to have cats put to sleep

[WakeUpRosemary]

Hi

I haven't posted here much but have lurked a lot so please be gentle.

I have three cats at the moment, two of which I took in as kittens, socialised and have looked after for about six/seven years now. Since then I've had a son and as I live in a small house things are getting crowded. I wouldn't mind this so much if these two cats didn't urinate in various parts of the house. They have access to the outside and a litter tray. One in particular has been doing it for years and I've just had enough. It's stinking up the house, it's unhygienic and I'm sick of it. They have no physical problems, they don''t have UTIs: it's a behavioural problem. One of them doesn't get on well with the other two cats but I'm not prepared to play cat psychologist. I haven't the time or the energy. I'm beginning to think that I have to have them put to sleep. I feel there's no point putting them up for re-homing because who would want a six/seven-year-old cats with piss problems? It would also be upsetting to them if they were uprooted and probably brought back again. They're both skittish and not particularly fond of anyone but me and my DH.

So far this week I've found piss on a hand-towel in the kitchen, a chair and my son's toy garage. Fortunately, my son is particularly fond of the cat who doesn't pee everywhere and he's only three and a half so I doubt he'll be upset if the other two disappear. He may not even notice. I feel so bad though. I used to do quite of a lot of rescue work with cats and never dreamt I'd be considering this. I worry when people come to visit because I'm nervous a cat will piss on their bag, or they'll find a previously-undiscovered pool of piss or try to dry their hands on a pissy towel. It's gotten so I'm not that nice to any of the cats anymore and I think we'd be happier as a one-cat household.

sorry I've rambled. Am I being unreasonable?

OP yabu. But ZukieCat how old are you ? "I might PM Val and tell her" ! You just made yourself sound like an 8 year old telling tales to the teacher what are you going to do next pull the op's pigtails ?

My MIL took on 2 such cats. There are people out there who would give these cats a home.

I can understand you don't want to live with them, but killing them is not the answer.

by the way the center i work at is haworth cat rescue and we have a no kill policy which most do nowadays, and we have rehomed feral cats extremely timid cats who we have worked with to get thier confidence up, and not all centers have tiny little cages for the cats to live in, ours have individual pens with a shelf, basket, chair, blankets, heater for the winter and an outside fenced run attached its better than some catteries i have paid for to have my cats looked after when on holiday, and a goiod center will ask you lots of questions and match the cats to suitable homes

I re homed my cat on Gumtree. Lovely family took him and I get regular emails on how he's doing.

i had two cats, both with long term illnesses who used to piss around the house. it took a few months and a lot of training, newspaper, and commitment, but they both stopped doing it completely.

OP is totally unreasonable... they are your cats and if it's a behavioural issue, then it can be resolved, either by you or a rescue home if you can't be arsed to take responsibility for their lives anymore.

however, if a bit of piss is all it takes for you to think they should be killed, then you probably shouldn't be a pet owner anyway. they aren't ornaments; their living creatures.

OK - my credentials before I start (and to a certain extent, Vallhalla will be able to verify the credentials because she has worked with mutual people we know in rescue, who know me & my back ground very well) - I am a very, very experienced cat rescuer. I also have a LOT of domestic and wildcat (non domestic large cats, small cats & exotics, not just ferals) cat behaviour experience.

I'm not going to flame you OP, (although I am certainly not going to be gentle) because I think that is probably counter productive to the cats and it's THEIR lives I am worried about. To murder them because you are fed up is down-right unreasonable. That is what you are thinking of doing, BTW. Right, moving on...

The first thing that hits me, when you said that your cats are skittish is that they are stressed beyond belief, hence the urination problems. I am assuming, from what you say, that they have been checked medically by a vet and given the all clear? If that is the case...

Cats will pee around a territory to make themselves feel safe if they are stressed. Children being introduced - e.g. your DS, is a stress factor. If the cats don't get on, or they are being bullied/doing the bullying, that compounds the problem because they are trying to establish territory over the other cats. They do this with urine. Cats also have litter box avoidance issues due to being afraid of actually using the litter box - they may feel they don't want to use the same box as the bully cat, or they may be attacked whilst they are in the box. You get the idea.

