Cat litter - merged

lady_noluck

Kimberley wrote: »

You cat owners can do as they please, but me as a cat owner will not let my cat in the kitchen, not even my foster dogs are allowed. I think it's unhygenic and so are flies, but flies you can keep out too.

Not wanting to jump on the "anti Kimberley" bandwagon, but the above statement bothers me. In my house I have a front door, a side door leading to the garden from the KITCHEN and 2 large french windows, also leading to the garden, from my lounge. Now call me a snob but I really don't want to install a catflap in either my front door or the french windows, so where else am supposed to put it apart from in the kitchen door? It was the same in my previous house. I don't like cat flaps on front doors, I think they look cheap and nasty so I really have no other option.

Maybe you could get off your high horse and realise cats have a mind of their own and go where they like. Some of us cannot keep our cats out of our kitchens!

My cat does climb on the worktops, and gets shooed off as soon as he's seen. He also pulls up the carpet outside my bedroom door if I won't let him in, cries continously until you cuddle him AND throws up if I don't stroke him every day. (The vet checked him out, he's perfectly healthy, just has anxiety issues ) Water guns don't work, clickers won't work (he doesn't eat treats, i've tried them all) and a bl**dy good talking to only makes me look stupid. He's stubborn, obnoxious, noisy and infuriating at times. But you know what? My kitchen worktops glisten!!!!

Kimberley

lady_noluck wrote: »

Maybe you could get off your high horse and realise cats have a mind of their own and go where they like. Some of us cannot keep our cats out of our kitchens!

Hmm just getting off my very high horse, gosh he is high :rolleyes:

Now like you i'm entiltled to my opinion, i am just saying that i think it's disgusting, that doesn't mean every single cat owner in the world has to obey me :rolleyes: If you want your cats on the worktop fine, but for me i'm keepng my pets out of the kitchen.

My opinion, your opinion :beer:

edwara

having a nightmare with my 2 cats. one is in teh vet having had some kind of injury to his back and the other has just used my hall way as a toilet TWEICE. Never done this before. Now I assuem this is because he is stressed nad missing his mate. He is currently locked out as I can't cope with the hassle.

So 2 things -

1. How do I stop him donig this?
2. How do I get the smell out of the carpet. I have cleaned it up by absorbing as much as poss, used a very damp cloth both with just water and a bio washing powder. Still a bit of a smell if you sniff the carpet (I know I am mad).

What do you suggest? DO I need to get the professionals cleaners in or is there a magic solution I can buy?

Please please help. Hubby away for 7 months and the cats are the straw that breaks the camels back. just about cope with the 2 kids and the house!

Thanks in advance

DIRTY_CASH

Sounds like the other cat icould be making a "point". I know its stupid but I had this kind of pallava a few weeks ago. Our tabby wasn't allowed out for a week after getting some infection in his foot. After much whinging and mewing to be let out he just sat down where he was a peed - TWICE!! This was becuase he couldn't get his own way - he has also done worse before now - just because he didn't like being kept in.

The naughty cat could be missing its mate like you said. My partners old cat twice peed over his slippers just because they were there and for no other reason - well, his food had changed because he was too fat but that was it - back door open - litter tray if he needed it - everything.

There is this carpet cleaner / deodoriser foam stuff my partner bought from Wilkinsons - not cheap - about £4 but after 2 or three applications it done the trick.

Good Luck!

Shortie

Hi, hoping for some advice here, maybe even just for perspective incase I'm being too harsh on my cats.....

We have 2 rescue cats and we've had them now for about 5 years, they're now around 7-8ish. They're both lovely affectionate cats (currently keeping my feet warm, lol). Battersea had no idea of thier history so I can't expand on that one sorry... but I can tell you they are brothers

However I'm getting to the stage of being unable to cope as they seem to find it okay to pee in the house and it's driving me nuts. They've ALWAYS had a cat flap and are very much out door cats at both this house and the last one, and as such I don't have a litter tray available for them except for times like around bonfire night.

