Cats pushing themselves off the cliff

[jennythereader]

The idiot twins have no idea how close we are to not being able to put up with them any more.

Last night they peed outside of the box two times. The first was on the floor between the bed and the box. I discovered it when I stepped in it while I was getting ready for bed. The second time was even more blatent. I woke up at 4:30am, and saw one of the boys peeing on the bed between Tom & I. Between the dark and my lack of glasses I have no idea which one it was.

The peeing has been a problem ever since we moved into this house, and we are out of ideas for dealing with it.

This is what we've done:

- Behavioral stuff:
-- they're on prozac
-- they stay in Tom's & my bedroom, so they don't have to deal with Kailey's cat Socks or the dogs that Kailey grooms at home
-- everything they hit gets cleaned with with Nature's Miracle and/or vinegar
-- recently started treating hit spots with No-Mark
-- the box gets scooped at least every other day

- Medical stuff (they've both been diagnosed with crystals in their urine at various times, Skif has been diagnosed with and treated for a urinary tract infection):
-- they only eat the special food the vet recommends to prevent crystals
-- they get fresh water every day

Does anybody have any ideas for other things to try? I'll be calling the vet today to make an appointment to check if the urinary tract problems are back. The two ideas I plan on asking the vet about are adding wet food to their diet and switching them to distilled water.

Comments

[medelle.livejournal.com]

The only other thing I can recommend is maybe checking if it's the kind of litter you're using.

Sometimes a cat can take a disliking to a certain type of litter and refuse to use it.

Other than that have either of them ever been outdoor cats? Normally I would not recommend having an outdoor cat, but if they have been outdoor cats previously then maybe they cannot adjust to being indoor only cats.

[jennythe-reader.livejournal.com]

I'm going to try that, and try changing the litterbox itself. I hadn't realized that cats will sometimes just decide they hate something they've used for years.

They've both been indoor cats their whole lives.

[medelle.livejournal.com]

Oh they can and definitely will!

A recently cat sat for a friend. For years her cat loved the crystal litter. Suddenly he started acting out (urinating all over) and so while we cat sat we changed it to regular clay litter.

Boom. Acting out stopped. He still sometimes missed because his butt was too big for the box, but in those instances it was very clear they were accidents.

You never know it might be something like that. Also the location of the litter box can be an issue and with multiple cats they can suddenly decide they won't share a litter box even though they've been doing so fine for ages.

In short, cats can be quite finnicky. :)

I hope you figure it out soon!

[sioneva.livejournal.com]

How many boxes do you have? If you only have the one for two cats and you're scooping it every other day, that could be the problem. Jasmine on her own has two boxes, which I clean daily, or she WILL pee on beds. We've had no problem with peeing outside the box since we got the second box and started with daily cleanings.

[sioneva.livejournal.com]

Note: when she was peeing on beds, she had one box cleaned every other day.

[jennythe-reader.livejournal.com]

There's only one box in the bedroom, but if we can get them to the point where they can be trusted in the rest of the house they'll have access to three.

[sioneva.livejournal.com]

I'd try two boxes in the bedroom and see if it helps. If you stick with one box, clean it every day.

[jennythe-reader.livejournal.com]

There isn't really room for a second box, but we are going to be scooping more often.

[dwarven-brewer.livejournal.com]

I'll second trying different litter. I doubt adding wet food will make a difference, this is a behavioral thing. If it was a consistent spot, I'd also suggest getting wee-wee pads. (They do a great job since Fluffy started peeing next to the box!)

Also, ask your vet.

[jennythe-reader.livejournal.com]

It is partially behavioral and partially medical. In the recent past our vet has diagnosed Ender with crystals in the urine and Skif with a urinary tract infection. Both of those conditions make peeing uncomfortable, which in some cats will lead to them trying to be less uncomfortable by peeing on soft things. Like pillows, beds, and couch cushions. The chance of a reoccurrence of either condition can be reduced by increasing the amount of liquid they consume, and wet food can be a part of that.

In this instance the vet said that their urine was "concentrated," but that there were no crystals yet. She suggested supplementing the dry food with wet.

She also suggested scooping more often, and getting a new box.