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End of very long tether
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12-08-2011 12:45pm#1I'm writing this for no other reason than to vent. Woke up this morning and moved my foot and felt something wet, thought first it was just cat drool but turned the light on and checked just in case. I was wrong, the cat had pee'd yet again, this time on the mattress but the duvet had been lying on it so it soaked into that too.
I must be on duvet number 7 or 8 at this stage, every time I start to relax and think she's over the peeing on my bed stage she does it again. Since april I'v gone through 4 duvets now, after the first 2 I brought her to the vet and it turned out she did have a uti, numerous tests and euros later it just sort of cleared up with no definitive diagnosis other than probably stress related. The first time she done it 3 years ago she was brought to the vet who treated it as a uti without actually any tests to prove it was, but it was around the time we got the dog so I put it down to him as at the time he was a cat chaser and she was terrified of him. But anyways that was when it all started up and she's been at it on and off ever since.
I don't know if it's just a coincidence or not that last week I switched off the feliway and this week I took her off the zylkene to see if it made any change, so she had no form of kitty valium at all since sunday.
Usually she's let upstairs early in the morning while I'm still in bed and she stays there until I get up, the kitchen door is closed when she can't be supervised in the kitchen (her tray is in the utility room just off the kitchen) because she's scratching the couch (If she was pissing in his bed I'm sure he would have a different view on leaving the door closed :rolleyes:). She hadn't pee'd in her tray all night and just must have needed to go.
But why does it always have to be my f**king duvet, sick of finding cat pee on my bed and then having to sleep in a sleeping bag (on my second sleeping bag also as she pee'd on the last one also) until I can buy yet another new duvet (I must be penneys best duvet buyer). I wonder why the hell I bother sometimes, I buy her the best of everything, keep her inside to keep her safe as I live next to a busy road, spend an absolute fortune on her when I'm broke myself (have to put in an order of €60 with zooplus in the next few days for food for mostly her yet there is a jacket I have been looking at for quite a while which I'l have to put off getting for quite another while
). Yet there are others who throw their cat outside, feed them the cheapest of the cheap food, never bring them to a vet or have even heard of a vaccination, let them wander around pumping out litters of kittens, and yet I'm the one who every time the cat pee's on her bed is nearly in tears with frustration.
Anyone gone through the same problem? Anyone have any suggestions on why it's always my bed she returns to time and time again (duvets are always dumped so it's not smell, the last time a tiny little patch reached the mattress but it was well washed and the mattress flipped over, this is the first time she's gotten the mattress full whack)?
And please no smart ass comments about getting rid of her as I'v heard it all already.0
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Is it possible that she doesn't approve of your choice off litter? I had a cat who literally p!ssed rings around herself and refused to use the tray to pee in. When we tried another brand of litter she was fine!
Don't have that problem with the present kitty, he likes to use the flower bed 0 -
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I found this book by Vicky Halls to be quite good on cat behaviour, and she has a lot of advice on pee-issues:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cat-Confidential-Book-Your-Would/dp/0593052765
You can probably find it in the library too, so you don't have to spend money buying it (sounds like you need save as much as possible for the duvets!).
Is it only at night that your cat pees on your duvet? Can't you just restrict her access to your bedroom? Vicky Halls says lots of cats pick duvets to pee on because its nice and "yielding" so it reminds them of a sandy surface. It could be she doesn't like the litter tray material you are using? There was a thread on here recently about cat litter - so have a search for that and try a different kind than the one you are using.
She might also like to have another tray to use, as it seems like she can't access the one in the utility room whenever she wants (if the kitchen door is closed).
If she is scared of the dog, and can't easily access her litter tray - then your duvet is going to seem a sensible option for her!
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I'm a cat lover and owner myself so won't be saying to get rid of her !
1. Firstly I would say bring her back to the vet, she has had UTIs in the past and may have another infection again ?
Ya I'm contemplating that. Just so annoying I just paid off the last bill on saturday and when I walked in I nearly keeled over at the look on my vets face as she reluctantly asked how bunty was. Honestly it was at the stage I was ringing them nearly every day about test results and what not and dropping out pee samples a few times a week. I think the vet hated seeing me coming because I'm such a finicky client. It's such a pain because they're 30 mins in the wrong direction, Iv no transport so relying on people for lifts, the buses are a shambles and turn a 30 min car journey into a just over an hour around the world trip. And all they do is do a dipstick test and stick her on a/b's and another dipstick in a week or twos time.
