Im At The Limits With Them

[Jess751]

Ok a bit of background. I got Baxter when he was 10-11 weeks old. Hes always been a pretty good cat with the exception that he would pee on my bed every chance he got. So to solve that I didnt allow him in the bedroom. And it all worked out. Well I adopted Sandy, as some of you might know already, a little while ago. She seemed like a fairly well behaved cat....at first. But she would also pee on my bed!! At first I thought it was that I wasnt washing the removable matress top thing (not a matress pad)right, but I am now have a totally new matress and sheets that I have never had before and THEY ARE STILL PEEING ONE MY BED!! Im at wits end with that and have tried everything. The litter box is clean, I wash everything right after and with a pet oder remover, Ive used tinfoil on the bed, Ive used the tatle tail alarms...so now I bought scat mats. Its not what I wanted to do but Im tired of them peeing in my bed. And to cap things off I caught Sandy (I was wondering who it was) clawing on my egyptian cotton sheets!! She has snagged them up pretty bad in a couple of spots. And thats not the end of it. Shes clawing on my carpet and anything she can. When I first brought her home she tore up a couch cover and got my other cat into scratching now too!!! AAAAAAGGGHHH!!! Its driving me up the wall! Im thinking about getting them declawed because of this and Im not a fan of declawing!!

[yola]

You should be aware that de-clawing is illegal in the UK and most of the rest of the world so you won't get much sympathy with your idea here, best not to progress that concept on this board.

Are you cats bored, stressed, lonely, unwell? Maybe you need to start thinking a little laterally here to try and get under the skin of why this is happening?

It could be the stress of introducing Sandy into the household that has caused this dischord; for both of them. Maybe start off with some destressers such as feliway plug-ins and rescue remedy and then closely monitor their behaviour and see if you can start narrowing it down.

Cats WILL damage things - not on purpose - a cat does not understand the concept of doing things deliberately, so please don't take these actions personally.

[Mags]

Are they both neutered Jess? If not, that can sometimes cause this type of behaviour problem...

You could also try a Feliway Diffuser or even Rescue Remedy drops to calm them down......

[dandysmom]

I can't improve on the above advice; exactly what I would have said.

[Grete]

I can't really add any advice either :( I know it's stressful and it seems like there is just no reason to it but I'm sure there is. Whether it's stress or scentmarking or whatever, just need to hit on what it is and how to resolve it. The scratching thing is just second nature to cats :( Make sure they have plenty of things they can scratch (you can get some anti-claw strips for chairs and sofa's and also lots of scratch pads / posts. Declawing really isn't the answer but maybe the claw caps might help, seems a more humane way if you can't divert them any other way.

Sorry I can't be more help :(

[Jess751]

I had no idea that it was banned elsewhere. Im not really wanting to do this but I really have no idea what to do. They have scratch posts, 3 of them. They never used the cardboard one that I had for like a year so I gave it to a friend. They have toys and play from time to time. There are no health issues with them as I have looked into that already. I have used the tape on my furniture but they just find another place to scratch so basically I would have to tape my whole place! Im thinking of trying another litter cause Im thinking they dont like this one much...or at least thats what Im geussing as a problem. So I will try that for that problem. I think that I will try the caps for Sandy as she is the one that I find scratching all over.

I was under rage when I posted the first post so please forgive me.

[Mags]

I was under rage when I posted the first post so please forgive me.
Don't worry Jess, we all get like that at times, it must be frustrating for you having to clean up your bed all the time. I hope they can overcome their bad habit soon...:D

[Elaine]

Experimenting with different litters would be a good place to start. As for the scratching posts, maybe try re-positioning them . Maybe place them infront of where they already scratch and reward them when you see them use it.
What are they scratching at? Is it a sofa? Is it new? If so maybe place any blankets that they sleep on, ontop of the sofa so that it already has their scent.
Try keeping a wee diary of what happens on a day to day basis, sometimes this helps to get closer to the real issues.
We'll all help if we can.
I know you are not for the declawing thing really, but it is the equivilent of having the ends of your own fingers removed, causes so much pain and stress to the animals and really is a very barbaric practise which more often than not leaves animals with more stress related issues than before.

[babycakes]

Yes Elaine is right over trying new litters as I think we tend to forget what it may feel like under foot. As kittens I have used the wood chip ones as they are softer and mush up when wet so they don't smell chemically.
I use pet behave spray on the furniture it has a really strong peppery smell that they don't like. Also if in the house at the time spray with a water spray when scratching they don't like the shock of it and they learn to associate scratching furniture with that.

[Elaine]

Can I just add that if you do use the water spray then the cats shouldnt know that it came from you. It has to be like some sort of act of god and you have to be dead sneaky with it.

[babycakes]

Can I just add that if you do use the water spray then the cats shouldnt know that it came from you. It has to be like some sort of act of god and you have to be dead sneaky with it.

:lol: :lol: :lol: Yes good point Elaine

[Jess751]

They have scratched at the couch but I have stopped that and now its the carpet and the bed where they are scratching. I had absolutly no idea that declawing was done like that!! None at all!! Thats Aweful!!! I feel bad for even thinking it now! :oops: As far as litter I have used clay in the past and they liked it but I thought that Baxter was eating it so I switched to the pine/ceder litters. Ive switched between a few of those and they dont seem to like them because of the smell (I assume). So I have gotten another thing of a clay and we will see how it goes. Thanks everyone for the help, any other tips??

[Grete]

The pet behave spray that Babycakes suggested sounds like it could be worth a try. I just read an article about when cats claw things they are scentmarking as well as exercising the claws so if they are feeling the need to scentmark a lot, the feliway could well be worth a try. Also maybe try a catnip spray or sprinkle/rub dried catnip on all their scratching posts / pads - it might attract them to scratch more there.

I think that changing the litter back to what you know they like is a good idea too. Not sure about cats eating the clay tho :shock: Not seen that before.

Hope you make some headway on it all tho, you obviously care for them a great deal and it's stressing you out.

[dinahsmum]

Jess I hope things have improved somewhat by now. It must be extremely difficult for you. Is there no way you can exclude them from your bedroom until they have re-trained themselves to use the litter tray?
World's Best is a very good litter - good for cats and owners, except that it is initially expensive. It lasts ages though.
I know you've abandoned the de-clawing thoughts - so pleased. Here's a previous thread, containing a link to details of the procedure http://www.catsey.com/showthread.php?t=17751&highlight=declawing
Now, imagine using a litter tray after that - can you even start to imagine the pain of scooping litter with your hands after having the top joints of your fingers surgically removed?