What to do with cat?

[apollinav]

I have a cat.  His name is Moshe.  He's a beautiful long haired tuxedo cat with a beautiful temperament and very affectionate.  He's also a bored indoor cat so we've been contemplating getting him a companion.

About a month ago a small grey tail-less female kitten/juvenile cat who appears to be homeless made herself at home on our porch.  Starved for food and affection she quickly became a member of the family.  And of course Timo (hubby) named her.  So Lady Jane Grey (ugh! what a name) is getting along moderately well with Moshe.  They spat occasionally, but they are also friends.  She's more of a kitten and chases him around.  He indulges her.  But she has problems.

The biggest issue is that even though she's liter box trained she occasionally gets up and lays a fresh hot biscuit on our rug.  Oh, she uses the liter box just fine.  Except every now and then... she doesn't.  Always in the same spot. 

Why?

How do I fix it?  She has other little problems that we're trying to address.  She plays at night which usually means jumping on Timo (hubby) while he's asleep, springboarding off Timo on to the window ledge above our bed, then hopping back down with great force to land on Timo's stomach.  Multiple times while we're trying to sleep.  So close the bedroom door... right?  No, she will then claw repeatedly and howl outrageously as if someone is beating her.

She just poo'd again and Timo had a minor cow cuz he had just changed out the dirt in the liter box not 10 minutes prior.

We just don't know what to do.  Maybe we're not the right family for her.

Comments

[lily-bless-her.livejournal.com]

Sadly, there isn't a quick solution. I wish there was. I have found - being the proud owner of 5 cats and a rabbit - that they always go back to the same place! You can try washing the area with a bio washing powder and surgical spirit, to discourage repeat offending. I have a very persistent ex tom who likes to spray - yes I know they shouldn't - and I am currently using a Feliway diffuser and spray to discourage. It's supposed to make them calmer and contains pheromones.It has worked to a degree, but.....Now to find the little so and so that pees on my sofa, cos she's too lazy to go out the cat flap. All my cats have been ill treated,I have adopted them from the vets where I work and so I have no idea what has happened in the past. Even the boys - had been dumped as small kittens. For all their quirks, I would not be without them. Try having a large white fluffy cat, with two teenage sons who wear only black. I have a stock of those sticky rollers! They do take a long time to settle and your little one may have never been trained. As to the night time playing - not sure what to do about that. As she grows they do sleep more, Crumble sleeps 23 hours a day and the last hour is spent eating attacking the other cats and doing things on the sofa! I am lucky I live in small town in England next to open fields, so I have a cat flap and mine go out at night if they want. I do have cat and rabbit toys everywhere though. Chris

[apollinav.livejournal.com]

Moshe came to us as a stray too and he's always been perfect so I suppose we have unrealistic expectations of the little girl. I heard yowling one stormy night in Alaska, walked out the back porch opened the latch on the gate and there was this wet black cat covered in flurries. He took one look at me and my warm livingroom and darted in. He's never had any desire to be an outdoor cat since. We were never able to find his family.

I need to look into the Feliway diffuser. I wonder if Petco has them.

Timo tried last night to tire her out before bedtime to make sure she got plenty of playtime in. I don't know if that was a real solution, but she was calm last night. We're also going to put the blinds down on the window. We're thinking if there isn't anything to attact her she won't jump.

Thank you for your advice.

[scribliz.livejournal.com]

Just off the top of my head (sorry if you already thought of this stuff):

-- is she basically in good health -- no medical problem that might account for it?
-- She might not like the litter you're using.
-- Are they sharing a box? Maybe it's not big enough. One of my cats kept missing the box and I switched to a concrete mixing pan, which was roomier and seems to have solved the problem.
-- Or maybe she needs her own box? My 2 cats are littermates and don't seem to mind sharing, but others do mind.

I had a friend who adopted a stray that liked pooping on the bed. My friend's bed, that is. Unfortunately she wasn't able to solve the problem and gave the cat up to a shelter. I've heard there are cat behavior specialists who work with stuff like this. It can be a tough problem to fix.

[apollinav.livejournal.com]

No known medical issues.

We've tried combinations of them sharing a box and she having her own box. Either way she still does it. She will use the shared box no problem. And then just poo on the rug.

We're discussing finding another family for her, but we suspect where ever she goes she'll have this issue. It will set her up for failure to hop families.

At least it's not cat piss. Ugh. Cat piss never properly comes out.

[snuggle-slut.livejournal.com]

I don't know where she is doing her pooing on your carpet but if its possible try putting something over that one spot, after a very thorough cleaning, like furniture or even a cat post. I'm a foster parent for cats at the humane society, and this has worked for me with kittins in the past.

[apollinav.livejournal.com]

That's a great suggestion, she's going in corners so throwing a scratching post or something else there won't be awkward in the house. I'm concerned though that she'll just find another corner, but it's worth a shot. We're not ready to give up on her, especially not something like this. Its an inconvienece and annoying, but she's adorable and we've never given up on an animal. I don't know if we could.

[kierkegaardwife.livejournal.com]

What fluffy sweetness!

I don't really know what to tell you about the poop problem--just see if your local pet store has something that will deter her. It doesn't sound like it's a problem of confusion, it seems to be deliberate, so that makes it more difficult. One of my cats is now an outdoor cat because she never could figure out what the litter box was for. I hope it doesn't come to that; sounds like hubby is a liiiiittttle bit attached at this point. And it might not hurt to get him some alcohol.

xx

[miamadwyn.livejournal.com]

Just wanted to let you know, I've recced The Gilded Cage at The New Library. If you're not already aware of it, you should check the group out. The purpose is to rec new or underappreciated writers that others might not have discovered yet!

http://community.livejournal.com/the_new_library/115716.html

[apollinav.livejournal.com]

Oh how cool. Thank you. I love how you pimp out my story, it's so sweet.

