Posting here for traffic ... cat euthanasia

[MissKittyBeaudelais]

Female neutered cat aged 12. Not old, old. Suddenly started weeing/pooing in the house. Not asking to go out. Not using litter tray. Dog, eating/rolling in the poo 🤢

Biggest problem is, I have a 19yr old son with autism and excruciating OCD (has been under psychiatric consultation/treatment and medicated since age 10). Cat mostly goes in son’s bathroom and spare room. I always remember to keep those doors closed. Sometimes, I don’t or cat pushes door open.

I’m at my wits end. I’m contemplating having the cat put down. The house stinks. The dog stinks. My son’s hands are raw from washing and I’m having to wash his slippers and shoes in rotation so that they’re not “contaminated” when moving about the house.

Advice? Tried Feliway. Tried a herbal relaxing food supplement. Tried putting her in a room at night WITH accessible litter. No difference. Cat was a feral rescue from a farm. Got her as a kitten, 12 yrs ago.

Take her to the vets for a check up ? She might have something that can easily be treated with meds

Sorry if obvious but I'm assuming you've rung a vet for advice?

Have you tried taking her to the vet to ask what they think?

Maybe she has some kind of feline dementia? I’m the circumstances I would consider asking vet\ rescue centre for guidance?

I would Suggest possible health problem. Maybe cystitis...get better checked to see if we underlying problem?

Vet checked!

Vets first before you decide anything. See what they say, she might have a treatable condition.

What did your vet suggest?

Going tomorrow. She had her boosters and check up a month ago. He said she was well and asked about new pets/change in circumstances/decorating etc.

My cat started peeing everywhere after I vaxed the carpet...must have been the shampoo smell...

Has anything happened to stress your cat? Our cat was stress spraying for a month or so after our dog died. Would never have understood until we took him to the vet.

Please don’t kill the poor cat just because of your son’s issues. Glad to hear she is going for a check up.

12 isnt old old. Our 15 year old cat had the odd accident in her last years. She had kidney problems and got medication and a special diet. Please dont have her put down without investigating the cause. Our girl lived 3 years with her problems.

It's a cat, you should be able to (especially if other household members are cooperative) to keep it contained.

She's not...

Cats are clean animals and generally if they're making a mess like this it's because there's something going on health wise. Maybe that can be fixed but if it can't it's not kind to keep the poor cat going with increasing stress.

I lived with an incontinent dog growing up and it was awful. Everything stank of piss. I couldn't leave anything on the floor. He ruined a sofa, a table and multiple floorings. It would have been better to let him go but the vet said he wasn't in any distress so we kept trying.

@Notthetoothfairy ... I’m not a cruel person. My son comes first. He attempted suicide two years ago. I love animals but perspective is needed.

Sometimes an illness doesn't show up in routine check ups. Kidney problems for example, especially renal lymphoma.

Also the routine injections can make them feel rough, and there are side effects.

Anything that may have changed in the house like air fresheners, cleaning products, new shoes that make the floor smell different.

Assume she has had geriatric bloods done? If not, I would ask for that. Also check for UTIs and constipation as both can cause inappropriate toileting, constipation presses on the bladder and the poor cat doesn't know what is going on, whether she needs to pee or poo.

Also, yesterday, she’d weed in the litter then poo’d in two bedrooms. 🙄

As pp said the cat may have something like cystitis causing the problem so talking to your vet again would be a good idea. Are you cleaning with a product containing bleach, as bleach can attract cats to wee. A local cat charity may help to look after your cat while assessing the problem or while you try to rehome her. You appear to have exceptional circumstances but it would be sad to put her down if there may be another solution. I hope someone can help you.

Don't feel bad if you decide to euthanase - it's not cruel. The cat has had a good life.

I had the same problem though without an autistic son. I managed to find a charity to re-home our chronically incontinent cat. She was weeing everywhere, on beds, sofas, chairs particularly. The house stank. I was at my wits end. She had been mostly OK until we moved though always odd behaviourally. I gave her a couple of years to settle but she didn't. She was a product of a sister/brother mating and I wondered if she was a bit mad. Vet had no suggestions. My OH was going mad with the smell and so was I, it was revolting. She was a pedigree cat so the breed organisation re-homed her at age 8 and I paid them a very generous donation. I was later told she had been re-homed with an elderly lady who loved this breed and had a special outside heated cat house. I truly hope it worked out for both.

If I were you I would not have her euthanised though I did consider this too because I feared that if she was adopted because she was so pretty then weed everywhere someone might hurt her.

There are a lot of cat rescue charities. Call till you find someone sympathetic and tell them what you've told us. I think you'll find someone to help you. This is what happened for me.

under you will not be able to rehome a 12 year old incontinent cat. The rescue centres are overflowing with young healthy cats that no one wants.

@undercover Thank you. We have an RSPCA cat sanctuary 2 miles away. I may contact them, depending on what the vet says.

Our cat has similar - turns out he had a bladder stone and once it was removed he returned to the litter tray. We were at our wits end prior to the final outcome, thankfully he is back to normal now.

@RedDhalia, that’s good news.