Help me keep my mental sanity!

[jenluckenbach]

As you might remember, Jim has been spraying. And then I caught Sterling doing it once. Well now I believe I have a REAL problem. Some of the spots that I find are puddles (vs. a spray on a wall). And last night I found one of these puddles in the tub. (a classic symptom of a medical problem). So now all I need to do is..........
Find Out WHO !!!
Today I start by separating one cat at a time to collect a urine sample to take to the vet. It may be the hard way and it may take forever, but I can't think of any other way to do it but to eliminate them one at a time. I just can't sit and wait to catch him/her in the act. I had my "panic attack" last night and am now ready to solve this thing. Does anyone have a better suggestion?


Holy pee-spots Batman, this is going to be a L O N G week!! :eek:

[sasvermont]

Jen, I suspect the guilty parties will never step forward and you will have to be a private eye for days to come. I think your approach may work. The pee-pee testing isn't that expensive, is it? And maybe they will give you a volume discount!:eek:

I am not sure, but inappropriate peeing doesn't mean illness in every case. I know that Graemer would (as a young cat) pee behind the washer and dryer until I blocked off the area! He had nothing wrong with him.

Peeing in the bathtub does sound like a call for help, but ya never know with cats! I owned a cat for 18 years that would poop in the bathtub (any tub, even my Mom's) if he felt like it. He would go right over the drain! It just seemed like a good idea to him...but not to me. I would put Comet bathroom cleaner in the tub to keep him out!

I wish you luck and please keep us posted.


SAS

;)

[emily_the_spoiled]

Is there any way you could separate the cats. For example, if you had 2 bathrooms, put one cat in each bathroom with a litter box for 24 hours. The "guilty" party would quickly be identified. I know that it would take a few days, but it would also take a few days to get all the urine samples and at least this way you might not have to test all of them.

Good luck

[Randi]

Oh no, Jen! It does sound like an investigating job ahead of you. Any suspicion who it could be? I'm afraid I don't have any better suggestions, but your idea of getting a sample is probably the thing to do, I hope you'll find out soon who it is!

Good luck!

[Tubby & Peanut's Mom]

I would start with the already suspected offenders, Jim and Sterling - and mainly Sterling because you've already had Jim tested if I remember. Since Sterling seems to have just started spraying, I would start the separation with him. However, if it's not him, all bets are off and I think your solution of separating them and getting a sample from each one is the best way to do it.

Good luck and hang in there! I'm sure you'll figure this out and get it taken care of because you're one of the best kitty moms I know. And remember, the kitties pick up on your stress, so you have to remain calm so you don't upset them and make matters worse. It might be a long week, but you'll make it through it and all the kitties will be fine, so take a deep breath (glad you got the panic attack over with ;) ) and you'll be fine. :)

Oh, and also, just really watch the cats for awhile. I know when Tubby has his UTI he was acting very strange and it wasn't hard for me to catch on that something was wrong. I know a lot of cats don't show it like this, but if you watch them very closely, you might pick up on little clues here and there that might indicate who's having the problem.

[K & L]

Your veterinarian can prescribe fluorescein for your cats, helping you to determine which urine stain(s) glow under an ultraviolet light.

[rg_girlca]

Oh Jen, my heart goes out to you for having to go through this.
But I think your solution by separating them is a good one.

I remember when my RB C-Fer had UTI, he would also go in the bathtub or the sink and also on the kitchen floor which was white tile at the time. I didn't know anything was wrong with him until he started doing this and I noticed blood in his urine. It was almost like he was telling me, "Look Ma, there is something wrong with me." If he did it anywhere else in the house, I wouldn't have noticed.

You didn't mention if there was any blood in the urine. Was there? Cause this is a classic sign.

My prayers and thoughts are with you Jen. I hope you find out who it is and that it isn't anything serious.

BTW, you're Holy pee-spots batman comment is hilarious.
You need a sense of humour in times like this.

[jenluckenbach]

I chose to start with Lucas. He was in a room by himself with a litter box (no litter, just a bit of wax paper shreds to scratch in) from 6:30 this morning until 8 tonight. NO PEE. So, I can ALMOST assume that he does not have a problem holding his water. So instead of keeping him in lockup for any longer, I changed the guard. Bonnie, being the newest cat member, is next on the list. She will need to be in solitary all of tonight and tomorrow until I get "pay dirt". I feel like a jailer. I hate this. Just gimme the PEE and no one gets hurt. :eek:

[krazyaboutkatz]

Jen, I'm so sorry to hear that you have to go through this long process. :( I sure hope that you find the right cat or cats soon. Since you have one litterbox per cat, can you separate them in their own rooms so that you can test more than one cat at a time. How many rooms do you have in your house? Take care.

