You need to understand some things about feline psychology. First and foremost (and this is something you should have researched and known long before you ever adopted a feline) is that they do not generally respond well to change. Your little girl was obviously badly stressed by your absence, and she demonstrated that stress in a manner perfectly natural to cats. Your response to the stress that YOU put her under was to stress her even further by isolating her on the lanai and now debating whether to abandon her at a shelter because she was too stressed for your liking.

Your kitten needs loving attention and reassurance, not isolation, punishment, and abandonment. You caused this problem by not anticipating the stress your absence might cause. You have more of a responsibility to your kitten than you do to your furniture.

Clean the furniture. Love the kitten. Make better arrangements next time you leave her overnight.

Laurie

Also: if she's never done this before, it could be a symptom of urinary track infection. Because of the pain when they pee, they associate the littlerbox with pain, so they avoid it.

So try a vet before you make other arrangements.

When there is a drastic change in your cat's behavior, always consider a medical reason first.

I think it was the de clawing more then anything, de-clawed cats can develop all sorts of problems from biting, to litter box issues, to a unstoppable weakening of their muscles and shoulders, when a cat flexs his/her claws on a tree/scratching post it is also excersing itself. Ddeclawing has been compared to hacking off the fingers first digit from the hands and is outlawed in many area outside the us. she is now 75% defenseless if she ever gets out too. www.Felinefuture.com is a great site to learn about de clawing and what it really does to the cat.

Sadly there's really nothing you can do now to stop this muscle weakening, or the problems that may result, if it was the vet told you to do this when fixing her, i'd find her a new vet. Sense the cat is so young, she may learn to live with this but if the behavior issues don't improve i'd put her down.

sorry.

the saddest thing of all is, this wasn't even needed,there is something called soft paws you could have used, its a nail cap that goes over the claws to prevent them from scratching things, kittens- all kittens claw stuff its natural.

Like I said though, its different for each cat, some adapt well to being handicapped others not so good.

Am I missing something? You left an animal alone for 36 hours, still a young kitten really, and you are upset enough to take her to the pound where she will almost certainly be killed?

Unless I missed something in your other posts, and I probably did, you need a lesson pronto in what it means to be a responsible, loving provider for a pet.
Your baby cat was anxious, fearful and stressed. The fault is yours not hers.
Did she have other company during that period?

Do NOT take her to the shelter. She doesn't deserve to die just because you can't handle a cat. Find her a new home. And don't get another cat.

Just so you know, she doesn't understand why she was banished to the lanai. She may know she's being punished, but she doesn't know what for, so the punishment is meaningless. Clean the leather and put aluminum foil on it until you find her a new home.

It has all been said very clearly...
And all that for leather furniture??? so easy to clean!
I wonder what your reaction would have been if she had used your bed for a litter box!!
Your kitten needs LOVE, not punishment (and yes, having her declawed was very cruel-and may cause this problem. Don't blame her!
Anne-Marie

I hope you and your husband never plan on having children.

Considering taking this baby kitty to the Humane Society because she was scared and confused? You have some issues you need to work out before you are ready to be a pet owner. I clean up daily after a missed litterbox, barfing from eating too fast, and I do it with a smile because the joy these kitties give me far outweighs the cleaning up their messes.

You need to find this baby a new, loving home immediately.

I'm going to be rude and say what some of us are thinking...some people just shouldn't own pets.

You got a cat, and then apparently got it declawed, which is traumatizing and incredibly inhumane (and should only be done in extreme circumstances -- not to protect your precious leather furniture). Then went on vacation, and when the cat expressed its understandable vexation at your absence, your first response is to 1) banish it, and 2) consider taking it to the humane society?

I agree with the others here...find another home for the cat. You clearly have a cat that needs a lot of love and attention, and it's entirely possible that the cat may pee on your furniture again. That's part of pet ownership -- pee, barf, little poo-nuggets left in the middle of the floor, occasional scratching where they shouldn't, climbing on counters and knocking things over, hair covering everything you own, etc. If you can't accept that and learn to live with a certain amount of all of that, then you shouldn't own a pet.

I can't believe that you love or even like your cat. The joy and responsibility of having an animal comes with realizing they are not perfect and accepting that. They will do things wrong, especially when they are young, and they may express their emotions such as feeling abandoned in ways you may not like.

