Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Of cats and crying

I know a lot of you have cats. Do any of you have problem cats? The kind that no matter what you do, you can't get them to quit their bad behaviors? I do. His name is Chico and between my dad and I we've raised this feral kitten since he was found outside my dad's house.




He's adorable, soft, sweet... and on occasion, he pees all over everything. When we were in the apartment in NJ, he started peeing on furniture in the apartment after he was neutered. We used Feliway to get him to stop. When we moved, we brought several bottles of the stuff to plug into the walls to keep our apartment pee free and keep the cats calm.

Unfortunately, someone started peeing again. Feliway's in place, the vet says prescribing him any sort of medication won't help. He peed right in from of the hubs and I this morning and my husband lost it. I have never seen him so angry. It was all I could do to keep him from tossing Chico outside. He went to work and I'm home, cleaning cat pee, crying my eyes out, supposed to be getting ready for work and knowing, deep down, that I'm going to have to give my beloved cat up for adoption, because we don't have a safe outdoor space to let him run free in (we're right off a major highway) and I can't let him destroy my apartment. He's not going to stop if the things that kept him from doing it before... aren't doing anything now.

I'm going to take him to the vet and make sure he doesn't have an infection or anything, since he's peeing, not marking. But if not..

I'm at my wit's end and my heart is breaking.

8 comments:

  1. So difficult...he's getting back at you for something...have you tried a pet psychic? someone who can talk with him about why?

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  2. That is heart breaking to hear.
    As for the weeing, we had a problem with a past cat when new carpets were put down but only in the hall way. In the end i took the carpet up and he stopped.
    I hope you can find an answer and soon.
    Julie
    xxxx

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  3. I had a similar problem with a cat we owned several decades ago - just after he was neutered. He stopped after a few pee's. The vet said that cats will return to areas that they have pee'd before, especially if there is any smell. Is he re-peeing in those spots?
    *hugs* I am sad to hear. =(

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  4. I can completely commiserate with you... this reminds me so much of Gir it's not even funny. It's a heartbreaking thing to give up a pet, but sometimes it's better both for you and for them. I take solace that Gir went to a home more suitable for his size and energy hopefully with people who have more patience for his urinary issues. I'm sure Chico can find a home, if need be, where he can be outside.

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  5. Prayers and good thoughts coming your way.

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  6. Darling girl. Been there, her name was Lala and she was GK's first pet. We had other cats besides her, but she was the culprit. She was a pound kitty and I had a huge amount of guilt when I sought to find her a new home. Did just like you, checked with the Vet to make sure it wasn't something wrong with her. Nope, she just liked to pee on the leather loveseat. Sweet Man wasn't. I had to find her another home. I contacted the local cat rescue and they came and got her and did find her a forever home. I'm sorry that you are having to endure this heart break. The answer is out there for you. Let it manifest itself and take advantage of how resourceful you are. You and Chico will be blessed in the end but right now just try to be in the moment. As GK tells me....breathe in, breathe out.....let it go.
    ((((hugs))) until next time
    I will send healing and soothing thoughts your way

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  7. About 11 or 12 years ago I had a male cat that did the same, just for a little bit because we noticed it so fast. But, we ended up taking him to the vet and he had some kind of infection. I don't recall what it was, but he was kep overnight and given some IV meds and it cured it almost instantly. He was on meds for I believe a week still afterwards. I hope all goes well! Good luck!

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  8. I know this is several months later, but I've been enjoying your blog so much, and I have had just this problem and wanted to comment. Do you still have Chico?

    A few years ago, my kitty Ashlee all of a sudden started peeing on an arm chair. She was 7 or 8 years old (I'd had her since she was a kitten), and had never done anything like this before. I took her to the vet and she had a urinary tract infection, which we cleared up with antibiotics, but the problem continued.

    She's now 11 and doing great. These are the things that have helped:

    1. She has her own litter box.

    2. Finding a litter she likes, and keeping it clean, which is trial and error.

    3. Corraled her in a room, only letting her out with supervision. This means shutting doors to the areas in which we can not easily supervise her: bedrooms, basement, closets, etc.

    4. Making sure she's let out whenever we're home for an hour or more, and making sure to pick her up and give her love every day. I think the latter was the key for her - she is a quiet, gentle kitty, while our other kitty and dogs are quite in your face. So she was getting left by the wayside.

    I hope things work out, he is adorable!

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