Pets
Related: About this forumI got a cat from the shelter 2014
We already had 2 cats. I am friends with the local shelters on facebook, and read this cat's story, which was sad. My husband and I both felt bad for her, so we got her. We kept her in a small room for a couple of weeks, until the cats on both sides of the door were used to each other. I had a litter pan in the room and she used it. I think she used it after she had the run of the house. My husband got sick and we moved back to our old house, because it was 1 floor. All of the cats were ok with the move. When we rolled up rugs in some of the rooms in the house we moved from, there were pee stains-brand new rug for one room. Long story short, the new cat was only housebroke if she was shut in a room with a litter box. I had a lot of other things on my mind, so making this cat use a littler box wasn't high on the list.
Before and after my husband's death, I tried various ideas. I ended up having 7 litter boxes for 3 cats. The litter boxes are in different rooms upstairs, the landing and the basement. She pees and poops on the living room rug, 5 ft. away from the closest box. I have found other places too. She also does her business about 5 ft. from the box in the basement. She is barred from the bedrooms because she pooped on my bed, and peed in a box of things I had stored in the closet. My other 2 cats use the litter boxes. She ruined a rug I had under the dining table. I like rugs, but until she's dead, I can't use them. If she gets in the bathroom, she pees on the little rug I have in there. I tried putting empty boxes out, ignored. Pee pads, ignored. I bought some cheap rugs and put them on the living room carpet, ignored. I also have empty boxes, and a tarp covering the rug to limit the places she pees and poops on. I spot clean the carpet in the living room weekly, spray the pee spots with bleach every morning. I know you aren't supposed to use bleach or vinegar, but I can't stand the smell if I come in from shopping. At least what I am doing is minimizing the miasma. I was diagnosed with mild asthma a couple of years ago, and I have allergies now that I'm older. When she dies, the carpet in the living room and the big rug in the basement are coming up.
She gets along with my boy cat, but she and my other girl cat don't like each other. They don't fight, but if they come within 2 feet of each other, they hiss and growl. It seems to be ok for the shelter cat to chase the boy, but if he turns around to chase her, no, it can't be like that. After 4 years, the shelter cat barely tolerates me. I can hardly pet her, and picking her up is a neat trick. I try to remember to be kind and gentle with her, but it has been over 4 years, and today, I am tired of the one-sided relationship. She has no obvious disease or ailments. I know she is a nervous animal. The first year we had her, she licked her belly raw more than once, but she hasn't done that for a long time. She sits on the top of the couch about a foot from my head, but if I try to pet her, she hisses and moves. She comes out around my company and obviously likes my adult daughters, head bumps and leg rubbing, but if they try to pet her, she hisses and takes a swing at them. We play with her with string and she loves to wrestle flip flops and kneeling pads. My husband would watch her take his flip flop and wrestle it all over the living room, a highlight of a sleepless night. We have several foam things that are full of tooth marks.
All of the cats are 100% indoors. I clean all the litter boxes every 2 days. All but 2 of the litter boxes are new since we moved back to this house.
I woke up to poop on the living room rug 2 days in a row, right after I spot cleaned the whole area 2 days ago. I would like to take her back to the shelter, or put her out the door, or put her to sleep. She was supposed to be a cat who had lived with one person for 10 years. I often think she was a feral someone managed to trap and get to the shelter and lied about. I don't know that I'll ever get another senior cat from a shelter. I thought we were doing a good thing. Maybe for the cat it is good, but not for me. If anyone has any advice, I'll give it a try.
The Velveteen Ocelot
(115,900 posts)because they don't do well in their new home. Putting an older cat out or to sleep because of your problems would be unthinkably cruel.
Marthe48
(17,047 posts)They had pictures of her with her story. She was terrified in the shelter. I never saw a more pathetic cat. They were so happy we took her, they didn't even make us pay the fee (but I went back later and paid it). When we picked her up, she shredded the shelter employee's arm, blood everywhere.
I know it would be cruel to put her out and my vet doesn't euthanize healthy animals. (he has taken cats people bring to euthanize and lets them live in his barn. I didn't hear it from him, so I don't want to ask. It isn't common knowledge, because he'd probably get a million cats.)
I'm just so disgusted today that my thoughts are out of control.
The Velveteen Ocelot
(115,900 posts)no questions asked. Yours sounds like she is terribly insecure about territory, and maybe she would be happier in a home that doesn't have any other cats. One of my cats started peeing on things after years of good behavior, and the Sentry Calming Collar and a Feliway diffuser seem to have fixed the problem.
rurallib
(62,465 posts)one day in passing I mentioned the problem to a friend. He asked me what I was using for litter.
I told him I had tried many different things. He said he figured the problem was the litter.
So I got some very basic lumping stuff. That was @ 7 years ago and we haven't had a problem since. We currently use what Costco sells.
My guess is the various smells and textures confused her.
good luck.