I found your post horrifying, and I am afraid your cat is living on borrowed time. By all means, take the advice so many have already given you and find your cat a home where she will be happy with patient, loving people. She deserves a chance which you don't seem able to give her.

One last thing--if your husband leaves the toilet seat up or you get a ding in the car door, do either of you get banished to the lanai? Or do you go straight for the divorce?

Poor cat.

Surely, in this case, the animals of the human persuasion need to be banned to the lanai until further notice, and not the cat!

Cats can be very sensitive. Being left alone for that long, especially if for the first time, can be traumatic. Yikes, when I left our newly adopted stray alone just long enough for me to go to a doctor's visit, I thought that he would NEVER get over it upon my return. (He sang the whole Meow Mix theme song over and over for 5 minutes.) The next time? He didn't care a bit. (Almost hurt my feelings, if you wanna know, lol.)

But a deeper look at jgirl's remarks are warranted. She considers this behavior a 'problem' and states that they are considering taking her to the humane society. I suspect that this cat will never be able to earn her way back into the good graces of this family. I'd love to see them go to the effort of adopting her to a loving family themselves, rather than ditching her the pound.

As someone else stated: some people are simply not meant to have pets. At least, not at least without some serious training. For the HUMANS, not the pets.

Many, many people do not give enough credit to cats for having deep psychology, but they do. They are not mindless eating, peeing, sleeping machines.

I've got one book on cat care where the author discusses how traumatic it is for a cat to be left alone when the owners go away for even a day. She claims that by nightfall your cat may be very upset, fearing that the rest of its pack (you and your DH) were killed by predators. Being left alone by your pack can be a very taxing experience, especially when you are concerned about their safety and aren't very old to boot. Some might say that your cat is more concerned about your well being than you are about hers.

That said, my first thought is that she may have a bladder infection. Your isolating her won't help her either way. Poor kitty. Think about how you might feel in her situation and treat her accordingly with lots of love, reassurance, and maybe a trip to the vet's. Cat's are very sensitive and deep creatures, not like throw pillows that are there purely for decoration.

I think this poster is only looking to rile things up with us animal lovers, if she cared at all she would have replied, I say we either ignore it or get a staff that runs the forums to errace it.

Your kitty may have been so stressed that it actually caused her some physical bladder problems. If she continues to mess outside her box, be sure to have a vet check her out. Sometimes when they do something like that, they're trying to tell you they don't feel well.

She may be stressed and just 'talking' to you, but I'm not one who buys into retaliatory behavior from cats.

Here's some info re urinary troubles and other possible stress reasons for doing that:

Here is a link that might be useful: Felines - FUS & Marking Territory

perhaps the original poster hasn't answered or participated in the forum because of the attacks and abuse she's received from all the other posters.....

yes, our pets rely on us for everything, but some of us take longer than others to learn this....jgirl came to this forum for advice.....she ASKED if anyone had any experience with a similar problem......and i would ask all of you to re-read your responses.....

rather than offer your experience to an obviously new cat owner, you told her to never have kids.....

It's unconscionable that she would want to isolate the kitten and take him to the HS..Pet ownership means cleaning up pee, poop, and throw up. That's part of it. I had a cat who peed like this for years and I did not give her up. I was frustrated about her quirky personality but put up with it till she died a year ago at 15. You don't take your kids to an orphanage when they misbehave...And this is leather..try cleaning rugs or beds.

I agree its unconscionable , plus she had it de-clawed, most people who do this to cats then leave them alone in a house for 36 hours are ether ignorant of the harm it does, or value their furniture more then their pets, in which case they should seek mental evaluation IMO. A leather sofa will NOT love you for life, will NOT meow loudly to get you out of a fire or dangerous situation, it will NOT show you how to be a better person

jgirl 2007 you are not going to get much sympathy here and curtainly not from me.

I agree that if I were her that I wouldn't want to respond or even continue reading this thread with some of the replies. While everyone is entitled to their own opinion, the fact that she came here asking for help shows that she wanted other avenues besides putting the kitten up for adoption. Otherwise the kitten would have gone straight to the shelter and there would be no post here.

