jenlee
Junior Member
Posts: 58
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Post by jenlee on Feb 16, 2009 9:52:10 GMT
Hi, I wonder if you wise people could help me out. I have had honey for 2 years now and although she not the brightest Kitty in the world she has always known where to pee! However recently she has started peeing by the front door, a lot! I haven't changed the type of litter - as that has caused a few issues in the past. I thought it might be to do with where her litter tray was as the flat has been invaded my a mystery tom ( nick named Nemisis as she ends up being battered and bruised after every encounter ) so have moved the tray to the bottom of the stairs which has solved the problem. That is unless junk mail comes through the letter box which is promptly peed on! However being greeted at the front door my a litter tray is hardly good hostessing and I wondered how i could get her to pee somewhere else as i'm not sure she is dextrous enough to pee in a tray if i move it a stair at a time! Help please!!!
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Post by Val on Feb 16, 2009 10:34:43 GMT
She obviously needs to feel secure where and when she pees. I don't quite understand the layout of your flat. Do you come in the front door and then go straight up the stairs. How is the tom getting into the flat. If you have a flap at a back door, say straight into the kitchen where the tray used to live, then I think Honey is brighter than you think. She is putting as much distance from the place where the tom in entering the flat to where she feels safer for peeing.
I use covered litter trays. Before you go to the expense of buying one, put her tray into a big box with the side open so she can walk straight in to the tray. This may make her feel more secure and will also stop post hitting her on the head and making her even more nervous. Personally I would not move the tray a step at a time. Imagine what would happen to her confidence if she was standing at the edge and it slipped off the step. Under your bed would start to look the best place.......... maybe.
If you have a flap, try blocking it off and keeping her indoors. She may then gain more confidence so she can stand up to this tom.
Have you seen the tom and can you touch him. If he isn't neutered try putting a paper collar on him, asking if he has an owner and then you could perhaps talk to the owner and suggest that he is neutered. Explain it is much better for the tom as if he is fighting with lots of other males he may pick up a disease and in older life by neutering he will have less chance of testicular cancer.
I understand your problem. At the moment we have a black tom that is trying to take over our garden. He has already had a fight with Bruiser (a big wuss really) and he came off worse for wear. He had a bloody nose, and blood on his chest. I couldn't see any damage but a few days later we noticed a large amount of fur missing from just below his cheeks and a large wound in the middle. This tom is really friendly and wants to be in the house and the Garden Centre nearby have taken him on but, and this is the most worrying thing, he has to cross over a very busy road to get to our garden. I really fear for his life. I told them this and they said they would get him neutered and I hope they have. Last night a neighbour around the corner called to say that her cat had just had a fight with a black cat and as I have one, she came to let me know in case he had been hurt. I haven't found any marks on him yet so it might be the tom from the Garden Centre.
But enough of me. Just keep watching Honey and what she does in the flat. Try putting another tray in another place, say behind the settee, or anywhere else. She will choose the one she wants to use. Good luck.
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jenlee
Junior Member
Posts: 58
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Post by jenlee on Feb 16, 2009 19:24:06 GMT
Hi, I live in an upstairs tyneside flat, so yes you go in the front door and straight upstairs, and the cat flap is in the back door which goes upstairs into the kitchen, so I did think it might be a privacy issue. Honey has had covered trays in the past but doesn't seem to like them ( think she sits up and bumps her head!) But i have but litter in a plastic box which she seems to be using ok. I have also put a tray in the spare room, which is well away from the back door so fingers crossed she'll use that too. As for the tom grrrr. He has been the cause of a number of trips to the vet with Honey for various bites and scratches - even needed stitches in her tail! He is not friendly and bolts as soon as I see him so at a bit of a loss there. I did come home one day last week to find her under the spare bed and a mass of fluff all over my bedroom floor the evil terror! So I have shut the cat flap and now just let her out when I am around - she doesn't seem as stressed then. Thanks for the advice - wish i could do something about the tom, maybe i'll try following him next time. What is spooky is that he is the mirror image of Honey - when i go out to call her in and he is there i wonder why she is ignoring me until i get up close and realise her markings are the wrong way round! Wil let you know how she goes, and hope any guests don't mind the fragrant scent of cat pee as they arrive at my door
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Post by Val on Feb 16, 2009 20:48:16 GMT
I met one of your colleagues today. Rosalin D. She will be homing one of my tom youngsters. It's a small world.
Use a good clumping litter. That helps with the smell. As you all probably know I use Worlds Best. It is a bit more expensive but is really good at clumping and keeping the odour controlled.
Re cat flaps. If Honey is microchipped you can get flaps that only accept certain chip numbers to pass through the flap. Haven't had any experience of them but they may work with Honey. At least they don't have to lug around a big magnet like the old fashioned ones.
If guests don't like to small of cat pee, they are no friend of you or Honey so just say tough. She lives here. You don't.
Take care.
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jenlee
Junior Member
Posts: 58
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Post by jenlee on Feb 21, 2009 16:38:14 GMT
Fingers crossed but I think we have a break through!! Over the last couple of days Honey has started to use a litter tray I've put in the spare room, back in fact where it was when she first arrived with me. The bottom of the stairs still seems to be favourite ( but in a tray now at least!) but there is hope! Not all sorted though - the farmfoods leaflet that came through the door was promptly peed on as well!
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