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About 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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* One of the top 50 Experts Of 2008 *
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You are here: Experts > Animals/Pets > Cats > Cat Training and Behavior (Domestic and Feral) > Adult Cat Peeing Everywhere
Expert: Dear Tabbi - 10/29/2009
Question
Hi,
My female, spayed cat, Clarence is being treated for crystals in her bladder. I discovered this because instead of using her litter box she was straining in corners. Now, that she is being treated she is peeing fully again. However, instead of going to her litter box (which she uses some times so I do not think she is afraid of it) she just pees where she is standing. This is annoying because sometimes it is on the wall behind her food dish and sometimes it is on us when we are cuddling in bed. It can be anywhere really. She just stands up, shakes her tail and pees. I have been trying lots of things to encourage her to use her litter box again. (Form changing her box, mass cleaning, isolating her to putting tin-foil down where she pees) I really do not want to make her an outdoor only cat. Do you have any tips?
Answer
Jennifer,
Standing up peeing is different from squatting. The squatting would be the result of her crystals (caution, they are reoccurring), but the standing up could be a sign of marking her territory. One of the most common feline responses to stress is inappropriate elimination. The bladder is the cat’s stress target. Can she see any stray cats out the window that she can't get to to defend her territory? She may smell a female in heat or sense a tomcat in the area. Even though a female is spayed, some cats will still react. If there are other cats outside, block the window where she can see them. That should help.
I am including some links to good articles about improper elimination. They will have good information that you should find helpful in dealing with you cat's behavior.
(copy and paste or type the whole links into your address bar)
http://www.catsinternational.org/articles/housesoiling/unabridged_litterbox_1.ht...
http://cats.about.com/cs/behavioralissues/a/outsidebox_two.htm
http://www.geocities.com/heartland/pointe/9352/litterboxhelp.html
http://www.apbc.org.uk/article10.htm
Crystals are very painful and usually a cat will associate the litter box with the pain when they pee so they avoid it.
I am not a vet, so I can't tell you the side-effects of her medicine, or any after-effects. You may want to give your vet a call and explain her reaction and behavior after taking the medicine and see what he/she says. The peeing on you is not normal and may be a medical issue and not a behavioral one. A behavior that she may not be able to help or control. It could be that the crystals may have caused some damage to her uretha where she can't hold her urine. I would also ask the vet about the possibility.
Making her an outdoor cat would not be a good idea and will only confuse her and stress her which is not good with her condition.
Tabbi
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