The FD said he caught someone in the act of using the couch as a litterbox last night . . .
I am sorry to say that mommy and the FD's suspicions were confirmed.
It was Ivy.
Ivy has a long and sordid history of ignoring the litterbox, especially for emotional reasons. Mommy and the FD have accepted this (when the incidents were on the easy-to-clean floor) but they are finding it harder to live with now that it is happening on the furniture.
Mommy and Grandmama took the crazy cat blurp (CCB) out shopping this past weekend and stopped by PetSmart and bought this.
It does work, kitties, in that the couch no longer smells like the zoo. However, it has NOT deterred Ivy from still doing her dirty deed on it.
Both mommy and grandmama checked out all of us kitties (before Ivy was caught) to make sure we seemed healthy and not sick. Mommy has gotten up close and personal with the poo and pee to make sure there didn't seem to be anything out of the ordinary about it. Everything checked out a-ok.
The FD has done his part by spending even more time with us kitties and playing with us and we have all gotten more nip lately, and mommy and the FD make sure to NEVER skimp on the kitty treats.
I'm afraid they are running out of ideas.
Mommy is ready to threaten Ivy with a trip to the V-E-T.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Caught in the Act!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
10 meows:
Has anything significant changed recently? If not, Ivy might be having pee problems, or maybe this is her way of saying she really doesn't like the litter your beans are supplying.
Is she just hitting the couch, or is she going other places as well?
If this is an emotional issue, have you tried the calming collars at Petsmart, also available at Amazon.com for around $12; you might want to put them on all kitties so they will all smell alike...Good luck...xo...J, Calle, Halle, Sukki
We had dis problem when Speedy had really skwirty poop, he was going on da BED! Mom covered it wif a plastic drop clothe (she had 3) to make it unappealing and easier to clean. Speedy haf IBD and needs speshul foods and we is betting dat Ivy haf some prollem wif her pee-er too!
Oh Ivy, what is wrong? Are you jealous of the blurpy girl? You should really try your best to use the litter box or you will get a trip to the v-e-t!
Good luck with this.
We're sorry Ivy is having some issues! You may want to take her to the v-e-t to make sure it isn't anything medical. If everything checks out and you think it's behavioral, you may want to try plugging in some Feliway diffusers around the house, make sure you have at least one litter box per cat, have you changed the type of litter recently? If so you might want to switch back. You can try the calming collars that Jacqueline mentions...some people claim to have good success with them; I tried it with Zoey and I think the jury is still out...my animal behaviorist doesn't put a lot of stock in the calming collars because the stuff that they put on the collars to calm is similar to feliway and feliway doesn't work that way, meaning breathing it in or putting in on the cat doesn't help, but it's worth a try; you could get some essences and put it in the cats' water (visit spiritessences.com).
We sure hope Ivy stops doing this.
Island Cats' mom
oH DEAR
Ivy we are sorry you are having this problem. (we are also going through this and we think it's two of our kitties)...
We really suggest getting some of those 'pee' pads from Walmart of Petsmart. Just to keep your sofa safe until you can get Ivy to change her behavior.
First step will be taking her to the vet, make sure there is nothing physical.
We will purr
xo
Abby
Oh no, poor Ivy (and poor you)! Those are some good suggestions above. We don't really have anything to add, except to say that we are purring and praying that you are able to figure out why poor Ivy is going on the couch.
Great suggestions up there.
It's definately worth getting Ivy checked out by a vet to first rule out any physical problem. A pee sample will show if there's a physical pee issue. Also an exam will show up if Ivy has any pain issues, which can also cause pee problems.
We cats have a unique stress response, if we pee where we shouldn't it can be our way of bringing your attention to us and what is bothering us. Also, stress physically affects our bladder linings and makes our bladder irritated sometimes, this can cause us to need to pee suddenly.
Have you had any changes in your home recently? Visitors, parties any kind of upset amongst the humans? Have you changed the furniture around? Remodelled or redecorated? Any recent visits by very small children (sometimes high pitched voices can really upset us as our hearing is much more sensitive than humans)Sometimes if we cats see other intruder cats outside through the window, this can be enough to unsettle us and make us insecure/worried and start peeing where we shouldn't. Sometimes humans get really upset and noisy when we do this peeing behaviour and it can make us pee more too.
Feliway comes in a spray form too as well as diffusers. Spray some at cat head height on all door ways, window frames, furniture and especially around the litter boxes and also where Ivy has peed. This should help her feel more secure if it's an anxiety issue causing her behaviour. Feliway makes our homes smell more like us even though humans can't smell it.
It's also worth having a look at the behaviour of the other cats too. Try adding more litter trays around the home (not in high human traffic areas though) Some cats like a private place to go, some like the tray in the open. One tray per cat plus one is a good guide. Obviously the litter must be kept really clean too. In homes where there are lots of cats, the dynamics are constantly changing, so keep an eye out for things like one cat maybe sitting in a doorway blocking the way of another cat - it might look innocent, but in cat language that's a bit of bullying going on. There might have been times when Ivy got ambushed using the tray or when she was leaving the tray, that's enough to put a cat off using a tray too.
Make sure Ivy has plenty of good hidey beds to chill out in too, high up is a good peaceful place where no humans (young or old) can get. We cats do like some serious private time.
Hope that helps and you can get to the root of Ivy's problem soon.
Best of luck
Whicky Wuudler
This could be an emotional reaction to the blurpy, but if it is something new, Ivy needs to go to the vet to rule out any problems.
Good luck.
You might check out Hansle's blog or ask his mom - if you haen't already. Tesle was peeing where she shouldn't.
http://theworldofhansel.blogspot.com/
Post a Comment