this is a board that talks about issues concerning animals...your own pets as well as animal rights,alerts,bills before congress that need our attention.This is a family board but as abuse cases may be posted it may not always be for the sensitive readers.Please be kind to each other,thanks!
One of my girls seems to go through periods where she'll crap on the carpet.It's been going on for a few years,3 or 4 months on,4 months off.It never happened for the first 6 years of her life,every scenario has been exhausted,I'm at my wits end
Jim Dandy: my other cat (who died last year) used to do the exact same thing!! I know exactly how you feel, it used to drive me up the wall. I honestly dont have any tips though because I couldnt get her to stop. I had her for about 14 years, she was about 16 when she died & she started pooing on the floor after Id had her quite a few years. She used to wee on the litter tray & then go & find somewhere in the house to poo!! She even used to come in from the garden to poo! Infuriating...I just thought she was going senile or something, but my other cat who I still have is about 16 now & has never done it once. Im sorry I cant help because I really do know what its like. Hope you have better luck than me.
Ewe: We've had blood tests done,everything.Today has been the worst,she pooped on the front door carpet,brang up on the bedroom carpet (probably due to nerves from me shooing her away as ase was pooping,and then just came out and brang up again.My other cat just shakes her head,she's never done it.I'm on the phone to the vet,but we've done that before too.I'm starting to think a shrink is our only hope
Jim Dandy: I had my cat all checked out too at the vets when she was doing it, but physically she was absolutely fine! I think its got to be psychological but I havent a clue what could cause it, I even looked for info on the net & found nothing of great use. She was generally a very happy playful & extremely loving character. Can I ask what 'brang up' is as you mentioned? Does she have regular spots she uses or is it just random? My cat once even pooed in the plug hole of the bath!!! What the heck is that all about??? My cat was originally a rescue, I never knew if she had had kittens but she was very motherly to all other animals & people, I got to thinking she was pineing for kittens & got a mental problem over that which manefested itself in her behaviour...but thats just a guess.
Ewe: Jennifer was originally adopted by my gf from the humane society,both our girls were.Jenn had got into a fight with a racoon and had to have some surgery,a chunk of her ear is missing,and she has some scaring around her mouth.The prior owner never bothered to pick her up(sweet guy)She had never had this issue prior to the last few years.She was pooing on our hallway carpet,so we removed it,that just led her to find another carpet.The puking is based on her habit of eating too fast(in my opinion)so maybe this is a psychological thing.She is a very loving little girl,other than this issue she has no strange quirks
Jim Dandy: Yes both of mine were/are rescues too. So things in common are... *previous ill treatment *age/ pooing on carpets didnt start until after a few years *loving & normal behaviour otherwise
It really does sound more psychological
I hope your vet is more helpful about it than mine. Although mine did recommend some excellent enzyme spray which killed any smell/stain left on carpets or wood floors.
Tuesday: One of my cats is soo stresssed out that the doc gave us cat prozac ( in a tuna chew tab) we are anti drugs so I really didnt want to give them to her but her body is breaking down due to the stress. we gave them to her for 3 days.. and Ive stopped. I dont like how glassy eyed she looks and shes lethargic.. I have her quarantined in my bedroom with her own toys, food, water and litter. The tv is on thru the day for her.. and shes got much less stress. I realize she was stressing over the other cats in the house.. shes perfectly happy away from all the other cats.. Poor puddums. Once I get her all well and back to normal i guess I will have to find her a new home with people who have no other cats.. sigh... Shes a beauty and so good with people. I will miss her.
Ewe: ya it isnt ideal but I keep it really clean and also she isnt voiding much so there is no real issue. She isnt eating very much so there is next to no waste. I think the drugs were effecting her appetite too. Shes a really large cat so no issues with her losing a pound or two anyway.
wetware. Very sound advice. We had a cat who peed on our bed at one time. Talk about constant washer and dryer going. We used to put plastic on the bed but she just peed on that. I didnt think to use foil. They hate the sound and feel of that. If I ever have that issue again I will try that.. I found that keeping the box extra clean encourages frequent use. Cats do not like stinky boxes. In my house it is a part time job cleaning all 4 boxes 4 or 5 times a day but well worth it. Keeping boxes in private areas helps promote frequent use as well. I have one friend in a bachelor apartment that put up a chinese screen around her cat's box so the cat has privacy! LOL
The things we do and put up with for our fur babies.
Ewe: noo foolin,they call them "behavioral therapists" or something fancy shmancy like that,no,I was speaking of your poopy cat
wetware: Yes,did the litter thing,we now have one in both washrooms.I'm amazed to see that the "ambush in the hall" is not uncommon,Molly would do it all the time,Jenn would come out looking like she was facing the executioner nightly,though with two escape routes the issue isn't what it once was.I do find the tin foil idea interesting,but she always seems to drop her gifts in high traffic areas,we'd be stomping on it all the time.Thank God she doesn't pee,that would take this situation up a notch.
Jim Dandy: Some other factors and ideas...but no guaranteed solutions, I'm sorry to say.
I've been through this (well, not quite through yet) with one of my
Some ideas I've read (and some that I've tried):
Offering various kinds of litter. Their textures vary a great deal, and some cats sure can be fussy, can't they? Wow...box styles vary greatly, as well. One of my girls can't stand those enclosed ones. Another likes the enclosed style that's entered from the top!
Cleanliness of the litter box. One vet insists upon this. I usually only manage cleaning once per day; some insist on doing so even more frequently than that.
Number of boxes available. One vet suggests a formula: have (n+1) boxes in the house, where n=the number of cats you have.
One of my girls seems to lie in wait in the middle of a narrow hallway that needed to be passed to get to the usual litter box. Like some kind of troll one planning an ambush. I think the girl with "the problem" was sometimes just steering clear of a showdown.
Large sheets of tinfoil placed on areas where the dirty deeds have tended to happen. (I placed these across half of my bed for a couple of months. My newest was peeing there! At least she's gotten over that problem. So my bedroom's foil bedspread won't be featured in House Beautiful; no big deal.)
If you can be stealthy and patient, have some idea when it happens, and have good aim with a water pistol, catch your little darling in the act and shoot from a bit of a distance. I think the idea is to get him/her to associate the unpleasant spray with their activity--but not associate it with YOU being angry. Don't be yelling...or anything worse...when this takes place. You've already got one problem to deal with.
wetware: It looks like we are finally narrowing down the problem.Either Lymphoma(we pray not,and I doubt it by recounting her syptoms) or Irrittable bowel syndrome.The biopsy is very expensive but thankfully our insurance will cover it.
Jim Dandy: Best of luck to both of you. And keep us posted.
My youngest and I paid a visit to the kitty cardiologist today. Some insurance coverage might have been helpful! But she's really okay--nothing wrong that couldn't be explained by her heart beating at about 240 bpm when we visit the vet. She's just an excitable girl...but a surprisingly good patient. Now that we've both had ultrasound, we know my murmur's worse than hers.