Hey,you dont need my approval. I commend you for dealing with it this long. That is one problem I find disgusting and I could never put up with it.

I feel for you. You have been dealing with this problem cat for a long time. I am one of the people who would euthanize a cat if I had one that was doing what yours does. A cat that is rehomed (which you basically did putting the cat in the carriage house) will continue peeing. So, rehoming will only mean that someone else will eventually put the cat down or take it to a shelter. We have had this discussion on this thread before and I have been slammed for my opinion. I am still feeling the same way.

Basically, you need to decide if you want your house to smell like cat pee. That is the reality in your situation, and I have been following your problem since these discussions on euthanasia and inappropriate cat peeing began. I am not sure who the poster was last year that had the same problem.

You are definitely going to get responses.

I wish you peace in your decision.

How long did you try Clomicalm? It takes at least 30 days to begin to show an effect and more before you can declare failure. I suggested amitryptline or clomicalm on 9/29. If you took her back to the vet for an RX in early October, you would be at the 30 day point now and should not have been taken off of it weeks ago. It's not a 2 day and see the results type of drug. Give it a 60 to 90 day trial and then gradual tapering off, or keep her on it forever.

My sister has one cat and four cat boxes throughout her home. He used to be a real problem. Having four always-clean boxes has solved his problems. He always goes IN the box. Sis would like to remove one box, but I suggested she not give kitty an excuse to backslide.

7 years ago my daughter found a beautiful Maine Coon Cat wandering down a heavily traveled road. When we couldn't find her owner, we kept her. A few months after bringing her in she started peeing outside the litter box, on clothing and beds. The vet couldn't find any problem and my family figured this was the reason she was kicked out of her last home. Meds did nothing.

In desparation I bought a medium sized dog crate which was big enough for her litter box, food and water bowls and for her. Whenever we couldn't monitor her, Lyla was crated. For the first year, she spent an awful lot of time in that crate, but it was better than the alternative. Slowly she gained more freedom, but if she had any backslides, it was back in the crate. I cleaned her litterbox twice a day and we found that she liked a big open box best, whereas my other cats do fine with a covered box. After a couple of years, she would pee outside the box only if she was stressed and it was down to about once or twice a year. Lyla died earlier this year at age 13. I miss her, she was a sweet, sweet cat, but I don't miss the messes.

Like Cynthia, I was about to ask how long you tried the Clomicalm for. It takes at least a month to take effect. You can't just do it for a week and then give up.

If you intend to keep her, I would buy a cat enclosure and keep her in it.......inside the house. She'll have her privacy, room to move around, and a high perch to keep an eye on things. You could let her out every now and then for more exercise.

Check around on craigslist, ebay, etc., for better prices.

Here is a link that might be useful: cat cage

Is there anyway to make her an indoor/outdoor cat from the carriage house or the furnace room? I know a lot of people think this is wrong but it would be a better life than being locked in a cage or a furnace room and the outdoors would be one big litter box for her :-).
If you can stand her peeing in the carriage house, just buy her a heated bed and keep her out there. Will she use a litter box in the furnace room or are you going to have to clean up after her in there?
My parents had one of these cats and it was a relief when she died (of old age.) She was a rescue cat and I think her problem was that she was bullied and preferred not to chance being caught in the litter box or while going out the cat door. By the end, she would just go in the middle of the path or on the deck or even on the couch that she was sleeping on. Weird behavior for a cat. (My cat won't go if someone is looking at her and spends ten minutes covering it up.)
You could try to find her a new home where she would be an only cat. I took in a pee-er once and he never had an accident in my house; he was just miserable where he was (a house full of punk rock teenagers.)

Maddie will be going to the furnace room this afternoon. I am so tired of dancing around her. She was brought in almost 24 hours ago and she used the litter boxes at first..one for pooping and one for peeing. After that she regressed. And it's not because of other cats as they basically ignore her, and if that was the problem, how do you explain she pooped three inches from her CLEAN box every day in the carriage house and peed on rugs and other places and she was alone? I left her up last night. This morning she had peed on a napkin my husband must have dropped this morning..saturating that, peed a small amount on another rug on the kitchen, (the other rug was washed and hanging on the line to dry), and pooped directly beside the big litter box in the sunroom and peed in the tray the litter box sits. I know it was her who did it since in all the many weeks she wasn't here NO accidents of any kind occurred. I tied the Clomicalm the month of Oct. and tried Feliway as well..She is a passive cat with little personality. She is not timid OR aggressive, and gets along with other cats who don't view her as a threat. I have had 15 cats from the late 60's -early 70's and have never had this problem except many years ago with two altered males I got w/in a few months of each other. They just had pissing contests to establish authority and both lived to 16 and died w/in week of each other. That behavior worked itself out with the yellow cat winning top cat spot. With Maddie , it's been going on for years now and we never knew who was doing it till I did the test.I can't bring myself to euthanize her. All my cats have died of old age except Emma who had renal failure.

We had the same problem with a feral and her 2 babies we rescued, it's a difficult situation to deal with. Feliway finally worked for us, I am sorry it's not working for your kitty.

labmomma-I was one of the people who was having the peeing cat problem and got reamed out more than once about putting her down! I still have her and thought she was doing better.She has only peed on my bed maybe 5 times in the last 3 months. Then a few days ago I discovered she is peeing on the carpet next to the commode in my bathroom and it reeks of cat pee.This time I really think her days are numbered.
Lily-I know it is a hard thing to do but as labmomma and plasticgarden said,you have done your best.I still face that decision and even though I am sick and tired of the peeing and my house smelling like cat pee,like you,I can't bring myself to do it.If there had been someone around to take her when I was changing sheets at 1&2 AM it would have been a lot easier!LOL I feel for you.