As a long term solution, you need to get them on a Cats Protection or NO KILL rescue rehoming list, or rehomed in a more suitable home. Be HONEST about the peeing and spraying, the most likely thing is a stress issue relating to other cats and/or them being bullied by other cats.

I have taken on several "pissers" and because they are in a quiet, non-stressed environment, they have either stopped peeing inappropriately or my DH and I easily manage their issues because of what they do - e.g. one cat I have can't use a litter box, they frighten her because she has poor spacial awareness, so she poos in the middle of the bathroom floor. Solution to us, was to cover the floor with lino and just clean it up when it happens - I appreciate that others would not deal with that, but it's an e.g. It has also stopped her soiling elsewhere.

In the short term.

1. Go to the vet and ask for some clomicalm or zylkene. It is an anti-anxietry drug which can help the cats. Clomicalm is only licensed for use in dogs, but my cat vet has used it very successfully and I have certainly had success with certain ones of my cats using it.
2. Make sure you have AT LEAST 4 litter boxes around the house, if not more, in areas where they can use the boxes without being bullied. This means corners of the room, areas they soil regularly.
3. Get a GOOD enzymic cleaner. I use "Urine-off" which is designed for cat pee. You can locate it on the web. It is essential that you clean up soiled spots properly, otherwise they will associate it as a latrine because using bleach does not clean it effectively.
4. Feliway everywhere. use the plug ins in every room.
5. Can you seperate the cats and give them their own territories and litter boxes? E.g. one in the living room, one in the bedroom etc?

They do not need to be PTS, they need help and that help may well be rehoming.

Unreasonable seems too kind a word in this particular case.

No utter disbelief followed by extreme anger emoticons then?

Shame.

OP don't keep any of them, you obviously aren't cut out to keep animals if you don't want to put the effort in. Get them all rehomed for their own sake.

I'm a vet; you've had some great advice on here. Urination issues in multi-cat households are incredibly common, and the likelihood increases with the number of cats in the household. If none of the behavioural remedies suggested here works, then rehoming one or two of the cats may well cure the problem in all three of them. If you are not sure which of them are spraying, there is a harmless dye that can be given to each cat in turn, which will colour the urine to help you work it out; you could ask your vet about this. I have seen many owners brought to the brink of despair by this kind of situation, and it's often hard to resolve, but as others have said, a 6 year old cat is not that hard to rehome, and a rescue centre should be able to help you. I, personally, would not put down one of these cats if they were brought to me; I wouldn't want it on my conscience. I hope you manage to sort this out. Good luck.

Trust me, I'm hiding what I really think because I think it would be counter productive. Vallhalla has nothing on me when I get going!

So you want to murder them because YOU failed them, you've since had a kid and got a bit bored with the effort?

What on earth are you going to do if your kid isn't insta-potty trained. The "oh rescues won't take them" is absolute rubbish and you know it - it's just an utter can't be bothered on your part - there are people out there who would move heaven and earth to give any cat with a death sentence hanging over its head a second chance, you just can't be arsed. You're getting advice here but you just want a rubber stamp to your decisions (and I see the cats are evil voices are in on the act as well).

Don't start the "please be kind" crap... what you're proposing is disgusting - if indeed this is true, I've got my suspicions.

Sick.

Really great advice from QuietTiger and alice15. Good luck, OP.

Oh My God. One was bullied and one ran away? Yours doesn't sound like a happy home if you are a cat.

My cat can be one lazy cow, completely litter trained etc...but there are times I'm certain she just can't be faffed going to the tray so goes in the corner near the telly (pissing on live wires, grrrrrrreat stuff) oh, and she shits under the stairs which is even worse because she squeezes herself behind a shit load of junk to get there which means dragging it all out to find it and then cleaning it, bleurghhhhh.

I know it can drive you to distraction so can only imagine how horrible it'd be if three of them were pissing where they pleased but I'm sure they can be re-homed?

Oh yeah, the point of my post :o I bought something called 'get off' - like a green jelly like substance and she literally won't go near it, backs away from the smell and I appreciate it's not practical to have the stuff all over the house but at least in the areas they consistently use because cats will keep going in the same place over and over?

