Am I a bad cat mama??

[intensity_too]

I have 2 cats : . . . both are 5 years old and I have had them since they were 6 months old. I truly love these cats but since I have had my 2 boys (almost 3 y/o and 10 months old) the cats have taken to peeing where they are not supposed to. Mostly on clothes, rugs, towels . . . things of that sort left on the floor. This includes my 3 y/o lovey blankies!! We have tried everything to stop this but it just isn't working. Both cats had check-ups and were both very healthy. We have tried moving there litter boxes, changing what we use in the litter boxes, cleaning them more often . . . . nothing is working and I am getting very frustrated!!!!!

With a month old who is crawling and constantly putting things in his mouth, I just cannot have cat pee on everything. This morning one of the cats peed on a rug in the kitchen and before I realized it, the baby had sat on the rug!! His diaper (a prefold) was sopping wet and smelling horrible. :Puke I knew it was cat pee but it took me a bit to hunt down where they had gone.

I really think this is behavioral and it is caused by the boys . . . the stress of two young ones running around, the cats living in fear and the cats just not getting the attention they used to. I don't think it would be fair to lock the cats in the basement so this leaves me with giving them away to another family or a shelter. What do all you brilliant mama's think?? I'm so torn right now!!!!!

[tboroson]

Originally Posted by intensity_too

Both cats had check-ups and were both very wealthy.

Well, then they should be able to afford to have someone clean up after them

On a more serious note...

Try re-litter-training them. Put them in a closed, small room (bathroom, laundry room, large dog crate if needed,) with a litter box, food and water. Visit them often, keep the litter very clean. After a few days, give them t-shirts or something your boys have worn. Keep them there for about two weeks. There are a couple of goals: de-stressing them (think of it like a reboot), getting them used to the idea of your boys without them actually around to stress them out, and getting them used to the litter box again. You could also put a Feli-way dispensor in the room, then move it down to the main living space once you reintroduce them to the rest of the house. If they start peeing again after you return them to the rest of the house, do it again for a month.

Other tips: try to keep anything they like to pee on off the floor. Give them lots of litter boxes, preferably one on each floor, or if they're all in the same room then seperate them from each other. Good rule of thumb is give them one box per cat plus one extra. And, Oxi-clean is the only thing I've found that takes out cat pee odor. I use two scoops in a front-load washer, I'd probably use three in a top-loader. Occasionally I've had to wash something in it twice, but it works. I have one old man who's taken to peeing in the dirty laundry baskets... he's old and incontinent and I'm just glad he's not peeing on everything else - that laundry was going into the washer anyway!

[iris0110]

Are these male or female cats? Are they spayed or neuterd? Some male cats will mark their territory (we had a female cat that would too) especially with the kids arround they may be feeling the need to mark the place as their's. We have four cats, and have been lucky enough not to have this type of problem with them. (I had to ban my female cat from sleeping with us when Ds was little though. She thought he was her baby and I wasn't doing a good enough job of keeping him clean, so in the middle of the night she would bathe him. Woke him up every time. ) It is most likely behavioral, but I don't know what might be done to fix it. Could you maybe give them an area all there own where the kids don't go? Maybe put a baby gate up to the laundry room or a guest bedroom so the cats can get in and out but the kids can't? 2 This is a really tough problem and I wish I had better advice for you. It is really tough when even the pets have sibling rivalry.

[intensity_too]

One is male and one is female and both are fixed. They do have their own area that the kids cannot get to but once we let the cats into the main living area they do the peeing thing.

We do try and keep the stuff they like to pee on off the floor. I don't just leave it around for them to pee on but with 2 small kids . . . things get thrown on the floor.

We do have 3 litter boxes and we do have one on each floor so they are easily excessable.

As bad as this might sound, I don't know that I have the time or energy to do the "re-litter training" thing. UGH! I am a bad cat mama!!!!!!!!

[chersolly]

If I were in your position, I'd find them a new home. Contact a local cat rescue/pet new life group and they'll find them excellent homes.

[bionicsquirrel]

I just want to give you a

I have the same situation with only one cat. Suddenly he just started peeing on everything...clothes, blankets, the carpet. He will pee on the floor right next to his freshly cleaned litter box.

