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| There are no coincindents. thank you for your input armchairactivism. I had to put my cat down on Tuesday, and I felt HORRIBLE! I read your response after I returned from the SPCA, and you really helped me get through these past 2 days. I have such feelings of guilt, I felt I should have done more for my cat, but what else could have I done?...last month alone I spent over $700.00 in vet bills, xrays, blood work, medication, etc.. and my cat still was peeing outside her box. I bought new boxes, put out several boxes, tried every cat litter brand there is, and even locked my cat in her room for a day with her box.. with no positive results. My vet wanted me to get an abdominal ultrasound next, but I couldn't see what good that would do. My cat (who was my world) was 12 years old, and until December of 2011, she NEVER went to the bathroom outside her box. We did not have any changes in my home that would have triggered such actions. My last straw was when I watched her last Monday pee in my family room right in front of me. I had new flooring coming in on Tues (which cost over $4000.00) and I had to make a choice, the cat or my marriage. It got to the point that I was constantly arguing with my husband over the cat peeing. We thought the problem was resolved and ordered new flooring since we hadn't seen the cat pee in several weeks, and it appeared that she was using her box. Apparently she was only using it occasionally...the one thing that really still haunts me with guilt is that my cat appeared otherwise normal. The day I was bringing her to be put down, she was basking in the sun enjoying the nice weather. I heard cats hide their pain, and I really think that since she never pee'd outside the box before, something was very wrong and she must have been in pain but not showing it. I hope I'm not just trying to justify my actions, but I really miss my cat and feel horribly guilty and helpless now. Thank you armchairactivism for your input, you don't know how many times I keep reading your response to rationalize my decision. It is a horrifying thing to have to deal with, and I hope I never have to experience that again, but at least I know my cat isn't suffering anymore, and I truely believe she was in pain. |
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by Selenaserval (My Page) on Sat, May 5, 12 at 19:58
| Cats will just start doing that even when there is nothing wrong with them. It's just the way they are. |
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- Posted by megamuffins (My Page) on Wed, May 16, 12 at 13:58
| She could of been, but maybe you should of put her up for adoption to be an outdoor cat that could have a safe and sturdy fenced in backyard so she wouldn't escape. |
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| I have an absolutely BEAUTIFUL cat. He's a huge Maine Coon. He's 4 years old, neutered and was declawed by his previous owners. Problem is, he gets angry with me and pees on my bed and furniture. The previous owner denies having had this problem with him. He's declawed so he cannot go outside. I've tried positive re-enforcement with treats for good behavior. For a few weeks it worked, then he peed on my bed again. I listed him on craigslist with pics and the gentle truth. If the truth had not been told, he'd be in a new home. But I didn't get even one inquiry because nobody wants a cat with behavioral problems. The previous owners don't want him back and I'm not going to lie to prospective new owners. My mattress and boxsprings alone were 1,200.00 dollars not to mention the 75.00 matress protector. Of course it doesn't do much good when it's stripped (because he peed on it) to go to the laundry. I lock him in the bathroom when I can't keep an eye on him. I'm strongly considering having him put down... Or maybe one of the anti-euthanasia people would like to adopt him. Please let me know if you'd like to save him. |
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| I have an absolutely BEAUTIFUL cat. He's a huge Maine Coon. He's 4 years old, neutered and was declawed by his previous owners. Problem is, he gets angry with me and pees on my bed and furniture. The previous owner denies having had this problem with him. He's declawed so he cannot go outside. I've tried positive re-enforcement with treats for good behavior. For a few weeks it worked, then he peed on my bed again. I listed him on craigslist with pics and the gentle truth. If the truth had not been told, he'd be in a new home. But I didn't get even one inquiry because nobody wants a cat with behavioral problems. The previous owners don't want him back and I'm not going to lie to prospective new owners. My mattress and boxsprings alone were 1,200.00 dollars not to mention the 75.00 matress protector. Of course it doesn't do much good when it's stripped (because he peed on it) to go to the laundry. I lock him in the bathroom when I can't keep an eye on him. I'm strongly considering having him put down... Or maybe one of the anti-euthanasia people would like to adopt him. Please let me know if you'd like to save him. |
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- Posted by LambOfTartary (My Page) on Fri, Sep 7, 12 at 18:59
| Robyn, your cat is not angry with you, so forgive yourself for declawing him. Declawing is obviously not a very good solution to cat scratching but you can't go back in time and not make the choice. Your cat has no way of connecting you with the declawing. Animals are bad at generalizing and in order to make positive or negative associations the consequence following the act has to be pretty much immediate. For instance, I've clicker trained my cat to jump up and down off a particular chair, but if I try it with any other chair she is completely confused despite having done hundreds of repetitions with the command. The other day, we had construction in our house and she freaked out because the instant I put her in her carrier (she is crate trained and goes in on command) and dropped a treat in front of her a compressor went off in the other room. She associated the loud noise with the sudden appearance of the treat and attacked it. Mind you, these are the same treats she always gets, presented the same way, every time she goes into the crate. It was a little funny but also a good reminder that animals think very differently than us. Cats don't pee on other cat's property when they're upset, anyway. There is something else going on. Have you seen a cat behaviorist? My guess is that the litter hurts his paws now that he's declawed. He's associated that pain with peeing in the box because it happens as soon as he steps inside, every time he needs to pee. Peeing on your bed doesn't hurt, so it makes sense to go there. There is a special brand of litter that is a finer sand that declawed cats sometimes prefer. I don't know the name of it, but it is mentioned on My Cat from Hell. If you google it or ask around on the Discovery forum I'm sure you'll get several recommendations. |
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| LambOfTartary -- Robyn did not declaw her cat -- previous owners did. I have learned to reserve judgement in this situation due to several family members having this same problem. In one case the cat was declawed, in another he was not. In both cases, it was a multiple cat household. If I had to guess, it has nothing to do with sore paws, it is a psychological, territorial thing -- but that is just my opinion. I don't know of anyone who successfully solved this problem once it started. |
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