To want to get rid of the cat

[Hellvelyn]

After months of badgering by dd(14) we finally relented and got a cat - 8 year old rescue from the RSPCA. She is incredibly good natured and dd adores her. However, she is weeing all over our house and I am sick of vaxing every day and worrying about my house smelling. Today she also pooed on the landing and puked in the kitchen.
We have tried everything. Full (expensive) check up at the vets to rule out urinary or kidney problems. Two different litter trays, access to the garden, dishes of dried food in the places she most often pees. We now have giant puppy pads dotted around to minimise wee on carpets. Every day we are cleaning both litter trays (which she occasionally uses) as well as constantly clearing up her "accidents" RSPCA have been round but weren't able to advise anything we weren't already doing. They said they will take her back but (a) it will break dds heart and (b) I don't think she'd get rehomed again with her toilet history. I'm finding it all very stressful and starting to resent the cat which isn't fair be sure she is so sweet. Aaaagh. Every morning we go downstairs not knowing what smelly mess will greet us.

Hate it, not have it! Thanks for your thoughts. Am going to get some sleep and will return to the thread tomorrow morning.

Could you try a different type of tray?

Eg. One that's covered and has a flap at the front?

My cat dine this,it cost a fortune!! It then came to light he was suffering anxiety...I brought another cat (after much consideration) and this stop everything. Obviously I'm not saying do what I done I'm just saying what helped mine.

Have you changed the type of litter you're using too? My cat was weeing on the floor when we had the wood pellets litter but once we got felight clumping litter he was fine

I think she's stressed, probably as a legacy of whatevers happened to her before she came to you. I think its a good suggestion to turf her out to pee, as the house will seem less stressful a place in comparison. She will complain at first but get used to it. And the exercise and fresh air will relax her. Worth trying? Cat flap can be blocked up.

Cats are generally clean animals so she probably is still stressed. I have farm cats that live outdoors and I have actually seen them squatting over the drain in the yard to do their business!

Poor cat, but it would be gone in our house.
We had a rescue and tried everything to stop it pooping all over the house. Nothing worked. We returned it and paid for it's keep till it was rehomed so it wasn't put down.
The only thing I can think of to "save it" would be to buy a bell for it, and make it an outside cat.

I'm outer London so she's too far to come & collect. My new neighbour has had her rescue cat for 10 years and has just had a new carpet put down. The cat has decided to poo on it if that's any consolation - cats don't seem to cope well with initial change so either persevere (you say she is fine in your DD room where she feels safe) or take her back. At least you can say you have tried everything - my heart is torn for the cat and I really hope it works out for you all. xx

You’ve tried. Some animals (and people actually) can’t be rehabilitated

The only things I can’t see that you’ve tried is different types of litter and toys to break any boredom. Worth a try.

Have you tried different litters? Not all cats like all kitty litters so you might need to experiment.

Where are your litter trays - are they in quiet, secure places?

This sounds to me like a VERY stressed cat, if there is another cat around, are you certain that cat is not threatening her in the house when you are in bed/out?

Set up a cam pointed at the cat flap! Cats can be absolutely vile bullies and I have had SO many reports back of owners discovering that a neighbour cat is coming in through the cat flap, or sitting outside the flap stopping the cat going out once I have suggested they record whats going on when they aren't there.

Id also be back to the vet to ask about drugs, possibly Selgian which could help with stress/confusion/panic.

Treat for UTI anyway...

This happened to us too. We tried our best for 6 months but it didn't get any better. It broke my heart as the rest of the time she was such a loving and friendly cuddly cat.

My friend works in a cat rescue organisation and we tried every thing that we possibly could but when you are getting up or coming home to a poo on your clean clothes, bed, sofa,.. And an empty litter tray (she would occasionally use it).. We had no choice but to rehome. The issue seemed to be she was anxious and had attachment issues between me a dp (it was only ever his clothes, his side of the bed, his sofa) yet if we were both in the room, she would always lie on him, want cuddles off him.. . It was recommended that she be rehomed to a single person who was at home all day to give her undivided attention.

I had a cat like this, he had been a farm cat but no-one told us his background until ages after we got him. He had been injured at some stage though and we never knew if there was any damage, however he did have a thickened bladder.
He was with me for 11 years and I spent a fortune on Simple Solution, and kept him in his own part of the house as nothing helped.
He had a good few trips to the vet and many treatments for UTIs. He also had constipation which irritates the bladder due to the proximity of the bowel and bladder.

