My brown cat is up for a good home, who can break this habit

[sasvermont]

http://www.martinscages.com/



P. S. There is a big difference between letting a cat outside and making a cat an outside kitty. Big difference. I was not suggesting he make the cat stay outside, but instead let the cat out. I have an inside cat that goes out with me every day. She stays inside when I am not around. That is what I had in mind when I suggested "outside"......I have friends who have farms with cats, and their cats come in each night. They are fine. They are loved.

[carole]

I can only commend you for all you have done and are continuing to do for Sox, you sure have my empathy, i can only imagine how it is living with the strong odour of cats urine and how fustrated you must feel, hopefully some of the great suggestions you have had on here will help you through this time and a resolution maybe just around the corner, i understand you worry about Sox becoming an outdoor kitty, but just wanted to let you know 95 per cent of kitties in NZ are outdoor and they seem to do pretty ok,mine included, but it would be an ajustment, but i am sure kitty will love it just fine, better than having to PTS Sox, it might be a risk as you see it, but one you just might have to take, good luck.

p.s Columbine has always been a very nice person on PT to my knowledge, i am sure she meant well, and I hope you accept her apology.

[RobLynn]

Feliway plugins? Is this some sort of like a "glade" plugin, meant for cat urine?

I'm going to check into a bag of that cat attract.

See, with Sox, it's not everyday he's doing this, but it's more frequent.

Back in March, I was re-doing the back bedroom. Just paint, and retexturing the ceiling, but I had to move everything around. He didn't care for that I guess, and he showed it by urinating on the carpet. He went in the same spot a few times, but still used the litter box. It turned into just paint and ceiling work, into ripping up the carpet, baseboard, floorboards, and to a disaster.

A little before that, maybe, January? he peed in my "office" of sorts, basically just a bedroom with computers and musical equipment. I've tried every cleaner, and instead of it being a "pee" smell, it's a "musk/musty" smell. It's so strong, that the door has to be closed, and on a hot day, you can still smell it in the hall way. Since it's not really in a living area, I've not pulled the carpet yet...also, because it's a decent amount of square footage, and I simply and out of capitol to under-go another room make over.

Okay, that brings me to the kitchen. I had just changed over the kitchen, new cabinets and things of that nature (I had a pipe break, and the insurance covered nearly all of the cabinets, recycled the counter top, I did all of the labor myself, and did my kitchen for the cost of paint). I put a floor mat infront of where the sink was. One day, I thought the pipe had broke, because it's wet there...I washed the mat, and didn't think of it. THen it was wet again, and I smelled it. A very faint odor of urine.

Then the back room downstairs. I use it as a "tool" room, and a "storage" room, if that makes sense. It's like 60 square foot, and I guess you could think of it as more of a walk in closet or something, I'm not sure. He peed on the carpet in there! After I cleaned the spot, and went to work...he did it again! I ripped up all of the carpet, and I had laminate left from the bedroom I did, just enough to do this room.

So this week, I went to take a shower, and he was trying to squat over the bath mat. I got him away from it, and took away the bath mat. I put a towel on the floor after I got out of the shower, to dry the water. I came back, and it smelled like pee.

His pee isn't "too" strong, like spray, it's just like, pee. You'll be like...do I smell cat pee, or is it my imagination? then you have to be like freakin' detective so and so, to investigate it.

The cat seems to be in no pain, all tests came back that he's a healthy cat. I check his heart rate, and breathing often, and his temp usually every month or so (was told after the PU the chance of infection is always higher).

I've applied "slight" pressure to the "bladder" and "kidney" areas, (before anyone jumps the gun here, I don't beat my cat) to see if he was in any discomfort, and there was none. His bladder is of a normal size, and he obviously has no problem peeing, since he's in a box and in the rest of the house doing it.

I'll call the vet today and see if they write any kitty anti-depressants. Maybe I'll just go to a shrink and get them filled, since I'm depressed my house smells like wee wee! (that's a joke there, about me, not about me calling the vet.)