And it's a pain in the backside getting a urine sample from her (once held out for 24 hours :rolleyes:). I'm going looking to see if I can buy the dipsticks myself and test her at home, at least then I know when to be annoying the vets.2. Check her diet, is she fed on mainly dry food? There is a school of thought that thinks there is a strong link between dry food and kidney problems, perhaps try her on a wet and some raw diet?
I'm currently weaning her off dry food and onto wet food, so she's sort of 75% wet 25% dry at the moment. Raw is out of the question as I can't even get her to eat a tiny piece of raw chicken breast, even to get her to eat wet food I have to mash it up into nothing and add hot water to it to make it soupy. She has a water fountain to increase water intake.3. Is it really necessary to give her access to your bedroom? Why not bring her litter tray into the hallway in the mornings and close your bedroom door. Constantly replacing duvets and sheets etc is only stressing you out.
Not so easy unfortunately. She hates closed doors, especially closed doors that lead to me, and scratches and jumps at them to open them. I still live with my parents so unfortunately have to still abide by their wishes, (the cat unfortunately is a touchy subject and has been threatened to be thrown out the door too few many times), so she's not allowed in the sitting room (again leather couches :rolleyes:), not allowed in the kitchen unsupervised, not really encouraged to go in their bedroom (sheds like mad and hairs seem to be attracted to their clothes) or the computer room (again because of hairs) and I fear if she was allowed continual access to the spare room then the landslide that is bound to happen some day of boxes and crap may trap and kill her before we can get an excavation team in to free her. So that leaves the utility room (which don't forget is attached to the kitchen), the hallway and my bedroom. She's an indoor cat who spends 95% of the day in my room so it would be unfair really to take that away from her when I already feel guilty about restricting her access.4. I'm not sure if there is such a thing as a cat behaviourist/psychologist as there is for dogs but maybe be worth a try - an expert may shed some light on her behaviour?
I have seen a few that advertise that they see cats as well as dogs. I have thought about it and it's something I would consider but at the moment I already need to see one about our dog (well it seems any animal that sets foot in our house ends up somehow mentally f'd up) and money is tight.5. I'd plug in the Feliway again too just in case.
Best of luck, I hope you can get to the bottom of it.
Already done.
She will be going back on the zylkene also.We used to have this in our last house with one of our female cats, but it wasn't the bed she'd wee on, she would spray onto the doors upstairs. Tried the feliway plug ins, the vet thought she had a uti, treated her, washed the doors and carpets in everything that I was ever advised to try, nothing stopped it.
She doesn't do it here, which is odd, so I'm afraid that I have no advice for you, other than to move?:D Seriously, sorry, no help at all, but I do know how frustrating it is.
Trust me it's already been thought about, if I could afford it and wasn't tied down by work here I would. Iv thought of every possible scenario of how I could work it but it all involves too much money.
When I had to move away for work placement I brought her with me and she loved it after the inital few hours adjusting, meant she had full run of the apartment 24 hours a day, she could sleep on my bed at night (even if it meant she woke me up every single night
) and lie beside me on the couch in the evenings. But unfortunately I had to travel home with her every weekend for work and it was the stress of that that kicked off the recent uti. 0 -
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e vets.
Not so easy unfortunately. She hates closed doors, especially closed doors that lead to me, and scratches and jumps at them to open them. I still live with my parents so unfortunately have to still abide by their wishes, (the cat unfortunately is a touchy subject and has been threatened to be thrown out the door too few many times), so she's not allowed in the sitting room (again leather couches :rolleyes:), not allowed in the kitchen unsupervised, not really encouraged to go in their bedroom (sheds like mad and hairs seem to be attracted to their clothes) or the computer room (again because of hairs) and I fear if she was allowed continual access to the spare room then the landslide that is bound to happen some day of boxes and crap may trap and kill her before we can get an excavation team in to free her. So that leaves the utility room (which don't forget is attached to the kitchen), the hallway and my bedroom. She's an indoor cat who spends 95% of the day in my room so it would be unfair really to take that away from her when I already feel guilty about restricting her access.
