my cat is peeing in her food and water bowls

lilylarkin

Please help. I am out of my mind with torment as my cat is now peeing in her water bowl and food. I was in shock the other night when I saw her eating her food happily then turn around, back herself up to the bowl, lift her tail and pee on it.

She is 5 years old and used to be a great cat for using the litter box. But about a year ago she started peeing outside the litter box and everywhere in my sitting room. So i got her the closed-in litter box. She uses it all the time but she also pees around the room. I have had to restrict her to one room and put her out every night. She used to sleep outside and inside so nothing unusual in me putting her out.

I have a dog and they bot get on famously but while I am in college sept-dec, jan-apr my parents take my dog and mind her. I suspect my cat is being bullied by a neighbouring cat who stalks her and I see this cat around my property frequently. I think when the dog was here she kept other cats out.

But what do i do about the neighbours cat? I cant ask them to stop their cat coming into my property and I dont know how to protect my cat from her. I am distraught as I had to throw out 25 dvds last week due to my cat peeing all over them. The vet could find no problem with her heath, in fact commented that she was in great condition.

What do i do???

Alun

Have you changed the kind of litter you use recently? A lot of the problems we were having with our cat's inappropriate peeing disappeared when we changed (back) to the litter we were using before the problems started. The only thing now is that since she's started using the tray much more often (rather than peeing in the sink, on the cooker and a few other places I won't even mention) it needs changing much more often, which means we still get the odd accident, but that's now our problem, not hers.

We also get the odd accident where she's being hassled by other cats either on the window sill, or in the conservatory. They love to sit on the outside sill staring in, or sitting on the glass roof of the conservatory .. drives the poor thing mad!

lilylarkin

Hi Alun,
Yes ive done all that and she is quite happy using it. She even comes in after being out all day and goes straight to the litter box, which i dont get. I wonder is she holding it in while outside in fear of the other cat being around.

The thing is it is getting cold now and i dont like putting her out at night.

Zapperzy

First things first rule out medical problems. Cats sometimes pee in inappropriate places when there in pain, it can start off as experiencing pain while on the tray and them then going on to associate the tray with painful experiences so they learn to avoid it instead. A vet visit will rule out urinary issues and such.

Once she's in the clear you can start looking at behavioural causes. Could very well be neighbours cats bullying her. Have you a cat flap or open windows they could be entering the house from? Have you seen them sitting on windows looking in or marking anywhere around your garden or house? Putting window boxes on your windows will stop them sitting there looking in. Board up the cat flap if you've got one and be careful not to leave windows open wide enough for them to squeeze in. No harm in investing in a water gun for invading cats, harmless and they'l get the message they're not welcome.

There are various things on the market for reducing stress in cats, which it does sound like it is. Feliway have sprays and plug in diffusers that spread 'happy' pheromones in the area which reassures and comforts the cat. It's expensive but some people swear by them, plenty of studies done to back it up too. There's also zylkene tablets which are non-prescription and can be gotten either from your vet or online, they contain some sort of natural milk protein which is supposed to reduce stress.

Where is the litter tray located? Is it in sight of a window or out in the open where she might feel vulnerable? Add at least one extra tray (rule is generally 1 per cat +1 extra), you could try experimenting with different litters too in case she has an adversion to a specific litter. Put them in private areas not in view of windows or in high traffic areas, behind the couch or in a corner behind some furniture is a good area.

How are you cleaning up the pee? Cat pee is one of those smells that is impossible to clean out of fabrics and seems to linger no matter what. You need a cleaner with enzymes in it to break down the pee or else she'l smell pee in the area and carry on thinking it's a toileting area. Biological washing powder works, vinegar is also supposed to work but I can't stand the smell of it. There are specific animal pee cleaning solutions available too, have a look in pet shops, some places stock them. Avoid anything with ammonia in it or she'l be attracted to peeing on top of it. A UV light will show up pee stains if you can borrow one or get your hands on one.

How well do you know the owner of the other cat? If you know them you could have a chat with them and work out some sort of a rota system for letting each of them outside.

I really do feel for you, went through a similar thing with my cat constantly peeing on my bed. Peeing cats are a pain in the backside to live with! :rolleyes:


Edited to add: woops just seen you've already had her at the vets, ignore that bit so

lilylarkin

Il definitely the the uv light as i never know where shes done it even though i can smell it. And i will look into the hapoy pheromones thing too. Ive done all the litter things and none have worked.