# Naughty cat...... at the end of my tether!!



## strawbs (May 16, 2005)

I have 2 cats, one is 4 and the other is 7.  My 7 year old is soooo naughty I have had it with him.  When he was little he had lots of problems with his bowels, getting blockages and impacted faeces, this flares up 2-3 times per year when a trip to the vet and they sort it out.  However, he generally poos for attention so even when he has not got a problem he will poo on the floor.  They are generally indoor cats but I do let them out in the garden a bit, my naughty cat ran away for 5days recently after a play in the garden, but came back safely.  My other cat would not survive a night outside he really isn't that streetwise.

My 7 year old scratches constantly at the furniture, my 2 year old carpet on the stairs is now threadbare and my dining chairs and leather sofa ruined.  They have toys and scrathing posts and each other for company, my other cat does none of this.  He is also very aggressive, lashing out when you try and pick him up and lashing out at my toddler (he is much less aggressive with me than anyone else and can be very cuddly with me)

Just now for instance, I heard him scratching at the french doors in the dining room and knew he had done a poo, so ran in and dealt with it (making me wretch violently as am 14weeks pg), so I dealt with that, cleared everything away and then found my toddler looking at another poo in a diffenrent place which he was about to touch a fesh one he had just done 2 poos.  I am soooooo cross as had just cleaned the litter tray 15m previously, it is never dirty as son as I see a poo it is dealt with.  Bearing in mind not even MEAnt to be touching poo.

I just don't know what to do.  He is gettign worse, he scratches at the doors at night and is just so disruptive.  i do love him but am getting fed up, I dread what it will be like dealing with him and 2 babies.  DH is pretty non plussed by either of the cats.  My other cat totally loves him

PLease help

strawbs xx


----------



## Stalyvegas (Oct 14, 2007)

Strawbs
          wish I could be of help, but I cant - and you probably wont like what im about to write....  I had very similar issues with my chocolate lab. He would still insist on peeing/pooing in the house, we even cut a hole in the kitchen, put a new door in just so we could have a dog flap....  

Nothing helped, I had a toddler and just couldnt have it going on - the obvious hygiene issues, plus I was getting so distressed as I was so stressed about even coming downstairs in the morning to face the kitchen floor  .

When we decided to try for DD2 we made the other decision to rehome him to somewhere he could be outside, and maybe have more attention. It was heartbreaking and we miss him very much, however it was the best decision for all of us.

R
xx


----------



## Orange Smartie (Dec 30, 2007)

Changes or worsening behaviour usually relate to increased stress for the cat.  He could be picking up on changes in the household and showing his distress. I would recommend the Cat Counsellor books for help on how to deal with these sorts of problems. I found them really helpful. 

We have a two year old furbaby who is a bit mad and the books helped me understand what was probably going on for him and reduce the stress he was under. Cats are usually very clean so pooing is a huge sign of protest. 

xxx


----------



## ♥ cat ♥ (Apr 13, 2003)

It could be that his litter tray reminds him of pain when he goes to the loo? I had a female cat that always seem to get a urine infection that would cause her to bleed. When this happened she would refuse to use her litter tray. I had to buy new litter trays and different cat litter. It worked! My two girls, both are sadly passed away, would scratch at my leather sofa's. I would cut there names with a toe nail clipper about once a week or so. It also cut down on unwanted claw marks everywhere. Maybe a good idea to take him to the vet to see if there may be any health issues? Is he a pedigree? can you let him out more often? 

Good luck and hope he comes around 

cat 

xx


----------



## Flavia (Oct 4, 2006)

Hi,

I have no suggestions other than what we did. We got 2 rescue kittens earlier this year but what the organisation didn't tell us until after we'd taken them on, they had been rescued from a house with no litter tray & the cats were using the sofa, so imagine our horror the morning after picking them up waking up to find dollops of cat poo all over the house, with a 6 month baby to look after too. Essentially I put litter trays or newspaper in all the major spots where they were responsible for leaving deposits & gave them limited access to various rooms - the spare room where they spent much of their time initially, & also the lounge/diner & kitchen, but they were excluded from our bedroom & Leo's room. Gradually they started hitting the target, & if I caught them in the act I would be cross with them. The litter trays were reduced & gradually brought downstairs & they are now completely garden trained. We're moving house in a couple of weeks so hoping this doesn't upset them & send them back to previous ways.