[Medusa]

Boy, can I relate to that. Yodie had a thing about the rug that I had in front of the sink in my downstairs bath. She peed on it seconds after I would take it out of the dryer. And it's the same rug except a different color that I had in the upstairs bath! Go figure! The Clomicalm really works for me, though, and it's inexpensive. If the time should come when that would stop working, I'll check into Prozac. Obviously, it would be a low dose but I refuse to allow my house to be used as my cats' personal litter box and/or scratching post. I love all my cats but this is my house and they have to abide by the rules just like everyone else. As for the odor, you might want to give Urine Gone a try. It's an enzyme spray and it really works for me. You can find it just about everywhere now but if not, Bed Bath and Beyond carries it for sure. You have to soak up the pee first, then completely saturate the area w/Urine Gone, wipe it w/a damp cloth and repeat. It not only takes the smell out, it takes the appearance of the stain out, too.

Don't lose heart. We've all been there and I'm speaking for myself when I say that the thought did cross my mind on more than one occasion to rehome Yodie and Specs, the two worst offenders. But after I calm down, I realize that I love them for better or worse and besides, I'd have to tell their new family that they're pee cats or my conscience would bother me. Now, who is going to willingly take a pee cat unless the cat lives outdoors? And if I wouldn't tell them and the cat peed, the new family might toss them out on the street. And that I really couldn't live with. Whatever you decide, I'm sure you'll do whatever is beneficial for Sox and you.

[catnapper]

Sounds like my Pouncer. He gets stressed.... then gets sick and pees. I try to keep things as normal as possible in order to keep him healthy. I will never change his prescription diet. I feed 5 cats HIS food but he remains healthy on it so its worth it. Anyway, I digress...... I had 3 solid years of Pouncer being sick. He's only 4. It was the same stuff you described. I even felt pressure and had no discomfort... took him to the vet to find out if I waited another hour my cat would have died.

I didn't read everyone's replies because I have a screaming headache just read your responses that clarified everyone's questions. Here si what I did that FINALLY made a difference:
1) Enzyme cleaner to thoroughly clean up any and all urine spots. Don't get Nature's Miracle. They changed their formula last year when they sold the formula but neglected to tell the public. Their formula's not the same and doesn't work as well. I like Simple Solution.
2) Dr. Elsey's litter. I think Petsmart is the only place to buy this. They make two kinds. Buy the "Cat Attract" first. It really works. Its more expensive but it WORKS. Then once he's using the box again, move on to the Dr. Elsey's Precious Cat litter. Again, a bit more pricey but 100% worth it because it works so well.
3) About a 100 rounds of Clavimox. A dozen rounds of Baytril til I read that too much Baytril can lead to blindness. I tried natural antibiotics. I tried everything. In the end, it took 28 days straight of Clavimox without missing a dose to do the trick. He apparently had one heck of an infection that the typical 14 day dose wasn't touching. Its been a few months and he's back to normal. I can't tell you the difference in this cat since the infection's gone away. I forgot what he was like!!!
4) LOTS of water. Water available in every room. Apparently water is VERY important to cats susceptible to cystitis. I have water available in different forms hoping one would interest him over any others.... he took to drinking from the betta's bowl. We now have two separate bettas because thats what he preferred. My vet got a laugh out of that and agreed it was what I needed to do in order to get him more water.

I swear it was a combination of more water, better litter, and an extra two weeks of Clavimox that saved Pouncer. In all, the reality of the financial burden of the whole 3 years is too much for me to add up. I don't want to know. Please give what I did a try. It can't hurt and just might make things better! If you go to Dr. Elsey's website you can download a voucher for a free bag of Cat Attract litter. I could send you some Clavimox and samples of Simple Solution cleaner and laundry detergent additive. You can get a betta fish and bowl on your own Would you please try it?