What is making my cat pee in weird places, howl, and try to get outside?
October 15, 2014 3:30 AM Subscribe
My indoor cat of 7 years has, in just the last couple of months, stopped using his litter-box to poe, walks around the house for hours howling, and tries to get outside every chance he gets. This is completely new behavior in that for 7 years he's been a great, well mannered cat. But now he's driving me insane.
So, yeah. He's 7 years old and has been an indoor cat for all 7 of those years. There have been a handful of times over the years where he's gotten outside, but he ends up just prowling around the vicinity of the house and is easy to catch and put back inside. The time's he's gotten out weren't "i'm sitting at the door waiting to dart oustide" type escapes. More "a door was left slightly open by a guest and I can paw it open a little bit more" escapes. There are 4 other cats in the house that he has always gotten along with. None of them are acting the same way.
Last year we moved to a new house, and it took him about a week to sniff everything out, see that we'd moved our stuff in too, and settle back into his routine at the new place. Things changed about 2 months ago.
First he started peeing in corners around the house, and spraying in other spots (he's been neutered since he was 8 months old) around the house: on walls in the living room, on couches, on places he sleeps, on places I sleep, on windows. He uses his litter box to poop, but apparently he won't pee in it.
He now prowls around the house, checking out the doors and windows. We have screens on our windows, and until now he'd been content to sit at the window and watch the world go round. Now he rips at the screens with his claw (he's completely ripped out two screens), butts his head against the edges trying to knock them out, or paws at them trying to open them.
Also while he's prowling, he moans and moans. Kinda this deep guttural meow. It's very loud and very annoying. When he's not sleeping, this is what he's doing.
My wife has taken him to the vet. The vet said it's not kidney stones or a bladder infection. I've suggested just letting him outside, since it seems like that's where he wants to go, but my wife is vehemently against this. She thinks it's too dangerous for him to be outside and that the other cats in the house will want to go outside too if he does (I don't think it works this way, but she won't hear it). We've put a couple litter boxes in places he's peed, and he doesn't pee there any more, but he finds new places to pee.
This is really driving me nuts, and I'm also worried that he is sick. He's gotten a bit thinner over the couple months he's been like this, but not "obviously unhealthy" thinner. Do you have any other ideas about what this might be? Or ideas on what we can do to fix his behavior?
So, yeah. He's 7 years old and has been an indoor cat for all 7 of those years. There have been a handful of times over the years where he's gotten outside, but he ends up just prowling around the vicinity of the house and is easy to catch and put back inside. The time's he's gotten out weren't "i'm sitting at the door waiting to dart oustide" type escapes. More "a door was left slightly open by a guest and I can paw it open a little bit more" escapes. There are 4 other cats in the house that he has always gotten along with. None of them are acting the same way.
Last year we moved to a new house, and it took him about a week to sniff everything out, see that we'd moved our stuff in too, and settle back into his routine at the new place. Things changed about 2 months ago.
First he started peeing in corners around the house, and spraying in other spots (he's been neutered since he was 8 months old) around the house: on walls in the living room, on couches, on places he sleeps, on places I sleep, on windows. He uses his litter box to poop, but apparently he won't pee in it.
He now prowls around the house, checking out the doors and windows. We have screens on our windows, and until now he'd been content to sit at the window and watch the world go round. Now he rips at the screens with his claw (he's completely ripped out two screens), butts his head against the edges trying to knock them out, or paws at them trying to open them.
Also while he's prowling, he moans and moans. Kinda this deep guttural meow. It's very loud and very annoying. When he's not sleeping, this is what he's doing.
My wife has taken him to the vet. The vet said it's not kidney stones or a bladder infection. I've suggested just letting him outside, since it seems like that's where he wants to go, but my wife is vehemently against this. She thinks it's too dangerous for him to be outside and that the other cats in the house will want to go outside too if he does (I don't think it works this way, but she won't hear it). We've put a couple litter boxes in places he's peed, and he doesn't pee there any more, but he finds new places to pee.
This is really driving me nuts, and I'm also worried that he is sick. He's gotten a bit thinner over the couple months he's been like this, but not "obviously unhealthy" thinner. Do you have any other ideas about what this might be? Or ideas on what we can do to fix his behavior?
I've read that if a cat acts like this, sometimes, it's because of outdoor stray cats marking their territory on/around the house.
posted by girlmightlive at 3:52 AM on October 15, 2014 [16 favorites]
posted by girlmightlive at 3:52 AM on October 15, 2014 [16 favorites]
If the vet has ruled out medical issues (though maybe it's worth getting a second opinion?) that leaves behavioral issues. Is there something going on outside the windows that's making him feel territorially threatened? Lots of stray cats or other new critters going through your yard could make him feel the need to mark his territory. If that's the case, setting up some of those motion-activated sprinklers outside could move the visitors along before they get close enough to freak out your cat. And if it is all stress-related and not a bladder (or thyroid?) issue your vet should be able to give you some form of kitty Prozac to try.
posted by oh yeah! at 3:56 AM on October 15, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by oh yeah! at 3:56 AM on October 15, 2014 [2 favorites]
She thinks it's too dangerous for him to be outside and that the other cats in the house will want to go outside too if he does (I don't think it works this way, but she won't hear it).
