So frustrating: Just don't know what to do with Luna

[Kirsten]

We all know about her peeing problem, and usually I'm very tolerant. But tonight, she made me so mad! :(

I got a new mexican rug for my living room, like this one:

http://image01.otto.de/bonprixbilder/shopposiklein/7er/gross/var1/wk165x13.jpg


It was looking perfect there, and it wasn't cheap.

Tonight, I was tidying up a sideboard close to Luna's litter box, and obviously this disturbed her, so she peed on the new rug instead!! :( :( :( It's not supposed to be washed but now I do it anyway. It will most likely be ruined after this, but when I do not wash it, it will be ruined anyway.

I don't know what to do with Luna! She's doing it again and again and again! I know she tends to have bladder problems, and she's on UroPet as a treatment, but even my vet doesn't know what to do about her peeing problem.

I can live with her peeing on the old rugs in the hall all the time (they are easy to wash), but now she's doing it in the living room also - and now destroyed my birthday present. I know my cats are more important to me that any kind of material stuff, but I can't help but feeling upset right now. I was really looking forward to this new rug. :(

Kirsten

[Soapets]

I don't have any advice, but just want you to know I really feel for you. I hope SOMEONE on here can give you some helpful advice!

Deb

[Kirsten]

I tried so many things already, and meanwhile I think it's something I just have to live with - and usually I do. I love Luna more than anything else in this world and I would never give up on her. Tonight, she felt I was upset with her, and the look she gave me almost broke my heart and immediately made me feel sorry for her.

But I'm also sad about the new rug, it looked so good on my floor, and I only had it little more than 24 hours... :(

Kirsten

[catmandu]

I felt the same way,Kirsten when JJJ3 landed on a VCR and ruined it.
I was so mad and hurt,but then I realized that JJJ3 was more important than a machine.
Is there a way that you can have that Rug dry cleaned,and protection added?

[kimlovescats]

I'm sorry Kirsten. I know how you feel ... I love to decorate and have nice things in my home, just like you ... and some times it seems impossible to have our "two loves" ... kitties and nice decor! ;)

HUGS,
Kim

[AlleyCat]

Kirsten, been there and done that! Onyx suddenly developed a peeing problem in January, so I've been dealing with this for 11 months. Aside from vet visits to try to fix this problem, here's what I've been doing at home:

1) I am actually rug-less right now, and will continue to be until this problem stops, if ever.

2) I put pillows or blankets on furniture that were problem spots. It stopped the peeing in those places.

3) I have taken a "take-the-dog-out approach", only with a cat. Meaning, I used to let my dogs outside several times a day (before they went to the RB that is!) so I had to take the effort to go to the door, let them out, and let them back in. Both my girls are gone now, but the little time I spent doing that is time that I pick up Onyx and take her down to the litterbox. I stay until she goes, then I coo "good girl, Onyx" and let her go off to play.

4) I put a litterbox in the closet in my bedroom. I did not want to do this but I gave in. Onyx now sleeps in the bedroom with me with door shut so if she needs to go potty, she knows where that litterbox is and uses it.

Basically, I think the areas that Luna is targeting are areas you will need to circumvent somehow - blankets, pillows or removal of items. Take her down to the litterbox frequently. If peeing at night is a problem, you may want to confine her to an area with a litterbox at her disposal.

I know how frustrating this is !! Onyx is nearly 13 and we went 12 years without a single peeing incident that I know of, then BAM! Everywhere !! While it can be associated with bladder issues, I do firmly believe it can be a behavorial issue as well.

Hope this helps!
Andrea

[Kirsten]

Well, at least it looks like the rug isn't seriously damaged by the washing machine, but I don't know how often it will survive such a procedure.

Kim, it's true, many decoration ideas I have do not work because they are
a) a danger to cats
b) they would be destroyed

So, no matter how much I love decorating: the cats come first!


Gary, a vcr? That's really annoying, I would have been mad, too. But then again, when you compare the value of a vcr to a cat's life... I always try to look at things this way, when anything material gets destroyed.


Andrea, I can relate to what you're going through with Onyx!

I tried so many things:

- I set up litter boxes all over the place
- I sprayed my rugs with Feliway
- I tried Bachflower remedy
- put food to the places she has peed on
- and of course the medical treatment of her bladder problems

I have also covered my sofa and the mattress of my bed with synthetic leather and plaids.

I take her to her litter box and try to encourage her to use it. I never scold her and when she's using her box, I tell her she did right.

And lately, I even bought a book on animal communication and I try to "send" her the right "pictures", pictures of Luna using her box.

What else can I still do? :confused:

Kirsten

[Glacier]

You said you added litter boxes, but do they all have the same kind of litter in them? I have three who can be inappropriate pee-ers...all for different reasons! I have 8 cats, 10 boxes, five different kinds of litter!

