Spayed cat in heat? (Formerly the Feline Cystitis thread!)

janmaree

You're not being a drama queen at all, you're human and you're being sorely tested at the moment. You care about your pet and you've been moving heaven and earth to make things better for all of you AND you haven't been getting enough sleep lately! Nody's advice is sound and any chemist will be able to help you out, this is just a glitch that you can fix yourself. She will be her old self again shortly, thanks to you and your perseverance, you are doing everything you possibly can and it speaks volumes about you. Hang in there and well done

loveisdivine

The paraffin hasn't worked. She now won't poo or pee in her box at all. She seems scared of it. We've even put an additional box down and she seems scared of that too.

Went back to the vets again today as I was concerned she was in pain when trying to go to the toilet. They don't think she has an infection as she's otherwise well, good appetite lots of energy and no fever.

They talked about possible adhesions in her abdomen, or it just being a behavioural problem worsened by the hormones she has at the moment.

Moved the surgery forward to Monday and they're gonna do an x-ray too to make sure there's no stones or adhesions.

I'm just hoping with all I have that once the surgery is done and she doesn't have these crazy hormones, some of this behaviour will improve.

The vets offered to keep her in until Monday to give us a break from it all, I said I'd see how tonight goes. They gave her an anti-inflammatory so maybe that will ease things tonight. Maybe not.

Nody

Try changing from what ever you use to something else; if you use clay get wood pellets, if you use wood pellets change to clay based litter. She may associate the feel of the litter with some pain and by changing litter she may go.

loveisdivine

I've put a different type in the second tray that I put down today. SaniCat Gold, it's a finer one.

I sat at the tray with her there a few minutes ago and I paw'd at the litter like she would and she actually came over and did a wee in the tray! She instantly leapt up and ran off as soon as she finished, but at least we got something.

I've been spraying pet remedy around too which she seems to like.

I'm trying to make the tray a nice place to be.

Rancid

If you've another spare litter box try putting something like a metal oven tray in it on its own, with no litter at all. The smooth cool surface might appeal to her right now when she's so unsettled.
You've been through so much with her, everything is worth trying to make life a little bit better for both of you.
Fingers crossed for Monday.

loveisdivine

Thanks everyone.

We've decided to take the vets up on their offer and let her stay with them for the weekend. She'll have the whole room to herself, plenty of space and there's a huge window for her to sit in too. They all love her too so I know she get's plenty of attention.

She went crazy this morning, pee'd on the carpet and then pooped on the stairs, the spare room and our room somehow managing to get it on her face and legs too

I feel quite sh*tty about leaving her but we just need the break and she just seems to be going stir crazy at the minute. Hopefully she'll calm down a bit with them. All she's doing at home is restlessly pacing and then getting scared of her trays and bolting. Maybe removing her from rooms for a few days will break the cycle.

We're going to use the few days to get everything as clean and fresh as possible. I've bought a big bottle of Urine Off so we're going to clean everything really thoroughly to get rid of any lingering smells so when she come's back on Monday we can try and get a fresh start.

loveisdivine

Husbands dropping her off there this morning. Feel really crap about it now. Feel like I'm letting her down

Rancid

loveisdivine wrote: »

Husbands dropping her off there this morning. Feel really crap about it now. Feel like I'm letting her down

Try not to feel bad, you're doing everything to help her feel ok. I really think a change of scene will help her, even distract her a bit and it's only a few days.
As you say, you'll get the chance to sort things out at home for when she comes back to you.
And you might just catch up on some sleep, too!
Well done on putting her first, you have a heart of gold!

janmaree

Rancid wrote: »

Try not to feel bad, you're doing everything to help her feel ok. I really think a change of scene will help her, even distract her a bit and it's only a few days.
As you say, you'll get the chance to sort things out at home for when she comes back to you.
And you might just catch up on some sleep, too!
Well done on putting her first, you have a heart of gold!

