Peeing!

Unless you catch them in the act, it's no use trying to scold them. Is Stella Bella being mean to wittle Jackson?

When I lived with my ex, our cat used to LOVE to pee on Oscar's bed. I have no solutions. I moved out and he kept the cat.

Couple of thoughts. First, when your kitty does this, make sure to clean up using Nature's Miracle or a similar enzyme cleaner specifically for animals. Otherwise, he'll always be able to smell what he's done, and think its okay and keep doing it (and your other kitty might do it too).

If your vet confirms that there's no physical problem and that he's just rebelling (BRAT!), there are a few natural things you can buy to relax him. You can try flower essences, which work to resolve emotional imbalances. Or you can try a pheromone diffuser. Both are safe with NO DRUGS. Make sure your vet doesn't recommend a tranquilizer, as alot of vets do (I hate vets).

If you'd like info on anything above, feel free to email me at [email protected]
Phyllis

You may also want to try Cat Attract, which is a special kind of litter that encourages kitty to use the box.

http://www.preciouscat.com/

I think you can get it at most pet stores.

Nature's Miracle is great for getting rid of the smell. Also, a friend of mine who has 16 (!) cats has recommended bitter apple spray;
she says the scent deters them from peeing.

It sounds like your guy is having territorial issues since he has had only a few "accidents", unlike my Mia cat who has an aversion to peeing in the litter box. For anyone out there with a cat like Mia with intractable litter box issues, I highly recommend the pee pads, though.

Cat beds and duffle bag are a good place to start with the spray. When my cats were fighting their territorial wars 3 years ago, the cat bed was a favorite target. I chucked it out and haven't bought one since. From what my friend told me, you should spray the bitter apple stuff in places that they like to pee.

Definitely agree with tnyc re: covered litterboxes. We initially had three litterboxes, one covered and two regular. Cats stopped using the covered one so we got rid of it. Now we're down to two, but the weirdo cats generally use only one. Of course Mia uses it only for pooping; she has a poop in the litter box and then steps outside to pee on the pee pad. I strongly suspect that "inappropriate elimination" is the reason she was up for adoption at the animal shelter where we got her 3+ years ago. But we love her and hey, nobody's perfect. Plus now we have Louie the puppy having numerous accidents. I hate to think what my house would smell like to an outsider.

You are a braver woman than I am. I don't want to know. However, my recent observations lead me to believe that dog pee is less toxic than cat pee.

Good for you with all the shampooing! Do you rent a machine?

We have hardly any carpets and just a few rugs - it's mostly wood floors (unfortunately, Mia the bitch cat pees on wood floors as well as carpets). I don't mean to hijack this thread, but is Oscar (who adorable, btw - I love boxers!) not fully housetrained yet? As a cat person and first-time puppy owner, I'm just trying to figure out what I'm in for WRT housetraining for Louie the baby bulldog. I will at some point put up a post asking for tips re puppy training, once he's done with his shots and can go for walks etc., but until then, it seems I will have only one housetrained pet, my male cat Raoul who is such a good boy and trying to make friends with the puppy.

In the meantime, I need to figure out how to clean the huge puppy bed that my son (who is technically Louie's owner but I have more flexible work hours so a lot of this is gonna fall on me) bought. It's too big to fit in our washing machine and Louie has peed all over it.

Antigone - we need pictures of all of these animals or they don't exist (it's the Brooklynian way - you'll catch on if you stay long enough).

I suggest taking the big dog bed to a laundromat. They have bigger machines.

I will see how they do without a cover on the box, but the cover definitely keeps the smells in.

I hope my house doesn't smell like pee. I ask people I trust as well. Plus, I can smell it sometimes, which makes me think/hope that I haven't become desensitized to it

OMG, he's adorable! You need to put him on www.dailypuppy.com

Now, let's see Raoul!

Re: the nipping. When he does, squeal and turn away from him. Ignore him. This is what his litter mates would do if he played too rough. He'll catch on that nipping = no attention and he'll eventually stop.

"I will see how they do without a cover on the box, but the cover definitely keeps the smells in. "
Hmmm....you might here have apossible answer to the problem. Some cats are finicky in that way.

Raoul is handsome!

I have dog-like cats too. Stella brings me random things (post it notes, dollar bills, toys) and drops them in the water/wine/soda/whatever I am drinking near the couch. I have to pick it up and throw it across the room so she can fetch. She can do it over and over again.

both of my kittehs (especially Jackson) stand on 2 legs for treats

Flexichick wrote: [quote=Tnyc]"I will see how they do without a cover on the box, but the cover definitely keeps the smells in. "
Hmmm....you might here have apossible answer to the problem. Some cats are finicky in that way.

good point. My boy cat stopped covering his poop. it's a territorial thing.

then again, after a stinky poop he runs around the house "talking" and getting silly.

oh, how I wish we spoke the same language. I'd love to know what's going thru their minds

I would love to know what they're thinking. Raoul is not a yowler, but he does these adorable chirpy meows just to me - he also has a disapproving "mmmmppph!" that he does to Mia when he's about to attack her. I have had dreams that he learned to talk. I think I like his silent meows the best.

Raoul does that same thing, running around like a maniac after he's had a poop (and all of his poops are pretty stinky, although he does cover them - Mia doesn't). I read somewhere that cats run around and get all excited before they poop, but my experience with my two cats and my late, great cat Boo is that it's afterward that they go nuts.

There are many good suggestions on this thread - I'm going to check out that cat litter - maybe my picky Princess Mia will like it, although I'm not too hopeful b/c I've tried multiple brands to no avail. Definitely gonna implement Ana's suggestion re: putting plastic between the stuffing and the cover of the doggy bed.

Oh, and I have a question for Ana. Does Oscar talk? Friends of ours had a boxer and he made the most human vocalizations. They swore that they heard him say "mama" and "stop fighting!" (they have 3 kids).

My cats definitely have their own language. I swear "mama" from Jackson, and he also chats and greets visitors (ask Potter)

Stella makes funny noises whenever you come up on her - either sleeping or awake. I can't explain them in any terms that would make sense. Maybe I'll video them one day.

As for the poop, Jackson's crazy running around is definitely after. My thoughts:

a) he's high off the smell
b) he feels lighter after he's done
c) he's just doing a poopy dance