She seems perfectly normal, happy, active and using the litter box, so we hit the interweb to research potential issues and solutions, and to determine if we need to take her to the vet, right away.
We think the problem is based in the battle for territory and dominance that is going on between A&H, so we got an additional litter box, opened the front room back up to them, and will get a cat tower soon to increase the vertical territory for the critters.
They've been well-behaved, but Henry seemed a little more needy this weekend, instead of his normal cool as a cucumber demeanor, where he would plop himself down and start purring, he'd come ask for attention, and Agnes was all over Ian for affection, which isn't something she's really done before. He's loves her to bits and gives her equal time, but she's been a little more bonded to me than him. I'm hoping that she was just marking Ian as her's.
This morning, Agnes chasing and pouncing on Henry, instead of the typically other way around. We're hoping it's just a little cat power struggle and that they'll work it out. We'll give it another couple of days and call the vet if she pees again.
12 comments:
Uh-oh Agnes....better satrt peeing in the proper place otherwise it is off to the v-e-t for you.....eeekkkk!
Fingers crossed for you!! That's a rough problem.
The two in my life who felt the need to mark on me were male strays, neutered after maturity (yeah, I've been owned by a fair number of kittehs over the years). It was a recurring problem each time the "group" changed and, yes, they'd do it while I was sleeping in bed.
Hopefully with all the proactive things you've been doing, Agnes will feel secure soon and cut it out.
If you haven't thought of it/done it already, you might want to invest in a good waterproof matress pad. LOL! Having had many years of no problems (and no waterproof mattress pad on the new bed - silly me), one of my geriatric girls had an accident. This prompted my male to mark and then one of the other girls to say, "Oh, no, the bed is mine, too."
They seem to be over it (thank goodness!), but I went through a fair amount of odor eliminator! Never will I be without a good waterproof pad again (lots of padding on top - expensive but so worth it), having learned that even an accident can trigger problems. Love the critters too much to get upset over a mattress!
Good luck!
I had this problem with my two until I heard about the "1 per cat + 1" litterbox rule. As soon as I installed the third box, all problems ceased (well, except when Fuzz got a UTI...)
No question it's a pain to scoop three boxes, but not as much as the surprises!
HTH!
LOL, doodle bean! I'm just featuring scooping 6 pans at my house!
But, really that's a great point! Everybody can stake out their own territory.
When I got my cat, I read somewhere that the ideal number of litterboxes was one per cat, plus one extra.
And at least one very sturdy scratching post per cat.
I only got one cat, because I was so fearful of territorial horror, having gone through that with my rabbits.
Another thing--don't forget that, once the pecking order is established by the cats, you might need to honor it yourselves. We humans seem to think that we should give each cat equal treatment, but in some cases we might be confusing the cats and causing them anxiety. They sometimes get comfort from knowing their position in the hierarchy, it seems like.
Our first kitty was a stray who got spayed after she came into rescue (around 3 years old) and she would occasionally pee on our living room carpet...she was an only cat at that time, had 2 very clean litterboxes, and would use them most of the time but once every few days she'd go for a change of scenery :)
Medical problems were ruled out, and I hit the internet for every possible solution and we never figured out why she did it...we did invest in a black light (very useful) and Anti-Icky-Poo cleaning solution though :) Also, we watched her like a hawk and as soon as she got "that look" in her eyes and started sniffing around the living room carpet, we distracted her and pointed her towards her litterbox and gave her lots of treats after every successful litterbox use. She started to respond really well and was getting a lot better (occasional slips every 6-7 weeks.
Even when our second rescue kitty arrived, and we were so afraid that the peeing would start again, she was perfectly well-behaved.
Fingers-crossed Agnes is just trying to establish dominance but if the problem persists, I agree that the vet is a good place to start.
Wowie!!!!!
Thank you so much for sharing your story - it sure answered lots of questions at our household.
Alice is the lovely perfect prim and proper princess, always looking for attention!
Dude is mr mellow himself.
One day Dude decided he wanted to come looking for his own special attention and he does this cute meercat pose so you will scratch him on the head and ears.
This has not taken any attention away from Alice - and Dude only wants attention when he wants it and leave him alone the rest of the time.
Well Alice started the peeing thing - we are very lucky though because she pees in the bathroom sink - easy to clean!
We kinda just kept quiet about it because it is not something you share with the world and we just thought she was weird - but there will be a second litter box tonight as soon as I get home and we will see how that works.
Thank you for sharing!
Not a fun problem to have! Ebbie hasn't ever done that...she HAS been lovely enough to puke on me while I was sleeping. Oh joys...Its a good thing they're so cute, huh? I'm sure Miss Agnes will get things straightened out soon, with your love and guidance!
Fingers crossed that Agnes was just doing it because she could, and that she behaves better! Tell her that it's the Princess and the PEA, not the Princess and the PEE.
:snort!: Oh, annf, that was sooo bad! (In the good pun sorta way!)
Ewww, poor Cal... had lots cats for lotsa years and that's a new one. It is indeed a good thing they're so adorable.
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