House breaking problem

[Thalia]

I have been a cat lover for eons and know how to train a cat to a box. I have one female cat right now that is seriously making me reconsider my favorite pet choice.

She will use the catbox and everywhere else she decideds to take a break. It's gotten to the point where she has decided that a midnight potty break on my bed, while I'm sleeping, is the best thing going.

I've taken her to the vet and she has gotten a clean bill of health. I've used just about every trick in the book. I've invested in the repellant sprays that there is out on the market. She will wrinkle her nose and wholeface and stay away from the area as long as I still have the spray to use. She knows when I'm out and will remark her territory if I miss just one day of spraying or until the spray wears off.

She is 18 months old and not fixed. I am going to have this done soon. She's been a housecat from day one. I even take her over to a friends apartment, that has a cat, to play with. She will use that cat's box at the drop of a hat! It's the first thing she does as soon as I put her down.

It's not a question of her not liking the litter that I use. I have tried using differnt ones and like I said she will use the box. I'm starting to think she is just very expressive and urinating on me, in bed, while I'm asleep, is her way of telling me to get up! That's an alarm that will need a snooze button and fast!

Any ideas on this I will appreciate it greatly. I don't want to find her another home. No one woud want her with this problem.

Thalia

[SpencerTheLion]

Have you put her in a bathroom with the litterbox? This "bootcamp" sometimes works.

[Thalia]

Originally posted by SpencerTheLion
Have you put her in a bathroom with the litterbox? This "bootcamp" sometimes works.

I've put her in bootcamp and laced her up in it. Being it's one of the coolest places in the apartment, I think that she thinks I'm being nice. She never meows or scratches to get out. I've found her all curled up in the tub with her paws over top of her head. Just kicking back enjoying herself. All she's missing is the bubble bath...lol

Thalia

[Lin]

Getting her neutered may well help with this problem. It is certainly the first thing to do before taking any other action.

[Thalia]

You know, I've been told that many many times and I think that this time it may be the answer. But if she is in the habit of urinating where she pleases, how does neutering break her of it? I'm just curious.

Thalia

[SpencerTheLion]

Spaying is a good idea, not just to possibly help the litterbox problem. Neutered cats live about 20% longer than unneuterd cats with less behaviorial problems. An unneutered female cats is more likely to get cancer, and 85% of the time, it's found out too late :(.

[SpencerTheLion]

Spraying and deficating is a way of marking territory. Neutering stops some of the sexual urges to do this, although a strong-willed cat will probably remain one.

[Thalia]

Originally posted by SpencerTheLion
Spraying and deficating is a way of marking territory. Neutering stops some of the sexual urges to do this, although a strong-willed cat will probably remain one.

Well, she doesn't have to mark me as her terriority. She is a strong-willed little feline. I think that I'm going to check into programs in my State where I can have if done either for free or at a discount.

One thing that I did find that works the same as the "indoor no" spray. I had run out of it because I was spraying my bed with it. Being it was empty I decided that I needed to treat myself to something a little less oderous. I had a can of sandlewood aromatherepy spray for the room. I sprayed that around my bed. Mousie was watching me. She made that eye, nose squishy look she makes and took off like a shot. I don't know if it was the sound of the can or the sandlewood, but it works just as well as the deterrent spray. Just a observation. BTW, it was a product from Avon. :)

[Lin]

Did your vet take a urine sample when you had her checked out? Urination outside the box is a symptom of Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease and this is really only diagnosed by taking a fresh sample of urine to the vet for checking. The fact that she is using the bed is not really relevant as cats will use ANY area at all apart from the litterbox.
If there is no medical reason for this then spaying will help to calm her down and this in itself might solve the problem. After that is done you can try the following:
1. Change to a very fine cat litter - cats originated in North Africa and are used to using sand.
2. Add extra litter boxes.
3. Ensure that all boxes are perfectly clean at all times.
4. Introduce more interactive play (fishing rod toy etc.) to stimulate her.
5. Make sure she is not being effected by other cats which live outside (either seeing them through the windows/doors or encountering them if she goes outside.
Hope some of this will help to solve the problem.

[SpencerTheLion]

Thank you for the advise, Lin! I hope Thalia will consider the tips here, including neutering. Seeking a professional in animal behavior may be necessary.

[Lin]

Professional help can be very useful but, of course, expensive. We have a foster cat in our care who has been put on a feline form of Prozac by our behaviorist and this is working very well. A good vet will sometimes prescribe some kind of calming drug therapy for this problem as a last resort but neutering has to come first and I am surprised that this was not suggested when this cat was taken to the vet with this problem.