Right now he is stuck being a permanent outdoor cat and seems fine with that, but come winter that will not be okay. I am seriously considering putting fliers up or taking him to the pound, dh can't stand him any more and I feel terrible about it.

So, I hope you find a solution, but I feel for you and understand your frustration.
-Bianca

[SomedayMom]

We are having a similar situation with our cat. I know she just senses the changes coming (I am 30 weeks pregnant with our first baby). Change and Sammi just don't go together...we had a similar issue when we got a second dog.

I am emotional and pregnant and she got me to the end of my rope a few weeks ago. I kept thinking I can't have cat pee all over my house with a new baby in it. So re litter box training we are. She has a room in our basement where her food and litter box have been and as much as it pained me, we kept her completely confined in there for 2 weeks. I went in to play with her, give her food and water, make sure her litter box was clean and being used (we have an automatic one...I make my husband actually empty it while I am pregnant, even though I know she is healthy )...She hated it, and I felt so guilty but I knew it had to be done. She's also healthy and this is just a behavioral thing...I don't have the energy for what they reccommended next, which was increasing her space little by little (how the heck would I do this anyway?) So I have started over the last week, just letter her out while I'm home for brief stints and crossing my fingers...if I think she peed somewhere, she goes back in her room.

One thing that SEEMS to help is the Cat Attract litter...don't know why, but it seems to help with retraining...

Certainly this is bugging me to have to do this with her, but giving her away is not an alternative to me, and neither is having my baby in a house where you never know where you might run into cat pee...

I wish you luck! I'm scared to death this will happen all over again after the baby gets here, so I'll be watching for any better advice myself

[2tadpoles]

This is just something to think about (I doubt it's your problem, but I'm sure my friend isn't the only person to have ever had this happen)....

My friend M. has two cats, and one of them started pottying outside the litter box for no apparent reason. They tried different litters, an extra box so each cat would have their own, etc. M. was getting really frustrated.

Well, one day they were all sitting in the living room, and you could see one of the litter boxes from there. The cat went up to the litter box and appeared to be thinking about entering it. Everyone held their breath. Then M.'s dh said, "I don't think she can fit."

THAT was the problem. It was a covered box, and the cat was TOO FAT to fit through the door! Their cat is 100% cheap-kibble fed, and is grossly obese.

Anyway, just thought I'd pass it on as a possibility.

[Mavournin]

I can totally sympathize. We're having the same problem with our cat. He is fixed, but lately he's taken to peeing anywhere he can. Laundry baskets, the infant car seat, the chairs, the floors. It's awful. The humidity has been so high the past couple of days that it's pulling the smell out of the wood and the house stinks. I don't know what to do. I love that cat, I can't bear the thought of sending him away - but I can't do this anymore.

2 mama. I know the feeling all too well.

[eggs98]

I have two cats, an older one and an 11 month old. When we got the kitten my older cat started peeing and pooping on my six year old sons bedroom floor. I blocked off that room and she started using the litterbox again. Now I have a new baby and she's started doing it again. Only this time she pooped and peed in my sons bed, my bed, and my bedroom floor. I'm at my wits end. I love her, but I'm afraid that she's going to use my daughters crib next. I have no idea how to get the smell out of our mattresses, and it takes several washes and an abundance of products to get the smell out of the bedding and carpet. She is spayed and in good health. I think she's jealous. I put her outside when I find the mess, but she has never lived outside, so this is not a permanent option.

[delicious]

dude this is an old thread. LOL

[stayinghome]

I gave away a cat due to similar issues. My first baby freaked the cat out so much, my parents took the cat. She's happier with them, it's much quieter there.

I just can't stand the cat pee thing. It is so nasty and makes the whole house just smell aweful... so i personally wouldn't put up with it.

It sucks to have to make a choice like this...

[Ann-Marita]

Rescue Remedy works for pets, too! Try it before giving a beloved pet away. I put 4 drops in her cat bowl of water each day.

Feliway is also a good product for helping cats with spraying/inappropriate litter habits. It smells like their own "happy mark" - rubbing their faces against things like your legs, special places. We as humans don't really notice this, but the cats can. You spray it where you don't want them marking (corners of rooms, etc - the box has lots of information). It's not cheap, but it's worth it.

Good luck!
Ann-Marita

[noodle4u]