Sunday, July 29, 2018

The Once and Future Sin



Eight years ago – was it as long ago as that? – Tucker came to live with me, returned to the rescue-group after five years with a family because he was wetting where he shouldn’t. After a couple of instances of that in my home, he ceased it. Now, it has begun again.

I blame Parker. In fact, I do think it is the orange-boy’s fault, though inadvertent nonetheless. Tucker simply doesn’t like the foster-cat. To show this, he uses the litter-box in the library, which is where Parker is sequestered when I am absent or asleep. Actually, Tucker wets in front of the box. I have a soaker-pad in the spot for that reason, but the roly poly usually hits its edge.

There are three reactions I intend to have in response to this: one is to make an appointment with the veterinary and have Tucker examined for infections, etc. I do not believe he is suffering from anything physical. I think his wetting, considering its location, is due to his resentment of Parker. Two, I will buy a larger soaker-pad, to cover more area. Three, I will put away the library’s litter-box when Parker is not in there to use it. Puck will use the general boxes in the store-room. Number three has a risk attached to it: I want to leave nothing there to encourage Tucker to wet in that location, which means removing not just the litter-box but the soaker-pad in front of it. If Tucker still wets there, he will hit the carpet, damage which the soaker-pad was meant to avoid.

But Tucker is branching out. A couple of days ago, the roly poly wet in one of my shoes. That's right. Why he chose to do that, I don't know, though it may have to do with my wearing of those shoes when I take Parker for walks. They have orange-cat-smell on them now. Sigh. I must admit that, considering he's had a perineal urethrostomy, his aim is pretty good; he didn't get any outside the shoe. If I were a different sort of cat-owner, I'd return him. As it is, I'll keep my shoes up on boxes.

18 comments:

  1. I agree with you - this is most likely Tucker's of saying he does not appreciate Parker. He is probably quite proud of his new/old means of expressing his displeasure. I hope that one of your solutions puts an end to this.

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  2. :-O

    In your shoe...!

    Oh, I truly hope you can sort this out to everyone's satisfaction, and have Tucker peeing IN a designated litter box again.

    Would you consider a low dose of kitty Prozac for him, even for the short term, as a last resort? I used to be so anti-drug, but I don't think I'd hesitate to look for drug help if everything else I tried failed. Hopefully it won't come to that with Tucker.

    BTW, did you toss out your shoes? However would you clean them, even if you have enzymatic cleaner?

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    1. The shoes had to go, unfortunatel. They were very comfy, too.

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  3. Oh boy This is a toughie. It may work...the removal of the two objects. All isn't totally lost of the worst happens though. As Kim mentioned there is enzymatic cleaner and deodorizer if he wets there even so. Bet he won't.

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  4. I also have a wetting problem with 2 of my cats. Alex started using my bathmat instead of the litter box a few years ago. When I removed the bathmat, he would go in the bath tub, (over the drain, thank you.) He was placed on Prozac, and it worked really well, but he had a reaction to it and had to come off it. Jessica recently started wetting right in front of the litter box. Since she is 18, it's probably due to a cognitive problem. However, Jess will use a litter box that contains a disposable human incontinence pad instead of litter, (human pads are more absorbent than puppy pads). If you plan to remove the litter box and pad, be sure the area is cleaned well with an enzyme cleaner like Zero Odor or Tucker will continue to use that area.

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    1. I clean it well each time he goes; it's the box itself that he targets. Once that is removed, I will the area thoroughly.

      Your two sound like interesting problems, too. Each is so complex in his own little ways.

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  5. Have you tried the Feliway Multicat diffuser? I have noticed a big difference after our new cat, Tomtom. Lots of bad feelings especially with my princess's attitude. TomTom was a just a little to aggressive with my other boy, too. Everybody has mellowed out considerably with only the occasional spat.
    Bought my diffuser on Amazon. They were the cheapest on that site. If you do try it, I hope it helps with Tucker's problem!