Pete had major urinary tract problems that eventually required surgery. He associates the litter box with pain. He's been healthy for quite awhile now and as he gets farther away from that time, his habits improve. Pete does not like hard litter. He won't use wood pellets or those plastic things. He loves Yesterday's News and uses it most often. When he was still sick, as it sounds like Luna might be, he would only pee on soft things, like my clothes! I got some old towels, ripped them up and lined a litter box with them. It had to be changed all the time, but Pete would pee there! Pete was medicated for a time with Amitriptyline(spelled wrong!).


Onyx is perfectly healthy, he has behavioral issues for no apparent reason. He likes a very big box. He's a big boy and if he feels confined he won't use the box. He also likes a hard surface. Given his choice he would be on the cupboards or in the bathtub. So I fill two very big boxes(storage tubs actually) with a very fine layer traditional clay litter. He can scratch down to the plastic which works for Onyx.

Ivy is a stress pee-er. After Twicket died, she started peeing on the dogs' beds. She was very close to Twickie. I add a couple droppers of Rescue Remedy to the cats' water every time I fill it up now. I also tucked one litter box away, near where Ivy hides when she's stressed. Seems to have worked. I haven't caught her peeing in awhile. Ivy likes hard litter--she prefers the plastic pellet stuff or the Feline Pine.

I hate the non-clumping clay litter, but my cats love it! So I've been using more and more of it. I'd prefer they all used clumping but they disagree!

Good luck. It's a very frustrating problem.

[Uabassoon]

I understand. Corkscrew doesn't like change or anything new. Last year for the holidays Alexa bought me a futon that I'd been wanting. It didn't take long before Corkscrew peed on it. I bought that expensive feliway and nature's miracle to clean it, and he still peed on it. I bought a second matress for it, and he peed on it too. Now I have the mattress hidden and only bring it out when I have guests over.

[catlady1945]

Are you able to close off the room?

[Pawsitive Thinking]

Would the rug look just as lovely hanging on a wall? (sounds mad but can be effective)

That way, puss can't pee on it but you can still enjoy having it (won't get worn either cos no one will be able to walk on it ;) )

[Sonia59]

I understand you perfectly, Kirsten, and I have no more advice :( . We love our cats, but it is so irritating!

Like Ivy, Peppito is a stress pee-er. Or when he does not like something, he will pee. For example when another cat or dog comes into his house, he will pee on carpets, usually not immediately but a few hours later. Is he kind of marking his territory?

He also does it with new furnitures. Is it the odor that he doesn't like? I don't know. He did it a few months ago with new chairs! He peed on several of them! I covered them with little pillows, that I still had to wash several times. And now he dose not do it anymore! Sometimes he pees on a box I bring him to play with. And he also peed on a little carpet I put at the entrance door. After several washings, I gave up with this carpet, put it in the garage and replaced it with another carpet. And with this one, no peeing problem at all!

[K & L]

I don't know if this will help you or not, but one of the things we do when we bring anything new into the house is make sure we get familiar smells on the items. It seemed whenever I would buy a new pillow, yep, cat pee on it. So I started putting the pillow cases on the new pillows before I washed them, get the smell there, and then put clean ones on. I haven't had that problem since.

[Sonia59]

And does anyone know if Feliway helps on new furnitures, carpets, etc. to avoid peeing problems??

[catmandu]

What I was thinking of Kirsten was maybe Scotch Guarding the Rug,if that is possible.
Sam aka Shemp,is doing a lot better and hes not spraying.He did spray some magazines,that I was hoping to sell on EBay,but now I wont have to go through all that work.
This will all work out when we meet with Our Pets at the Rainbow Bridge One Fine Day.

[mina'smomma]

Kirsten,

I'm sure I can speak for everyone when I say we all get upset at our furbabies now and then. We wouldn't be human if we did. I've learned to laugh at my babies "mishaps" especailly after they broke several of our wedding presents when they play. Doesn't matter how high we put the breakables they eventually get busted. I just shake my head and laugh at them.

[orangemm]

Most cats are creatures of habit; if there is something they like, don't fool with it! Don't "new" or "improve" it, it won't be the same (even if it is newer or more improved!).

If I have to move a box or use a different brand of litter, I do it very, very, gradually and avoid most problems.

We did have a spot of trouble when we first moved; Binky was a bit freaked out about the new house and hid all the time. He came out one afternoon and jumped up into my papasan chair and by his posture, I KNEW what he was doing. We threw the cushion outside and washed it, but finally got rid of the chair. I wasn't going to take another chance. BUT he has never done any more peeing in the wrong places (fingers crossed!!).