I second everything that Rancid said! Put aside the guilt, get some rest and have a great week-end..........you'll find yourself looking forward to having her back


P.S. Where do you get "Urine Off", one of my hunnies has regressed a little and is leaving me little gifts outside the bedroom door :eek:

intheclouds

loveisdivine wrote: »

Husbands dropping her off there this morning. Feel really crap about it now. Feel like I'm letting her down

Not at all!

Letting her down would be just dumping her outside and letting her make her own way in the world.

Youre doing a really nice thing for her!

loveisdivine

Thanks again everyone, it really helps having a bit of support!

I already can't wait to have her home. I don't wanna get my hopes up but there has to be at least a small improvement after the surgery. She never had issue with toileting/litter trays or with sleeping before she started going into heat. So maybe, just maybe things will go back to normal next week.

I got the Urine Off from Amazon.co.uk, couldn't find it on any Irish sites.

Rancid

Best of luck today, I know you can't wait to have her home again.
Fingers crossed for both of you!

loveisdivine

Trying not to think about it too much, just hoping it all goes to plan and I'll get a call this afternoon with an update

morgana

Fingers crossed . Hope you have her back with you tonight!

loveisdivine

So they didn't even do the surgery today! Apparently they had an emergency dog come in which ended up taking up loads of time. They decided to postpone it until tomorrow so they can take their time and ensure it's all done properly.

Obviously it's the right decision but I miss her terribly.

The really bad news is that she isn't using a litter tray there either To be honest this is the thing worrying me the most. I'm kinda scared that we're not gonna be able to break this habit. They said we might need to keep her on a mild laxative for a while to make sure she isn't in any pain when trying to poo and that might help her be less scared of using the tray.

It's all just stress that I feel I can't handle. We're right in the middle of buying our first house so we have all that stress too.

Rancid

loveisdivine wrote: »

So they didn't even do the surgery today! Apparently they had an emergency dog come in which ended up taking up loads of time. They decided to postpone it until tomorrow so they can take their time and ensure it's all done properly.

Obviously it's the right decision but I miss her terribly.

The really bad news is that she isn't using a litter tray there either To be honest this is the thing worrying me the most. I'm kinda scared that we're not gonna be able to break this habit. They said we might need to keep her on a mild laxative for a while to make sure she isn't in any pain when trying to poo and that might help her be less scared of using the tray.

It's all just stress that I feel I can't handle. We're right in the middle of buying our first house so we have all that stress too.

What a pity they had to postpone it, another day of waiting and worrying for you. Still, she'll have their full attention tomorrow.

About her avoiding the litter trays, I'm starting to wonder if it's more hormonal than anything else, unable to get outside is she using her misplaced poo to advertise being in heat... and just being very territorial...? Usually just peeing to claim territory but she's so unsettled and stressed, anything is possible. Just a thought.

The laxative might help especially after the op. I think I'd be getting a few extra litter boxes, different litters, too, just to give her some choice when she gets home. And maybe one box in a secluded place in case she wants privacy. And one empty litter box in case she has just started to prefer smooth surfaces.
After a few days when the hormones have settled she might be almost back to normal, hopefully, anyway.

You're having the worst of times with her and being stressed out with house-buying certainly doesn't help. Hang in there just a few more days and I hope it'll be all good news.

loveisdivine

Well she's still doing ok this morning. They said she seems a little out of sorts this morning but nothing too concerning. She pee'd in the tray, but pooped on the floor!

Surgery all set for this afternoon but they will want to keep her in one more night anyway just to help her recover. I think they want to keep her a little less mobile for the night as the incision will be a lot bigger this time round and will be right down her abdomen.

Another night of comfort eating it is so

loveisdivine

Well she's home! They found a small piece of ovarian tissue and removed it. It's too soon to see if there's any changes but fingers crossed.

I'm a little ashamed to say that we are already feeling a bit stressed again. She's being very vocal and our attempts at keeping her confined have only led to her getting very agitated and stressed.
So we've had to concede defeat on that front already.

