Cat Training and Behavior (Domestic and Feral)/elderly cat misbehavior

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Expert: Dear Tabbi - 9/28/2008


Question
My cat, age 16 years, insists on urinating on the carpet. How can I get him to stop?

Answer
Pat,

At age 16 your cat is approximately 80 years old in human years. Things start to give out. You should take him to a vet that specializes in geriatric cat care and conditions (not all vets do) and an older cat checkup done. He needs the function of his kidneys, thyroid, and liver checked, and his overall condition evaluated.

A lot of times cats that old get arthritis which makes it painful for them to get in and out of the litterbox. They also can get a form of kitty Alzheimers and they forget where the litterbox is!

You need to make concessions to his age related behaviors. Try using puppy pee-pads. That is a lot easier for them. He probably can't hold it like he used to and it is frustrating for him. Give him lots of love and reassurances while you can. Don't ever get angry at him for getting old. Someday you may wish he were still here peeing on your carpet!

I am including my two favorite links for geriatric cat information. The more you know and understand about geriatric cats the more you can help your precious kitty.
(copy and paste, or type the whole links into your address bar)

http://www.sniksnak.com/resources/geriatric.html

http://www.messybeast.com/towards-end.htm

And if you do need to put poor kitty to sleep at some point, or he passes away, here is an EXCELLENT site for emotional support and a beautiful tribute site for people who have lost their beloved pets:

http://rainbowsbridge.com/hello.htm

I hope this is helpful for you.

Tabbi

Cat Training and Behavior (Domestic and Feral)

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Dear Tabbi

Expertise

My expertise is in helping people understand their cat (or cats) and their behavior. Questions are welcome even if you don't have a cat....just a question about them. Hopefully my experience, suggestions, and comments will be of help to you...and your cat (or cats). Looking through my past responses to questions will give you additional information and/or answers too. Domestic Cats = cats (no matter what breed) who are tame or not wild, or abandoned cats who were pets that became wild, but can be tamed again. Ferals = cats who are born with one or more parents who were wild stray cats. They usually have had no interactions with people. They have an inbred distrust of humans and are difficult to socialize. They are skittish, hide, and are afraid of people. They take a lot of time and patience to work with them. A lot of kittens from shelters had a feral parent.

Experience

Since I was a child, over 45 years, I have been owned by a LOT of cats and kittens of almost every temperament, behavior, and personality. I have had experience with neurotic, disabled (including blind), stray, and 'problem child' cats and kittens. (A few normal cats too!) Plus all the things a lifetime of owning cats and research has taught me. I also have experience in feral cat behavior (which is different from domestic cats), and some experience with feral colonies that includes colony feeding and feral cat TNR (trap/neuter/release).

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