I'm about at my wits' end here

[astra_nomer]

This is part rant, part plea for help and suggestions.

Tigerlilly has been using the corner of the dining room as a litter box. It was bad enough when there was a pile of stuff there that we hadn't gotten around to putting away when we moved in. But we cleaned that out and she stopped for while. But lately she's taken to peeing on the bare floor. The wood floor there is pretty much ruined now. I've just put up a blockade from old baby gate stuff, but I fear it just means she'll pee next to it.

I can think of one solution, but DH wants something more humane. As for me, I've gotten so sick of her bad habits that I wouldn't mind never seeing her again.

What happened to me? I used to love cats. These days, I find our two cats to be much greater nuisances than they're worth. I find myself contemplating their ages and wondering how much longer we'll have to put up with them. Maybe it has something to with having kids now, and a huge shift in my priorities.

Comments

[narya.livejournal.com]

I don't have any real suggestions, but I wanted to offer sympathy :/. One of my parent's dogs became diabetic when I was in college and that apparently caused a lot of bladder control issues and was a real pain.

If you were to put another litterbox there or something do you think she'd use it or just find a different place?

[astra-nomer.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the sympathy.

She's always been a sloppy litterbox user, so putting a litterbox there would only slightly contain the mess. Maybe I should put down a rug on top of a waterproof layer...

[capsicumanuum.livejournal.com]

::hugs:: I'm sorry she's causing problems for you.

Do you have a gated yard? (ie, is it feasible to force her to be an outdoor cat?) Bizarre bladder habits seem to be common among animals that have major health issues (like diabetes, or cancer). Maybe your vet has seen this behavior before and can offer suggestions?

[astra-nomer.livejournal.com]

Our backyard is gated, but that's currently Nabi's domain. But keeping her outside is an option... We do plan to follow up with our vet, and I'm hoping he might have some advice for us...

[shumashi.livejournal.com]

Ugh. I'm sorry to hear that.

Yeah, I've heard that moving the litter box to the cat's preferred location helps. Then when she gets back into the habit of using it, you can start moving it back to where you want the litter box to be, moving it a foot or so at a time.

[astra-nomer.livejournal.com]

The problem is that the litterboxes live downstairs, and the dining room is upstairs. And I really don't want a litterbox where DS2 can get at it, because he loves playing with cat litter (yuck).

[chenoameg.livejournal.com]

It does sound like something washable on top of something waterproof is your best first bet. There are also chemicals to make the area not smell to her like a litter spot anymore, but I don't know how effective they are.

Nature's Miracle

[remcat.livejournal.com]

The folks at Canine University say this works for getting out dog pee. Cat pee can't be that much worse, eh?

Re: Nature's Miracle

[astra-nomer.livejournal.com]

Our catsitter recommended something along those lines to me. I just need to go find the stuff. And be in town...

[remcat.livejournal.com]

My mom suggests you have her checked for kidney/bladder stones -- our old cat Princess began peeing in odd places, and it turned out she was sick. Of course, as my mom just said, sometimes it's just pure malevolence :).

[astra-nomer.livejournal.com]

Well, she's got diabetes, so I'm pretty sure that's the underlying health issue. Otherwise, yeah, I wouldn't put pure malevolence past her.

water proof layer

[nuclearpolymer.livejournal.com]

The best water proof layer I have found is those plastic under-the-desk sheets that Staples sells to help people with rolling chairs be able to roll better on carpet. They cost about $30-$40 depending on the size. Also, if you use them in the corner of a room, you can put a sock or something underneath the corner part. This creates a slight gradient so that any liquids tend to pool on the plastic instead of running off the plastic. Cover with a "sofa throw" (those small sized blankets designed to decorate your sofa). They are easy to run through the laundry.

Having had some ill rabbits, and dealt with some rabbit pissing contests, I can say that this is the best system I've come up with.

Re: water proof layer

[astra-nomer.livejournal.com]

Sounds like great suggestions! I'll give that a try...