Tuesday, September 1, 2009

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOQRSTUVWXYZ

Look closely at the title of this post. See anything missing? It's not there -- it's all over my tile in the kitty litter area instead!

We've not changed anything recently, but for some reason my cats, probably just one actually, has chosen to pee all over the tile instead of in the litter pan. Not sure why. Haven't changed the litter brand or type. Haven't changed the litter pan. Haven't changed the location of the litter pan. Haven't changed his diet. No indication that he's sick or anything. No change in how clean we keep it (we try hard). No change in the family dynamic. No new cats, or other pets added to the mix. No drastic change to our family schedule (haven't really even gotten into the school routine yet). Nothing else is different in his behavior. No indication that he's been knighted and is too good to use the litter pan now. It's not like he misses, he just goes outside the litter pan. This is a multiple-times-a-day occurrence! Thankfully it's on tile, and not carpet (duh!), but it's still stinky, messy to clean, and just frustrating that we can't break him of it.

The cat that I think is torturing us this way is our indoor/outdoor cat Joey. I've watched him a couple of times when he comes in from the outside, thinking I could catch him and redirect him appropriately. No go. He goes to eat, then wanders away, sneaking back to leave his mark when I'm not watching...

I'm out of ideas. Thoughts?

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Our normally litter-using cat did that when she had a bladder infection. Didn't act sick, just didn't use the box.

By the way, the process for collecting a feline urine sample is to leave them at the vet who puts them in a kennel with a grate on the bottom until they go. Apparently ours was sufficiently freaked out enough to hold it in for three days.

Anonymous said...

James, this is from Aunt Jean. We had a cat that became diabetic and then had excessive accidents such as those you describe. I can't believe I actually gave that poor kitty a shot of insulin every morning for 6 months with little effect on the problem. Neither Pete or I could bear to put him down. I'd be ready one day, but he wouldn't and visa-versa. Finally, one morning I told Pete to say "goodbye" to the cat before work, and I took care of it. Sad, but true. I hope that is not the diagnosis for your cat, or if it is, there is better vet medicine to deal with it now. Good luck.