She's also already peed on the floor, but we expected it really.

She probably just needs a while to settle back in.

Rancid

Great that she's home and over it!
And at least they found and removed some tissue, I think that confirms without a doubt that that's what was causing her so much distress.
Won't it take a few days for all of the hormones to leave her system? With a little bit of luck ( and you certainly deserve some luck at this stage!) she'll settle down soon for you!

maggiepip

You could try giving her Taurine supplement. Its added to their food but many cats can actually be a bit low on it anyway. It has a calming effect.
I use it for my own cat and it's helped calm him down hugely.

There would be no harm trying it anyway, you never know, it just may help take the edge off things, it can't do any harm.
I give my cat about 250 mg a day sprinkled in his food.
I do hope things improve for you.

loveisdivine

Thanks for the suggestions. I imagine it will take a week or so for the hormones to level out.

She just did a huge pee on our bed Thankfully we have a mattress topper so it didn't make it through to the mattress but everything else got a good soak.

As much as I'm struggling with it all, my husband seems to be taking it worse. He's usually a very relaxed and easy going person but this whole episode seems to have broken his spirit. I don't think he can handle the urinating everywhere.

Perhaps I should try a behaviourist, try and figure out a way to have her not be scared of the tray.

loveisdivine

What if we tried confining her to a a large dog crate, with just her bed, water and a litterbox? Unfortunately we don't have a whole room we can confine her in because it's not our house.

I've read that this might be a good way to get her back using it and to only let her have free roam again when she's using the box.

Edit - I just wanted to add that on a positive note, her behaviour has been very good. She cried for a couple of hours last night when we went to bed, but then she settled and slept pretty much straight through til 6am! when she did wake up she was calm and quiet, she sat on her cat tree and looked out the window for a bit, then climbed back in the bed for another snooze! So it's not all negative.

Rancid

loveisdivine wrote: »

What if we tried confining her to a a large dog crate, with just her bed, water and a litterbox? Unfortunately we don't have a whole room we can confine her in because it's not our house.

I've read that this might be a good way to get her back using it and to only let her have free roam again when she's using the box.

Agreed. I don't know about a crate, but even a small room, small toilet or bathroom would work well.
Treating it as though she was a new cat you were introducing to the household, and starting her off with a small space, gradually letting her have access to more rooms.
If at all possible, it might be the best way to tackle it.
I know you're at the end of your tether with all this, the random peeing and pooping is near impossible to live with, I know.
Maybe someone here can recommend a behaviourist for cats that you could have a chat with before it gets any worse.

loveisdivine

I think I'll try puppy pads in a very shallow litter tray and if that doesn't help we will have to try crating her.

When we first got back yesterday we put her in our rabbits old play pen and she didn't mind too much. Quite vocal but not agitated. Unfortunately she realised she could get out by squeezing under the bottom and lifting it up!

We have her mostly confined to our room, she's only been downstairs with us for a few minutes supervised.

I know we can figure it out and get passed this, if we can just stay patient and calm. As long as she doesn't make a habit of peeing on the bed as we only have 1 spare quilt!

Nody

loveisdivine wrote: »

I know we can figure it out and get passed this, if we can just stay patient and calm. As long as she doesn't make a habit of peeing on the bed as we only have 1 spare quilt!

If you can get a baby water proof cover to put above it when you're not sleeping on the bed. It may not look pretty but in case she does pee it will stop it going through (we use this on our sofas due to having a cat with epilepsy which means her seizures are purely random and we'll know about them due to her starting to pee uncontrollably).

loveisdivine

Actually just found a waterproof bedding set in Argos. Sheet, 2 pillow cases and a duvet cover. Think I'll pick that up this afternoon.

loveisdivine

Possible small problem, she hasn't pooped since Tuesday evening. Just rang the vets to check how long we should leave her before it becomes a problem and they said if she hasn't pooped by later this afternoon let them know.