[miamadwyn.livejournal.com]

Where's the next chapter, hmm?

[apollinav.livejournal.com]

Gimme 10 mins chica.

[miamadwyn.livejournal.com]

Squeee! (Time enough for me to load 61 onto ashwinder.)

[apollinav.livejournal.com]

check your email.

Ah Ha!!!!!!

[mischievous-t.livejournal.com]

Shoe's on the other foot now!


hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!

Re: Ah Ha!!!!!!

[miamadwyn.livejournal.com]

I hope you're reading this one.

And yes, I suffer. I follow way too many WIPs that leave me bereft and hitting the refresh button over and over!

Yes!!!!!!

[mischievous-t.livejournal.com]

I'm loving this story and her fabulous, consistent postings. :)

(I just haven't reviewed on aff cuz she has it set to be logged in before reviewing - and you know how I am about that kind of thing. Now, don't YOU have something you should be doing?)

Re: Yes!!!!!!

[miamadwyn.livejournal.com]

Yes, don't worry, I am doing it right now.

I'm writing smut.

O.o

But The Gilded Cage is also posting to ff.net, and is soon (fingers crossed) going to be on OWL. You're already registered on OWL so you can review there. See? I am helping you spread the joy.

Psst Apollinav

[mischievous-t.livejournal.com]

"..helping you spread the joy" is code for "getting you off MY back". ;)

Re: Psst Apollinav

[miamadwyn.livejournal.com]

What? I say I'm writing smut and this is the reaction I get?

You're right

[mischievous-t.livejournal.com]

Yeah smut!!!

*T

Wait a minute...

[mischievous-t.livejournal.com]

How can you be writing smut while harassing me on AV's lovely lj, hmm?

Tease.

Re: Psst Apollinav

[apollinav.livejournal.com]

Typically the reaction is, 'Please Sir, may I have some more.'

And if you're really lucky you'll get, "Pretty please, with Snape on top!"

Re: Psst Apollinav

[miamadwyn.livejournal.com]

Or bottom, as the case may be.

Re: Psst Apollinav

[apollinav.livejournal.com]

Hmm... and given Snape he could definitely top from the bottom, probably vice versa too... interesting theoretical questions. Only way to resolve is to have way with Snape. For the purposes of science of course.
Yep. That'll settle it. Bring me Snape, I'll let you know.

Re: Ah Ha!!!!!!

[apollinav.livejournal.com]

Don't we all m'dear. Don't we all.

[hobgoblinn.livejournal.com]

Greetings. I just friended you, mostly because I am much admiring and enjoying "The Gilded Cage", which was recently recc'ed on the_new_library. I will eventually leave feedback there, and please accept my apologies for not leaving a review on every chapter, as I would like. I will note, though, that if you still need a beta, I'd be honored to work with you. Mostly what I'm seeing are synonym problems (Principal for principle is the latest I saw.)

Feel free to drop by my journal and see what I'm about, and friend back or not, as you like. I look forward to getting to know you better.

[hobgoblinn.livejournal.com]

And I did have a possible solution for you: there's a kind of spray you can get in pet stores; I think it's called something like "Indoor No" that is supposed to discourage beasts from doing inappropriate things, at least where you spray it. If she's really doing this in the same spot, this might at least discourage her there. Part of why animals do stuff like that is smell-- she does it there because there's some lingering smell only she can detect that tells her it's her spot for that.

Other alternative, and what a friend of mine had to do, was limit one old cat who was not always remembering the litterbox concept to a basement area of the house or outside unless someone was able to supervise her pretty closely. I think she eventually came around.

Good luck with you beasts. My perpetual adolescent cat still misses his surrogate Mama cat who died last year. Company is good for them, if you can manage it. Sadly, moving from a house to an apartment, there's really not room for two just now, and we may be moving again soon. So he just has to deal.

Luckily, the mice keep him entertained....

[apollinav.livejournal.com]

Thank you, that's some very good advice. Someone told me about a product that's similar called feliway that's supposed to do essentially the same thing. I need to get my butt over to petco. I'm going to try a mix of the advice I've been given. Not just scrub the carpets really good with the pet odor neutralizer (I've just been using white vinegar for scent and cleaning) but also put an object of furniture there. I have a small chest that can go in the corner. And then hose it down with some Indoor No or Feliway or whatever they have on the shelves that takes care of it. I learned early on that anytime she feels cooped up she YOWLS like crazy to the point where she makes herself sick. But don't get me wrong, as far as beasties go, she's a keeper. Right cute even.

She even brought us a fat juicy mouse the other day. We were so proud. The mice I don't mind. It's the baby birds I wince at.

[kariosis.livejournal.com]

Mmm. My mom has like 14 cats and she can't keep drapes on her windows. She went nuts once and started screaming at them, "I WANT TO BE ABLE TO WALK THROUGH MY HOUSE NAKED AND I CAN'T CAUSE YOU TURDS KEEP TEARING DOWN THE DRAPES!" To which I replied, "I wish you wouldn't while I'm here." We found some spray, it's a boundary spray, you can find it at wal-mart fairly cheap, and to them it smells absolutely ghastly and she will stay away from the spot she keeps pooping in. It's supposed to be odorless to humans but it really isn't but it isn't too bad.

Get her fixed if you haven't yet or if she isn't too young. That might take care of the rambunctiousness.