Conference misery::feline_v1

Has your vet ever treated Figaro for hormonal problems?  It seems that
altered cats sometimes get their hormones out of balance.  Our female 
cat Rainbow (RIP) had this problem, she sprayed, very much like a male
cat would do.  After checking & treating her for a urinary infection,
our vet put her on "doggie birth control" pills (that's what we called 
them, and I'm pretty sure that's what they actually are).  After about
a week & a half, she stopped spraying (at least in the house).

Sometimes, our cats wet where they're not supposed to, because they're
not happy with the condition of the litter box.  You might try changing
it more frequently, or adding another box.  Disinfect the boxes periodically
too, preferably with a product from your vet, stuff like lysol isn't good
for the cats.

Hope it helps,
Paul (Dad to 20 or 21 cats, I'm never sure)

    We visited the vet today and he has determined that she does have
    an infection.  She pee'd all over the examining table and he used
    a syringe to get a sample to examine with a microscope.  So, she's
    back on antibiotics again.  We decided not to treat it as a behavioral
    problem - yet.  He did not mention hormone treatments.
    
    BTW, this is not "spraying" - she's leaving a bladder full of urine
    on my furniture!
    
    Thanks for your help.
    
     ^_^
    (>.<)
     ) ( Jeannie

    See also note 2578.0 for a dietary source of bladder problems.
    
    						-- Ed

    Jeannie,
      This may be hard, but I suggest you confine her to certain areas
    of the house for a while.  You can let her out when you will be
    there to supervise her 100% of the time.  If its a urinary infection
    its not her fault, but the end effect is the same.  
      Perhaps you could buy two of those "child gates" and stack them
    one on top of the other to keep her either in certain rooms or just
    out of the livingroom.  I priced them at Zayre's for about $16 each.
    WHatever you end up paying for them, its got to be cheaper than
    a new couch!
      Good luck
       Nancy DC
    

    It sounds like she is having some chronic problem with urinary
    tract infections.  I agree that it is not a behavioral problem;
    she can't help what she's doing.  I'd talk to the vet to see
    why she keeps getting reinfected like this.  Could it be that she
    has an infection that's resistent to the antibiotic used, and so it
    keeps flaring up?  The vet needs to do some work here.  By the way,
    when I was last in at the dry cleaners, the counter man told me they
    had just rescued a sofa that had been substantially peed on by a cat for
    some time.  I believe part of what they had done was saturate it with
    one of the enzyme cleaners;  these are much better than regular
    cleaners.  Have you tried those?  One is Nature's Miracle.
    

    
    	I have a somewhat different problem, but same kind.
    
    	My cat lives with my mother until I graduate college; my mother is
    about to marry and move in with her new husband, who fortunately adores
    my cat as well as hers in spite of allergies.  I have one more year of
    school.
    
    	The problem is that my mother's fiance is very neat and my mother's
    worried about the litter box odor.  She says only my cat (an elderly
    female) uses it, because hers goes outdoors (a neutered male)--I
    believed this until we got an enclosed litter box.  Last time I cleaned
    it, the _walls_ had urine on them, which explained why it smelled worse
    than usual.  But I don't understand how either of the cats could have
    done this--there's not really enough space for a cat to lift his (her?)
    leg.  Sometimes we find urine stains other places in the cellar (same
    room as the box), but I don't think it's because the litter box is
    dirty because there's often fresher urine in the litter.
    
    	So what should I do? Do I have to camp out in the cellar to correct
    any possible mistakes? Or just install a closed-circuit camera in the
    litter box?  :-)

    re:.6
    
    Is your female spayed?  
    
    A neutered male that goes outdoors is more likely to start spraying
    than a spayed female who stays indoors all the time.  The male will
    still have to mark his territory so that the other outdoor cats
    will know to stay out of his area.  He does this by spraying.  Once
    a cat learns the spraying behavior, it is hard to break them of
    it.  A cat doesn't lift his leg to spray.  A cat sprays standing
    up on all four feet.  They will left their tail high, and sometimes
    you will see it wiggle a bit.  The urine comes straight out.  A
    cat will almost always spray against something, the wall, a bush,
    the sofa, cabinets, etc.  If you look around your mom's house, at
    about a foot and a half off the floor, that is where you will find
    evidence of spraying, if someone is doing it.
    
    A spraying cat can be given hormones to help curb the desire to
    spray.  These have to be prescribed by the vet.
    
    I think it is more likely that the male is spraying than your female.
    That is, unless the female is not spayed, and is coming into season.
    Females in season will sometimes spray to mark territory, and to
    attract a mate.
    
    Jo

    
    	The female is spayed, but due to her age I was wondering if there
    could be possible kidney problems--but I can't seem to find any puddle
    stains on the floor or newspapers in the cellar (I didn't look higher),
    just a general odor.  The male was neutered sort of late, but I don't
    recall him spraying then.  Would he spray in the house, too, if he does
    in the cellar?  We would have noticed that.  We may have to start spying 
    on the critters, they're usually all alone in the cellar.  I'll have a
    look around the cellar again at a cat's eye level.  I was starting to
    wonder if my cat needed a check-up due to her kidneys or bladder;
    actually maybe both of the cats are the problem.
    
    	I didn't know females sprayed for any reason--we've always had
    neutered pets.  Thanks for the suggestion, but I'm starting to feel
    silly spying on our cats' bathroom habits.  If they'd just tell us!
    
    	Thanks again,
    	Lisa (and Snoopy and Tipper) 

    Sometimes it's hard to find the places they've gone outside
    the box.  Try an enzyme deodorizer like Nature's Miracle (I
    feel like I recommend this every day) to remove the smell;
    it will smell worse when the enzyme is working, then the
    smell disappears.  Since your baby is elderly, a checking, mentioning
    tthis possible problem specifically, would probably be a good idea an
    anyway.
    

    Re .5
    
    Where can I buy "Nature's Miracle"?  I work in Marlboro, live in
    Franklin.
    
     ^_^
    (>.<)
     ) ( Jeannie

    I just bought two quarts of it from a supply house in Calif. I paid
    $4.75 per quart and even with the shipping charges ($3.50) it came
    out a lot cheaper than what I was quoted in the stores around here.
    
    I will get all the particulars tonight and enter a note her tomorrow
    with the address.
    
    IT WORKED WONDERFUL.... just like they said it would.
    
    Barbara

    I just saw in Noah's Ark Pet store in shrewsbury on Rt 9 in White
    City plaza.  It was like $9.00 for a huge bottle.