Marthe48
(17,047 posts)I thought about putting a piece of rug in a box, seems like rugs are her favorite.
rurallib
(62,465 posts)ours was fairly simple.
Have you asked any pros such as pet stores or vets? I would think that is a problem most have dealt with with their customers.
Just really don't know.
Have you googled to see if there is any advice online? Sometimes there is great help online.
Marthe48
(17,047 posts)and tried things people discussed.
I was hoping someone else has a cat who was impossible.
Thank you for your comments.
KT2000
(20,591 posts)You could plug it in where she spends the most time. It has a calming effect on cats. It helped with some of my cats when they were going through stressful times.
Cats are territorial and like their own stuff. Maybe you could get cat beds for each cat and give them to each cat, putting the one for the shelter cat away from the others. You could put an already chewed up flip flop next to her bed with some treats at each of the beds.
I hope something works for you.
Marthe48
(17,047 posts)She doesn't like catnip.
Unless I shut her in the bathroom, I wouldn't be able to give her a bed the other cats wouldn't also use. I put cardboard boxes all around the house. The 2 girl cats vie for them, without fighting. And they all share the couch, chairs and other places.
If I close the basement door, the other 2 cats get anxious until it is opened.
Thank you for the tips.
iscooterliberally
(2,863 posts)I have 4 cats that I 'inherited' from strays and feral cats. I would suggest seeing if this cat can go outside. You don't have to keep her there. She might just want to do her business out in the yard and then come back in. I have 3 little ones that are the same way. Their mom was feral so we rescued them and trapped the mom and got everyone fixed. As long as I treat the little ones like they're dogs in regards to going potty, we're all good. They like to play outside anyway and know when to come back in to eat. I know it's a lot more dangerous for the cat to be outside, but it's the good life for most of them. Most of the cats that I have ever had go in and out. I have had more than one cat disappear from my yard over the years. It is heartbreaking, but I can only hope that they found other families to live with. If not, I know they had it great with us while they were here. Letting ours go out to play has stopped the random peeing throughout the house. My only other suggestion would be to find another home for your rescue cat where she can be an only pet. It seems to me that you have done everything else that can be done. Good luck to you!
Marthe48
(17,047 posts)Up to this generation, all of the cats we had were indoor-outdoor. We used to live in the country and people dumped cats at the roadside rest up the road. We had a lot of cats come live at our house. We moved to town and brought the last generation of cats with us. We had to fence the yard because a neighbor had a cat killing dog he let run loose. We probably lost one cat to it, and another got hit by a car, but the other 3 died of old age in the house. I don't miss the anxiety of wondering if the kitties are going to come in. We have coyotes in the area, too, and some of my neighbors think their outside cats were killed as prey.
Thanks for the ideas
iscooterliberally
(2,863 posts)We're lucky that we live in a neighborhood that has a 25mph speed limit. Unfortunately that hasn't stopped a few cats from getting run over. We lost two friendly male cats over the last five years to cars. They weren't really ours, but always showed up to visit and get some treats. We do get loose dogs running around from time to time, but most of my guys will go right up on our roof to get away. I wish I had more to offer you.
The Mouth
(3,165 posts)that requires a radio key, so dog can go out and cat can't.
Maybe a cat door, keyed so that the one can go in and out but the others can't.
We adopted a rescue cat, full grown a year ago. He used the dog door to go in and come out, but after a few days he didn't come back hardly at all, I think he was more feral than they told us. Still see him down by the creek.
Marthe48
(17,047 posts)so I put it where she eats and put her food dish in it. Maybe she'll develop a positive outlook. Thanks for all the advice.
tblue37
(65,502 posts)unless I am asleep or at work. Then I dip it out when I wake up or get home. If they've peed, I also take a wet tissue and wipe the part of the box still damp from the urine.
My cats will essentially line up to use the box in the morning and when I get back from work, because they hold it until I can give them a clean box. One is so dainty about it that she puts just one foot in the box, balancing three on the edge, if she is pooping.
In all the years I've had cats, no one has peed or pooped outside the box. Maybe she just requires that the box be dipped out whenever anything is in there.
(I scoop feces out with a regular cat box scooper, and I use an old, emptied, washed yogurt cup to scoop urine contaminated litter. I dump the cups of dirty litter into an empty 10-pound litter bag, and when it is full, I start a new one.)
Marthe48
(17,047 posts)My civilized cats use 3 boxes regularly, and there are 4 in the basement they use occasionally. My cat cat is huge. I have an extra-large box for him, but he likes the smaller boxes and I've seen him do the balancing act. I'm going to try putting carpet in a new box and put it in the area she is ruining.
Thank you for your comments.
peacebuzzard
(5,183 posts)Cage the kitty with a litter box. One of the giant dog wire cages.
Thats what I recommend..until she uses the litter box.
Once she is using litter box, You can give her more room to roam but keep litter box in cage.
If she makes a mistake cage her again.
Marthe48
(17,047 posts)with that idea. She was in it part of one day and I felt like a beast.
Thanks for the suggestion, though.