What advice do you give a friend?

[Llamalady]

I have a friend who lives in North Carolina -I live in Michigan in the Upper Peninsula - who is having problems with her cat peeing. Her cat Fuzzy is spayed and they have two cat boxes in their tiny house. They just moved this last year, but she has always had this problem as long as they've had her. She will not stop peeing wherever she feels like it. My friend is scooping the box daily, and using litter she usually tolerates but now she has taken to marking on her son's toys, etc.,. etc., etc.,.

I just don't know what to tell her, because she doesn't have a lot of money right now, and I can't think of any good solutions for her. I suggested another catbox but she said they don't have any more room. She is talking about putting the cat to sleep or rehoming her, because the cat is violent towards her in-laws - who would watch her cat if she left town, like she is planning to this summer - and she cannot possibly bring her with her when she is travelling because she will just end up peeing all over someone's property when she stays with a friend/family-member when she comes back up for a few weeks this summer for her younger sister's graduation.

I just thought you people might have some good suggestions to save this poor kitty! :hail: I bow down to your responsible amazing answers!!!!!

[sun99]

Has this cat had a check up to rule out illness?

[Llamalady]

No. She doesn't have money to do that - or so she says because she just had a massive flea infestation in her house but didn't have money for over 2 months to treat the cats or the house. She has had the cat for 4-5 years and she has always had this problem and it keeps getting worse.

[siamese]

If the cat's been peeing everywhere for 4-5 years, nothing she does is going to change that cats behavior. One of my previous cats, who lived to be 15, did almost the same thing; it started with just peeing right outside the box, and escalated in the last 3 years to peeing and pooping everywhere. After she ruined a hardwood floor I put her down, figured she lived 15 years, that's a good life. But nothing we ever did changed her behavior - not vets, not extra boxes, not companion pets, not extra attention. Unfortunate but true.

[Llamalady]

So coupled with her outright aggression, you're saying you believe this is a lost cause? :( Poor kitty. Poor owners...

I wish I had been be refriended with this lady more than the last few months so I could have maybe helped her fix her kitty. :(

See she went to college and we drifted apart and are just the last few months starting to be friends again, but I've known her since I was in 8th grade, well before she had this cat.

[uwllv88]

That is so sad, poor kitty, there must be a reason for this. My cat started peeing on my bed and when I took her to the vet and she had crystals in her urine. Crystals in urine cause alot of pain so they pee inappropriately as they relate the litter box to pain and stop using it. If this kitty has been sick for 4 - 5 years without treatment I'm sorry to say but your friend doesn't deserve to have a pet. Five years of untreated illness is not acceptable. I understand not having the money but she shouldn't have the cat then. She could have found the $$ somewhere after all this time if she really cared enough about the animal. Anyway, after my cat was treated she continued to pee inappropriately and the vet put her on Elavil (antidepressant) and she stopped. I kept her on that for over over a year and now she's fine.

If this cat has no illness as the reason for not using the litter box, to re-home the cat to some other unsuspecting owner will not solve the problem as they will likely just get rid of it, and maybe not so humanely. I hate to say it's probably better that your friend have the kitty put down humanely if they don't have the money to get it vet care.
Best of luck to your friend's cat and thank you for caring enough to come here to find a solution. Sorry I don't have better advice to help her.

[squashynose]

If the cat has been messing everywhere for 3 or 4 years, I doubt it's an infection or crystals... It'd be dead by now, no?

Maybe it just needs retraining, confining to a small room or cage, with food, water, bed and litter tray.

[uwllv88]

If the cat has been messing everywhere for 3 or 4 years, I doubt it's an infection or crystals... It'd be dead by now, no?

Maybe it just needs retraining, confining to a small room or cage, with food, water, bed and litter tray.

I really don't know the progression of a UTI but, yeah, it would be worth a try but that takes dedication and a lot of work - would your friend be willing to spend that kind of time and effort? Hopefully they will. She should put kitty in a small room, like a bathroom, preferably without carpet. Put her food and water on one side and litter box on the other and a bed closer to the food than the litter. I'd go in and visit and play with her as often as possible. Or even a dog crate so she could be in the same room would even be better. Once she sees kitty use the box, praise her and let her out for awhile but put her back when she can't watch her. But a vet visit would be mandatory first so they can see if she has any physical reason for the problem.

[LuvPets]

Here is a link to a list of organizations that assist pet owners who don't have the financial means to obtain vet care and treatment for their animals. I'm not sure if your friend is eligible, but its certainly worth looking into. A few of the links are for cats only, many are for all pets and some are even breed-specific. Best of luck and please keep us posted. http://members.petfinder.com/~AZ237/ALF_FinancialAid.html

[special]

If the cat has been messing everywhere for 3 or 4 years, I doubt it's an infection or crystals... It'd be dead by now, no?

Maybe it just needs retraining, confining to a small room or cage, with food, water, bed and litter tray.

not necessarily. Males are the ones who block so easily. She could be forming crystals that cause her just enough discomfort to blame the litter box, but not bad enough to affect her health noticeably. yet.

On the other hand, there are some cats who are just relentless pee-ers. I know a man who has six cats, his oldest cat has always peed where ever she feels like it. He swears there is no health problem.

He's retired and lives alone and she has no apparent stress, and he cleans the messes with vinegar.

The friend could retrain, but I'm worried about the "traveling". It is a very bad idea to leave a cat, who already seems to have issues, with someone she hates.

Terrible idea, in fact.

[Llamalady]

I absolutely agree with everyone here. I'm going to ask Susan about getting the financial help so maybe they can see what's going on with her.

She's a purebred Siamese cat, but it's not like you can find a home for a spayed Siamese cat that pees everywhere. That would just mean she's rehoused with the same problem if not more.

[Llamalady]

Well I talked to Susan about her kitty and it turns out that she has already found a lady who wants to bring Fuzzy home. She has a cat and a dog and has always wanted a Siamese cat, but has to talk it over with her husband. Not the solution to the problem, but maybe it's a start.

Cross your figglers, folks.