I don't think the other cats would want to go outside, but I'd be worried that if he spent all day outside he'd come back smelling so different that they'd start treating him like a stranger and get territorial too. I agree that it's dangerous to let cats outdoors (though, I understand it may be safer in other parts of the world), but maybe taking him outside on a harness and leash to see what he does could give you more clues? If you can't set up webcams to find out what's going on outside the windows, you could set up the motion-activated sprinklers near wherever he pees outside.
posted by oh yeah! at 4:47 AM on October 15, 2014
I don't think the other cats would want to go outside, but I'd be worried that if he spent all day outside he'd come back smelling so different that they'd start treating him like a stranger and get territorial too. I agree that it's dangerous to let cats outdoors (though, I understand it may be safer in other parts of the world), but maybe taking him outside on a harness and leash to see what he does could give you more clues? If you can't set up webcams to find out what's going on outside the windows, you could set up the motion-activated sprinklers near wherever he pees outside.
posted by oh yeah! at 4:47 AM on October 15, 2014
I wonder if there were cats in the house before you moved in? He could be smelling the previous cats and that's giving him issues. Also, I'm guessing that there are other cats outside that can smell him and are marking the outside.
Maybe take a two prong approach and use an enzyme cleaner inside to try to eliminate as much potential old cat smell in the house and then do something like what Oh Yeah! Suggests and do sprinklers outside. Also, if your not averse, I would ask the vet about anti-anxiety meds.
posted by ThaBombShelterSmith at 4:49 AM on October 15, 2014
Maybe take a two prong approach and use an enzyme cleaner inside to try to eliminate as much potential old cat smell in the house and then do something like what Oh Yeah! Suggests and do sprinklers outside. Also, if your not averse, I would ask the vet about anti-anxiety meds.
posted by ThaBombShelterSmith at 4:49 AM on October 15, 2014
Strays in the area marking around your house. I've seen it cause super amounts of stress in a cat, Letting him out if there are other cats around will lead to not only fights, but even more stress as he will feel compelled to defend his territory. Cat fights lead to nasty abscesses & injuries and very expensive vet bills because the bites & scratches infect so easily. If not strays then prey animals are now visible, maybe a bird feeder or a perky squirrel comes to visit & can be seen.
Try some Feliaway pheromone diffusers. We had to literally scrub down around our back door several times with enzyme cleaners (we used Oxyclean mixed with water) to clear up the smell of a feral cat that liked to visit every day.
posted by wwax at 5:07 AM on October 15, 2014 [4 favorites]
Try some Feliaway pheromone diffusers. We had to literally scrub down around our back door several times with enzyme cleaners (we used Oxyclean mixed with water) to clear up the smell of a feral cat that liked to visit every day.
posted by wwax at 5:07 AM on October 15, 2014 [4 favorites]
A while ago I looked at some clips from Jackson Galaxy's show on Animal Planet. I think about half, or more than half, were about cats who suddenly, mysteriously, had become extremely stressed, attacking people, missing the litter box, running around from window to window, etc. They all (I think?) had to do with strange cats outside coming into the yard and taunting the inside cat.
The solutions presented included, if I recall:
- covering the bottoms of windows, to hide the offending intruder;
- setting up motion-detecting sprinklers outside, to drive off the intruding cats;
- probably shelves and more high/safe places for the inside cats, because he always seems to recommend that and it's a great idea in general.
Get the motion-sensing sprinklers, partly because it sounds effective and partly because they sound cool and I wish I had an excuse to get one.
Oh, and the outcomes on these cases, at least for the clips I saw, were very good. The cats got better.
posted by amtho at 5:14 AM on October 15, 2014 [8 favorites]
The solutions presented included, if I recall:
- covering the bottoms of windows, to hide the offending intruder;
- setting up motion-detecting sprinklers outside, to drive off the intruding cats;
- probably shelves and more high/safe places for the inside cats, because he always seems to recommend that and it's a great idea in general.
Get the motion-sensing sprinklers, partly because it sounds effective and partly because they sound cool and I wish I had an excuse to get one.
