STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

Cortney1982 · Chanel

Cat dilema

iwekewai · Nine West

My first thought was shes just mad at you for something but 10 incidents is a lot. I have you changed you schedule? Has anything changed for her? You might also want to think about taking her the the vet she might have a UTI. I only say that because my cat does the same thing when he wasnt feeling good and would have a UTI. HTH

ejc423 · Coach

Yeah, I'd definitely take her to the vet. Good luck!

manhattanmonkey · Kenneth Cole

I know this won't solve everything, but what about a covered litter box.

My cat LOVES her's. She sits on it and loves the privacy it provides.

nunzi182 · Kate Spade

This was happening with my cat not all that long ago - maybe 7 months ago. I took him to the vet because at first I thought he was sick or something. The vet told me that there was nothing wrong with him, he was just being spiteful. I had gone from a part time job to a full time job after moving so he was not liking the change AT ALL. It got so bad that he went to the bathroom on my bed while me and hubby were sleeping in it. Ew. The vet suggested leaving the radio on for him while me and hubby were out so that he's got noise and isn't lonely. Oddly enough, it actually worked and he hasn't had an accident in a really long time.

If you try the radio and that doesn't work, the vet also suggested closing doors to the rooms he usually messed up in so that he can't get in there; but the vet said that could also piss him off more, so try at your own risk.

Some similar to this happened to my mom's cat years ago and he had a UTI, so i would definitely take him to the vet. I wouldn't give up on him just yet.

ETA: As you can tell from my avatar, my kitty doesn't look like the nicest thing in the world...but I love him anyway!

-- Edited by nunzi182 at 09:00, 2006-03-03

lilyann · Dooney & Bourke

You might also want to think about taking her the the vet she might have a UTI. I only say that because my cat does the same thing when he wasnt feeling good and would have a UTI. HTH

Yes, I second this. Sometimes when cats exhibit this type of behavoir, and they were not doing this before, they can have an infection-or not be feeling well. Take her for a physical.

dot · Marc Jacobs

i'm so sorry about all the stuff your cat has done.. i know sometimes i just want to scream when my little guy pees all over my couch!

i would definitely take it to vet. how old is your cat? maybe with old age it's losing control.

but if it's out of some psychological thing... try this. i know it sounds insane, but the moment this this isn't plugged in my cat pees on my couch. it's a thing that replicated cat hormones... to make them feel more comfortable. buy it from drs. foster and smith.. it's cheapest there.

it's called Feliway and it's also in spray form so it doesn't spray/dump whatever in the spot where it did again... but it sounds more like she may be sick than she is lashing out at you.

greca · BCBG

Our cat was also doing this about a month ago...it was so frusterating to come home and find a big pile of doodies on the floor- this happened every night for almost two weeks...In our case, our little boy was definitely being spiteful (he once even took a dump at my fiance's feet) because he had been moved around alot during some remodeling and my fiance was working more than usual- so the cat was not happy.

However, now's he's back to his normal, happy self. I would recommend some TLC as well as a visit to the vet as your situation sounds a little more extreme, especially with the throwing up and all...In the meantime, you might have to restrict access to some areas of your house to prevent more accidents...

Keep us updated and good luck!

blubirde · Chanel

Like the other girls said, I'd check the vet first. If the kitty's not sick and is just being mean (more often than not this is a kitty's problem), there are lots of ways you can try to keep a cat inside their litter box. You just have to find the one that works for your cat. The last cat I lived with had this problem (only in my roommate's, the cat's owner, room). She started putting the cat's food near it's litter box. She also put a piece of plastic underneath the litter box/food area, so it made noises when the cat walked on it. Finally she used a de-urinizer (I totally made that word up) to get rid of the cat urine smell in the area - she used some special cat stuff so she could get rid of the enzymes and the cat couldn't smell it anymore, not just humans.

Our kitty completely stopped her bad behavior. The only other time she had "accidents" was when her litter box needed to be cleaned out (she had two - one in a room we would open up when we were home and one in the hallway in case we weren't home and closed off the rest of the house).

Hope your kitty gets better!

