Houston, we have a problem!

[Maya & Inka's mommy]

Oops, I mean "Pet Talk, we have a problem :D

I need help from other multi-cat-households!!

One of our cats is acting weird :rolleyes: . This morning, my hubby found his food-bag covered with cat-pee :eek: . He has a black nylon bag in which he takes muesli, yoghurt, bananas and apples to work. Yesterday evening he put it on the kitchen counter, near Maya's feeding place. This morning it was soaking wet, the pee even dropped down the counter onto the floor :eek: . I have NO idea who is doing this :( . In fact I found a smaller pee-spot on the same counter, closer to the window a week ago...! How the heck am I going to find out who did this???? :confused:
The only cat who is acting a bit different is Maya: yesterday and the day before I saw her dropping her "poop" right in front of one of the litterboxes :eek: . No, the box was NOT filthy, as I change the filling regularly!

HELP !!!!

[DJFyrewolf36]

Think back over the past few weeks. Has your husband upset any one of the kitty butts reciently? Could you think of anything at all that could have upset them? (changing foods, rutine etc) John said and I tend to agree that cats can hold a pretty big grudge, and a sign of that is targeting the person of thier wrath with pee. I've seen cats get mad at someone and target thier things exclusively, shoes, bed you name it they'll hit it!

Also, have you had any contact with any other cats reciently? Sometimes peeing can be a teritorial issue, so can inapropriate poo. (I swear this is the only forum I can say "inapropriate poo" and not get a wierd look). Have you done an extensive cleaning reciently? Cats rely on thier noses quite a bit and sometimes an new (or extremely clean, like cleaning product clean) smell can upset cats. My cats got majorly upset once after a huge cleaning and trust me they let me know!!!

Pinpointing which cat is most affected by recient events should help you find the culprit.

Hope that helps a little. :D Good luck with the issue!

[Pawsitive Thinking]

Oh no! Can't believe it would be any of your precious girls.....maybe one of them has a slight infection??

[Maya & Inka's mommy]

Think back over the past few weeks. Has your husband upset any one of the kitty butts reciently? Could you think of anything at all that could have upset them? (changing foods, rutine etc) John said and I tend to agree that cats can hold a pretty big grudge, and a sign of that is targeting the person of thier wrath with pee. I've seen cats get mad at someone and target thier things exclusively, shoes, bed you name it they'll hit it!

As far as I can think, it was only Zazou's butt. She doesn't want to come back inside when we let her out; so everytime it was a "chase-me-indoors" . Of course, now she is NOT allowed to play in the garden anymore!


Also, have you had any contact with any other cats reciently? Sometimes peeing can be a teritorial issue, so can inapropriate poo. (I swear this is the only forum I can say "inapropriate poo" and not get a wierd look).

No, not at all!


Have you done an extensive cleaning reciently? Cats rely on thier noses quite a bit and sometimes an new (or extremely clean, like cleaning product clean) smell can upset cats. My cats got majorly upset once after a huge cleaning and trust me they let me know!!!

Not all, just the usual thing, with the usual product.

So I came down to Maya or Zazou: Maya for pooping in front of her box, and Zazou for chasing her :rolleyes:

[Maya & Inka's mommy]

Oh no! Can't believe it would be any of your precious girls.....maybe one of them has a slight infection??

Oops! How can I know who??

[MsLadyLyn]

I agree with DJFyrewolf36. My sister has 10 cats. My son was staying with her and he doesn't care for cats as they interfere with his asthma. (I think cats are very sensitive of how we feel about them.) He was sleeping on the floor and one of the cats sprayed and pooed on his beding while he was in it. They especially did this after he told them to get away from him.

[Maya & Inka's mommy]

I agree with DJFyrewolf36. My sister has 10 cats. My son was staying with her and he doesn't care for cats as they interfere with his asthma. (I think cats are very sensitive of how we feel about them.) He was sleeping on the floor and one of the cats sprayed and pooed on his beding while he was in it. They especially did this after he told them to get away from him.

OMG, how drastic!!
That cannot be the problem here though, as Bernard adores all 4 cats, just like me :)

[jenluckenbach]

I am sorry Lut. It is difficult to figure out WHO!

My first thought was "Is Snoopy in heat?" As she gets older she may do more urine marking during her heat cycle. Just another possibility.

Although, banning Zazou from the garden may very well be the cause.

If it is an infection the cat will attempt to use the box often (more so than normal) so be observant and you may be able to figure out who.

Prayers to you that the answer comes (and trust me, I know how hard it is with multiples)

[catlover4ever]

It does sound like a infection to me. Smokey pee where ever he feels like when he is developing crystals (stones) in his bladder. Fortunately for me I know his "moods" when he is not feeling well.

As for figuring out who it is....well that's the hardest part. My advise is to watch very carefully around the house, their behavior, their litter box habits, etc. you will probally catch whoever it is in the act.

Hope this resolves soon (((hugs))) I know exactly what you are going through and it can be very frustrating.

[Maya & Inka's mommy]

My first thought was "Is Snoopy in heat?"
If it is an infection the cat will attempt to use the box often (more so than normal) so be observant and you may be able to figure out who.


No, she is not in heat; she was last week.
No abnormal use of the litterboxes either..... .
This is one of those days where I wish that cats could talk to me.... :(

[moosmom]

You know how they have "nannycams"??? How about a "poo or litterboxcam"? Sorry, just trying to inject a little humor here. Bad Donna, BAD DONNA!!!!!