My thoughts are that its DH who wants to get rid of the kitten and the OP came here for advice and support in defense of the kitten. I think this because if she was the one who wanted to get rid of it she would probably not be the one to post here, unless she's feeling guilty and wanted validation for what they want to do (which isn't likely on a pet forum).

jgirl_2007 please try to look past the strong opinions and see the advice that was given here. I met a volunteer from the local shelter last night who told me that they had over 100 kittens up for adoption and so many puppies that they had to put them in the kitten cages up front for viewing and move the kittens to the back. They ran out of food, litter, dish soap and many other supplies caring for these lost souls. It is this reality the sadness and angers many people and it breaks my heart to hear how the shelter is struggling. I'm seriously thinking of volunteering there since I can't give financially.

I have to agree with lbr and sweetchastity that little advice has been given but a few posters have offered suggestions on how to handle the problem including having the cat first vet checked. We need to remember that not every pet owner is aware there are other options to handling a behavioral problem beside taking them to a shelter or Humane Society.

My first thought when I read the post was 'what is she thinking'. Then sadly, I remember how little I knew as a young adult about the care and training of pets.
Thru books,TV and my belief that there was a better way, I learned how to become a better caregiver and
hopefully, with help from these forums, jgirl will learn to understand her cat's behavior and, if needed, treat it medically.
Again.....as I said earlier, it's not that uncommon for some owners to assume the only alternative is to get rid of the pet.

What a great post, Annz. I was a college student when I got my first cat, dear Miss Kitty. Oh how I wish I could have known then what I know now! I would leave her alone for days at a time, thinking that all a cat needed was a big bowl of dry food, water, and a litter box. She was such a wonderful cat to have put up with me. People mistakenly think that cats are independent, not realizing that when we take them under our care and into our homes, they remain in a blessed albeit un-natural state of kittenhood, depending on us to feed them, amuse them, and be close to them...like a surogate mother.

If jgirl is still checking out this thread, I would suggest (that besides the possibility of a UT infection that should be checked out by a vet), if she is still going out of the box, I would confine her to an area with a nice fresh litterbox, but not in an isolated area. Give her lots of attention, lots of play. She is still a kitten! And if you have to be away from home overnight, have someone come in at least once a day to spend time playing with her.

LF

Thank you to those of you that responded with advice and not attacks.
First of all I am not a first time cat owner - I have had them all my life. My last ones lived just shy of 18 years. So it's been a very long time since we had a little one in our home. My others (and there were 3) never exhibited this kind of behavior so again, this was a new one for us. Oh, and by the way, they were not declawed. I never said we had this one declawed but it appears that as usual people jump to assumptions and start throwing their stones.

Anyway, she remained on the lanai for about 30 minutes and has been back in the house since. Yesterday was fine but this am she went to the bathroom area rug and did it. It appears she's done it there before. During the day we've been keeping all bedroom doors closed but she does have the run of the main area of the house. At night, she sleeps with my daughter (and YES, I DO HAVE KIDS!) We've got an appt at the vet on saturday and hope it's just a UTI. We are fully aware that she might be just upset with us for leaving her overnight.

By the way, leather furniture can absorb liquids if left there and even if cleaned up immediately, the scent remains especially to the cat. I don't want my furniture or my home, for that matter, to smell like cat pee.

Again, thank you to those of you who posted kind words. To the others, sorry you feel that way.

glad you're still there jgirl....and glad you're not giving up....

cats peeing outside the litter box is the most common problem that cat people complain about....cat behaviourists and psycologists get rich from this single question!!

other than UTI, there could be many causes.....both physical and psychological....not necessarily punishment for you for having the nerve to leave her on her own....even just a change of preference of litter....location of the box....perhaps a tiny noise that you can't even detect has developed near the box and this makes visiting it uncomfortable for each and every visit.....so she takes the ocassional break from it and finds another place to pee.....it could just be a coincidence that it happened right after her "trauma"

once you've eliminated all the medical reasons, if you still have a puddle problem, i would recommend a little more time on google....it really is more common than any other problem out there!!

good luck!! if you learn anything new, let us know....

In your original message you did write you had her declawed:

She's 8 months old, always used the litter box, fixed and declawed.

petra......read it again. She didn't say she 'had' the cat declawed, only that it 'is' declawed.

I don't think there was anything wrong with my post re all of us needing to re-read our posts. I am recalling a few other things, after recovering from reading some of the responses --

Use unscented litter. Cats don't like fragrance and it will sometimes cause them to go elsewhere. This alone has solved the problem for some people.

Train her with potty box language and praise endlessly when she uses it. I find that they are eager pleasers and just 'love' to use their boxes when it brings praise and attention. My cats know all the language around potty boxes : ) It's actually kind of quality family time, lol.

