The CAT room!

Achoo! Snort! Ack! Damn long haired cats anyway!

Francis - Cat-heter!

Just picked up my 9-year-old tabby from the vet clinic.

I caught her peeing on the carpet--AGAIN--and took her to see the vet. This has happened before and she had a urinary tract infection. She was on antibiotics and we switched her food--we watch what she eats because we know she's prone to infection.

Bad news: She's NOT SICK. Ordinarily, that would be good news--but not when the darn thing is urinating on the carpet. It's not illness related--she's completely healthy. IT's a BEHAVORIAL PROBLEM.

I've been so upset since I learned this problem couldn't be solved with antibiotics--I have a headache now. I LOVE MY CAT. I've had her for nine years. She's a part of my family.

Tabby is horribly selfish and jealous. We got a new cat last fall -- but I THOUGHT Tabby was starting to accept the new member of the family. I guess not. I suppose her behavorial problems stem from her upset and jealousy over our newest cat Sally.

Any cat psychologists in the house? I want to resolve the behavioral problem. Tabby would never survive as an outside cat and I can't live in a house where I have to clean carpets everyday.

Poss developed similar peeing habits when I went overseas and left him at home with a sitter who didn't interact with cats. After trying him on everything, we finally resorted to a hormonal treatment - and he came good as new (sorta!)

Electroshock therapy . . . it's the only kinda thing cats understand . . .


ARF ARF ! ! !

Not funny, Fido!

nose to wet patch (so she knows what's wrong) and good telling off - put in litter tray and stroke, talk to gently saying she's a good girl - hopefully she'll get the message after a couple of occasions - ours did - I know it was kitten training not behavioural problems but I think the remedy is probably the same - just lots of extra love when she's being good so she knows exactly what makes you cross.

Pissing cats make for good target practice. You know when you hit them too because they do nice backflip.

Say you didn't mean that, cjhsa, or we're gonna tell your son on you!

I'm reading EVERYTHING I can about behavior problems and trying to discover the cause. I'm still cleaning carpet. I've cleaned the same spot so many times that I've lost count. Finally, I remembered that the former occupants of our house had several cats and perhaps their cats urinated on these same spots. How is it possible to clean the same spot a hundred times and still have the shampoo water come up yellow unless my cat is peeing where someone else's cat had peed? We haven't lived here long enough for Tabby to have done this much damage--not without my noticing. And, I work at home 90 percent of the time so I pretty much KNOW what's going on with my house cats.

So, I strongly suspect that my Tabby was urinating in spots that already have been marked by the prior cat occupants. I'm giving her LOTS of extra love and attention and sweet talk and petting; I'm watching her very closely and so far she's using the litter box since her trip to the vet; I don't verbally reprimand her anymore when she hisses and swats at the new cat; I'm exerting lots of time and energy in cleaning the carpet and using the products recommended by the vet; I'm keeping all three of my litter boxes as inviting as possible by cleaning them several times a day rather than once a day; what more can I do?

My man and I laugh a lot about this--humor is the best medicine--don't yell at the cats for misbehaving--they might develop psychological problems and pee on the carpet. We're both using our sweetest cooing voices no matter what. Oh, you want to jump on the table and eat off our plates? "No baby . . . mommy and daddy don't want to share our food, sweetie good girl . . . let mommy help you down and give you a good petting too." ROFL

Okay. Just as I'm bragging about Tabby using her litter box since we returned from the vet clinic . . . I again turned to her and showered her with sweet talking attention.

Then she jumped on top of the couch and started sharpening her claws. I again used my sweetest voice to tell her not to rip up the couch and then praised her and petted her when she stopped.

Then she immediately went to spot 2 on the carpet and got ready to pee. Spot 1 is still wet from constant daily cleaning several times a day.

I gently picked her up and placed her into her clean litter box. She objected, jumped out, and ran to the back bedroom. I followed her and told her several times in a sweet, loving voice that mommy wanted her to use her litter box.

What does she do? She comes running out of the bedroom into the kitchen, jumps into her litter box and pees.

Does she really understand what I was asking her to do or was that a fluke?

Withold food and water. Tabby will stop.

Lacey is visiting us for a week, here she is today, looking like "Paddy can't find me here, goody ..."

aaaaaaaah Lacey is gorgeous


It sounds as though it's working with the carpet-peeing - you have to keep on top of it until the habit is broken

- someone somewhere suggested vinegar in the water when you wash the carpet to get rid of the smell - any trace of smell and they see it as a place to go again. I tried sprinkling surgical spirit over when I had a problem with Paddy and it stopped him going there again.

Lacey is just beautiful!

Thank you guys, she really is beautiful inside and out:)

My kitties are not happy this week as my daughter Kim and her two kids are here.

The kids are two and 5, and the 5 year old is no problem, she is gentle and compassionate and no trouble.

The 2 year old is a tyrant, and the kitties see him as a threat! He just wants to play with them, but they see him as a total lunatic that they need to get away from. So they've been hiding out in my closet when the kids are home, and when they go out to the beach, I make sure I pick them up and bring them to the porch where they can see the threat is not there anymore.

I feel so bad for my kitties ... it is their home and they feel so scared, it's not fair.

I told them tonight it's only for a short time, they understand:)

Poor kitties, Misti!

I'm glad they're so understanding & know there's an end in sight! PHEW!

MyCatHatesYou

Very funny link, satt!