[Pawsitive Thinking]

You know how they have "nannycams"??? How about a "poo or litterboxcam"? Sorry, just trying to inject a little humor here. Bad Donna, BAD DONNA!!!!!

Funny though! :D

[Randi]

Lut, I'm sorry to hear about this problem - and now of all times. :( I know you have an important party tomorrow.

One of them is definately trying to tell you something! My first thought was bladder problems, as Fister did much the same when he had crystals. I would keep a close eye on them all and see if there's any change in their behaviour.

Good luck finding the cause and who did it.

[Donnaj4962]

Oh my, I am sorry to hear that one of the sweet Gabriel Girls is acting up. So unusual for any one of them!

I have no real advice to offer here as I only have 2 girls and I have only had a peeing issues one time. I just wish you luck in finding out what the problem is. I would agree that Zazou may be upset with her outdoor privileges being taken away and she is taking it out on your husband, the creator of the great outdoor gardens! :rolleyes:

Please keep us posted and let us know what you find out. Good luck!

[K & L]

Oh how I can relate to this. It’s so difficult in a multi-cat household to figure out who’s doing this. We just happened to catch both of them doing this after some time of finding pee throughout the house. We have 2 culprits, Mouser and Leila. I’m sure you’ve read my recent thread where we’ve finally put Mouser out to the cat-run and garage. First we did make sure there were no medical issues, and then gave them a chance to correct the behavioral problem. It was only getting worse. I believe Leila started it, and then Mouser had to show who was in control and started spraying all over. It just seems once they start, they just don’t stop. I’ve found a couple dried spots of pee so not sure if this is from before we put Mouser out and I didn’t see it, or if Leila is still an issue. We have a black light that I started using and boy was it scary when we started using it. Good luck and I hope your problem doesn’t progress into what we have. Here’s a good site that might help some. We’re going to give the litter a try.

http://www.geocities.com/heartland/pointe/9352/litterboxhelp.html

[catnapper]

I'm going through this same problem right now. Somebody peed on the baby bibs that were in a basket on the kitchen counter. Main suspect is Pouncer, who is susceptable to urinary infections.

Just watch all the girls closely and make notes (mentally or on a paper pad if neccesary) of who goes to which box, how long they were in there, how big the bicuits were and how often they visit the box. I NEVER see Pouncer in the litterbox (he's a very shy and private little boy) but I KNOW he's sick when I see him in the box - because he generally never leaves the box when he gets really sick.

[Catty1]

Well...if Bernard's bag was near Maya's feeding spot, and she is the one that pooped outside the box...maybe just get her checked out?

Maybe she is feeling a bit unwell and has a slight UTI.

Sounds the likely one!

hugs
Catty1

[catmandu]

If She Is Acting Oddly, And This Is Not Her Normal Behavior, I Will Take Her To The Vets, As It Does Sound Like Crystals To Me.
I Pray That Its Nothing Serious, And Maya Is Her Usual Good Cat Soon.

[jazzcat]

Since I have cat with a UTI my first thought was that too. Ripley usually starts spraying in a couple of places when he is sick. He will even do it in front of me as if to tell me something is wrong so I've never had to figure out who. If Maya is acting a little different and pooping outside the litter box I bet you are on the right track.

[Tubby & Peanut's Mom]

Well...if Bernard's bag was near Maya's feeding spot, and she is the one that pooped outside the box...maybe just get her checked out?

This was my thought too. See if you can collect a urine sample from her because usually a vet who knows your cats will allow you to just bring in the sample for testing - thus avoiding the usuall office call costs.

The only other suggestion would be to isolate them one at a time. Put Bernard's lunch bag in the room with them so the temptation is still there (I'm assuming Bernard will get a new lunch bag anyway :p ) and see what happens. I know it's hard confining cats who normally have free run of the house, but it could help solve the problem.

Good luck and do keep us informed! :)

[Maya & Inka's mommy]

See if you can collect a urine sample from her

Oops, I wish I saved some of the pee I found on that bag and on the floor... :rolleyes: . How the heck can I get an urine sample now?? Please , tell me :confused:

[mruffruff]

Great site! Thanks.

[Maya & Inka's mommy]

It's been 3 days now since the "pee-accident". No more new issues. Does that mean it is over? This is what I did: I emptied all litterboxes, cleaned them, and refilled them with new filling. I covered the aerea on the kitchen counter where the accident happend with metal foil. Everytime I see some spilled filling in front of the box (Inka always things she has to dig all the way to China... :rolleyes: ), I remove it.
I am crossing my fingers now.... :p

ps. Just in case, I'd like to know how to get a "urine-sample"???

[jazzcat]

It's been 3 days now since the "pee-accident". No more new issues. Does that mean it is over?

ps. Just in case, I'd like to know how to get a "urine-sample"???
It's a good sign but it doesn't definitely mean it's over. Ripley only sprays periodically when he has a UTI. One thing I've noticed is he always try to do it in front of me and/or places I will see when it's an infection problem. When he's just being bad and acting out he tends to do it in corners and less obvious places. Not that every cat will act the same way.

I have no idea how to collect a urine sample. I've always taken Ripley in and let the vet get a sample.