Moral quandry about peeing foster cat

[jennielynn1970]

Ok, I'm having a moral battle with myself about what to do about one of my foster kitties. Her name is Furbee, and she's lived with me for a year and a half now. Ever since I brought her home to foster, she has been extremely anti-social, and to this day is not social with any of the kitties in the house. If any of them come near her, she shrieks like she's being torn apart! None of them have ever really harmed her, some have swatted her on the nose, which I have reprimanded them for because she is declawed.

She is a sweet girl when all on her own. The only thing is, here at my place, she is NOT on her own. She doesn't want to be in a room by herself either. I've tried that, and she's very unhappy. She basically just lives in my kitchen, sleeping in front of a portable heater in the winter (poor heating in the kitchen), or on the window seat in the spring, summer and fall. She's extremely timid of people as well, however, she does seem to like men more than women. When my water heater guy was here, she was all over him!

So, after all that intro to Furbee, here's the deal. She's peeing all over my kitchen. I wasn't sure it was her till I set up a cam corder from work. She's peeing on the countertops, on the stove, on the appliances, in the sink. She even peed in a very large coffee cup. She has better aim than a man in front of a toilet, lol.

I'm bleaching the kitchen almost every day. It's quite exhausting. She pees down things, onto things... she even peed into the vents of the microwave... so now whenever that is on, it smells like hot pee. Same with the heat registers in the kitchen. Peed in them too, and now I get hot pee air. I replaced the vents, but she hits them again anyway.

I really don't know what to do. I know it's behavioral, not a medical issue. The woman who runs the shelter said I can bring her back in on Monday when I pick up a new foster (a senior kitty). I just feel so bad. I really adore this girl, but she's wreaking havoc on my household. I'm just afraid she'll shut down in the shelter, and not eat, which is the reason I took her out of there.

I really don't know what to do....

[krazyaboutkatz]

Jenn, I'm so sorry to hear this. I was just reading my latest "Catnip" newsletter and there's a section where people can ask their cat questions to vets. One lady has 2 cats that have been spraying all over her house for several years. She took them to the vet and they're now on generic prozac and as long as she gives them a pill every 3 days, they don't spray. She's giving them 1/2 of a 10-milligram pill. She was also concerned if long term usage of this drug would be safe for her cats. The vet said that he hasn't seen any adverse effects with long term usage but he recommends that the cats receive annual check ups and blood work. He also said that sometimes a cats urine marking can be shut down by a few months course of Prozac but in other cases the medication is necessary long term. Maybe you can try something like this or another drug that is similar. Good luck.

[jenluckenbach]

In a way, I am glad you found out WHO was doing all the peeing. And I personally think that you should do the hard choice. Trust me when I say that I know that even though she is a foster, you will feel like you are doing this to one of your own. But you really need to think of the LARGER good, starting with your own sanity. And even though the change may be hard for Furbee at first she may very well find another (more suitable to HER needs) foster home.

PLEASE, I beg of you to think of yourself and your home and your other kitties FIRST. (you have my permission. LOL)

[Freedom]

Since you are fostering her, how is the adoption process handled? You've had her quite a long time . . . .

What about the old re-training route? Confine her to a smaller area, with a litter box.

Oh, that raises a question. Does she have a litter box in the kitchen? She sounds like she is afraid of dealing with the other cats, and she is marking the kitchen as her territory and all others keep out.

You certainly have patience to have tolerated this behavious for so long. Best wishes to both of you!

[Catty1]

Jenn - if you don't want to take her back, try the medication. At least she'll be easier to rehome if it works!

Does your water heater guy want a cat??? Can't hurt to ask!

[cassiesmom]

Oh, boy, that is a tough question. Good luck with your decision! I give you tons of gold stars for enduring it this long ... ******************

[jennielynn1970]

In a way, I am glad you found out WHO was doing all the peeing. And I personally think that you should do the hard choice. Trust me when I say that I know that even though she is a foster, you will feel like you are doing this to one of your own. But you really need to think of the LARGER good, starting with your own sanity. And even though the change may be hard for Furbee at first she may very well find another (more suitable to HER needs) foster home.