Positive reinforcement works! much better than negative. Simply telling her she's bad is not enough. She needs to know what's good.

Make the litter box the best place in town to go! Clean throughout the day and routinely wash them as well.

I've got one kitty who has kneeded and pee'd on soft bathroom rugs when I put them down. Other than that, he's very diligent.

I have found that products containing clorox may trigger uti's. Discontinuance, in my early years, stopped the cystitis in my kitty and in my mother's cat also. So, I just never use those on the litter box or anywhere else they may get it on their feet.

Rescue centers or sites have long lists of recommendations on this common problem. I don't agree with everything they say, but maybe something you find there will make sense to your situation.

HTH : )

Kitty behavior is sometimes hard to understand. Since this coincided with your being away for more than the cat was used to, this is probably why she did it. If she is stressed and a UTI is ruled out, try Feliway. It might work. Make sure no lingering scent is present for the cat to re-mark. Good luck .As I said ,been there and it's not fun.

I would ditch the bathroom rug, or get it off the floor between uses for your bath/shower. Rugs and litterboxes are very similar to a cat (think of a child deciding between a bidet and a toilet).

I've only had one cat with peepee problems...I had a bathroom rug near the litterbox(in a very small bathroom) and she would pee on it instead of the litter box. Someone at my vets office made this suggestion: Cut a small two inch square off the peed on carpet. Throw the rest away. Wash the floor with plain Ivory soap. Put the pee-scented scrap into a clean box of litter. When I did this, it worked like a charm and Pumpkin never went outside her box again.
LF

Another thought regarding the rug and chair/sofa. Fortunately, I've had little of this happen, myself, but have noticed that when something has happened or someone I know is looking suspicious like they are seeking something out (if the box is dirty, say), it's something that has a similar shape to the litter box (not bad! but thinking litter box : ) A chair or rug is squarish and the chair/sofa has sides. An empty box or the bathtub might be target also.

You mentioned that someone else had the cat declawed, so if she's been bumped around a bit, I'm also wondering if she was feeling abandoned again, and more stress than the typical kitty over your absence. Another cat and petsitters when you leave is an idea. I could never board my cats, unless they had health issues, since they all have lost homes in the past.

One year I was packing to go on vacation and my kitty peed right on the rug next to the litter box while I was standing there. This is the only way I would have been able to see the blood in her urine. She did this a couple times over her life. It was her way of telling me she didn't feel well. Unbelievable. They are very smart : )

annz, thanks for pointing that out! "F" to me on reading comprehension. :o) I apologize, OP.

UPDATE:
We have been diligently working with her on the issue. Between DD and myself, we put her in the box every 30 min to hour and give her a treat if she does pee. So far, we've had nothing but success this week.

Until this am...she was squatting everywhere - beds, steps, wood floor, bath carpet and leaving just a few drops but some were bloody. So immediately called the vet as soon as they opened and got her in. Still waiting on their call for the diagnosis but at this point very confident it's the UTI. So I guess our leaving could have stressed her out which might have contributed to this.

Squirrelheaven.. thanks for the link. Great info!

There ya go. See, they're not just bad. She may be too uncomfortable so just tries to go wherever she is or may actually be trying to let you know she's having troubles.

As far as FUS/UTIs, she could have repeated occurrences in the future. A couple things you can do is to add water to canned food and eliminate the dry food. The dry food is a real trigger for two of mine. If she will only eat dry food, make sure it's formulated for that problem. Overall, dry food is not a good choice, though. With kitties who are prone to the condition, it most definitely can cause problems and in a short period of time.

Maybe a lot of dry food was left out while you were away? Maybe not what she usually eats, too?

Also be sure the potty box is convenient and there's one on each level, so she doesn't try to hold it. That can trigger problems also.

I'm glad it's figured out, anyway, and not a behavior problem. In the future, you'll be able to notice the signs pretty early, of her going to the box frequently or maybe talking more or even sleeping closer to the box for frequent use.

Would love to know what your vet visit is like and what is done, and how much you are charged, lol (compared to mine).

