Paul and I had one of our very rare fights last night (I clean when I’m mad, so probably Paul has mixed feelings about our fights). Then this morning I woke up queasy and feeling like I was fizzing with Teh Krazy, and then I thought, “Huh, this is just how I felt when….” And then I took a pregnancy test (I will keep these things on hand until long after menopause: it is well worth 80 cents for peace of mind), and it’s negative, so I guess I’m just a regular mess, or possible a PMesS. So anyway then I shopped for small expensive handbags I have no intention of buying.
********
Mouse is still peeing out of her box about once per day. Two nights ago I woke up at 4:00 in the morning and noticed her doing some pre-pee prowling on our bed, so I took her down to the basement and stood there in my bare feet in the middle of the night, putting her in her litter box again and again, petting her and speaking soothingly. Then I gave up, and she followed me back to bed and peed on Paul.
So last night Paul and I switched sides of the bed, and have you ever tried to do that? It seems really weird. I kept waking up feeling like everything was all strange, and now the lamp is on my side. Anyway, I was wondering if Mouse was peeing ON PAUL or if she was peeing on that side of the BED, but last night’s test was a bust because she sniffed around for awhile and then went out to the hallway and peed on a pair of pants one of the kids left there.
Could we get a little fresh breeze in here kthanx
On one hand I’m reaching my limit, and on the other hand “reaching my limit” doesn’t really mean anything because I don’t want to put her to sleep and that’s pretty much the only option sitting around at the limit. If she had other issues I would consider it, but she’s a very good cat. She’s been a very good cat for 16 years. I don’t want to stop the CAT, I just want to stop the PEEING. We’ve talked about it with the vet several times now, and she’s been tested but she’s fine, and we got her a Feliway-knock-off collar, and we’ve gotten multiple litter boxes, and we’ve put a box aside for her in a secluded place, and we’ve put a box on the main floor in case she’s having trouble with the stairs to the basement, and she seems accustomed to the new cats now—and sometimes things seem better and then they seem not-better again. And she IS peeing MOST of the time in the box (or, as Paul says darkly, “or somewhere else we haven’t found yet”). We have a vinyl mattress cover on our bed, which I hate, and we’ve taken our down blanket and our quilt off and replaced them with cheap blankets that are easier to wash cat pee out of.
Anyway. I guess I don’t have any point to that. Just venting/complaining. Mouse goes back to the vet in November for blood tests anyway, so that’s another chance for them to find something. The vet also mentioned cat prozac, except Mouse doesn’t seem UPSET or anything now. She just keeps peeing on our stuff. And maybe she’s just kind of old and needs a cat-sized Depends.
********
(image from Amazon.com)
I read The Bedwetter by Sarah Silverman and liked it. I feel very invested in her getting back together with Jimmy Kimmel. I mean, assuming they’d be happy together—I don’t mean they have to get together if they had a bad relationship. But it SEEMED good, didn’t it? And I felt sad when they broke up, and I’d feel happy if they got back together and were happy and had babies if they wanted them and so forth.
Our 16 year old cat started peeing on stuff out of the blue early this year, and we kept getting annoyed and trying to figure out what was going on, but he seemed completely fine otherwise. Until the day when I noticed, “Hmm, he seems skinnier,” and then he stopped eating right after, and we took him to the vet, and he weighed 3 pounds and had a giant tumor.
I am sure this is an uplifting story. I am full of uplifting stories.
On Sarah and Jimmy, did you not love that song/video she did for him, “I’m Fucking Matt Damon”? OMG, hilarity. I can still sing lines in my head.
I’m so sorry about the pee-bacle going on in your house. That sounds terrible. (Although I snorted rather loudly when I read the part about the cat going upstairs and peeing on Paul. Sorry Paul!) She is darling though – I presume it would be hard to stay made at someone so soft and cuddly with such a dreamy look in her eyes.
Are there such things as kitty depends by the way? Would that be horrific or an actual feasible solution? (I do not own a pet, so I have no idea if that would just be ridiculous.)
We have a cat named Rabbit that pees on things to be spiteful. Mostly my husband’s things. Since the day we brought her home from the shelter we’ve had to keep our bedroom door closed (going on 6 years now) so she doesn’t christen his pillow. The vet assures me I’d be better off just keeping her in the basement with the little box than trying to figure out how to stop it, but every once in a while my guilt gets the better of me and I let her join the rest of us hoping she’s better. And then I pay my dry cleaner a crap ton of money getting cat piss out of bedding.
Our cat started peeing in the house when I got pregnant. Maybe you should test again : )
We tried everything to help him stop..and I mean EVERY FREAKING THING THAT COST US ABOUT 800.00!! (Not that I’m bitter about it or anything)
Nothing fixed the problem. Once the baby was here he progressed to peeing on me while I was nursing. LAST STRAW!! He found a new home!!
