So frustrated! He's at it again.

[wolfsoul]

Some of you may remember back when Caleb was younger. I was at my wit's end because he had been peeing on the beds and clothing or towels on the floor. He hasn't done it since he was six months old. He's now 10 months old and he's started it again!

He started it a few weeks ago. So far the only thing he's done is pee on my mom's bed. We don't know why he's doing it. He hasn't been under any stress, he isn't acting annoyed by anything... He's his regular self. He KNOWS he's not supposed to do it. Most often we find out he's done it because we will suddenly see him run as fast as he can out of my mom's room, and go downstairs.

He peed on her bed again this morning. She washed the sheets and blankets and everything, and she JUST put them back on. She went to the kitchen to grab some food, went back, and there was more pee! And he was long gone. He finds the most oportune moments to do it, does it as fast as he can and gets the heck out of there. The other day I was talking on the phone in my mom's room and my back was turned. Guess he thought I wouldn't turn around and see what he was doing. I looked back and he ran like heck.

My mom hates to keep her door closed because the air gets all yucky and then she can't breathe at night. So now she wants me to keep Caleb locked downstairs, but I rarely remember to keep the door closed.

I don't understand why he does this. I don't even know why he quit doing it for four months when nothing had changed! We had him tested for UTI back then and nothing was wrong, so I think I'm safe to assume nothing is wrong with that now. His drinking is fine, he still uses his litter box. Sometimes I have to wonder, considering where he came from (animal hoarder with very sick cats), if he doesn't just have a few screws loose in the head.

On a better note, I weighed him today, and he is 11 pounds! Is that big for a 10 month old? Do you think I can expect him to get alot bigger?

Thanks for the vent, and any suggestions are appreciated.

[Ally Cat's Mommy]

I (thankfully) haven't had any experience with this - so unfortunately I am NOT the best person to advise you!

It may be wise to get him checked by the vet again - just because he was OK last time doesn't guarantee that this time the reason is the same.

Did you do anything to "make" him stop last time, or did he just snap out of it on his own?

Did he do it in the same place last time?

I KNOW it would be a hassle, but is there any chance you could put a temporary screen door up on your mom's room - this would keep him out and still allow air to circulate.

Sorry I can't be more help! Good luck!

[catmandu]

Sometimes,sadly,if they are not neuteredsoon enough,they can,get,into the habit,of spraying,to mark,that that,is thier turf.And if he,was in a home,with a lot,of Toms,then territory,would be very,very important,to him.Have you tried Feliway.Sam,was spraying,and it helped,a lot,and Sam,is going,on 10.

[wolfsoul]

I will see if maybe we can get him to the vet -- money hasn't been good lately, so I don't know how soon I can get him over there. Same with the screen, and the Feliway. We looked into Feliway the last time, but it was much too expensive.

Last time he did it on all three beds and any clothes, towels, hats, etc on the floor.

Caleb isn't spraying on anything, he's squatting. He started this when he was only a couple of months old, so I know it isn't anything to do with him not being neutered soon enough. He was neutered when he was 6 months old. A friend of my mom's had told her that her cat did the exact same thing -- he would squat on every bed and piece of clothing he could find -- she said that as soon as she got him neutered, he stopped. I thought that was why Caleb had stopped. But otherwise, I didn't do anythign to make him stop. He suddenly just didn't do it one day.

I am thinking that since he knows he's not supposed to do it, perhaps he wants to get into trouble? I don't know why, unless he wants to get attention, but he gets so much attention already. I brush him every day and play with him. My mom's bf comes over and just plays with him for hours. I don't know why he would feel he needs more attention.

Thanks for your suggestions!

[Laura's Babies]

There isn't any telling what kind of horrors he suffered before you got him.. May I suggets this..

When you see he has done it, scold him then shut him up in a bathroom or some other small room for about 30 minutes. Do it EVERY time and be consistant. Ignore his crying to get out.. This is a "time" out for him.. Of coarse, have food, water and litter box in there.

I tried this with Samantha when she wouldn't stop attacking my other babies and there was a territorial struggle going on with them.. It only too her THREE days of this to learn and there has been no attacks from her since. They HATE being in a room with the door shut and being alone.

[sarifish]

good advise i think i will try that with my cat he loves spraying and he got fixed early bc he was tryin to ride his sister so we think the vet " missed a lil somethin" hehe but yea imma try that because im sick of the house smelling like pee

[Laura's Babies]

I have been thinking about this.... Didn't you say he came from a horder person? I bet he was just shut up somewhere without litter boxes or boxes so dirty that he refused to use them so it is just a habit... I mean when you gotta go, you gotta go SOMEWHERE. It was ok before so what is all the fuss about NOW?

If that is the case, it will take a lot of understanding on your part and I still suggest "time out" for him.

I saw a thing on the Dr. Phil or Opra show about horders. If they have pets, they really love them but just do not take care of them. One lady had, I think a cat and a dog and there was poop and pee everywhere but yet, she said she loved her pets. They just get overwhelmed with the messes and don't know how to fix it so they don't try. (so to him, it is ok to go where ever he wants)

Your baby could associate even one pee biscuite with his past horriable life... Who knows... Just thought I would mention this...

[wolfsoul]

Well, the hoarder is my grandma (unfortunatly ), so I know how he was treated and everything. Atleast he wasn't stuck in a room -- he had free run of the outdoors. She told me that he was litter trained when she gave him to me (and he did use his litter box and nothing else for the first couple of weeks), and she said that he had never peed on anything (though how could she really know anyways, with a billion cats peeing on everything ). Off topic, but last month she told me she had a new kitten that looks just like Caleb. And that kitten's mom was the poor sick cat she dumped at my house for me to take care of, and she has kideny disease, so think of the ailments that poor kitten will suffer. I know it sounds evil, but the animals make her heath really bad (ammonia and bird poop), and I hope that one day she has to be hospitalized so that I can go up there and take all of her animals away and clean her house.

I worry that it will be hard to be consistent with Caleb, as most often we don't catch him doing it, but I'm thinking about spying on him and just seeing if I can catch him, and then lock him in the bathroom. He does hate to be locked up, so it might work. Even this morning he was locked downstairs and I went upstairs and he cried and cried. Do you think that's an obsessive thing? Unless he's sleeping, if we leave him downstairs he will act like he's dying. I ignore him, but the longer it goes on, the more "yowly" he becomes. He starts to sound like a siamese. He's 10 months old, I would think he would be over this.

I try to think of any odd behaviours he might have that might be tied with this; But I can't think of anything. He acts perfectly normal. He sleeps most of the day, or sits at the window and looks out. He drinks alright, and he loves to eat. I think one thing that might bother him sometimes is that he came from a place with many cats and now he's the only one. When I took care of my grandma's sick cat, he wouldn't leave her alone, he loved her so much. Now that I think of it, he never peed on anything for those couple of days because he was too busy obsessing over her. But I don't think he would stop for four months and then start again for that reason. After I move out I am going to adopt an older torti. I bet he'll love that.