No one WANTS to have to put down an animal...but in situations like these,when no one else is going to want to take the animal,sometimes you dont have a choice if the peeing/pooping is interfering with your own quality of life.
lily,I'm so sorry you have to go through this.My cat has never done it,but there may come a time when he does when he is old or something.Like you,I will try all I can to stop it or make it better.My cat is a member of the family.But sometimes,there just is no other option.I dont judge anyone who has to do it.It is not an easy decision.

Thanks for understanding. When Maddie is in the house, she does interfere with the quality of my life. Like today, I cleaned two rugs and then sprayed everything with Natures Miracle and even scrubbed the wood floor with a half lemon. I washed off the litter box tray with Lysol and now everything smells fresh again.>>Lilliepad..That's the thing. They pee and you don't know it because who goes around with a black light? But all of a sudden you smell it and realize it's been happening a longer time than you thought as was the case here. I knew the places Maddie soiled in the kitchen but didn't know about the sunroom and the place behind the french door. I'm always here for my cats and someone said they'd like to come back in their next life as one of my felines. That's why I feel bad for Maddie altho she doesn't interact much with people or other cats. She's toasty warm and right under our keeping room so she hears all the house sounds and i go down and visit often. But the guilt is still there.

My cat stated doing both #1 and #2 on a throw rug in the kitchen. I threw out the rug and the begavior stopped. She also likes to use potted plants. For that,I put river rocks on top of the soil. I think she's trying to tell me something . . .

Clomicalm should NEVER be stopped abruptly! That is RX only from your vet and she would have had bloodwork and urinary tests before starting. Clomicalm must be tapered off gradually, and no vet would agree to medicating the cat for 30 days and then completely stopping the drug. If she had taken Clomicalm during the month of October, she would still be on it at a lower dosage. So I suspect that perhaps you were using something OTC. Please get her into the vet, run tests and then try Clomicalm or amitryptline for a good long trial working with your vet. What can you possible have to lose?

The cat in the carriage house who moved to the furnace room is now upstairs with the rest of the cats. She has periodical "time outs" in the furnace room for a few minutes at a time in case she needs to use the box in there but so far so good. It could all change in an instant because as we all know, cats have their own agenda.

Dear Lily,
I feel for you. I had 2 cats over the age of 13 that I had to put to sleep October 26, 2007. I miss them so much. They were brother and sister. Jagger was dying of diabetes. He used to be a big fat cat(which is what caused his diabetes) He was diagnosed last December. He needed insulin shots twice a day and was on a prescription cat food diet($17 a bag) Needless to say, this treatment did not work and was very expensive due to having to go to the vet every few weeks just to be told the treatment was not working. He was dying right before my eyes...he even quit going upstairs and would just lay on the kitchen floor breathing very fast. I miss him so much, but am at peace with my decision.
Anna on the other hand had a peeing problem. She always did. Every apartment I lived in, she would find a "pee corner" Yet, she also used the litterbox. About 2 years ago, she was peeing in the corner of the dining room of the apartment we live in. It was so bad, they ripped up the carpet and put vinyl flooring in. She stopped for the most part after that, but occasionally, she would pee behind the TV or pee in the dining room. A couple months ago she started peeing in the living room at the bottom of the steps. I would scrub the carpet after each time, but the smell got so bad, it hurt my throat. I had the carpets professionally cleaned and she did it again! My 6 year old son stepped in it. The next morning she peed all over a throw pillow in the living room. My house smelled and her pee areas were expanding. It definitely was not Jagger, it was Anna...we would catch her sometimes right when she was getting ready to pee. The vet told me we could try so medicine, but it may not work. I'm sorry, but we have already spent too much money on one cat and treatment did not work...we cannot afford to try treatments on a 13 year old cat that may or may not work. We live in an apartment pay check to pay check and have 2 kids to support, and are deep in debt. I had made the HARDEST decision I have ever made, and had her put to sleep as well. The guilt was unbearable...I am just starting the healing process. Whenever I find their hair on something I start to cry.
I have had cats all my life that have lived to be 18-20 yrs old that have died of old age. I have never had to put an animal to sleep, let alone 2 the same day. I truly believe that Anna would not have stopped her peeing. I loved her for over 13 years. I felt like I tried everything...I literally agonized over this decision. I do not wish it on anyone. But, I hit my breaking point. I came across this website and saw what "labmomma" had posted in another discussion and I felt like someone knew what I was going through. I thank her for that! I was devastated. I hope you find a solution to your problem and wish you strength. I know whatever you decide will not be easy.
Good Luck

cynthia, if you get a chance, could you send me an email (click on my name to get to the email form). I wanted to send you an email, but you don't have that option turned on.

k_mway..Your Anna sounds just like Maddie. I too have had cats almost all of my adult life..probably 15 in all and have never had a cat like Maddie. I've had her since she was 6 weeks old..my one and only cat I got from an ad in the paper. Everyone since then has been a rescue.No one has ever peed and pooped indiscriminately like she has. My two males years ago had a very few episodes but she has been at it mostly all her life. It was only when I isolated her, did I realize that it was she who created all the problems and the house with 6 cats smelled like a house with no cats. She never had a traumatic monent in her life like some of my others have had. No one fights with her or bullies her. She'll be 16 but my old guy will be 19 next b-day and just walked in and peed in the box like he always does. Never has he in all his years not done that. And he's frail and arthritic. It's the number one reason why cats are given up. It must have been hard for you to make that decision. I doubt I could but who knows. At least she's warm now. The carriage house has no heat.