10 year old Male FIV, resue cat not using tray

[alkccfc]

I wonder if anyone could help me, I have recently homed a 10 year old rescue cat (7 weeks ago) he is FIV and totally litter trained until 3 weeks ago. I had some work done in the house and he started messing on the each of the beds, I added additional litter trays into the house and he uses them no problem at all and had no issues for 3 weeks then last couple of days he is weeing on things, but only upstairs. Because of the previous incident he only has access to my bedroom at night where he sleeps soundly on my bed, he doesn't wee on the carpet only on items on the floor or bed. Any ideas on what I can do? I purchased a plug in calmer previously. He doesn't seem stressed but does seem to want to go outside, I have let him in the garden a couple of times but am worried he will escape so don't want to let him out.
I tried keeping him downstairs when I go to bed but he managed to get out and came to bedroom door and started crying. He has a wonderful temperament and is a joy to have, I have never had a cat before but has brought such love and comfort at a difficult time but it is stressing me as I don't want him to be unhappy. Any help is appreciated.

[susand]

May be take him to the vet to exclude a urine infection, as an FIV cat might be prone to infections.Wherever he has peed has to be cleaned thoroughly because if they can still smell their wee, they will go there again. Don’t use bleach though, as that smells like cat pee to a cat apparently. You can buy specialised enzyme based cat pee cleaners from pet shops that will break down the proteins in the wee to get rid of the smell.

May be the building work has stressed him. I don’t know how much work you’ve had done but I know some rescues won’t rehome to someone who is planning to do any building work within 6 months of the adoption as the dual stress of a new home and then a changing noisy environment can be too much for them.

FIV cats are supposed to be kept indoors to stop them infecting other cats (we aren’t the only species to have lockdowns!) however, if he is used to going outside In his previous life, which is highly likely, the confinement could also be a major stressor. Is he miaowing at the door to go out a lot? If so, this could be the problem.

If you have a garden, there are things you can do to ‘cat proof’ it so he has some outside space but can’t escape. Otherwise, you may need to just let him out (bad advice, sorry, you are not supposed to give that sort of advice but I know from experience that being confined to a house is simply torture for some cats). Try other options first though and do get a vet check.

[Mollycat]

If you have a garden, there are things you can do to ‘cat proof’ it so he has some outside space but can’t escape. Otherwise, you may need to just let him out (bad advice, sorry, you are not supposed to give that sort of advice but I know from experience that being confined to a house is simply torture for some cats). Try other options first though and do get a vet check.

My ex's aunt had a lovely 6 year old boy who just loved the outdoors and as there was a high concentration of cats in the neighbourhood scraps were part of everyday life, generally not bad ones but a constant tension. He tested +ve for FeLV - a different but also serious and common disease spread by fighting, also a retrovirus, but FeLV is vaccinable which FIV isn't. Cat did not take kindly to confinement - the locked cat flap was destroyed, a large box of books placed in front of it was moved, every morning the cat was back out. Eventually more drastic action had to be taken and the cat turned wild with frustration at not being let out but the aunt couldn't bear to have him out there infecting everyone else's pets and made the tough - heartbreaking - decision to euthanise. He just could not settle to a happy indoor life and in her specific circumstances that was deemed the only solution. If they had lived somewhere less populated it might have been less of a problem, but then if there had been fewer cats and fewer fights it might not have happened at all. A lot depends on where you live, your cat and neighbourhood cats.

[susand]

Hi,

Just to add to my previous post - you can find lots of stuff on the internet about cat-proofing a garden. There is specialist fencing you can buy but if you don't want that expense you can just look at the designs they use and modify the fencing you already have with a bit of DIY.

He is older, which is good, because in the next year or so it is possible that he will start to reign his territory in and won't want to wander as far as a younger cat, although he may always need at least a garden.