When I had to move away for work placement I brought her with me and she loved it after the inital few hours adjusting, meant she had full run of the apartment 24 hours a day, she could sleep on my bed at night (even if it meant she woke me up every single night) and lie beside me on the couch in the evenings. But unfortunately I had to travel home with her every weekend for work and it was the stress of that that kicked off the recent uti.
Ok another thought here - I'm sensing a very stressful home environment (for the cat) - she's basically only allowed access to one room.... she was alot more relaxed when she was living in the apartment with you.
I'm thinking the adults in the house are not 100% supportive of the cat?
Also she's not allowed outdoors and is spending 95% of her time in your room - that's alot of time in one room.
Is it possible to put a harness on the cat and bring her out to the back garden for fresh air?
Or give her access to the outdoors where she can roam around and 'be' a cat?
Just a thought now, you sound like a very dedicated and kind owner and doing the best for your cat, but I am thinking the living situation is stressing her...0 -
sounds like it could be related to you taking her off her meds?
can you stop kitty "valium" just like that without weaning them off it?
I had thought so as it's not a perscription drug as such but I will look into that. She'l be going back on it anyways just in case.My late female cat had recurring utis too, urine was sent off for testing and nothing found, so it was just declared to be ideopathic. Any kind of stress would set her off and she also sprayed in the house (which is a different issue really, marking territory). I tried all kinds of stuff and nothing really worked 100%, but changing her onto a good wet diet and giving her lots of safe places to sleep etc (tall cat trees and boxes) did help. I was like you at times and at my wits end. Then she was diagnosed with a serious heart condtion at the age of three and a half after collapsing and she only lived three more months, so I suspect that in her case that probably affected her stress levels although she never showed any symptoms before she collapsed.
I'm not saying that utis and heart conditions are linked or anything, don't want to freak you out!
:eek: She already has a heart murmur (only slight though grade 1 borderline 2 depends on which vet you ask). Sorry no your not freaking me out just weird that you mentioned that, haven't read anything that would suggest that they are linked either.Is it possible that she doesn't approve of your choice off litter? I had a cat who literally p!ssed rings around herself and refused to use the tray to pee in. When we tried another brand of litter she was fine!
She's been on the same litter for 3 years, actually changed it then on the vets advice in case that's what set off the very original uti (the one I suspect was because of the arrival of the dog). She doesn't seem bothered by it, apart from the peeing in my bed every other time uses it no problem.
I think I might put another litter tray in my bedroom anyways in case it was just a case of her getting caught out.I found this book by Vicky Halls to be quite good on cat behaviour, and she has a lot of advice on pee-issues:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cat-Confidential-Book-Your-Would/dp/0593052765
You can probably find it in the library too, so you don't have to spend money buying it (sounds like you need save as much as possible for the duvets!).
Is it only at night that your cat pees on your duvet? Can't you just restrict her access to your bedroom? Vicky Halls says lots of cats pick duvets to pee on because its nice and "yielding" so it reminds them of a sandy surface. It could be she doesn't like the litter tray material you are using? There was a thread on here recently about cat litter - so have a search for that and try a different kind than the one you are using.
She might also like to have another tray to use, as it seems like she can't access the one in the utility room whenever she wants (if the kitchen door is closed).
If she is scared of the dog, and can't easily access her litter tray - then your duvet is going to seem a sensible option for her!
Only during the day or evening. She's in the utility room from roughly 12 to 7 at night then most of the rest of the day she's upstairs.
I think I already may have that book already just never got around to reading it. Might dig it out and have a read.
