To want to get rid of my cat?

[pagefruits1991]

Ive had my cat for 6 years. She has always been neurotic, we have even taken her to the vets a couple of times about it.
Basically there isn't much we can do.

She constantly wees on all the beds and sofas. So much so that we have had to ban her from going upstairs. She poos on everything she can. 5 days out of 7 I will come downstairs in the morning to poo on the floor despite there being a clean, huge litter tray with natural wood litter in it.

On Monday she pooed in her food bowl.

I'm aware this isn't normal behaviour however she has always been like this from day 1, we have tried everything from plug ins, behaviour therapy and (v.expensive) steroid injections. Nothings works.

She refuses to eat biscuits and nags for meat, she throws up quite often and does not like being picked up.

She can go outside whenever she likes. She can be out for 12 hours whilst we work etc and come in and wee on the bed.

Things got worse after I had a baby last year. Her behaviour hasn't changed but I no longer have time to pander to it.

I came down this morning to diahorrea in the lounge and my baby nearly went for it! I had to put him back in his crib screaming and get the bleach out.

I feel like her muck might make us or my baby especially, ill.

Genuinely don't know what to do, shes my responsibility but I don't want to risk my sons health for an animal.

It might also be worth looking at the type of litter tray. Some like an open tray, others prefer the covered type. Mine will only use his if the flap is removed.

Get rid and don't let people on the internet feel guilty for becoming a slave to a poop machine because they have nothing better to do with their lives. Cats kill way too many wild rare birds. Its not apart of your " family" and would eat your face if you died. Really wish people would stop acting like cats are human beings because they are lonely and walking past homeless people who need help.

@bsbabas not one person here has claimed a cat is a human being. Oddly, caring about cats does not mean one is more likely to walk past a homeless person, either. Quite the opposite in fact (empathy).
Bloody rude idiot - if you hate cats, why bother posting with nothing constructive to say? The op is obviously upset because she IS a caring person.

She is either ill or unhappy and trying to tell you. Look for a sanctuary rather than a rescue for her, one where they have a no kill policy and will keep her for the rest of her life and know what to do for her.

Would it be worth seeking a different vets opinion ? My two cats had terrible diarrhoea When they were younger and nothing helped until we saw a different vet who advised that
Previous medication had been incorrect (apparently was for bone infections and some was dog medicine). After six months of sloshy cat poo everywhere they prescribed a course of medicine and it was cured.

I don't know your vet so you might have long term relationship with them and trust them, but I was horrified when I thought about what our first vet had been giving us! With a much better one now!

Really wish people would stop acting like cats are human beings because they are lonely and walking past homeless people who need help

Where are all these lonely cats walking past homeless people?

Don't be stupid. It is perfectly possible to have pets and care about other things too.

Your baby comes first. A pet who is pooing and weeing indoors is a health hazard to a young child, as well as making their environment reek! The smell of cat poo makes me feel sick, it lingers horribly.

I would get the cat rehomed or PTS asap. Your priority is to provide a clean, safe home for your baby and the cat is preventing that.

Sorry if I sounded harsh but some of you are honestly in fantasy land if you think there are people out there who will adopt a neurotic 6 year old cat that is going to freely defecate everywhere. OP loves the cat and even she can't keep on with it - who else will take that on? I believed OP when she said nothing can be done. If that's the case, the cat is unadoptable. Shelters are overrun with cats as it is and can't find homes for them all, and the vast majority of them have no issues.

I feel terribly sorry for OP because this is awful and I would hate to be in her shoes. But the cat is her responsibility and if it is not possible to rehabilitate the cat with medicine or training, and if the current situation (understandably) can't go on, putting the cat down is the option that remains.

Have only skimmed the thread (am at work) so sorry if I'm repeating, but have a look at this programme which was on this Monday. Exactly your situation - it may work for you, it may not but you will at least have tried everything.

www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0b05w88/nightmare-pets-sos-series-1-episode-1

Plenty of people have said it's probably an issue that's solvable in a different environment though. Cats defecate and urinate outside their litter boxes for a reason - pain, stress, a dislike of their litter/box, intolerance to their food...

Why is putting it to sleep apparently the only option? Plenty of shelters will help sick or unwell cats and rehabilitate them until they're ready to be rehomed. Lots of the animals on our local rescue page have health issues or intolerances and it's made very clear that the rescue will help with costs and take the cat back again should the owner find it too much.

Thank you all for your helpful responses, I now have a couple more tricks to try before I can honestly hold my hands up and say I tried everything.
I DO love her, that's why I've plodded on for so long, trying to figure out what's best.
Saying she will eat my face if I die is completely unfucking necessary. Yes I get that first and foremost she is an animal, and you may very well be right, but take a day off, jeez.