[jenluckenbach]

No more long days of waiting for the PEE.
I talked to my vet last night and here is what we are going to do:
The cats..........yes ALL of them, are going into see Dr. Hess. She will draw the urine from them (MUCH better than waiting ALL day and getting nothing, like I did yesterday). All I need to do is crate them for at least 2 hours before hand. She is giving me a fantastic $$$$ deal (I think). $10 for each cat's visit and $9 for each urinalysis. THEN, if we find a problem, she will examine only that (or those) cats. And one other thing, since we KNOW Jim is spraying, we will be confining him at home for 2 weeks and then medicating him with what she called a "Kitty Prozac".
I will be making this appointment for Monday (hopefully). Wish us luck!

[Barbara]

Wow -that sounds like a reasonable deal! It will still be a major project to get your herd to see the vet -but yesterday it looked like 4 weeks of stalking cats near the litterbox:)

I wish you and the furkids luck! You are such a strong person:)

[Randi]

Jen, this is a much better solution. Your vet will be able to get the samples fairly quick and analyse - this is important, especially if one of them have UTI.

In the meantime, watch for any of your cats straining to go but can't. He will most likely sit in or near his box looking miserable. :(

Good luck getting them in the crate and finding who it is! Fingers and paws crossed here. :)

[L. Wayne]

Jen, I have a cat who poops in the bathtub especially when I haven't cleaned out their litter box. Generally i have found that such a problem is from one of the males. The girls are usually more discreet about where they urinate or poop. Good luck, and I know that you will get to the bottom of the problem.

......wayne

[HayleyRosie]

I hope this problem get solved really soon.

[jenluckenbach]

I am leaning toward a problem that is NOT a UTI. The spots I found were more like the spots I found when my Y.Lee (RB) was diagnosed with diabetes........LARGE wet spots, not the dribbles of pee combined with frequent box usage.
The biggest problems are 1) It COULD be all from Jim....and 2) It could be ANOTHER cat with a behavoral problem. But peace of mind is a thing you cannot put a price tag on.
My vet suggested I call the office on THURSDAY to make my appointment as that is the next day she is in to OK the deal with the receptionist. I can only hopt that there is still open time on Monday (my day off) to do this or I may need to wait.

[sasvermont]

Jen, I wish you luck with this event. My visuals are all over the place, since I don't know how difficult these rascals are to contain! Have you considered having the vet come to the house? Or maybe you should back a van up to the front door and herd the group into the back of the truck.

I think your observation about diabetes may be right on target. Please let us know what the vet finds out by doing the sample/testing.

Gosh, pets can really be trouble, can't they!

How about a big glass of wine for Mom and Dad?

L,
SAS

[K & L]

Good luck to you. I sure hope there's nothing medically wrong. Although a behaviorial problem isn't fun either, but better than being ill! Keep us posted. What a wonderful vet you must have to do all this at such a reasonable rate!:cool:

[gini]

Originally posted by K & L
Good luck to you. I sure hope there's nothing medically wrong. Although a behaviorial problem isn't fun either, but better than being ill! Keep us posted. What a wonderful vet you must have to do all this at such a reasonable rate!:cool:

This really echoes my own thoughts about your situation, Jen.

Good luck and I sure am sorry that you need to go through this.

[Tubby & Peanut's Mom]

It's great you got such a good deal from the vet! Seems with 14 it's still going to cost a bundle, but not near as much as if she charged full rate for everything. And it seems she knows this is a problem that needs to be addressed, so I don't think you need to worry about there still being time availble when you call to make the appointment. Although can you imagine the poor girl that takes the call? "So and so vet clinic. Yes, you'd like to make an appointment on Monday, no problem." <sputter, gasp, big breath> "Excuse me!!!??! You want to make an appointment for how many cats????!!!?" <line goes silent, then you hear a sound like someone dropping to the floor as she faints> :D

Good luck with herding everyone into a crate and getting them all there and with finding out what the problem is. Sounds like the glass of wine that SAS suggests will be a good thing once you get them all back home again, too. :D

[jenluckenbach]

Although can you imagine the poor girl that takes the call? "So and so vet clinic. Yes, you'd like to make an appointment on Monday, no problem." <sputter, gasp, big breath> "Excuse me!!!??! You want to make an appointment for how many cats????!!!?" <line goes silent, then you hear a sound like someone dropping to the floor as she faints>
***LAUGHS HYSTERICALLY***

Actually, I only have 2 problem children when it comes to being in carriers. THOSE are the ones I will worry about. On Sunday Charlie and I will be trying to figure out how the carriers will best fit in the car(s).


Have you considered having the vet come to the house?
The vet actually said she would do a house call to give the innocculations, but I think in this case they need the lab nearby for immediate test results. I will know right away.