Good luck!

Flavia.


----------



## Sparklyone (Feb 25, 2009)

Just a thought but has your cat been neutered as this can sometimes help with agression. 

Your cat sounds v stressed rather then just plain naughty and I expect when you raise your voice, as it is enough to try the patience of a saint and everybody would, it just make the situation worse.

When my female cat was stressed especially when we moved and she would get cystitis and started squatting and peeing - she was perfectly trained and had never done this before. The vet suggested we bought an plug in diffuser thats is supposed to give out calming pheremones (I think thats right?) They are blinking expensive but they sell them at most vets including the refills. It worked and seemed to calm my cat down - if I see signs they are getting stressed I put it on for a few weeks. Just an idea. 

For scratching on furniture try tin foil as cats hate the noise and touching it and althoug I am not keen on them you can get funky coloured claw covers on ebay that are glued on and stop them being able to scratch things.

Big     as things like this can drive you crazy.

Sparklyone xx


----------



## strawbs (May 16, 2005)

Thanks for the tips ladies

i will def get the book as we need to try and sort this before the new arrival.  My cats are indoor cats as my younger one is pedigree and a bit dippy, he would follow the older one who is very streetwise and get squashed.  They have always been indoor cats as when we only had one we lived in a town centre above a shop!

I will also try the plug in that sounds great!!  Do you need one for each room they go in??

The vets is another matter, it is plain embarrasing when we go, chain mail gloves job so no examination possible, he will not be held even by a nurse and a vet without drawing lots of blood.  I know this stems from when he was little and was ill.

I never ever shout at him I just pick him up and put him out of the room, or push him away from the poo.  Shouting is a waste of energy esp with a cat!!

No poos other than in the tray today, they happen away from the tray 1-3 times per week usually.
Howvere he has obviously been ripping lumps of fur out of my other cat which are all over the house!!

will keep you posted

strawbs xx


----------



## Sparklyone (Feb 25, 2009)

I was advised to use the plug in where they spent most time - so for my outside cats this was near there food bowl! Sorry I cant remember the name but it comes in a blue box and vets stock them.


----------



## ♥Saila♥ (Mar 27, 2006)

Cat Attract cat litter is very good, we use it for one of ours that is a little on the dirty side.


----------



## Honeywitch (Dec 16, 2008)

Hi
It's true about protest poo and stress. My Bengal, who had IBS but was very clean around the house used to poo on our bed when he was upset - once when we took in a rescue he hated, once when there was a fox outside, once when there was a cat in our street that he kept fihghting with. Sounds like you may have a neighbourrhhod bully out there, so keep him in, change your litter trays to cpovered ones if you haven't already, put a scratching post in each room, and make suree there are few places he can go by himself (little catbeds in windowsills etc.) Finally, spray all the poo and scratch places with feliway. This is brill - it is a cat happy hormone that you can get from your vet or pets at home. Play with him for 20 minutes a day with a piece of string to make up for not going outside and you should have a much happier more secure cat.  

Later, when he is clean in the house you can try letting him out again, as the bully may have moved on, or you can give him supervised garden visits or a run.

By the way, I have 7 kittens right now so have to clean litter trays but could be preg, so I use latex gloves, and I clean my hands with antibacterial soap using the swineflu method every time - hope that helps. I do the same thing when gardening.


Best of luck!


----------



## strawbs (May 16, 2005)

update...well..................saw the vet for my cat's booster, as usual he had to be taken to the back room and ended up drawing blood, the vet suggested letting him out more (not my other cat) and gave him some zyklene which is a milk based natural product which is something to do with an enzyme they release when they are kittens after having a feed, they seem to be working.  Less scratching at the doors all night, has only scratched once in 5days and he went to the cattery for 4days and seh said he was noticeably calmer.  they cost a fortune at £1 per day, but so far so good.

No more poo incidents (touch wood), tomorrow will be atest as just back from cattery and I am out at work all day

strawbs xx


----------