PLEASE, I beg of you to think of yourself and your home and your other kitties FIRST. (you have my permission. LOL)

Well, yes, she is the kitchen peer, and I believe she pees on the dining room table as well, cause she sleep on it (so that would be territorial). But she's not the only peer. So, do I punish her for peeing in the kitchen, while some of the others still pee against the walls??

It just bothers me. She is sweet. She slept by me for a long time on Saturday when I was working at the dining room table (now having no tablecloth on it at all...). I don't know of any other fosters who don't have any cats, or just one other. Well, Elaine does, but she wants cats that will get adopted easily. That's not Furbee. I don't want to doom her to a life in the shelter, she'll just be miserable.

As for caging and retraining that was suggested... if you would hear the bloodcurdling screams she makes when confined, good lord!!! It's enough to wake the dead. I don't know what her former owners did to the poor girl, but someone really mistreated her. She just breaks my heart.

[jenluckenbach]

I don't know of any other fosters who don't have any cats, or just one other.

True, about our CURRENT foster homes, but Joyce has a way of placing these cats.

I think you are the only one who can decide how you feel and what you need to do. We DO tend to take our foster cats deeply into our hearts (which is not a bad thing) but some situations are not meant to be.


HAVE you tried medication for her?

[jennielynn1970]

True, about our CURRENT foster homes, but Joyce has a way of placing these cats.

I think you are the only one who can decide how you feel and what you need to do. We DO tend to take our foster cats deeply into our hearts (which is not a bad thing) but some situations are not meant to be.


HAVE you tried medication for her?

She hasn't been on any meds since I took her from the shelter 1 1/2 yrs ago. It was a battle just giving her clavamox. She is like a possessed kitty when it comes to meds, being held, and being caged.

I took her initially because Joyce asked me too. She saw "sucker" written on my forehead, lol. I was not fond of Furbee at all for a while. She was so anti-social and just a beast! But now, I just feel sorry for her. She just needs an only-cat home. I just wish I knew of someone like that! The one elderly couple who came to see her a few months ago would have been perfect, except the husband kinda cornered her, and she felt very insecure, and she nipped at him when he bent over to pet her. He was about 6ft. 3inches. She was scared of him, and had every right to be. I wouldn't want some giant I never saw before leaning over me when I have no where to run! Of course, he made all the decisions in the household, so it didn't matter that she adored the wife and played so sweetly with her. Freaking men. No wonder I'm still single!!!

[jennielynn1970]

I think I'll see if I can get her into the vet this week and take it from there. Maybe some meds would chill her out and she wouldn't be so freaked out by the other kitties either. I'd feel better than putting her back in the shelter. I just want to take so many of them out of there.

I'm taking Moonbeam tonight. She's ancient, has a thyroid problem and weighs about 4lbs!!! Poor little thing!

You wanna take Dittle for a while?! You could get her adopted out! She's playful, loves other kitties and is adorable! She comes running when you call "Hey Dittle Dittle!" and makes all these little chirpy noises! I need to get her to PetSmart and/or to the Cat Show, whenever that is.

[Catty1]

Jenn - maybe some Rescue Remedy that you just put in her water, or Feliway spray?

HUGS and good luck at the vet.

[jennielynn1970]

Jenn - maybe some Rescue Remedy that you just put in her water, or Feliway spray?

HUGS and good luck at the vet.

Tried both of those to no avail. Have so many of the outlet plugins sitting around, lol. The refills are outrageous in price, and it wasn't doing much after a few months anyway...

I'm going to make an appt. for her at the vet. It just breaks my heart thinking about returning her to the shelter. I know how high strung she is. She'll just end up hiding and they'll never notice she's missing, and she'll die that way.