To hate the cat?

[mynamechangemyrules]

My friend moved to a country which won't allow pets imported, towards the end of her time in this country she still had no one to adopt her 15 year old cat... So, as a really busy single working mother of 3 kids under 8.... I said I'd take her

We went to visit a few times specifically to see the cat and for all of us to go through how to care for her etc. The owner said she's very low key and friendly and it appeared so. But I'm no cat expert.

Well, I thought that we just had 'settling in' problems, but now it's been 2 months and... she is sweet I suppose (disclaimer- I'm a dog person!! But like animals in general so couldn't see her left) but:
She wees on all our rugs
She vomits up stuff every morning (this seems to be almost comedy timing with her retching and throwing up as I'm trying to get 3 kids to eat breakfast!)
She miaows outside our doors from 4.30am onwards
She jumps up on to tables and knocks things over (vases, kids artwork etc)
She tries to get up to lick the taps or drink from the toilet if you leave the bathroom doors open. Can't close off the kitchen so she's always trying to drink from the tap there
She's wee'd all over the front garden so it smells like a litter tray... which leads me to...
The litter tray!!! It fucking stinks! We change/ clean it twice a day now because we live in a hot country and the smell It is one of those ones with a roof and a filter and still the whole room stinks. And it's the kitchen, which is just gross, but honestly there's only two downstairs rooms and I really don't want the lounge to smell like cat shit.

I am quite sensitive to smell, and now I walk back in to my home (which I had just sorted post horrible separation, loved those new rugs... ) and it smells like a dodgy cat person house.

We spray lavender water as recommended by google, it dissipates the smell a bit but she still wees in the places. Carpets have been laundered, at great expense, twice, still smells. I have a cleaner/ childcare person and she's helping me (but she really hates the cat) but it just feels like she's an extra job for me... Just as my kids get calmer and my life slowly settles- now I have a smelly cat to deal with!

What can I do???? Any magic tips or do I just have to sit out a few more years of living in a house which stinks and getting woken at 4.30?!!

Try grooming her if she's vomiting.
I've got a semi long haired cat and if I don't keep on top of his grooming he'll get a hairball.
Always manages to miss the wooden floor and get it on the rug though
Good luck

My cat adopted is and moved in 10 years ago. She pisses on rugs too. For her it is usually a dirty protest, if I am not supplying enough 'treats'....she likes a steady supply of bloody cat milk and chewy sticks. But also I now have sacrificial rugs, which I can rotate and wash. She occasionally still wees on the good rugs too. Definitely change the cat litter type and have more than one litter tray. Good luck. I must admit I am kind of looking forward to my cat dying 😲🤐

If you've got a garden is there any reason the cat can't go outside to poo? Having a litter tray inside is what's causing the smell, regardless of how often they get changed

This cat is stressed

If she drinks lots of water her kidneys might be failing, and this can increase how much they wee, and a UTI could make it hard for her to hold it so she just goes somewhere close.

This. I'd ask the vet to check kidneys. This exact behaviour was unfortunately the beginning of the end for our lovely 13 year old rescue cat bless her.

Do you keep the cat indoors or does it have access to a garden?

I have 3 cats - so my 2 pennies worth

The water thing: one of mine loves drinking out of loo/bath taps. But I try to keep seat down and taps not running. Another one has had kidney issues in the past so we have 3 water bowls (kitchen/back and front garden). They drink when they need to. They love next doors gentle water feature.

Meowing at 4.30am - mine do this when they want to go out - even though they have litter tray they prefer to go outside. In the summer I try to get them to go out as I go to bed and they stat out until morning.

Feliway or alternative is good for stressed cats.

My cats don't jump on tables/kitchen side generally. Table occasionally when I'm working at home because the laptop is nice and warm for them.

Vomiting - if not related to a medical issue is probably just hairballs - mine eat grass which helps to get rid of them (for which vomiting is the only way). Mine are short-haired though so it's rare. Regular brushing could help to reduce.

My old lady is 19 and a bit senile. Miaowing at night can be a sign of dementia. The drinking, as above is very likely kidney disease. I’ve started my cat on a special kidney dry cat food as well as her pouch of elderly cat food and her thirst has diminished massively.

Can’t comment on the seeing but sounds like stress or UTI.