I will also look at this bbc show in iPlayer later, thank you.

I don't think the vet was very helpful. All they were bothered about was getting my money, at least that's how it felt. They told me that they would have to do an allergy test of £400+ then I would have to pay an extra £200 if nothing comes back on the first "sweep" of common allergies and they would have to go out for more.

I didn't get that done because I simply don't have it.

I do have a shed, so I could make her up some space in there, but she likes being near us.

Well I didn’t WANT pets like that I just had to train them not to somehow. I love my pets and they deserve to live just as much as anyone else, they obviously couldn’t help it for whatever reason.

I've just skimmed that show and the cat had wood litter which they changed to what looked like catsan (which is still too rough imo because my cat hates it) and the cat started using its tray again.

First and foremost I would try switching her diet. I don't recall you mentioning what she eats at the moment but I would switch to a grain-free, high protein food. It doesn't have to be expensive, you can buy it from PaH or zooplus for less than £20 a bag, and a bag of decent food will last ages - our two get through a big bag of high-quality dry food in about 5 weeks, so it's on average maybe £50 every three months to feed them the basics. My Maine Coon is grain-intolerant and although he never went outside his tray, he did have runny poo and wasn't very happy in himself when we rescued him - the change in him once we switched his food was incredible.

I would also switch her litter. My old cats HATED wood chip and the one time we bought it, did a dirty protest in the bath until we switched back to catsan. My current cats are fine with wood chip. They can be real fussy/contrary little buggers! And make sure she has several trays to choose from - lots of cats prefer one tray for pees, one for poos. I think the general rule is one tray per cat, plus one extra. We have two cats and three trays, and all three are used daily.

Your vet doesn't sound especially helpful I have to admit. I really hope one of the suggestions on this thread works, but if you really can't cope, plenty of independent rescues will take cats who struggle with continence problems - it doesn't have to be the end of the road

At least you have the inclination to try and do something about it. Another person would have got rid of the cat at the fist sign of trouble.

Get a new vet. £400 as a first step? For allergy testing? What is the point of allergy testing? If she doesn’t respond to antihistamines and steroids why do they think allergy? Apart from the £400...

First step should be a blood panel and stool/urine analysis. It could be something as simple as a uti or giardella. From my own experience a course of antibiotics and antiinflammatories can be useful as a diagnostic tool as well. That should be around £100, maybe up to £200.

Then you go from there

Presumably she’s wormed?

Sorry, I’d rehome to an outdoor home. My dog is now faecally incontinent and near the end of his life, if he died, I would be grateful for his long and pampered life, but I wouldn’t go above and beyond if something happened. I think there’s no shame in re-homing if you aren’t coping or euthanising if the animal is beyond hope.

Might be worth a try on TheLitterTray section too? There are vets who pop up on there plus lots of other well seasoned cat slaves.
Apologies not read the full thread but yes better quality foods, a lot of cats have digestive problems from the crap foods available, more litter trays with different litters and try a different vet.
You could contact Cats Protection for advise-centrally rather than your local branch would be better for advise.
Animals can be stressed in one environment but fine elsewhere so rehoming could be an option.

Have you tried using catsan for the litter tray? Or moving the position? We have a litter box with a lid and the cat seems to like it for the privacy.

This sounds awful for you OP. I've not read the full thread so sorry if I'm repeating advice you've already had . It sounds as if there's something wrong with your cat. We have had similar problems with one of ours (though nowhere near as extreme as you have). After lots of investigations it turned out she had cystitis caused by stress. Can you take her to another vet to get a second opinion because there must be an underlying reason for all of this. There are vets around who really care about animals and will want to get to the bottom of this for you and the cat. Where do you live - there might be a local mumsnetter here able to recommend a good vet for you? Our vet is great, other animal lovers here might be able to suggest a good vet if they are local to you. You really have my sympathy. x

Everyone saying pts you are all sick!

OP, you sound like a lovely responsible cat owner. You have really tried with this cat, and I don't blame you for getting frustrated. I'm glad you have got some good ideas from this thread. If they don't work, then re homing or put to sleep is not "treating an animal as disposable". It's a very reasonable action for a cat that has an unmanageable problem.

Lola, do you really think this cat is having a good life? Not everything can be fixed. Is spending the rest of its life in a cage at a shelter really going to be a good thing? The OP might get teally lucky and find a farm that's willing to take it, but that is very unlikely. I would not want this cat pooing in my tack room. Yes, a change of environment might help, but the chances of that are low.

You have my permission to get rid of this cat immediately.

What a drain on your life !

Please get it PTS unless some mug will take it off your hands.

You are a saint for putting up this far

I reckon outdoor living is the only option. I couldn't put a cat down unless it was ill- @abigailsnan suggestion was ideal.