Keep in mind, they may find nothing. It could be ALL behavioral. And if Jim (and Sterling, who sprayed once) are not the only two cats spraying, I won't know until those two are in their 2 week confinements. And yes, I realize that even though I only saw Sterling do this one time, he needs to go through the retraining as well. This is an all or nothing project. I have use of 2 of those tall, multileveled cat cages through my rescue organization. And seeing them in their for 2 weeks will be hard, but that might be just what the Dr. orders.

Well, I can't call for the appointment until tomorrow, sooooooooooooo...............

[Kirsten]

Oh Jen, I don't envy you for that! :(

Bad enough one of your kitties might have FUS, but at least your vet would find out who it is and then it would be treatable.

If it's a behavior problem, you'll have a real problem (but would at least know your cats are healthy).

Good luck!

Kirsten

[jenluckenbach]

Well, I did as I was suppose to today.......but they did not do what THEY were suppose to! :mad: Yes, I am a bit mad. The Dr. specifically told me to ask for Marilyn at the desk, she would make my appointment. So I did. And she told me she could NOT make the appointment and the Dr. would neded to call ME back. :mad: Well, I knew this would be an all day wait and I worried that we were getting closer to Monday (you know, the day I wanted to get the appointment fopr), so I decided to call back again later. Luckily for me I got a different person on the phone. I simply made an appointment for Monday for Jim and Sterling. They are the 2 that NEED work. The urine tests were only to find out IF there was another problem. So, If the vet calls me back I will explain that I had problems with the front desk people and decided to make the appointment for 2 cats, and if she does not call back, I will explain this all on Monday when I see her and we will go from there.
Cat problems aren't enough, now I had to deal with people problems. ARGH!

[catmandu]

Jen , I hope that you know that we at the Lost cats Hotel are praying that you find the solution to the spraying . Mine do it when they sense the stray cats that are fedding outside so I have moved the outside dishes ! Dumb , with the sniffing abilities of the cats!Please keep us posted on any news , especially good!Your friend Gary and Cats!

[Randi]

Good Grief!! You don't need any more problems, it's bad enough as it is! I hope you can have them checked according to your plan - and I really hope they'll find the reason in the first few tests, so you can avoid confining any of them.

Good luck!

[Tubby & Peanut's Mom]

Ugh! Geeze, what else can go wrong with this? 'Course I don't want to ask that because I don't want anything else to go wrong for you. :( You woulda thought the vet could have relayed your conversation with her to Marilyn so Marilyn would have been prepared. :rolleyes:

Well, at the very least you've got Jim and Sterling set, and will be able to talk to the vet more when you see her - unless she calls back, which hopefully she has done by now.

Hang in there, Jen. Jim and Sterling is a good start anyway. :)

[jenluckenbach]

Jim and Sterling had their urinalysis. Blood WAS found in both, a little in Jim's but quite a bit in Sterling's. So they are on antibiotics and will be going on the amitriptaline (I don't have these pills yet, so I do not know the correct spelling) which is the kitty prozac that should calm them and make them not care that there are many cats around for them to "show off" for. They are now in their cages for retraining because even with the finding of blood, both the vet and myself truely believe that they need this reconditioning. They will need to stay in the cages for 2 WEEKS and then another 2 weeks in a room before letting out into the whole house. This is going to be mentally and emotionally hard. They will need to come out for daily medication and that will be hard enough, but then they don't even get a reward, all they get is going back in the cage. I can see I will be crying for them a LOT in the upcoming weeks. I will post pictures of kitty jail at a later date when I can get them developed and scanned. I could use all the support pet talk can muster. It is hard to punish your loved ones.:(

[Tubby & Peanut's Mom]

Oh Jen! :(

I'm glad they found there to be a medical reason - I don't know, in my mind medical reasons are much easier to deal with than emotional ones. I mean, I'm not glad their sick, but at least the pills can cure that, and pills are easy on you. Whereas the locking them up and reconditioning sounds like it will be harder on you than on them - poor Jen. :( And poor Jim and Sterling too, but with so many kitties in one house, they need to know and follow the rules.

Hugs to all of you, and hopefully all the emotional and medical problems are cured real soon. :)

[krazyaboutkatz]

Jen, I'm glad that you now know the reasons why Jim and Sterling are spraying and that it can be treated. I'm so sorry that you have to lock them in their cages and recondition them though. This will be very hard. :( Let's hope that the next 4 weeks will go by fast and that this will cure them. {{{HUGS}}}

[Russian Blue]

Awww....that must be so hard on you (the caging and reconditioning). At least you know what to do now and who to medicate.

Hoping the next few weeks go easier on you and your household.