If she suffers from furballs you can buy a paste to help and it does help. But mainly you have to brush her as older cats can’t twist to groom so easily. I use a fine tooth comb to get right into her fur and the amount that comes out is astonishing.

I hope she settles eventually but a vet visit sounds necessary. If the car will stress her perhaps have a home visit?

Awww, pleased to see your updates OP, I took your thread title way too literally so have been worrying, I am very glad you're doing everything you can for her. Good luck at the vets! A lot of your issues will be solved over time if you give her lots of love, find the correct food and litter and generally give her time to get used to her new living arrangements. I use paper pellet style litter for my boys, it suits them very well and doesn't create the dust problem that so many litters do. We have the early morning issues, they like 1 of us to get up with them at 5am, whether they have biscuits already etc. If we ignore them one of them miaows pitifully and the other starts knocking things off the bedside tables!! It's just a habit unfortunately. I'm a tad embarrassed to admit my 2 are like child substitutes, I let them get away with the 5am shenanigans because the solution is to shut them downstairs but I love having them sleep curled up with me at night.

The cat doesn’t sound very happy. Maybe she needs a settling in period and allow her to adjust, at her age it must be very difficult for her.

My cat was increasingly arseholey and destructive until my ex moved out, he then reverted to being the cuddliest loveliest cat. He was reacting to the stress in the house.

Oh dear, cats can be a total nightmare.

I had to rehome our cat because it simply would not stop peeing in the house. Took it to the vets more times than I can count and it had every test available but they found no cause- said it was behavioural and always recommended feliway. Had every feliway product on the market plus the urine remover sprays aplenty. Tried different litter trays and litters, had a fancy cat flap installed and bought lots of cat toys. Literally nothing worked so it just had to be rehomed. Sad day because we genuinely loved that cat but I tried for two years solid, I just couldn’t hack the stench and the daily clean up anymore. I can’t tell you how many things I had to replace because of that moggy...

Your cat is old too, rehoming older cats is more difficult because they find it far more difficult to settle. Cats are creatures of habit you see so the peeing may never end.

Try the vets, feliway and a different type of litter/litter tray but if nothing works it may be a case of taking it to a cat sanctuary.

As a pp said get the vet to check her kidney and liver function. This same behaviour was the beginning of the end for my old girl who was 16. She started meaowing at 4.30am every morning that eventually went to her weeing everywhere, we thought it was because we had just had a baby, but turned out she had either kidney or liver failure. The vet said we could do blood tests to find out, but they would take a couple of days and she was having seizures by this point and they said she was too old to operate on anyway, so we did the kindest thing for her and had her put to sleep.

As others have said, a lot of what you describe sounds like symptoms of either kidney disease or hyperthyroidism (or both). Only blood and urine tests at vet's will really confirm either way.

There's no point to try to deal with things as behavioural issues if they are linked to a physical issue.

How did you socialise her with your kids/introduce her to the house? It sounds to me like the cat is trying to make the house smell more like her, hence all the weeing. Covering up the smell with lavender certainly won't stop her! At this point I'd suggest sorting out a "cat room" so she's away from the noise and she can really get used to just using a litter tray. Ideally, there should always be at least one spare litter tray.

The wee smelling sounds like a food issue, so if the vet said she's fine physically then maybe she's not drinking enough (fingers crossed with the fountain, though my cat hated them. Try using different water - some cats prefer stuff straight from outside as it tastes different).

Vomiting - go to the vet. If s/he says no problem then change the food. If it's stress causing the vomiting then again with the dedicated cat room.

Jumping on tables - sounds like she wants to be up high away from perceived danger. Do you have anywhere she is allowed to go up high and observe? Those cat towers are so popular because they give cats somewhere to go that isn't a human food prep area! Ours tried out the kitchen counters but we were there at the time and just picked her off, put her down, then took her to her tower and fed her treats. She hasn't tried it since (but we were very lucky with timing!).

Meowing outside the doors - this is a learned behaviour. Cats meow to get humans to do what they want. You might need to be clearer with the cat on what is not allowed - a heavy toned NO. works with most cats but you have to be exceedingly consistent. Sounds like she's bored or uncomfortable at night and wants fun or cuddles. Cat room at night will help with the habit, but if she's bored you'll just make her depressed. Is she getting enough gradual play time? 2 short sessions a day sort of thing?

