Cat kennel for home for the weeing cat.

[Karbea]

hello,

Dh took the weeing cat to the vet this am and the vet told him she is stressed which is why she is weeing. I feel sorry for her being stressed but we've been staying at my Mils for 12 weeks now, and she used to wee at my dh's old house, so she is obviously stressed by life itself!

The vet sold him some feliway spray ( I have 2 of the plug ins) and some zylkene.

Anyway as it's not a medical problem, Im not willing to have her move into our new house. So I need to find a kennel for her in the garden.

Can anyone suggest one? Do you think it needs to be heated?

[DooinMeCleanin]

Please re-home the poor wee thing. You cannot keep a cat outside 24/7 when it has previously been allowed in the house. It's cruel.

[stinkyfluffycat]

You can't leave a house cat outside, she would be miserable. She wouldn't understand why she suddenly wasn't allowed indoors, and would be cold and lonely!
If she's been moved around a lots maybe that's why she's stressed and will hopefully settle once you're on your own house, and the Feliway spray and Zyklene have had a chance to do their job?

[Hatwoman]

karbea - we had a very stressy cat who used to wee in the wrong places - we tried various things, inc feliway. the one thing that worked was a cat litter called Cat Attract - afaik you can only get it online - and it is a bit expensive - but worth it imo.

re the new house and kennel idea - is there not some part of the house (utility room?) with a tiled floor that you could limit her to.

[Hatwoman]

plenty of cats are ok outside in the summer - some are quite possibly happier. but I can;t see it in teh winter - what if we have oodles of snow and freezing temps again?

[DooinMeCleanin]

It wouldn't just be the cold that would be the issue Hatwoman. If this cat has been allowed inthe house previously as sfc pointed out she will become lonely and confused. Plus there is the risk of predators. If she is already suffering stress, banning her from the house will only add to that.

Have you bought your house or will you be renting? We bought our home when I had my epiletic JRT (who would lose all control of her bowel and bladder after a fit) and squitty cat, who well, has the squits a lot, all over the house. He also suffers from stress.

I decorated the house with this in mind. We have no soft furnishings bar one rug that is small enough to fit in the washer. Everything is leather, tiled or wooden i.e. wipe clean. It's not ideal, but there is no lingering smell once I have located and cleaned the offending puddle or pile.

My JRT unfortunately passed away, but we still have squitty cat. His stress problem sorted itself out after about a year of living here. He'd previously been moved around a lot, plus met lots of new family members. He only resumes the pissing when we go on holiday now and stops when we return.

I've just read your other thread and this is DH's cat and he doesn't want to part with her, yes? You either need to make some sort of compromise that would allow her to be in the house while you deal with her issues or DH needs to allow you to find a suitable rescue for her and the possiblity of a home that has the time and patience to help her. You simply cannot lock her outside. It is cruel.

[DooinMeCleanin]

There are a few other things you could try. Is it possible the other cats could be bullying her/causing her stress? If this is the case and there is no way of separating them while still allowing them all access to the house, the kindest thing to do would be to rehome.

Do they all have a litter tray each? A lot of cats don't like sharing their litter trays, even with litter mates.

Have you tried enclosed litter trays? She might feel safer. Some cats don't like feeling exposed when they toilet as it is when they are at the most vunerable. She could be scared one of the other cats may attack her while she is using the litter.

And of course the cat attract litter could help, along with feliway etc.

Moving house is always stressful for cats, but you can do things to help her with this. Wipe her down with a damp tea towel before you move and put the tea towel in a plastic bag to keep it from drying out. Wipe it around cat level things in the new house e.g skirting boards/sofas/chair legs etc. This will put a scent in the house that only she (and the other cats) can smell and will make her feel more secure.

As she is the only one with the issue I'd be tempted to leave the other cats at MILs for the first few days after the move, until the stressed cat feels more settled and secure, then bring them all round one by one.

If all else fails you could always contact a cat behaviouralist who'd be able to give some insight as to why she is stressed and help you think of ways to deal with it. They're not cheap, but they're worth every penny. Your Vet should be able to reccomend one for you.

[Hatwoman]

I agree and didn't meant to imply that this particular cat would be happy outside in summer - maybe it sounded like I did. I only meant that I do know of cats who have been very happy to spend the vast majority of the summer months out and about. And by mentioning snow etc I didn;t mean that temperature was the only reason for not doing it - rather I mentioned it because it's a completely obvious and very clear reason that it's hard to argue with: a domestic cat wouldn't survive a harsh winter.

[Karbea]

Ok, she hasn't been moved around a lot, she is approximately 12 and lived at dh's house all her life until 12 weeks ago, and she wee'd in the old house, so I just don't believe it's due to the house move, if it was surely she would have wee'd in the first few weeks not the last few??
Dh won't rehome her.
I've been researching kennels online and you can get heaters so she wouldn't be cold. She prefers to be on her own and only comes into the main living area to pee, usually she sleeps outside our room where the others don't go, so I doubt she'd be lonely.

Is the feliway spray much better than the plugins?

I'll order the cat attract, and yes she could live in the utility room, but this will reduce considerably the space the other 3 will have as I'd intended to have them run from the kitchen -> utility room -> family room, which all have a joining rooms if you know what I mean... But that is an idea.

I appreciate banning her from the house might cause her stress, but having her in the house is causing me stress, causing a gross smell and lack of hygiene! Surely this is worse than her being a little stressed?

I get what you say about decorating for her, but this is supposed to be dh and my first little love nest, I want it beautiful :S we are buying it.

She has pretty much had these issues for 12years so I can't see how we can sort it out :( and I can't see him letting her go, or anyone wanting her, do people really want dirty cats for pets?

Yes we have 5 litter trays all with different litter, you have no idea how much mess 5 litter trays make, I can't wait to go to the loo without feeling like I'm walking in a beach! I'm hovering and moping all day! I have another question about litter trays but will ask that on another thread.

Yes we've tried enclosed litter trays, no one likes it, I've never seen any of the cats attack whilst one is using a tray, mostly the other cats are in the living room, whilst the trays are in the bathroom, kitchen, dining room, so they can wee/poo alone, they only tend to go to those places for using the loo.

I don't think there is bullying going on, but if it is then it's been going on all her life, we a 4 cat household surely not everyone is going to get on with everyone all of the time? She must be used to it after 12 years?

I reckon the only way forward seems to keep her in the utility room...

Thanks for the tea towel advise, I'll try that too.

[Hatwoman]

you do sound like you've tried and tried. I sympathise. I spent 2 years in a rented house with a weeing cat and it was a nightmare. tried everything - litter trays of all different types, differet locations, different litter etc etc. the cat attract was the only thing that worked. I don;t know if it was connected but ours, sadly, died young of kidney failure. poor little thing. she was a lovely cat despite her flaws.