Hopefully your story ends happier than mine : )
Vinegar and OxyClean works great btw!
I am thinking that Torsten and I should switch sides of the bed, because he is on the side by the bathroom, and I get up to pee so often, and also I am supposed to be sleeping on my left side but the side of the bed that I sleep on lends itself to me sleeping on the right side. So it seems like until I give birth we should switch sides of the bed. But I LIKE my side and we have slept that way for four years. So we haven’t done it yet.
Oh, man, there is a special place in heaven for you, for dealing so kindly with the cat pee issue. We DID put our cat to sleep for peeing + being agressive to the point of being afraid of her… but if I’m being 100% honest with myself, the peeing maybe would have been enough. However our OTHER cat… I feel like I would jump through many MANY hoops for her, even if she was peeing on things… so I totally hear you on the “such a good kitty” thing. Poor Mouse! (And obvs, poor you guys!)
Also, we read The Bedwetter for bookclub last month. I love Sarah Silverman… she cracks me up!
Aww, I feel for you. I had a cat (my first one) that would just pee randomly by the door. He did it in my apartment, and then in my husband’s apartment when we got married. Several hundred dollars of replacing apartment carpet later, I had to part with kitty. Found him a new home, but it nearly destroyed me–like someone had ripped my heart right out. I had him for 5 years (doesn’t sound long, but it felt like forever). The worst part, for me, was just not being able to explain it to him so I assumed he figured I didn’t love him any more which is just probably me torturing myself over it.
Anyway, just here to lend a supportive “I hear ya”.
My sixteen-year-old cat is peeing outside the box, too–but not all the time–so I know where you’re coming from. (She has not peed on my husband yet, though.) But I know she has hyperthyroidism and kidney disease, and she stopped peeing outside the box for a bit when she went on the anti-thyroid medication, so I’m wondering if she needs a medication adjustment. Or maybe she’s just old and can’t be bothered with finding a litterbox all the time anymore.
Yeah, I’m helpful. But if your pee misery is the type that loves company, I’m here for you.
You are a saint. I love my cats (one in particular VERY VERY much)but there is no way in hell I could put up with peeing on my BED. And if a cat peed on ME (or my husband – who tolerates the cats because he loves me) it’s a strike ONE YOU’RE OUT situation.
I applaud your patience, though I think it’s a bit nuts.
So sorry about the pee issues. We had a cat that we got at 6 weeks old when we lived in Germany, and she stayed with us through a move back to the east coast of the US and six months later to the Rocky Mountain region (complete with a four-day car drive with hotels stays). She adapted to the pregnancy and birth of our daughter, and living with not just one but three different dogs, but what did it in for her was my pregnancy and the birth of my son five years later. She was so upset with the concept of him she began peeing right outside her box on our shoes. Every day. Always used the litterbox for poop, but peed outside it.
$500 of vet tests, litter changes, and food changes later and it was determined that it was simply a behavior issue that could have been fixed with kitty prozac. When she peed in my week-old son’s infant carrier right before I needed to leave the house for a well-baby appointment was when I drew the line. We found her a new home, that she adapted to very well without issue or prozac.
Which I understand isn’t really an option with a 16-year-old cat, so I’m very sorry for your predicament. I feel ya, though.
I would try the cat prozac if you are reaching your limit but don’t want to put Mouse to sleep. They can make it in a liquid form that you rub onto the cat’s ear. Also, they make waterproof mattress pads that are not vinyl….I can’t remember the name of them right now, but I have one on my bed and it also keeps dust mites from living in your mattress, but it’s soft, not plastic. It worked great when my water broke!
http://www.protectabed.com/
We had a cat peeing issue when ours got older. It went on for over a year and it was SO STRESSFUL! I would walk in the door, smell it and immediately sniff out the exact location – then angrily clean and scrub the spot to death. We removed most of the carpet in the house because of her (an otherwise great cat). I’m still traumatized by the whole thing and it’s one of the things keeping us from getting another cat (or dog) and it has been seven years since she died!
Cat pee is the worst. But, and don’t tell Paul this, but it’s really kind of funny that the cat peed on him. He can’t say you didn’t try though, right?
Isn’t it interesting how we totally rearrange our lives (or our beds) for our pets?
I feel like I’ve posted this here before, but … go for the meds. Half a 2mg Valium twice a day (prescribed by the vet) cured our peeing problem when nothing – NOTHING – else had made any difference. And for what it’s worth, my cat was peeing on my husband (then boyfriend) while he was in bed. And she was generally a sassy cat, but not particularly upset otherwise. (Oh, and if you’re feeling daring, get a hand held black light and take it through the house to check for unknown locations. Surprise!)