So everybody send good poop vibes for Ripley!

loveisdivine

Still no poops. I think she's holding it in because se doesn't want to go. She did pee though, obviously not in one of the numerous trays we now have around the house.

I know it's only been a day but I already feel completely defeated. We've been through such a hard time with this ovarian remnant stuff and as if that wasn't enough now we have the litter problem too. She keeps getting herself in a panic and doing the twitchy back thing.

I can't handle another problem where we don't really no what's wrong and there's no obvious solution. What if we can't get it under control?

I can't believe it's only 1 day back and I already feel like crying.

loveisdivine

She finally pooped, but it was very stressful. For about 10 minutes prior to pooping she was darting round the house as if something we're trying to attack her, twitching quite badly along her back. Then when she pooped it must be painful because she tries to run away while pooping so it flew all over the place. There were 3 pieces and all very hard.

She's relaxed again now, curled up in her bed.

Edit - can't help but wonder if this has anything to do with the mysterious back pain that the vets were so adamant about, back when we still trying to get the remnant diagnosed. I'm gonna mention it to them tomorrow.

Rancid

loveisdivine wrote: »

She finally pooped, but it was very stressful. For about 10 minutes prior to pooping she was darting round the house as if something we're trying to attack her, twitching quite badly along her back. Then when she pooped it must be painful because she tries to run away while pooping so it flew all over the place. There were 3 pieces and all very hard.

She's relaxed again now, curled up in her bed.

Edit - can't help but wonder if this has anything to do with the mysterious back pain that the vets were so adamant about, back when we still trying to get the remnant diagnosed. I'm gonna mention it to them tomorrow.

Best you can do is keep your vet updated on everything you observe, you know her better than anyone. Maybe now that the op is over, if there was another underlying condition there it will become more obvious now and easier to treat.
Hang in there, it's an ongoing stressy time but it surely has to improve soon for you. Fingers crossed.

loveisdivine

I think she sensed how low we were feeling last night and decided to cheer us up this morning by doing a wee in her tray! Small steps!

We had another good night sleep so fingers crossed that continues. No more endless calling for hours!

It feels like we're on a rollercoaster at the minute, one minute we're thrilled with her progress, the next minute she's pooping all over it ha!

loveisdivine

Another little win, she got into her tray and pee'd! Only the poor thing didn't quite aim properly and pee'd over the edge onto the floor! but we're still counting as a win because as far as she knew she was doing it in the tray

I'll get a pic tonight so you can all see how adorable the little terror is, especially with her hairless pink tummy!

Rancid

A step in the right direction (despite the aim being a bit off)!
Looking forward to the pic.

loveisdivine

Here she is!


http://m.imgur.com/wUcKWtY

We think we might have to try crating her. She has pee'd in one of the other trays, but she's also done it on our bed twice, while we were in it! She also pooped on her cat tree.

I still think it's a small improvement as she is sometimes using the trays, but my husband isn't happy for her to keep doing it on our bed so the crate is our only other option.

Rancid

Wow. She's a beauty!

I think confining her to a small space and starting over is probably the best approach and the only reasonable one for you after all the random peeing and pooping.
She has to improve over the next few weeks once that ovarian tissue has been removed.
Getting rid of the scent all over the house is going to be the toughest job, though.
She's used her tray a few times, focus on that, it's the light at the end of the tunnel!

loveisdivine

We're gonna wait till the end of next week and we'll see if the vets can come up with anything else when she goes for her post surgery check up. Then we'll do the crate thing, my mother in law will be away on holiday then too so I won't have to worry about the cat disturbing her cos I'm sure she'll be noisy in there.

In the meantime we just keep putting her in the tray every time she squats on the bed and hopefully she'll get it. She seems to be obsessed with peeing on the bed at the minute.

My husband put her in it and kept his hand on her so she couldn't jump straight out and she did a wee in it, so we're just gonna keep trying that for now.

