Cat weeing everywhere since new baby arrived - help!

[ConFuschias]

Can anyone give me any ideas on how to address this situation?

DD2 arrived 4 months ago. Since then one of our cats has shown her displeasure by weeing everywhere.

In the past 4 days it has been - floor of laundry room, in the tumble drier, baby's pram, sofa, rug, up inside the fireplace, DD1's bed, DH's pile of laundry, DH's travel bag, the baby's bouncy chair, over the toys in the playroom.

We have had her checked out at the doctor, and it is not a medical problem - he thinks she is just expressing unhappiness at the situation. She didn't act like this when DD1 was born, however.

DH is adamant that we get rid of her as we can't be on our guard for the children not touching/putting in their mouths something that she has weed on. Because it is literally everywhere.

Today was the final straw for him and he offered her to MIL, who has said she won't have her. So now DH wants to send her to a cat home.

Is there anything I can do to stop her behaviour and prevent her being rehoused? She's 5 years old, if that makes a difference.

Maybe you could try this plug in thingy?:
www.petdrugsonline.co.uk/site.aspx?i=ca0&s=feliway

It just copies the cat pheremones and diffuses it round the house to make it feel more relaxed. Haven't tried it yet but will when i finally get my kitten.

thanks msrisotto - will look into that

Feliway is fantastic and will definitely make a difference.

You can also try Zylkene, which is a milk based powder in a capsule that you open up and sprinkle on her food. It is supposed to promote a feeling of well-being, mimicking mothers milk, so the cat will feel more settled and secure and hopefully stop weeing.

vet uk is pretty much the best value I've found.

They also sell some cat litter called Cat Attract - it is absolutely amazing stuff and really enticed cats back to using litter and not anything soft on the floor. I was sceptical, but got to the point where I'd try anything and my cat was trying to use the tray before I'd even poured it out properly ! I can't recommend it highly enough.

I am the voice of bitter experience here, having almost had to rehome a beloved cat becaouse of weeing everywhere just as you describe.

Make sure litter trays are clean and accessible - perhaps introduce another one on another floor of the house. Also make sure that you clean areas well to remove the urine smell and stop the habit - Simple Solution is a good one that is not too expensive.

Good luck

Oh poor you - I dreaded our cat doing this when DS arrived, but fortunately, after a few annoying spraying incidents she seems to have settled down and accepted the strange hairless kitten. Lucky for us MIL would have taken her if she hadn't.

We did find a product that might be of some help to you - a urine detector and spray from here.

Is there anybody else who could take the cat for a while?

Thanks for your detailed response Jools. We have Simple Solution - have gone thorugh a huge bottle already!

The cats don't have a litter tray and haven't for years - they just go outside. But maybe I should introduce one?

Have you use the Feliway plug-in or spray, or both? I like the look of the plug-in, but will need it for about 8 rooms so could be quite expensive!

Surgical spirit is best for smell. You may have to throw away the toys however.

My kitten has had two episodes with poo and wee. Spoke to the vet yesterday and she said the only way to stop it is to change the behaviour. So mostly you need to keep doors closed. Get a litter tray and make sure it is avaliable in a safe place for the cat.
I have also been recommended to get that feli stuff by several people.

Thanks Ronshar.

Wil definitely buy it following all these recommendations.

Good luck with your kitten.

Hiya

Happy to help, having gone through the pain myself !

The diffuser covers 50 - 70 square metres, so you don't need one for every room. I know when I need to put a new refill in, as my two cats start falling out !!

I have a 2 bed terrace with a loft conversion and just have one Feliway plugin on the ground floor where the cats spend most of their time - that seems to be enough to make a difference. I think the spray is a bit of a gimmick to be honest and only useful if you are introducing a strange item of furniture, to make it smell "friendly"

Another place for good urine remover is Animal House They do odour control disinfectant that works out cheap because it is very concentrated, and smells good - also a laundry additive to get smells out of clothes.

Thanks Jools - this is all great advice.

Will def go for the plugin. Will try 2 to start with. Hopefully that will be enough.

WIll also look into the Animal House.