I would suggest trying to find a sanctuary for your cat, not a rehoming centre or rescue that re-homes, there are places where they can spend the rest of their lives, rather than return her and take the chance on her being PTS. She may also be happier with a one person home.

One other thing is that she may have bladder cancer which is not detectable during standard health checks, further screening is needed. A cat does this to tell you something is wrong, the problem is working out what it is.

My cat has bladder issues due to stress and I gave her cystease every day. Really worth a go, it’s brilliant stuff.

Poor cat. Poor you! What a difficult situation. Sounds like the cat is really stressed out, but sadly only time will tell. All the time the excretions throughout your lovely house will continue, and you'll have no idea if she will eventually calm down and stop doing it... It's a really tough call.

FWIW, I do think some cats are just a bit like this. She sounds especially bad and under stress, but some cats just aren't great at using litter trays or going outside. They are all individuals. My cat is amazing with her litter tray - I swear you could hide it on top of a cupboard behind a cloud of perfume and guarded by a scary dog and my cat would still figure it out and go and use the tray before she went somewhere else. I take absolutely no credit for this - she's just like that. Naturally takes to the litter tray. Some cats don't take to it.

Just mentioning that because I can tell you feel really guilty and I want you to understand that this isn't your fault at all. You've tried everything that the experts suggest to help the situation.You aren't doing anything wrong.

Do you have other pets? Other animals that could be accessing her litter tray?
You can buy calming drops ( they use the same things that are things like kalms),far more effective that feliway.
Has she been checked for other things at the vets? Any other signs of illness that could making this worse? Does she seem to forget where her tray is?

Try different litter? Honestly though I'd just get a different cat. That's just not workable.

I have always had rescue cats and one thing I can say with certainty is that they are all "8 years old"! Like mine she sounds a lot older and set in her bad habits. Please don't clean the litter tray after every use, horrid as it will be for a few days she will go back to the scent and use it again.
It doesn't sound like lack of bladder control as you say she doesn't wee in your daughter's room so it has to be some sort of anxiety that makes her need to mark everywhere. Sad really, you have to wonder what sort of life she was leading.
If you do take her back to the RSPCA be aware of what they will likely do with her. If she has been returned for this sort of problem they are not likely to try to rehome her again.
I feel for yoou, and for her. It's not an easy problem to solve.

Sorry, pressed too soon.

Go the the Hyperdrug website and buy her some valerian drops. I used them when I had a massive problem with my cat grieving for my partner. They saved his life; he calmed down, started coming back in the house and started to eat again. There are several different brands and cats seem to find them perfectly palatable on their food.

What litter are you using?

And don't clean out the trays constantly either!

I'm the biggest cat lover out there but I wouldn't blame you for returning the cat. I've worked with a lot of rescue cats and despite what many people including vets insist, there isn't always a particular problem that can be fixed, some cats just don't get the whole litter tray thing.

A vet will always tell you it's a uti (that is otherwise symptomless and doesn't show up on tests? "It could be coming and going" ). But if you actually see a cat with a uti it's very obvious.

Different litter was the magical fix here as well!

Only clean the litter tray once a day or less. She will be more likely to use it when it smells. You can clean it more often when she has stopped going elsewhere.

Confine her to a room (with a hard floor and a nice bed) when you are in bed or asleep. Stairgates can be useful to prevent access to some rooms.

Are there lots of cats about, might one be coming in? Just thinking of what may be heightening her anxiety.

Poor kitty.

Please don’t get her a bell! People who think cats wear bells should not have cats.

That should have said ‘in bed or out’.

Also you could try litter tray with a lid. Could you put puppy pads underneath to catch whatever doesn’t go in the tray?

I have a rescue cat. He's very sweet but when we first got him he was a nightmare! Rescue cats can be harder to care for but are totally worth it. It sounds like she has taken a shine to your daughter, maybe it would make a difference if your daughter spent some time encouraging the cat to use the tray and work through any issues. Perhaps your cat feels safe with your daughter. My daughter calmed our cat down, he responded better to her. Cats choose people and form a bond, it may be a good way to help your cat and at the same time your daughter would learn about responsibility and patience. It took us over a year to work through cat issues but it was worth it. We now have a sweet loving cat who comforts my teenage daughter