. Read some online reviews and see what you can find.

6/16/2010 7:33:04 AM

Quote :

"Does your litter box not have vents up top? One like these should be more than enough"

mine looks EXACTLY like the one you posted but the cats hate it. i'm thinking its the female. when i got her as a kitten, i had that kind of litter box and she did the same thing - pooped outside the litter box. i assumed it was because when she was little, she was too small to push open the doggie door so i went back to an old litter box i had that was completely open and then she was fine.

i spent some time with my female cat last night. let her lay on the master bed (we had been keeping the cats out because of my boyfriend's allergy) and this morning when i left there was no pee! wohoo! i also am not putting the comforter back on the bed until all of this is resolved.

6/16/2010 8:25:30 AM

nature's miracle advanced for cats ftw

screw all that expensive hooded litterbox bullshit. buy a rubbermaid type container, tall enough for the cat, and cut a hole in the lid. it's like $5 and if it gets really nasty, just throw the whole thing out and buy another. put one of those tracking mats on top and you can really really cut down on the litter that makes it out of the box. it'll keep them from kicking litter out of the box too. my cats seem to prefer top entry instead of side anyway.

6/16/2010 8:25:51 AM

ahah like this?



never heard of that before, though I do suppose that cats love climbing into boxes

We got the Nature's Miracle as well, but I haven't seen my car recently to see how well it treated the upholstry

6/16/2010 8:32:33 AM

^yes, exactly! i started after i saw some version of this in petsmart, except it costs $35. it's the same thing, except the plastic on the lid is thicker...but my cat used to be a HUGE fatass and it never caved in when she walked on it. i only wish i'd thought of it first. i'd be a $texas-aire

6/16/2010 8:46:11 AM

^^ huh I've never thought of doing something like that before. I'll have to try that after I move.

6/16/2010 9:05:11 AM

I bet the dog would have a hell of a time getting those snicker bars. That, or you would have a HUGE mess one day after work

6/16/2010 9:06:26 AM

Quote :

"i started after i saw some version of this in petsmart, except it costs $35"

we have the petsmart version. it's AWESOME. one of my 3 cats won't use it, so we have more than just that one litter box, but it's great. and there's no reason not to use a plain old storage box. it's pretty much the same thing.

6/16/2010 9:37:18 AM

wow, i can't believe someone actually bought one. when i first saw it i just kinda assumed everybody would see it, realize they can make one for next to nothing, and the company would stop making them lol

6/16/2010 9:40:33 AM

There's a sucker born every day.

6/16/2010 9:50:27 AM

Some people don't need to jew out and are content with buying a prefab

Regardless, this is a cool idea for a litter box. Now, back to Cass...

6/16/2010 9:58:50 AM

Quote :

"So they've gone from being good to randomly pissing on things?"

Yes. Anytime you change an animal's environment, food, water, schedule, animal grouping, lighting, ANYthing . . there is the potential for them to develop behavioral problems.

6/16/2010 11:36:04 AM

so my boyfriend and i have decided to move the litter box and food for the cats downstairs to half bathroom. this will a) get the female who has peed on the bed twice away from that room more and b) be good for when we have guests because now they won't have to share the bathroom with the cats

we have a guest coming next week (i think on wednesday). i was going to plan to move the litter box over the weekend to give the cats enough time to adjust to the new spot. this will be good because it will force them to be downstairs more.

anyone have any other suggestions or good ideas of things they have done when they've moved the litter box? we're talking from one floor of the house to the other. i don't know if maybe we should move it little by little everyday. before i would just move the litter box, throw the cat in it so they kind of "know" where it is and they've been good to go before.

6/16/2010 12:17:30 PM

little by little is the way to go. it sucks b/c you end up w/ a litterbox in the middle of the hallway but it's better than going through all that again once it's moved. make sure you get the plug-ins. also, there's a litter called cat attract. use that.

6/16/2010 1:15:31 PM

Quote :

" before i would just move the litter box, throw the cat in it so they kind of "know" where it is and they've been good to go before. "

That's all we ever did.

6/16/2010 1:42:35 PM

^yeah, but that doesn't seem to be working very well right now.

6/16/2010 2:41:55 PM

Ugh she peed on the bed again!!!!! This is the third time In 2 days.

I don't see any blood in the urine and she's not peeing anywhere else. When she had a UTI a couple years back her urine was really dark and smelled awful.

I really don't know what to do. She just looks so unhappy. I've been giving her more attention and trying to spend time with her. She was fine an hour ago and I went downstairs to work out, came upstairs and saw she peed. She's ruining my mattress!!!!

I don't get her behavior.

6/16/2010 5:05:39 PM

Between the drunk dog and the peeing cat, it's quite the menagerie you two have going over there

6/16/2010 5:12:40 PM

did you get a new litter box yet?

i just bought this today for my futon. i changed the cover and threw the old one away. even after washing i just feel like she could still smell the pee

so i put a new cover on AND have now sprayed it with this. i can let you know if it works for me or not


oh also for my futon i ended up putting a vinyl protectant thing over the mattress underneath the real cover

you might consider doing that for your mattress so that at least THAT won't get ruined. i realize it doesn't fix the pee problem but it at least will protect the mattress.


[Edited on June 16, 2010 at 5:26 PM. Reason : .]

6/16/2010 5:25:16 PM

Well I just found out from my boyfriend that the same cat pooped outside the litter box again last night. Ugh.

6/16/2010 9:41:39 PM

1. have you taken the cat to the vet yet?
2. did you buy any feliway, plug-in or spray?
3. have you cleaned up after the cat using cat urine-specific enzyme cleaner (not just any regular old pet cleaner)?

have you done any of our suggestions besides moving the litterbox downstairs?

6/16/2010 10:49:56 PM

If you're going to do a drastic move of the litter box like that you'll probably have to confine the cat to the same room that litter box is in for a few days until it figures out what's going on.

6/17/2010 12:02:09 AM

Quote :

"1. have you taken the cat to the vet yet? 2. did you buy any feliway, plug-in or spray? 3. have you cleaned up after the cat using cat urine-specific enzyme cleaner (not just any regular old pet cleaner)? have you done any of our suggestions besides moving the litterbox downstairs?"

hahaha why do i feel like i'm being punished and you're standing over me wagging your finger?

1. no i have not taken the cat to the vet yet. she appears to be ok. it's becoming increasingly obvious she is mad about the dog. my female was alpha in my house, she's not in the new one. the dog is.
2. no because i'm broke.
3. see number 2.

and for your information i haven't even moved the litter box yet. i didn't have time last night to do it and i want to think this through before i actually start moving it.

[Edited on June 17, 2010 at 7:52 AM. Reason : e]

6/17/2010 7:52:10 AM

Quote :

"so my boyfriend and i have decided to move the litter box and food for the cats downstairs to half bathroom"

Surely you can understand why this sentence would lead people to believe you had.

Quote :

"2. no because i'm broke. 3. see number 2. "

Then there's no surprise she's still pissing on the bed. Unless you use a cleaner specifically designed to break down the enzymes in cat urine, your cat is going to smell the urinated location and continue going to it. Your only other option is to block them from entering the room to begin with.

6/17/2010 8:22:28 AM

ah yes my apologies. we have decided to move it but have not moved it yet. we are going to this weekend while we're both home so we can slowly move it downstairs.

6/17/2010 10:37:00 AM

Your boyfriend has got to be all "Man, fuck cats"

[Edited on June 17, 2010 at 11:27 AM. Reason : ,]

6/17/2010 11:27:45 AM