I've spent over $300 this week on my cat, Jasper, who is currently lying, uber pissed off, in a dog kennel/cage right now in our living room.
Why? Because he peed. A total of three times on my bed, four times on the couch, once on my new roomie E's bed and then, the kicker: on a comforter on my bedroom floor while Pough & I were trying to sleep.
I brought him to the vet first ($289) who didn't believe me and E when we said that he doesn't eat very much (Jasper is 20 pounds, which for a cat is obese) and then critiqued my theory that all these problems could medical. So he suggested a diet for Jas, switching him from dry to wet cat food (wet food apparently has half the calories of dry. Who knew?).
"We'll do the Xrays and the tests," said the vet, "But it's probably an emotional problem. We can prescribe him Valium..."
Umm, excuse me? Valium? FOR A CAT? I can think of many reasons this is a super bad idea, starting with the fact that I could theoretically take all the Valium (I am, after all, 6 times Jasper's weight exactly). When we walked out, E offered up this info that her mom's cat is on Xanax...
Jesus. So faced with the Valium prescription and a stern lecture on Jasper's dental health (very, very bad) I went home. Jasper was sweet the rest of the day, but promptly peed the next morning on my bed. Can you imagine? It's Monday morning, and I have to haul all three of my comforters to the laundromat (including one I just got back from the laundry last week) all because my cat is angry???
After I went to work, I emailed the lady I got Jasper from, who is part of a nonprofit pet adoption agency in Pennsylvania. She suggested the cage idea. Get a dog kennel, put his food and a small litter box in there, and leave him locked up for a week. (Target: $60).
The theory is that he'll learn that he HAS to pee in his cat box, else he sits in his own excrement all day. I'm the perfect jailer, and am determined not to change the towel on the bottom of our little Guantanamo Bay. I don't even speak to him when I put more food and water in.
If this punishment doesn't work, the lady I adopted him from said we could do a kitty exchange for one that would be more appropriate living here. I'm happy to do that, but sad to lose my big, fat, angry cat.
Pictures to come tomorrow... does anyone else find this situation completely ridiculous?
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4 comments:
Happened to a friend of mine all the time. He got his cat as a kitten, then after about 8mo, the cat started peeing on his bed for no reason! They think it's a territory thing. It began when a new girl (one the cat hadn't met before) showed up. My friend's girlfriend! Unfortunately, they were long distance, and while he'd been out to see her, she hadn't been out to see him yet. Anyway, the cat began peeing on the bed after that. It may be that your cat feels threatened by your new roommate, and maybe Pough, that's why he pees on the bed, where you guys sleep, it's a marking of territory.
There are a couple things you can try: rub dryer sheets on the cat and on the new people. The same smell on him and on them might reassure him. Also, you can buy these air-hormone release things that are supposed to work. Ask the vet about it. One other suggestion has been to put tin foil on your bed, not the whole bed, just the specific spot the cat is peeing they don't like tin foil for some reason -- it's another territory thing if it's the same spot each time. Finally, let me know if you want more suggestions and I'll give you the blog of my friend (Tidy) and ask if it's OK if you e-mail him. He may have solved the problem...
I've had favorite cats pee in my closet from time to time. They stop eventually, but good luck with the box. Might make the fat angry cat angrier, though. It's pretty boring here in LA when you're nearing 10 months of pregnancy (baby any day now), so thank you much for the laugh! I can't wait to get another cat!
I have my own personalized cat cage. It is much cheaper and nicer compare to any cat cage on a store. The cage would be surely great if it's hand made and designed by the owner itself.
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