Another general article
http://www.ddfl.org/behavior/litter_box_problems.htm
Good Luck Pickles :)
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Another general article
http://www.ddfl.org/behavior/litter_box_problems.htm
Good Luck Pickles :)
Also try going back to an uncovered litter tray
http://petoftheday.com/talk/showthre...416#post659416
He's spraying, not peeing. It's a different behavior. He does this on things like walls, stacks of things, etc. It's not that he doesn't like to use the litter box.
Something that I've noticed is that he tends to do it after fighting with Marshmallow. Could it be that he's trying to show Marsh that HE'S the big cat now? When we got Pickles, he weighed only 3 pounds. Marshmallow was 6 pounds. Now Pickles is just an ounce or two shy of 12, and Marsh is only 7. Could it be that he's telling her that he's the alpha male, and she's just a pee-on (lol I couldn't resist!)
Spraying quote from this site http://www.declawing.com/htmls/article.htm
Deprived of its front claws a cat may become insecure and distressed. I can assure you that if Kitty becomes emotionally distressed, you will too. Kitty's display of distress tends to take such forms as urinating on your favorite rug or spraying your antique armoir. Feeling defenseless without her claws, Kitty may become hostile to people (including you), and to other cats and become more apt to bite.
I'm going to put my other response in here also, in case anyone has any more advice :)Quote:
Originally posted by sirrahbed:
oh THANK YOU! for answering! How long did it take for the medicine to help Bassett? Did she have a medical problem? How much does it cost? Does it make her drowsy or have other side effects? She does not pee out of the box at all when she is on the medicine?? Once a week is not bad - I thought it was daily. Was it daily at first? Thanks so much!
Well it's hard to say, because her peeing is very random. Sometimes I just *know* when she's in that kind of mood, and sometimes I am totally caugh off guard. It seems though, that when she's on it, it happens much less.. I woudln't say it's solved because if she's mad she's mad.. period. And she WILL mess in the house. But the pills REALLY help.
She did not have a medical problem, like a bladder infection, however I am going to have that checked this year again just to keep on top of it. It was strictly a behavioural thing. It started to get really bad when my gran died, because she was alone in the house all day. But it's something she has ALWAYS done.. either in boxes/baskets on the floor, piles of clothes on the floor, unmade beds, etc. She doesn't spray, but actually pees on stuff.
It was not expensive, but I honestly can't remember how much it was. I believe it was $60 for three months if she was taking it EVERY day. However, this one bottle I have has lasted me much longer. When she was really sick with her chylothorax I didn't give it to her at all, so I've had this bottle over a year but I think it would last me about six months on a regular basis.
The first day after taking her pill, she basically sleeps all day and is a bit dopey. But drowsiness was the only side effect I noticed.
And, like I said before, she will pee out of the box sometimes but it's not as bad and it's only if she is REALLY ticked off, whereas without the pill it's just whenever.
It started out as daily, then every other day, then every third day, etc until we found a routine that worked for us. Really, I give it to her about every 4-5 days, depending on her mood.
I am having some difficulty with Bassett right now because she has messed the same spot repeatedly. I found a great product at a pet expo called Urine-Off, and it's basically taken all smell out of the carpet. She did, however, pee in a bottom shelf of my TV cabinet and it's soaked into that fake wood veneer, making me feel like my entire living room stinks like pee (even though I know it doens't, because people have told me it's ok). The cabinet does still smell and is ruined, but thie Urine-Off did help. I know how stressfull it is to feel like you are living in a litter box, and that everything in your house smells like cat pee. The other day I was using Windex and I freaked out because of the amonia, then realised it was the CLEANER!! It does cause you to be paranoid. I hope everything works out :)
EDIT: Bassett is not declawed, either, just to rule out any confusion :)
Our cat, Lance, started to spray when we tried to introduce another cat into the house. We kept the new cat for three months and took it back. It took about another three months to stop the spraying and every now and again he does it again.
We got some pills from the vet called "Clamacalm" which have helped tremendously. We gave him 1/2 pill daily for the first while and now we only give him a half about every four days. Mostly he behaves.
Lance has been neutered and is not declawed. He just doesn't want to share his space, I guess! We have two other cats but they were here before him so he is used to them but we won't be adding more for awhile!
Davena
Cat-alog.com
Thank you for the suggestion, Davena! I also notice this is your #1 post - welcome!!!