There's always been a little bit of an issue of one of our cats pee'ing in the house, but I suspected he just wasn't always the most 'switched on' of cats. BUT since we moved to out current house 2.5 years ago, things have been slowly but surely getting worse with now both cats peeing, sometimes upstairs (but thankfully never on the beds) and at the worst, sometimes inches away from the catflap!!

I'm due to have baby 2 in a couple of months, and I wondered if this had started it all up, but then it's always been rumbling away, just getting more frequent at the moment. It's driving me nuts to find the pee, or sometimes to be sitting in one room while they do it in the next... I'm stressing a bit too about what will happen when the baby turns up as we're shutting our bedroom doors at the mo to stop the using them as toilets, but it's easy to walk off sometimes and forget...

Does anyone have an idea what causes cats to do this, and how I can discourage it?

Thanks all

Eels100

Firstly they need to be ckecked by the vet because it's not uncommon for cats to develop urinary tract disease which can cause inappropriate toileting. Any sort of urinary tract disease must be ruled out before other avenues are investigated.

If they get the all clear I would say you're likely ot be looking at a stress-related problem. The vet should be able to advise you on some techniques to help and also things that may have caused the problem. Otherwise try the Feline Advice Bureau for really good info : http://www.fabcats.org/

Shortie

Thanks Eels100. Urinary tract disease... I'll get them to the vets asap... I was thinking they were just being cheeky, oops. I'll take a oeek at the link too.

Thanks again

blue_monkey_2

Hi shortie,

I had a problem with my cat peeing in the house - turned out she had diabetes and did not notice she was doing it so ask for tests. Do you have insurance as this will cover all the tests. My vets were excellent and within a couple of days she was in her blood sugar level was normal and she has not done it since (apart from when the kids locked the cat flap one night!!)

I also have a male cat and find at around the spring/early summer the does wee, I am not sure why, he has always done it, maybe it is a nature thing but it might be worth getting a couple of smaller cat little trays and some cat litter (I found the wood pellet ones the best) so they have somewhere to go more than anything else. I also make sure mine are locked in the downstairs of the house and they have a cat flap. They get everywhere and the last place you want them sleeping is in the babies crib/moses basket - especially with the baby in it!! I have 5 (catc not kids god forbid!!) and they will sleep anywhere they get the chance. Introduce them to the baby but then at nights get them used to sleeping downstairs and away from the babies things so they do not get the chance to creep into the cot or sleep on the bedclothes. You do tend to get a bit more paranoid once the baby has arrived......!!

chivas

Hi shortie

I had a problem with one of my rescue cats pee'ing indoors too - (never number 2's tho...) I took her to the vet and she came back clear for UTI. The vet suggested it might be stress due to fights with the other cat, and recommended I get a feliway diffuser. I also tried to barricade her preferred 'wee' spots. This seems to have worked - after a 3/4 weeks she almost completely stopped. A year on it still sometimes happens very occasionally, but usually I can directly relate that back to a specific trigger.

The feliway diffusers can seem quite expensive - but its worth it if it stops the problem Shop around online - I think I got mine from ebay in the end. Also, I only needed one cycle of it - it's not a permanent fixture!

Good luck

knithappens

I pick up 2 8 week old kittens tomorrow. Cant wait. I have never had kittens before always Young cats from a shelter, so I am new to the whole kitten thing. Already contacted vet, and started ringing around for quotes for insurance.

They are already litter trained, but not sure where to put litter tray, hubby says in the bathroom, but i am worried with them being so small they wont make it upstairs in time if they need to go.

Is the bathroom a good idea??
I was then thinking maybe while they are small and before i start letting them out, one upstairs and one down??

Is this a good idea or not?

My other question is which is the best economical kitty litter??

I went to buy some yesterday and got so confused with the all that was on offer.

Lats question ( promise lol)

for now i have a normal litter tray, when will they be old enough to use the enclosed litter trays the ones with the doors?

Any info would be really appreciated. I will post pics of my new babies tomorrow when i get a chance.

I cant wait to bring them home.