Good, I'm glad things are working out, I think its terrible someone did that to her- then gave you a cat with issue from that- sorry if we (including I was harsh, but I think it would be good to mention everything, that way we know what is going on)

I would try Innova EVO canned, Ziwi peak canned or Orijen- (but thats a dry only)

I am glad you are helping her, she deserves it. Too many pets are dumped at the pound or ASPCA because they did something their owner didn't like. I know my post was harsh, but I have been on here too long and have been a pet caretaker too often and seen many posts like yours that don't end up happily for the pet.

UTIs are common in cats and it may be a challenge to get her back in the litterbox (she may always associate it with painful urination) but you are good for encouraging her behavior with praise and treats.

Sorry I didn't post sooner with vet's diagnosis. She was running a low grade fever, blood & bacteria in urine. So vet gave her antibiotics (bubble gum flavor!!) She takes like a champ. So this was all on Thursday. Friday she did good but Saturday morning started sqatting all over the house again. Called vet as soon as they opened. They said it is still too soon to think the antibiotics aren't working. Wait it out the weekend and call them Monday am. If by then, no change then they may need to do an xray and check for blockage or stones or change meds.
She spent the day on the lanai (couldn't chase her around all day) and she loved it. Didn't want to come back in. And a squirrel was not so happy. He hung out upside on the screen 4 ft above where she was laying.
Today she is fine again with a few more days left on the meds. Hopefully this will do the trick.

Squirrelheaven - my vet is very reasonable (i think). Spaying is only $40. This last visit was $84 - 29 exam, 35 urinalysis, 20 antibiotics.

Wow, mine was about $300 the other day and I asked to wait on an x-ray this time. Previously, it averaged about $500 each for the three episodes of FUS (may have included a followup urinalysis). An exam alone is $50.

Try adding water to her food. My kitty started getting better as soon as I did this, before getting to the vet. They always give a dose of fluids to flush things also.

Glad to hear she made some improvement and is taking her pills. If mine has an infection this time it will be a battle!

In gen dry food, even a very good dry like Orijen is going to cause dental disease, dehydration at the very least. Dry food was created for the benefit of people- not the cats themselves, I'd skip on dry unless you are going away on vacation and have no one to check in on her food. You're already up for muscle issues, biting and potty trouble- but its not your fault, its the person who got/had the cat before you's fault. Some de-clawed cats never become biters and remain nice but I've heard of them biting/had a woman at my job get a bad bite last week and her cats were de-clawed. Kind of like owing a pitbull.

Because of the lack of defenses if a dog or a coyote gets ahold of your feline, she's history ALL de-clawed cats MUST be inside unless on leash and harness or in an enclosed space. Coyotes,especially they take any animal thats weak or sick, a cat thats handicapped, is fair game. Its the law of nature.

Did they draw the urine from her or was it a free catch? My vet won't do samples anymore. Urinalysis and also a culture of the urine. X-ray to check for stones. Fluids flushed through their system. Then other stuff like shave fanny, lol.

"my vet is very reasonable (i think). Spaying is only $40. This last visit was $84 - 29 exam, 35 urinalysis, 20 antibiotics."

Your vet certainly is reasonable, JGirl. You can't walk thru the door to say hello for less than $200.00 here...and that includes nothing.

I second Squirrelheaven's advice...try to sneak a little water in your cat's canned food. Hope your cat is on the mend.

LF

I'll make sure DD knows to add the water to the soft food. Thanks for sharing that.
DH was referred to this vet by the Humane Society and another cat rescue place. It's worth the extra drive to go there just for the savings. Besides, everyone there is really nice and love Mischa (kitty).

If you don't have immune diseases/ are not elderly or do not have young children - A raw diet is the best there is IMO. Your litter box issues will become easier to manage but there is a disease in cat poo if fed raw meat that can cause a woman to loose their baby- thats why I advise it against young children/mothers/ect. But its perfectly fine otherwise- just use latex gloves when cleaning litter box. I always wear them and I'm a guy with two cats that are not on this diet currently - due to parental control- My cat Leopalorn was on it for awhile though.. You will find you never need to worry about dental care- all the cleaning gets done by champing through the raw bones.

A kitten/young cat is easier to transfer to this- go to Felinefuture.com. To learn more. Raw fed cats is another good site.

For anyone else who's dealing with bladder problems, distilled water is also recommended.

For those dealing with cats that wont drink, you can try a product called cat sip it is lactose free milk and wont bother your cat at all. most of them love it and it is reasonably priced. A container of it will last me about 5 days for my kitten. It is a good way to keep them hydrated.