On a side note she seems to be ravenous! Her appetite has gone through the roof.

janmaree

She really is a beautiful cat and she has a sweet little face, looking fondly at the photographer! Hats off to you guys for your obvious devotion to her, considering that the relationship is relatively new. You've been through a hell of a lot to get to this point and so has Ripley. Raging hormones, staying with the vets, anaesthetic, surgery, stitches etc., etc., and then constipation on top of it all. You have my sincerest sympathy, you've been through the ringer and then some. The toileting problems are a real strain on you, I know that and it's hard to endure but you have come across as loving and patient people right from the beginning. She will calm down with a little time to adjust and relearn her good habits when she's no longer stressed and then she will reward you with all the wonderful things that our cats give us, when they allow us to be their slaves! Well done, I think you're both brilliant.

loveisdivine

Thanks for being so kind. It really does help having a bit of outside support.

Just now she went over to the tray, gave it a sniff but ran off so my husband picked her up and put her back in, stayed there stroking her a bit and she did a big wee.

He's now the cat wee whisperer!

She's such a bizarre little cat but we do love her dearly. We also believe that she's our responsibility no matter what, even though some nights I've wished we could go back and not take her in, but that's usually the sleep deprivation talking! We wouldn't be without her now.

janmaree

"He's now the cat wee whisperer!"


I just love that!!! His friends will be so proud of him!

loveisdivine

She's definitely making progress but it feels very one step forward two steps back.

She will pee in her tray when we put her in it most of the time, and I've caught her using it herself at night. But she's still peeing in other places either when we are out or this morning she peed on the shelf because she didn't want to use the tray.

So definitely better but still a long way to go.

On the other hand we've made no progress with poops. They're healthier looking now, normal shape etc but she still seems distressed when she tries to go and makes no attempt to use the tray, just does it wherever.

Hopefully things continue to improve.

loveisdivine

She just pee'd on the bed again! My husband said he could tell she wanted to go so he put her in the tray 3 times and she just kept walking out of it, she seemed desperate to do it specifically on the bed! Ugh I know it's only been a few days, it's gonna take a while to get it consistent.

Rancid

I know you're at your wits' end trying to sort this out. So any and every random or ridiculous plan is worth trying, right?
It's clear she likes the bed/duvet for peeing on and that's established now either due to the scent or the feel of it.
If you have a plastic storage box like those under-bed boxes big enough to put a small pillow in to simulate the feel of the duvet under her paws, and if you could manage to anoint it with some of her pee it might seem acceptable to her???

loveisdivine

It's worth a shot! I've just bought one of those uv lights that should show up any remaining pee. I've been careful to douse every accident with the urine off but I'm sure I've missed some.

I'd say since Saturday afternoon about 90% of the pee's have been in the tray, mostly from us putting her in it. We're not forcing her either, I just plop her in it and stand next to her and she goes. Then she'll switch and it's like she has to pee on the bed because her life depends on it, she actually sprinted past me at one point just to get on it!

it's weird how she'll use it one minute but won't the next.

loveisdivine

I'm gonna ring the vets today and make sure there's nothing else medical we need to rule out and nothing else they can do to help and then we're gonna have to try the crate.

She's peed on our bed 3 times in the last 24 hours. She's even started to become a little aggressive with us, biting and swiping sometimes and not in the normal playful way.

Maybe it's stress, I don't know if they can give us anything for that, but the feliway and pet remedy aren't working. We try and make the environment as stress free as possible, it's mostly just her and my husband (who she's always been closest too) during the day, so it's always peaceful and quiet.

She doesn't seem in any physical pain when she urinates. She's possibly in some discomfort when she poops as she still freaks out right before she does it and still isn't doing it frequently enough.

