Cat problems, help please!

[smurfybabe]

We've been having a problem with one of our cats recently and DH mentioned something about putting him down, but I don't think I'd ever be able to bring myself to do that! So, I need some help.
We have three cats, they range from 3-7 years. This is the oldest cat. They've always gotten along fine, but back in December I came home one day and the oldest cat was hiding behind the couch and hissing at the other cats. We took him to the vet and he did have a UTI, so we treated it and hoped it would help. It didn't. We let him stay in the bathroom alone for a while and now he barely leaves it. He only wanders into my sons playroom where he pees and poops on the floor alot. We've had to throw out towels from the bathroom and a rug in my sons playroom because the cat peed on them. He's been to the vet a few times since the UTI and they never find anything wrong with him. Last week I thought he was getting better because he actually came upstairs and laid in bed with me (used to sleep with me all the time before that day in December), but then I saw him hissing/growling at the other cats when they came near the bathroom. I can live with him staying in the bathroom to avoid the other cats (though it's not preferred cos I can't imagine it's real comfortable), but we can't deal with the cat pee and poop on rugs/towels/blankets/clothes anymore! We even had to get a hamper with a lid on it cos he would climb in the hamper and pee on the dirty laundry. We've tried changing kitty litters and got him his own litter box in the bathroom (the others are in the basement). What else can we try?

[Zoebird]

Instead of putting him down, I would consider rehoming him with a family with older (12 yo +) kids or with a family without children.

[mattj]

You might try a product called Feliway... it plugs into an outlet like one of those airfreshners and is supposed to emit a "everything's okay" cat pheremone. It is pricey.

[Wildflower]

You might try a product called Feliway... it plugs into an outlet like one of those airfreshners and is supposed to emit a "everything's okay" cat pheremone. It is pricey.

This is a good product. My DD used it with her cat. Doesn't work for all cats though. Her vet also gave her a prescription for kitty Prozac, which has been very helpful.

I think your cat must associate the pain he experienced with the UTI with your other cats and that's why he doesn't want to be near them anymore... I think the above products would help him to mellow out.

If all else fails rehome him to a home without young kids or other pets. We had a cat years ago that peed and pooped on everything. We had young children at the time and other cats. When he was the only pet in his new home he was fine. And he went back to using his litter box consistently. Apparently he was really stressed at our house, which I can understand since I was stressed at the time too! :)

[Zoebird]

my friends have the feliway and it didn't work for their cat, who is now on prescription medication. ultimately, they had to rehome the cat that caused the "problem" by just moving in. He was such a great cat, though, so he was easy to rehome.

[Miss Cellane]

In no particular order:

Go to another vet and get a second opinion.

Give the cat some special time just with you every day for about 10 minutes. If you can make it the same time every day, you will be able to see if the cat starts looking for you, which is a sign that he wants/needs the extra pets.

Shut him up in the bathroom. If he isn't peeing and pooping outside the box when he's in the bathroom, try 2 weeks of solitary confinement in there. He may retrain himself to use the litter box all the time.

Try the Feliaway.

Try the kitty Prozac.

Clean everywhere and everything he has ever peed or pooped on with an enzymatic cleaner, like Nature's Miracle. Ordinary cleaners don't get all the smell out--we can't smell it anymore, but the cats can, and they tend to pee where they have peed before.

Cat dominance can change over time. He may just never be able to hang around with the other cats again. In which case, rehoming is the humane thing to do.

[CathyA]

Has the vet checked for various other problems, like diabetes, hyperthyroid, etc?
I agree.....I would get a second opinion.

[setis]

Was the cat given Amoxi...... for uti?My dd is a vet tech and she questioned medicine.

[smurfybabe]

Thank you for all the great tips. We will keep him in the bathroom and make time to visit him and sit with him for a while. I will also ask around for another vet. I'm not sure what med he was on for the UTI since it was a while ago and DH takes care of that stuff!

[Gingerella72]

I have to second (or third?) the kitty prozac. Our little Runty girl continually peed on everything - the floor, the couch, our bed, clothes in a basket, even in the kitchen sink. We had her tested multiple times for infections, tried feliway, tried retraining her to use the litter box (which seemed pointless because she still used the box, in addition to everywhere else). She's always been a twitchy, high strung cat and so out of desperation we tried the prozac. Instant improvement. As long as it keeps working we'll never take her off it. She gets along better with our other 3 cats now too.

If you decide to try it ask your vet for the liquid form - much easier to administer, especially if you use canned food - just squirt it on the food.

[Tammy]

i would find him another home, where he can be an outside cat. I just could not tolerate the urine and feces in the house like that. but then I grew up on a farm, and I still believe animals should live outside, and people inside. ;)