Bassetluv
Well-Known Member
I'll have to post this and run since I'm at work, but am hoping someone can give me some suggestions on what to do about my cat, Fritz. (Seniorcats, maybe you have some great ideas on this one.)
A bit of background: Fritz has been with me since he was almost a year old. He came from a couple who used to let him outdoors all day because they didn't want to deal with litterbox issues. He became very attached to my son and I, and would come upstairs onto our back balcony and wait for us to come home, then wouldn't want to leave. A day came when he was almost a year old though...he had been hit by a car and literally pulled his body all the way up to our apartment and waited there, in pain, until my son found him. When the owners decided they didn't want to fork out money for vet bills, I asked to take him. So I borrowed money from relatives - since I was a single mom and had lost my job not too far prior to this - and paid for surgery for Fritz. It turned into two costly surgeries, but he was finally healed. And he was ours.
Problem: I had intended on making Fritz an indoor cat, but he was always so used to going outdoors that he got into the habit of urinating on anything he could find - or in corners - when frustrated that he couldn't go outside. I've tried I think 3 times in the past to turn him into an indoor cat with no success...my frustration eventually leads me to letting him outdoors. Now recently (about a month ago) a neighbor complained that Fritz has been going over to his property and urinating against a window, so I decided that was it; no matter what, I had to keep him indoors.
And this leads to where I am today. Fritz is once again urinating indoors, much to my chagrin. He uses the litterbox, but when he gets frustrated he will urinate on anything, and I've had to keep him confined to only two rooms...the kitchen and the back porch. My poor kitchen though, is now starting to smell of cat constantly. I use Nature's Miracle and scrub, and what I can smell goes away, but it doesn't deter him from going again.
Is there truly any product out there, or any method, that can discourage a cat from urinating inappropriately? Fritz is 14 years old and a beloved family member, so I simply cannot 'give him away' or 'take him to the shelter' as some people here have suggested. But his habits are driving me crazy and making life miserable. :sigh:
A bit of background: Fritz has been with me since he was almost a year old. He came from a couple who used to let him outdoors all day because they didn't want to deal with litterbox issues. He became very attached to my son and I, and would come upstairs onto our back balcony and wait for us to come home, then wouldn't want to leave. A day came when he was almost a year old though...he had been hit by a car and literally pulled his body all the way up to our apartment and waited there, in pain, until my son found him. When the owners decided they didn't want to fork out money for vet bills, I asked to take him. So I borrowed money from relatives - since I was a single mom and had lost my job not too far prior to this - and paid for surgery for Fritz. It turned into two costly surgeries, but he was finally healed. And he was ours.
Problem: I had intended on making Fritz an indoor cat, but he was always so used to going outdoors that he got into the habit of urinating on anything he could find - or in corners - when frustrated that he couldn't go outside. I've tried I think 3 times in the past to turn him into an indoor cat with no success...my frustration eventually leads me to letting him outdoors. Now recently (about a month ago) a neighbor complained that Fritz has been going over to his property and urinating against a window, so I decided that was it; no matter what, I had to keep him indoors.
And this leads to where I am today. Fritz is once again urinating indoors, much to my chagrin. He uses the litterbox, but when he gets frustrated he will urinate on anything, and I've had to keep him confined to only two rooms...the kitchen and the back porch. My poor kitchen though, is now starting to smell of cat constantly. I use Nature's Miracle and scrub, and what I can smell goes away, but it doesn't deter him from going again.
Is there truly any product out there, or any method, that can discourage a cat from urinating inappropriately? Fritz is 14 years old and a beloved family member, so I simply cannot 'give him away' or 'take him to the shelter' as some people here have suggested. But his habits are driving me crazy and making life miserable. :sigh:
). Fritz is 14, and I had him neutered a few months after I took him in, once he had recovered from his accident surgeries. I also had him tested years ago for feline leukemia (though that was several years ago). The urinating is not new behavior though; it's something he's been doing ever since he was a young cat. He does it whenever he can't get access to the outdoors. He does use the litter box as a rule, but when frustrated he will pace the house and try opening doors, and when enough time passes he will urinate somewhere, once he realizes he can't get out. If allowed outdoors, he's fine when he comes inside - though the habit of urinating on piles of clothing (or anything soft) would still sometimes happen. I do use Nature's Miracle to clean where he goes, and find it does a great job of getting rid of the initial odor, but my kitchen is also very old and the floor is wood, so when Fritz goes there the urine gets into cracks and is hard to clean up. (Oh, and I have two cats Ann...but only one litter box. I'd have two but have absolutely no room for another. The litter box I have is covered - because Fritz has a habit of standing and spraying sometimes), and it's in a tiny back porch. I'd love to have a second one, but unless I put it in my bed with me, I can't find a space for a second one. :biggrin2