And I just realized that I’m probably being an ass offering advice where none is requested, so to at least balance it out, I will commiserate that wrongful cat peeing is about the worst cat problem you can have. The phantom cat pee smell everywhere. The real cat pee smell everywhere. The laundry. The worrying and vet and bills and etc. You are displaying saintly patience here.
Also, did you know can buy pregnancy tests on Amazon? Less than $11 for 50! And free shipping over $25.
My husband and I had to switch sides of the bed when I tore my rotator cuff and couldn’t sleep on my right side for awhile. It was really weird at first. But then I realized one of the reasons why he’s always slept better than I have is because he was on the side away from the bedroom door and I’ll be damned if his side of the bed wasn’t significantly more quiet. We haven’t switched back. He can sleep through a jet landing so he doesn’t need the quieter side…
I hate sleeping on the wrong side of the bed, but I think I would reeeallly hate it if I thought I might get peed on. heh
(word verifcation is catentio… weird.)
I know nothing about the layout of your house, but maybe the basement stairs are too hard for her to get down anymore? To get to the litter box?
Is she a particularly vocal kitty? As in, could you just close her up with some food and toys and that cozy bed and her box in a room that does not contain a sleeping Paul?
That would absolutely not be possible with my cat, as she would protest until I tore my ears off, but maybe it’s worth a try until you go back to the vet?
I really hope y’all find something to fix it soon!
Chris- One of the things we tried was putting a box on the main floor in case the stairs were too much for her—but alas.
Chellebird- She’s a low-meow version, and so we tried shutting her in the bathroom (with the linen closet, where she likes to sleep on a towel voluntarily) and a litter box—and she peed on the floor. WHAT IS HER DEAL??
She might not “seem” upset, but could she still be pissed about the other feline additions to the household?
We had to switch sides of the bed when the baby was born. The bassinet could only fit on one side of the room (his), so to be near the baby to feed her in the night, we switched. It made me feel like my arms were on backward. I had a hard time falling asleep at night for at least a couple weeks, which is saying a lot b/c I was utterly exhausted with a newborn. We stayed that way a few months, then by the time we switched back, I found I had gotten used to it. So had my hubby. He declared I had the better view of the tv from my side and wanted to keep my side for himself. Didn’t happen.
ohhhhh the peeing. when oliver went on a pee-had (get it? like jihad? …ok no) i got THISCLOSE to “accidentally” leaving the front door open for him to “run away.” cat peeing is VERY NOT COOL.
Leaving advice when none was asked for: my cat did this too, when I was going through a divorce. On the advice of the vet, I bought a spray bottle of feliway and sprayed the cat box everyday for about a week. It worked like a charm and I still have the most of the bottle left if you’d like to try it. I’ll totally send it to you. I’m very opposed to you having to clean up cat pee.
I’m no help in the pee department although I do feel like I should give you advice I learned this summer. Apple cider vinegar works WONDERS for getting cat pee out in the wash.
Also, this Sunday my dog LIFTED HIS LEG and PEED on me. On me. ME. His mom. He peed on my foot.
Oh I hate cat pee issues. And in your bed? On your husband? So stressful. But I totally get loving the cat so much that you’d do whatever you could to work it out. Have to deal with it. Our old cat didn’t pee everywhere, but he threw up everywhere. He’d eat a bowl of kibble and barf it all over my white carpet. Brown stains EVERYWHERE. Seems like your commenter are opting for the meds. Hope you work out something.
Dude, I feel the exact same way about Sarah Silverman and Jimmy Kimmel. Why am I so INVESTED? I don’t know, but I AM.
I am also terrified of our cat getting all pee-happy in her later years, because I have so little patience for her these days as it is. Blergh.
My cat just turned 20 and she has in the last several months taken to peeing outside the box. Sometimes she will squat right next to it, though she also seems to love just squatting in the living room in full view of everyone. I don’t get it either.
What we’ve started doing is, if we can’t keep an eye on her (and overnight) we pen her up in a small area near her litter box with a baby gate. This has alleviated most of the problem.
Good luck!
Sorry to hear about the pee pee problems. We had a cat who did pee in the box but always managed to poo just right next to the box. He was special…
Anyway, I’ve heard that you should not put litter boxes everywhere she pees, but rather put bowls of cat food everywhere she pees. Apparently they won’t pee on their food. But that probably only works if she’s only peeing in certain places.
Good luck.
While I was away for the weekend my cat pooped NEXT TO the litter box, peed on a suitcase I left in the living room, ate garbage and threw it up all over the apartment. Apparently I am not to go away for the weekend. (And in my defense I even had someone come stay with him!).