Elimination Problems

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jessieyca
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Elimination Problems

Post by jessieyca »

Okay first things first - ALL three of my cats were checked by the vet, they are just being BUTTHEADS and driving me to the brink of exhaustion and considering rehoming them. I don't want to, I've had them all for three years, but this is just got to end.

I have 3 cats, males (fixed) and they have all grown up together. I have 5, (yes, FIVE) litter boxes on the two levels of my home, three different types of litter, a daily litter box cleaning schedule and they all have access to clean food and water at ALL times. They have cat trees, toys, and cat nip when they're being good.

Now, the problem is, they are fantastic during the day - then I go to bed. And I wake up, and the insanity begins.

I have woken up the last few weeks (again, I got them all checked a week ago with a clean bill of health) with pee EVERYWHERE. There is pee on my counter tops, my kitchen table, the chairs, on the vents, IN MY TOASTER, on my husbands shoes...

I use enxymatic cleaner, vinegar and baking soda, all the works to get the smell (that they can smell) out so they don't go back, but they ALWAYS DO.

I have a toddler that walks around and now I am on the brink of losing my cool completely because now my child is stepping in puddles of pee, or touching pee that's on the counter, or she has pee on her TOYS because they got ON TOP of the toy box to simple PEE ON IT.

I am absolutely exhausted waking up and leaving my bedroom to nothing more than an overpowering smell of urine and having to start every day with a black light cleaning up pee instead of having a coffee and breakfast.

They haven't been moved, they have always been around my toddler, they all get love and affection during the day ..

WHY is it the moment they are unsupervised they turn into wee-monsters. WHY. I am going to have to start locking them up at night, but I feel like this is just going to exacerbate the problem. I don't know what to do, my next option is finding them somewhere else to live. I'm about to have another baby and I can't bring a newborn home into a urine-soaked home.
booktigger
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Re: Elimination Problems

Post by booktigger »

If it only started recently, I'm wondering if they are reacting to your hormones? Could you shut them in one room overnight if that is the only time they do it?
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lilynmitz
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Re: Elimination Problems

Post by lilynmitz »

It’s hard to know whether the cleaning products are part of the problem, or indeed your own hormones, but my guess is that they may not be coping with your toddler being mobile around the house. When she was less mobile, the cats still had the rest of the house as their safe territory, but now they are sharing it with a typically noisy and small human who, to a cat’s mind, moves in sudden and unpredictable ways, they just don’t seem to be coping. To me this sounds very much like stress behaviour. And I should imagine your frustration brings out some fairly tense behaviour from yourself too, which they are probably picking up on and won’t be helping.

Plus, now that your little one is more demanding, they are getting less quality time from you. It sounds like they’re indoor cats only (or have I read that wrong?), so they are having to share a relatively limited territory so this may be partly territorial behaviour, ie scent marking once the “intruder” has gone (ie to bed).

It's worth looking at your home and the dynamics from your cats’ viewpoint, look at their world as if you were a cat, and see if you can work out what’s driving them to this. Have there been any other changes that could have upset them, eg builders, decorators, new furniture, noisy visitors, family arguments? Cats can find all these things pretty unsettling. It might also be worth getting a camera set up in the house so you can see who’s doing it (it may just be one of them). That may help you get a better sense of what you can do to start tackling this.

But I’m probably going to be really unpopular here - you have enough on your plate with a toddler and another on the way, without having to cope with cleaning up cat urine all over the house, and the obvious hygiene issues for two youngsters. If you are unhappy, the cats are unhappy, and the youngsters are at risk, on this occasion rehoming May be the best solution for all. They can go to an environment that isn’t so challenging for them, you get a sweet smelling and clean house back, and you have more time and energy for your growing two legged family.

Others may come along with an alternative solution, and I know you must love your cats a lot to have put up with this for so long, but it’s possible that rehoming is your only option and best for all concerned, including your cats. But good luck giving it another go, I really hope it works for all of you.
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