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.

@pagefruits1991 - You should be able to get a cleaner from a pet shop.
This is what we use but Im not sure what brands you get in the UK (I'm in Australia). www.urinefree.com.au/online-shop/product/urinefree-500ml-household-pet?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIyKLvg5bH2gIVSx0rCh2VpgfrEAYYAiABEgJCjfD_BwE

I hope the black light works out for you and isn't to scary!

Good luck :)

By the way, my friend was in a similar situation - chronic litter tray avoider. She got a cat behaviourist in and tried everything but to no avail. She gave it to a very close by rescue centre/sanctuary and moved away, renting her house out. She later got a call from her tenants saying they'd been adopted by a cat and did she mind if they kept it. It was her cat and they never had a litter tray problem with it! Cats really can change their stripes in different environments. Or even the same environment with different people (I hope she didn't take that too personally...!)

Personally for me I get very frustrated with people who feel that pets are disposable just because they are an animal. Very sad when people will not take the time and effort to find out what a pet needs and what the underlying problem might be. Sad that when they feel oh well lets just put it to sleep or put it out on the streets

She's been trying for SIX years! WTF do you want from her?

YANBU.

Our cat is about to be rehomed tomorrow. We have tried everything over the years apart from a cat behaviour specialist. The cat has cost us hundreds and hundreds of pounds.

She's destroyed many of our possessions including some of my favourite books by pissing on them. We've had to renovate our living room because the carpet was beyond redemption.

The toileting problem is sort of under control (although she still does the occasional piddle). But she still does not get on with the other cat to the point where the other cat needed an operation where she bit him.

The straw that broke the camels back for me is that she gets aggressive when my baby cries. I really don't want to deal with batting a cat off me whilst my baby is inconsolable. I've just had enough and have started to really resent the cat. She bites when my 3-year-old niece cries too so it's not a problem with the stage the baby is in.

For years I am ashamed to have people over in the house because of the smell of her piss, I get very paranoid despite using all the correct methods to clean it. I can't relax in my own home because I'm constantly on the lookout for my cat pissing somewhere she shouldn't.

There's a lot of people that say they would never rehome an animal. Good for them. But I don't want to live with a cat that attacks me and pisses on my stuff any longer.

By the way, she's not being PTS or turfed out on the street. She's going back to the organisation where we adopted her from.

^but that's an excellent example. She does not ge on with your other cat. Rehome her to a single cat home and she'll probably stop.

A home without other cats or young children .

I think the anti-rehoming crowd have it really wrong sometimes. My cat has stayed with my in-laws for the last month and has not set a foot wrong apart from biting my MIL when my niece cried. Surely it's selfish to keep a cat in an environment where she's unhappy rather than find a more suitable home.

YANBU. I was in a very similar situation with our cat when i was pregnant with our first child. She was very neurotic, she urinated in the house all the time. We had her checked out by the vet several times and tried all sorts of calming sprays and plug ins all to no avail. I knew she would not cope with the introduction of a baby into the house so I tried to rehome her. No charity or shelter would touch her because of her behavioural problems. I didn't want to put her on gumtree or similar incase she ended up with an abusive owner and our vet wouldn't help find somewhere. We were stuck with her and there was nothing we could do to help her. A month before I was due to give birth I found her dead outside our back door. I don't know what had happened, she didn't seem to have any injuries. The vet said it was probably her heart or a stroke. We were upset but mostly we were relieved. It sounds awful but she had no life, she was terrified of her own shadow. Poor thing.

Agree with pp re trying to rehome through Battersea cats. You sound like a very responsible cat owner who has done all she can and I totally get where you're coming from on this. We have rehomed three cats from Battersea Cats. They live completely free lives at our stables catching mice. These cats were not home-able due to behavioural issues and we were happy to take them on as working cats.

I have similar issues with my cat. She is a lovely, cuddly and beautiful animal. However, she is a total anxiety case. We haven’t made this better by moving house 5 Timor’s in the last ten years. Anyway change makes her bananas. It can be a big change like moving it a small hangs like having a guest in the house. Either way, her response is usually to pee on everything and anything that smells strongly of me it oh or the house guest. She mainly pees on the beds, but also likes to have a go on my handbags, shoes, clothes, washing.... the list goes on.

I’m pregnant now and fear what the reaction to this interloper into her territory will be. Going to have to be very careful.

However. There are some things that we noticed that help.

1. Cat Prozac I got done pills from the vet for her, two week course and whenevyshe starts to act up I put her on them.

1. Routine. She needs exactly the same things to happen every day. She likes fed at the same time and likes to eat the same food. She sits in the same places at the same time daily.

1. Litter. She only likes fine litter. Anything chunky showing use. It also has to be clean.

1. Dedicated spaces. Her sitting places all have a rug or cushion on them that are hers. They are never moved and never touched. If you move them she freaks. She also likes a seat where she can see out the window and out the door. I read this in s book and positioned her sitting places accordingly. She loves it.

If I stick to the above she us fine. But I do have to anticipate when she might act up and act accordingly. So I make sure to shut all the bedroom doors if I have guests etc

I am oregyatvtvd moment and I am a bit worried she won’t take well to this interloper In her territory. Howe, hopefully she will adjust.

We had a similar issue with our cat and it turned out to be a combination of a few different issues. I have listed below the changes we made, hope this helps with your kitty too.

1. Our cat hated the wood and crystal litter. We ended up getting one that are pellets made out of newspaper and this is the only one she will use (otherwise she uses the bathroom all over the house including beds).

1. To keep her from weeing and pooing all over beds, the furniture and floors we now lock her in our laundry room at night and when we leave the house with her litter tray, food and water and a soft bed. We originally did this just to save us the hassle of having to clean up her messes, but it turned out that she was also suffering from anxiety which would spike when left alone in the house. Having a safe quiet place really made a difference to her and now, if she is scared or anxious, she will put herself in the laundry room. Do you have a similar room without carpet that you can keep her in? Perhaps a bathroom (at least if she does leave a mess in there it will be easier to clean up).

1. I second the suggestion of enzymatic cleaner. It is the only way to take away the smell for the cat.

1. I also recommend a change of diet. We use an organic grain free dry food and that has made a huge difference.

1. Our cat suffers from urinary tract infections regularly and when she has one she will wee all over the house and beds. We now give her a regular treat like vitamin and that keeps the infections away.

1. I would try anti-anxiety medication for the cat too--sounds like she could be anxious.

1. We put plastic covers over all of our mattresses so that our mattresses wouldn't be ruined if she did wee on the beds (we also now keep all of our bedroom doors and door to sitting room, etc closed. We don't allow her into these rooms unless we are in there with her).

This can be a lot of trial and error and I know how frustrating and upsetting it can be. You are doing really well and it is clear from your posts that you love your kitty.

OP -

I think you've done great for putting up with this for 6 years, i think this thread has been full of good last ditch attempt ideas!

Also well done for being brave enough to post on here, theres ALWAYS gotta be one idiot!

We have tried everything over the years apart from a cat behaviour specialist.

Oh, so you haven't missed out anything really valuable then.

But she still does not get on with the other cat

I'm not Poirot or anything, but I wonder if I could take a stab at what the issue might be...