Cortney1982 · Chanel

Well, she doesn't go to the bathroom all over. That one dump was the only time. She is mostly bulemic I guess. She will eat an insane amount of food and it will be too much at one time and throw it up. I have tried to limit her food but then she whines and whines and doesn't leave me alone until I put more in, even if she only eats one bite! She just likes having it all there. Being lonely wouldn't be her problem since she prefers it. She is just that type of cat since she was a kitten even though we try having her sit with us. She is nice only on occasion, usually we find out because she wants more food. But I do know she cares for me since if I'm hurting or upset she usually comes to my rescue. She isn't that old either, just 6 years. I can't think of any reason why she would be mad or upset since nothing has changed around her. I don't know when I would be able to take her to the vet to see whats the problem since I can't physically put her in her cage myself without losing an eye! Her traveling cage is very tramatizing to her, so it's my last resort.

greca · BCBG

I too could never get the cat into the carrier, until a friend of mine gave me this tip- get a small towel or blanket and wrap the cat w/it (so she can't see) and drop her into the carrier really fast- works like a charm for us and haven't had any problems since...

you might want to try it out. Good luck!

Deuce · Dooney & Bourke

I feel your pain, one of my cats does this too. Only mine started when I got the dog, so needless to say it continues. My only saving grace is that she does it on tile and it is easy to clean. She also did it when we moved, but that did not last long. Part of my theory is that she prefers to go outside and is "so over" the litterbox. Maybe a kitty door would help so she can come and go as she pleases, which is usually what they want.

One of our misshaps was due to me getting the bright idea to change brands of kittylitter. she went on strike and did not use it. The second I switched back she was waiting at the door.

As for the puking, my other kitty did this when she had hairballs. Most of the throw up just looked like undigested food, with no furballs in it. I tried petromalt and that really helped, but I got lazy, and when I stopped the puking started again. I swiched the food to a hairball remedy and that really helped, and all I have to do is pay a little extra.

Good luck I know it is frustrating.

Cortney1982 · Chanel

This morning I wake up and find a gift on the top of the stairs. Lovely. It was throw up. I'm pretty sure this is a hairball problem, she has long fluffy hair. Maybe I should brush it more.

What is petromalt? I've got her on Purina hairball but that doesn't help! Maybe there is a better hairball control food?

Ally S · Kate Spade

Take her to vets and don't ignore it. How old is the cat?

I had a kitty who did similiar things and I thought it was kitty nastiness and got a covered litterbox, spray repellants, etc. I finally took him to the vet to only find out he had CRF; chronic renal failure.

Cats go outside the litterbox and spray for a two reasons, health issues or behavior. Sadly, my situation was health. We had a good two years after he was diagnosed but they were hard years on both my family and my poor baby. We almost lost him on several occasions and finally he was just so bad I had to do the humane thing.

Is kitty eating normally? Does she drink alot? Does she hang out by her water bowl but just sip? Eating is a sign of sickness, either loss of appetite or too finicky. Drinking alot or too little is another sign as is them hanging out by the water bowl.

Does she bring up anything that is clear and foamy/frothy? That is another sign. Does the accidents, urine, litterbox smell unusually acrid?

Not trying to scare you but the earlier things are detected the better chance you have for a few more easy, comfortable years.

Fingers crossed all is well.

Deuce · Dooney & Bourke

Petromalt is a tube of stuff that is pretty gross. I dont really know if it is like an oil and helps the hairball break up or if it dissolves it. Either way, I squoze (squeezed?) some in my finger and let my cat lick it off, it comes in gross flavors cats love. I used the same amount as I would in toothpaste, for brushing my teeth. They carry it at all of the petsmart/petcos and target may even have it it is pretty common.

As for food, My friend has good luck with Iams, but I used science diet.

I would take her to the vet just to make sure, and they may have some recs for the hairball situation. BTW your kitty is adorable. I hope she is okay.

Aurora · Marc Jacobs

Hey girl. Purina makes a hairball and a UTI specific food. If kitty seems to get hairballs often you might want to change the food you are serving. My kitty use to do the eat a bunch and throw it right up. We would just put less in his bowl like you are doing and just put food down more often. He got use to the change but it took a few days.

Cortney1982 · Chanel

I'm pretty sure my cat is healthy, she is only six and is spayed and had her shots. She's playfull and no obvious behaivor changes. She doesn't hang out by her food dish either. There is no way she would ever let my put something in her mouth! She doesn't even like cat treats. She eats too much in one sitting, so I will try 1/2 as much food but more often. I will also brush her more often since she loves that in conjuction with her hairball food, to keep those throwup hairball incidents down.