A tray upstairs was always objected to because of smells but I think I'm just going to go ahead and get one anyways regardless (it's not their bed she's peeing on so they can't complain). She has no problem with the dog anymore, wouldn't call them the best of friends (although I have photographic proof of them sleeping together) but she's learned to deal with him and he's learned he's not supposed to chase her.0 -
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Just be careful with self diagnosing with these. Your vet should be doing more than this in a full urinalysis workup. Dipsticks are only indicators and should be used in conjunction with microscopic analysis. If one of the tabs on the strip change colour i.e. indicates white cells or red blood cells, these need to be seen under a microscope too for correct diagnosis. These also wont show up crystals either which can cause very painful UTIs in cats. Id be asking them why they arent sending the sample off to a lab. A full urinalysis workup should cost no more than 30euro (70 or so with a microbiological culture) incl your vets markup.I'm going looking to see if I can buy the dipsticks myself and test her at home, at least then I know when to be annoying the vets.:(
You can also get little gel type balls that can be placed in your cats litter tray to help with getting a sample from her or you can put little non absorbent polystyrene balls in her litter tray instead of normal cat litter. She still gets the "digging around" action but the urine stays in the tray for you to easily collect then. If you cant get the dipsticks i can try and get you some if you like....just remember its the first step in aiding diagnosis, not the diagnosis itself
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Ok after 2 long shifts at work and after salvaging my duvet (cut out the bit with pee on it and sewed in a new piece that I was going to use as a dog bed from an old duvet that was also pee'd on) I have calmed down a little. Thanks a million ISDW for the offer, not sure yet what I'l do as regards the vet. Think I might hold off as I'm inclined to think this one was behavioural but will keep a close eye and if I suspect it's medical I'l bring her, if I'm stuck for transport I'l let you know.
Ok I know it sounds worse than it is as regards her access in the house. By hallway I mean the downstairs hallway, the stairs and the upstairs hallway, basically she follows me wherever I go, if I am home alone and in the sitting room then the door is left open so she can go in and out, if I'm in the kitchen she's there with me, if I'm on the toilet she follows me into the bathroom, I spend a lot of my time when I'm in the house in my room so thats where she is beside me sleeping or looking out the window.
Letting her outside is not an option, while my garden is dog enclosed she can still climb over the fence or wall and go wandering and my dog will chase cats outside so chances are she won't want to return to my garden if she keeps getting chased out of it. There's also a busy road just behind my house and a lot of stray cats around. I would love to cat proof the garden and have looked at various different ways to but unfortunately as I said I still live at home and apparently they all will look like we live in alcatraz. Would also love to build an enclosure but I am facing the same problem of herself not wanting part of her garden taken up by a run, will have to look into it again but will have to see how much it will cost.
She walks on a harness in the back garden, not as much as I'd like to so will have to walk her more.Poor kitty! No wonder she's stressed. I think all these restrictions are the cause of the pee issues, along with the dog who chases her! You need to let her have more access around the house - even if involves having to hoover every day! She isn't a hamster, cats need to be able to explore!
Could you build her a run in the garden so she can go outside?
Or - that Cat Confidential book gives lots of "environment-enrichment" ideas - I'd doubly recommend it.
Good luck!
The hairs on the floor aren't an issue, those get hoovered up, again it's not me who has the problem with this, it seems all her hairs seem to get attracted to his clothes. :rolleyes: If it was up to me she would have full run of the house just with the chimney blocked off (she has tried to climb it in the past).Just be careful with self diagnosing with these. Your vet should be doing more than this in a full urinalysis workup. Dipsticks are only indicators and should be used in conjunction with microscopic analysis. If one of the tabs on the strip change colour i.e. indicates white cells or red blood cells, these need to be seen under a microscope too for correct diagnosis. These also wont show up crystals either which can cause very painful UTIs in cats. Id be asking them why they arent sending the sample off to a lab. A full urinalysis workup should cost no more than 30euro (70 or so with a microbiological culture) incl your vets markup.
You can also get little gel type balls that can be placed in your cats litter tray to help with getting a sample from her or you can put little non absorbent polystyrene balls in her litter tray instead of normal cat litter. She still gets the "digging around" action but the urine stays in the tray for you to easily collect then. If you cant get the dipsticks i can try and get you some if you like....just remember its the first step in aiding diagnosis, not the diagnosis itself
With the last UTI she had the full works done, dipsticks, USG, full bloods and the sample sent to the lab (microbiological culture). Bloods and sample sent to the lab came back clear, it was just the dipsticks that kept coming back with trace proteins and leucocytes and the USG was a bit low.
I use the little white plastic beads alright but she still doesn't like them.MarthaMyDear wrote: »Could you get a cat bed and keep it beside your bed?
And encourage her to sleep on the cat bed as opposed to the human bed? Won't work, she's as stubborn as I am. 0 -
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