We've been desperate to get our own place, for our own sanity and so she has more freedom and space but now it's something I'm starting to dread because I know the change is something that will probably stress her out more and now it seem's I'll probably end up with pee all over the new furniture

janmaree

Honestly, my heart goes out to you right now, you're having a tough time of it and then some. I've no experience of moving home with a pet cat but it seems from what I've heard that a cat pretty much has to be kept in for about a month to get them used to a new place so the crate strikes me as a good plan for then at least, if not for now. It might be your opportunity to regulate the toileting again while she's confined and doesn't have much choice other than to use the litter tray. I posted on another thread here about covered litter trays and wonder if you have one of those, not much use to you at the moment when you're having to monitor everything she does but for down the road, it might help. My indoor girls are pretty good using it, they're generally quite curious about it and seem to like the privacy it affords them.

I'm sending you all the positive energy I can lay my paws on and will wait to hear how you get on with the vet and what she has to say. Chin up, we're all rooting for you!

Nody

loveisdivine wrote: »

We've been desperate to get our own place, for our own sanity and so she has more freedom and space but now it's something I'm starting to dread because I know the change is something that will probably stress her out more and now it seem's I'll probably end up with pee all over the new furniture

This may sound odd but moving to a new place may actually be beneficial long term; it will create a stressful situation yes but it will also force a change in routine and that may be the breakthrough you need. You can then start to introduce her one room at a time taking a few days between etc. to make sure she goes where you want her to with the bedroom (and that lovely fluffy bed) being the last place when she's established her toilet habits in the correct location.

loveisdivine

I know I mentioned it before but in my head I keep coming back to this back pain that they said she had. I can't help but wonder if the constipation isn't being caused by abnormal poops, but that maybe the back pain is making pooing painful so she's holding them in, which in turn is making her blocked up and constipated. I know that if the poop stays in too long the moisture gets sucked out and it becomes dry and hard, making it difficult to pass.

Basically I'm wondering if the constipation is a symptom of a back pain problem rather than being the main problem itself. Or maybe I'm just clutching at straws.

All I know for certain it that she's definitely holding it in, she becomes very panicked in the minutes before she poops but when she does poop they are coming out more normal now.

maggiepip

Constipation can definitely be related to back pain. My collie has a back issue (which thankfully we have under control these days), but in the past when the pain flared up she would also get constipated.

loveisdivine

Ok so the vets aren't keen on crating her. They would rather we used a room, but that will be problematic. Our choices are the bathroom, which would be great for clean up, but only has a frosted window and I think it would be rather cruel to keep her shut in a room without even a window to look out of. Or the spare room, but that's full of boxes and stuff, even if we cleared it all out there's still a bed and other furniture and I'd be worried she'd just pee all over that stuff instead and it would be harder to clean. I also know that any confinement away from us will stress her out as she's quite clingy, so I don't want to make it worse either by stressing her more. It's really hard to know what to do for the best.

Litter tray use still sporadic. Thankfully nothing on the bed since yesterday morning! I heard her use the tray during the night and she was using it more normally too, scratching around and wiping her paw on the side for a bit after she finished, she spent more time in it than she has been which is good. Still absolutely zero interest in pooping in a tray.

But then this morning it's back to panicking and not wanting to use it. She ended up getting stressed out, puking up some hair, peeing on a puppy pad I'd put down to cover up some urine off that I'd put on a previous pee, then pooped under the bed! All in the space of 10 minutes! Bless her, it's awful for her as much as us.

The vets told us to put her back on the metacam and see if that improves things, if it does it would suggest there is some pain, so started that again last night. She's back in on Friday for her 10 day post surgery check up so we will look at things again then.

loveisdivine

We decided that because the only time she's used the tray without us coercing her has been at night when it's dark and we're asleep, we would try a covered box again. This is what she was using before, but even the sight of the old box sends her running so I bought a new bigger one that's a different colour.

Well, I don't wanna get my hopes up (again!) but pretty much as soon as it was put down she waltzed straight in and used it! Without any coercion from us! Keep your fingers crossed everyone!