She sounds scared and unsure, and she'll be feeling your stress (and the cleaner especially if she hates the cat!). My instinct would be to start from the beginning again - keep her in her room, reward and love her for all the things she does do right and make sure she knows she's loved.

I hope a trip to the vet and making a couple of changes turns her around - it sounds like you really care about this cat but all the stress is making you miss all the good bits!

Ps. Cats don't do things to "get back at you". Poor and wee is a smell/territory thing, and everything else sounds like stress. She sounds confused and anxious and is trying to do her damnedest to fix it the way she knows how.

...protective cat lady ramble over

I agree she needs blood and urine tests done by the vet to see if there's any issues.
Catsan does stink once there's pee in so change litter. The fragranced stuff can put cats off too. Wood pellets are less stinky as is Cats Best or Worlds Best litter. Maybe try an uncovered tray too. As she's getting older maybe it's harder for her to manage.
Biological laundry liquid is ideal for cleaning up pee. The enzymes in that break down the smell.
Yes to Feliway plug ins; poor cat has been through changes and at 15 is probably taking a while to adapt.

I must admit I'm not that keen on my cat.

She is super cute and has a lovely kind temperament but she also pisses on rugs so I don't have any, she is a terrible food thief and she is bad for scratching furniture too which really gives me the rage!
I wouldn't get another cat and definately sympathise OP.

I would be worried about the retching though.
My in laws cat started retching regularly and he turned out to have kidney failure.
My cat hardly ever vomits, every morning sounds like he is unwell to me.

And oko cats best cat litter is by far the best!
All the others stink the second they are used.

Has the vet checked a blood glucose to rule out diabetes? It’s not uncommon in elderly cats.
At 15, she will be heading into dementia territory. I went through this with my old cat, until he eventually died at the age of 21.
The symptoms include inappropriate toileting, excessive vocalising, active at odd times of night, demanding taps be turned on for water when previously happy to drink from a bowl, disorientation and getting lost in their own garden, failing to self groom so getting matted fur and overgrown claws.
I’m sorry if this is what yours is starting, OP - it’s a tough road which only ends one way.

Thanks for the added tips everyone! (I've had to print the posts out to remember it all!)

So: she likes the fountain! So far! And kids are getting better at just shutting the bathroom doors.

Wee: it's definitely marking her patch not random weeing, sorry if I was unclear. I just hoped that with professional cleaning and the essential oils I could keep my carpets, but came home today and rolled them up for the bin She's wee'd on it often enough that it's just 'refreshed' every time it happens again. She uses the litter tray very well and also goes outside when she goes for a little wander. She is an outside cat but doesn't venture far since we've let her out (she had the 2 weeks inside)

Vomit: I was kind enough to take some actual vomit with me to the vet and he says it's hairball vomit and the same as a PP that I need to help her groom a bit more now she's older and he gave me some hairball stuff to add to her food. He suggested testing blood for kidney issues re: weeing, but called this avo to say all fine.

She gets cuddles and enjoys them and I think (and hope) that I was just a bit early on the whole freak out thing- as in, I think it's still 'settling in' stuff despite us all being used to her, she's still finding her feet with us. I hope she feels loved, she seems to love her morning jump on the kids beds and her evening walkabouts and cuddles with me on the sofa.

Will keep trying with everything!! Thank you!

It sounds like improvements already and its great you've tried the good recommendations you've had. Of course the poor thing is a bit stressed, her whole world has changed without her understanding why.

You and your kids sound like you can make her feel settled but you might want to have a chat with your cleaner/child care person if they 'really hate' the cat as the cat will pick up on this and especially if the poor cat is left on their own with them. Not fair on the cat and also a shame if this person undoes your good work of settling the cat in.

Just a thought. You aren't feeding wet food straight from frdge, I take it? Many moons ago I made this mistake with our new kitten, but thankfully worked out what I was doing wrong.

(It was making her throw it up again.)

In other words she is a normal cat!

Sounds like things are improving already. I hope things settle down soon, she sounds like a lovely cat.

She is a lovely cat! When you think about her life changes and she still comes back to sit for a cuddle or whatever. She's going to be fine.
This morning: no wee (well, no rugs also!), no vomit, house has no smell really (new filters in litter box)

Quick add on question:

If I have the current litter box in the back of the house downstairs, where would be sensible to place a second?

Does she go upstairs? Landing or hallway might work.