I tell you, the day I discovered that stuff and placed a bowl under the stairs (then watched her attempt to go under there then leg it) I was punching the air in triumph.

YABU. It's probably your fault they piss everywhere. They probably hate you. I bet if you get them rehomed they won't do it with their new (competent) owners

Err, yes, Yabu.

Pillock.

Oh this thread makes me sad. It's horrible thinking there are people out there who would consider murdering their pets just because of toileting issues. Awful.

Rehome them, OP. You don't sound like you really want to even try with them tbh.

Have you even got a litter tray in the house OP? You stated earlier in the thread there was one outside the back door?

It is unreasonable beyond all belief to have an animal put to sleep because you do not want to take responsibility for it or it is no longer convenient, but I am sure you know that full well.

I feel your pain OP, but you are being utterly unreasonable to want to PTS two otherwise healthy cats for this reason.
Our cat has a gastro problem (and an eating whatever he finds in peoples bins/on the floor problem) which means that he vomits at least once a day, and when DS arrived (a couple of months before actually) I realised that this wasnt a good thing with a new baby in the house, so he became an outside cat. He is perfectly happy, well fed, gets lots of attention, and he is allowed in daily, but only for short periods, and supervised. Problem solved. Its not ideal, but he was a stables cat before he came to us, so is used to roughing it, and he has a sheltered insulated sleeping place in the shed. He is also a house hopper (has always been, even when living in with us)
I really do think you should contact rescue centres, a good one will take your cats to rehome as no animal lover would consider PTS health animals because of a behavioural problem which can be rectified.

I'm not prepared to play cat psychologist.

Well guess what OP? You chose to have three cats. You have a responsibility to them. They may not be perfect but you can bloody well try and help them.

You have previously worked in rescue, you leave the daytime heating on in the Winter for the cats, yet you are considering having them killed because they have peed in the house 3 times so far this week, and you're not prepared to be cat psychologist??

YABVU! and i'm appalled.

It seems a pointless suggestion, but as one of the reasons for them peeing may be territorial marking, is there any possibility that another cat could be creeping in through the cat flap at night?
I ask because by chance, i discovered this in my house myself one night..

Whatever the reason - if you can't be arsed, you can't be arsed..doesn't mean someone else won't give them a good home. Get them rehomed.

WakeUpRosemary While I think You AB very U, many have already pointed that out, so I shall try and give you advice.

I rehomed my cat, from a family where he "didnt fit" their image basically because he pissed everywhere. I knew this when I agreed to take him on.

It was a territory thing, but also stress. I have persevered with him, put up with it, and it is getting better. The slightest thing can set him off and its hard work, but I would never give up on him because the more he realises he is loved, the better he is behaving.
There are some mad cat ladies out there like me! Someone would take them. Advertise if you have to! I would be tempted to take and rehabilitate them but it would start the problem with my other cat! They probably need to be in a one cat home. Dont have them put to sleep.

yabu but you know you are, i'd say: i completely understand your frustration, as i have two cats and they loathe each other, which sometimes leads to spates of spraying (both neutered females), and this has been compounded by the stress for them of now sharing their space with a two year old who loves them but has absolutely no idea that they have nerve endings. i am sometimes driven nearly distracted by the peeing, even though i know it is in their nature and not their fault - i reckon an intemperate outburst on mumsnet is forgivable. actually putting the cats to sleep wouldn't be, even if you could find someone to do it.

i think there have been some sensible suggestions on here, and your own idea of putting the semi-feral cat into the outdoor space might help: ultimately, i think you have too many cats in too small a space though, and rehoming at least one of them is probably the way to go.

hope you can resolve things.

I'm fascinated by the fact that people on here are always saying "You children must come first" to excuse what I consider unacceptable behaviour to other children and family members,, but when it comes to cats, the Op is expected to put her child second to cats that pee everywhere, and to live in a smelly insanitary house for the convenience of a cat!

She is not talking about drowning them - she is talking about the possibility of pts 2 cats who obviously have a very poor quality of life. After doing everything sh can to slove the problem. I don't think she is being unreasonable at all.