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Baby + indoor cats soiling - your experiences please

4 replies

LaTristesse · 14/07/2010 09:39

OK, so I've noticed that among my set of friends there are 3 couples who prior to having a baby, had a pair of indoor cats. In each case, once the baby arrived, one of the cats in each household started weeing and or pooing in the wrong places.

I'm one of those households, and it's really starting to get us down now - my DH is threatening to either rub his nose in it (I know this is wrong and have so far managed to keep him from doing it), or chuck him in the garden (we live on a busy road which is why he's an indoor cat in the first place - much as I'm at my wits end with the wee and poo wrecking our house it would kill me if anything happened to him outside).

I have no idea how we're going to cope once our baby gets mobile - although we obviously clean up as it happens, there always seems to be either wads of kitchen roll stuffed into regular accident blackspots, bits of cat litter traipsed everywhere and the omnipresent stink of that spray stuff that's supposed to deter them from soiling (yeah right). Not a great environment for a curious crawler...

And as for Feliway - he pissed right in front of the diffuser (his contemptuousness made me smile briefly, before the tears set in again... ) We can't afford a behaviouralist either, and one isn't covered by our insurance. I've tried putting bowls of food where it happens to deter him - we currently have 5 food bowls in the front room alone - and still it happens. We have 3 litter boxes for 2 cats to share, and these are cleaned regularly.

I'm sure there are loads of people in similar situations - please let me know how you cope; it's ruining our home, putting a huge strain on our relationship, and making me hate my cats, something I would never have believed possible.

And sorry for the long post, I'm despairing, and waffling...

OP posts:
HoopyFroodDude · 14/07/2010 09:44

Do you have an area you can confine them to ? We found it helped if the cat was shut in the conservatory for a while until he became more settled again. He was able to get outside but not into the rest of the house and we put food and a bed in there.

HoopyFroodDude · 14/07/2010 09:45

Oh sorry hadn't realised they were indoor cats. More of a problem I am guessing

LaTristesse · 14/07/2010 10:26

Yeah, it is a bit grim, and we have an open plan house, so the only room we could shut them in is the bathroom (a bit too small) or a bedroom (not best suited to confined weeing and pooing!)...
Thanks for your reply though...

OP posts:
Lizcat · 14/07/2010 16:30

Have you checked www.fabcats.org the have great advice here from a panel of the top feline behaviourists in the UK. The will talk alot about facilities ie litter tray, food etc and how many you have.
Another important tip is the products you clean up with if they contain ammonia they will make the cat do it more. Urine I soak up with toilet roll, then pour soda water on and soak up again finally spray with frebreeze to get rid of smell without ammonia.

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