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    1. I have tried that but that was a while ago. I may try it again. It's worth a shot, I think.

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  6. Oh my! Tucker, you are showing your frustration in a frustrating way! Peeing in front of the box, and in your shoe...yep, he's saying that he's having a problem. Here's hoping your solution works out! Or, cover everything with puppy pee pads...

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  7. cat father: dood....we iz sorree yur stressin buddy N we hope ta cod ya due KNOT haza medical thing goin on..... best fishez two ewe at yur v.e.t a pointmint ♥♥♥

    J: try putting citrus rinds down where you DONT want tucker to go; for the most part they detest the smell of citrus; matters
    not the type of citrus, just citrus. Have you thought about using cat attract in the box? we had to use this on dai$y, years ago and it did in fact work..web search: dr. elsey's cat attract as it comes in various sizes......

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    1. I vouch for it too. XXX from Katie

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    2. Unfortunately, where Tucker is going is right beside or in front of a littler-box, and I don't want to deter Parker from using it. The Cat-attract idea is interesting, though Tucker is not averse to using a litter-box; I think he is making a point with this one.

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    3. RE: the Cat Attract: I bought some for Nicki, a 20-lb box. He and Derry both use it. I've since bought a couple of the 40-lb bags (our PetSmart now delivers; yay!). I have to say that I don't care for the consistency--the granules are larger and with Nicki's insistence of peeing on the inside corner of all the boxes, it becomes "cement" trying to scrape it off. Therefore I'm mixing it about half and half with their usual litter, and I like that combination. They seem fine with it too!

      I realize in this case that Tucker is doing this for behavioural reasons, but thought I'd chime in on the litter anyway. Oh, and while I used to clean the boxes with water, soap and bleach, I stopped using the bleach after Nicki was diagnosed with asthma. I've started using it again, just a bit, as we all know the smell of bleach attracts cats. I keep a handy bottle of water with a little bit of bleach in it too, for spot cleaning the box. Obviously not for cleaning anything else!

      Anyway, whether it's Feliway or something else, I hope things calm down soon and that Tucker returns to peeing IN the litter box. Would he wear a calming collar? I've heard good things about them, never tried one, though--I think Nicki especially would completely freak out and I'd be worried he'd strangle himself. But if Tucker is okay with a collar, it might be something to try. Best of luck!

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  8. I have been living with Ping doing this for over a decade. It is insecurity on his part, no matter what I do. So I have a LOT of 'p' pads in the spots he uses. *sigh* He has ruined the carpet in the 3rd bedroom which I will replace when he can no longer ruin it. But for now I just spot clean and steam clean it.

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  9. Tucker may be trying to tell you more than that he is not pleased with Parker. Cats with PU’s can suffer infections, strictures and stones. My Parker has a bit of a structure of his PU which was discovered when he was hospitalized for his neurological event several months ago. Ruling out a medical condition may be a good place to start. Or he might just be prone to urinate out of the box. My Alfie is a “freestyler”. After a full medical work up and modification of home environment, the vet said it’s probably just something Alfie wants to do and will do, just like the vet’s own cat does. LOL. All of your loyal fans know that Tucker’s home is absolutely secure. He’s family!

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    1. I intend to have a doctor see Tucker for a general exam soon. He's thirteen now, so I want to keep on top of any health issues.

      And no, none of the beasts is going anywhere while I can help it. Even Parker is here for as long as he needs to be. (Don't tell Tucker I wrote that.)

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  10. Saku does the same thing, but thankfully not in my shoes! He went through a difficult time when Sami passed and I frequently would hear the thump of his tail in the middle of the night as he peed on one wall or another.

    He went through another brief period of it recently, and I caught him peeing on my comforter. I find using the anti-spray seems to work okay and since it doesn't last more than a day or two I'm fairly certain it isn't health related. This last bout happened after D and Eli returned from their trip to BC.

    Eileen

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    1. Since it appears to occur with Saku when certain things happen, it seems not physical at all, as you surmise. These sensitive cats...

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