Oh, and the outcomes on these cases, at least for the clips I saw, were very good. The cats got better.
posted by amtho at 5:14 AM on October 15, 2014 [8 favorites]
That low moAning growl is a sound that my cat reserves solely for when she can see another cat outside the window.
posted by lollusc at 5:43 AM on October 15, 2014 [3 favorites]
posted by lollusc at 5:43 AM on October 15, 2014 [3 favorites]
We have had a similar situation in our new apartment, and in our case it is definitely caused by outside cats. Our cat is a female, so she does not feel as antagonized by their markings, but she has developed the desire to go outside that's negatively impacted our lives. She doesn't play with her toys anymore and has less interest in cuddles. She thinks she NEEDS to go outside and is angry that we don't let her.
posted by tofu_crouton at 6:23 AM on October 15, 2014
posted by tofu_crouton at 6:23 AM on October 15, 2014
Our cat also had this happen, which the vet chalked up to (and we agreed) stray neighborhood cats marking the front yard. We saw them, and they'd come right up on the porch, and our poor guy couldn't get out there to protect his territory. Even though he's fixed, it was causing him anxiety. We did two things. First, the cat is now on Prozac. It's inexpensive, it doesn't seem to have any detrimental effects, and he's a calm non-pissing-in-weird-places cat now. We also took our dogs and walked them around the front yard quite a bit (they're usually out back in our fenced yard mostly) to help deter the neighborhood cats. Are there any dogs you can borrow for that?
posted by bizzyb at 6:50 AM on October 15, 2014
posted by bizzyb at 6:50 AM on October 15, 2014
I am 95% sure your cat is responding to animals outdoors. Maybe stray cats, maybe racoons, maybe coyotes, maybe something else. Depends on where you live. Jackson Galaxy (yes that is seriously his name) of My Cat From Hell has really good tips for dealing with this. There are multiple episodes of MCFH involving cats with this exact problem which might help you think of solutions as well as understand where the cat is coming from. Feliway is a good idea, but I like these collars better since if your place is drafty Feliway can get sucked out of windows and under doors.
posted by Anonymous at 7:40 AM on October 15, 2014
posted by Anonymous at 7:40 AM on October 15, 2014
My cat started having litter box issues and compulsions to run outside in our last rental, after years of perfect use in other environments. There was evidence that a dog had previously lived in the house, and I thought it was that. Then the first snow came and I saw just how much pee the neighborhood cats were spraying around the perimeter of the house. No wonder my cat was upset. I never found a solution at that house. When we bought our new house, and I saw that the neighbor's cat liked to use a garden bed below a window for elimination, I covered the area with sharp gravel and stuck tall bamboo skewers in the ground to make it an unwelcoming place.
Also, in the last few months blood tests revealed that my cat is now in the very early stages of renal failure, and we have litter box issues again, so if turns out to be that you might need some other strategies.
posted by stowaway at 8:46 AM on October 15, 2014
Also, in the last few months blood tests revealed that my cat is now in the very early stages of renal failure, and we have litter box issues again, so if turns out to be that you might need some other strategies.
posted by stowaway at 8:46 AM on October 15, 2014
Seven years old is considered early, but did your vet also check for hyperthyroid? One of my cats started getting more aggressive and energetic at about 7 (and then started throwing up everywhere), and when they'd checked for everything else, they ran a thyroid panel and found his thyroid was insanely high. The good part is that the medication is pretty cheap, and if you have a reasonably near place that does it, radioactive iodine treatment is usually a full cure and worth it in a cat that young.
posted by monopas at 10:08 AM on October 15, 2014
posted by monopas at 10:08 AM on October 15, 2014
I have no additional ideas for what's causing this, but regarding the outdoor question, I would strongly urge you not to allow your cat outdoors. Outdoor cats have on average significantly shorter lifespans than indoor-only kitties. They can be hit by cars, attacked by dogs or birds of prey or other cats, or attacked by people (one stray I adopted long ago was found to have a BB pellet inside her). Just something to consider.
posted by Librarypt at 11:42 AM on October 15, 2014
posted by Librarypt at 11:42 AM on October 15, 2014
Kitty Prozac was the only thing that helped our anxious male cat who was similarly spraying, yowling, and patrolling. We had just moved to a new house and both neighborhood strays and my neighbor's many indoor cats were making him crazy. But cleaning up with an enzymatic cleaner is a must in any case.
posted by percolatrix at 12:43 PM on October 15, 2014
posted by percolatrix at 12:43 PM on October 15, 2014
I agree the issue is most likely other cats outside the house.
A simple and cheap if somewhat disgusting solution is to empty the content of his litter box around the house - not one big dump somewhere, but with a shovel sprinkle small amounts all around, into the lawn, and if you can bear it also use poo. It does not have to be much at all, their sense of smell being so acute. You may have to repeat it after rain. You mark your cat's territory for him, so to speak. If this grosses you out, and he sheds a lot you could try his hair.
Personally I would also investigate the health issue further - I lost a cat to renal failure due to an incompentet vet, who assured me several times nothign was wrong. Luckily I found a better vet for the two that followed her, who actually did (expensive) blood work, etc. But eventuelly they too died of renal failure (but only at age 14).
posted by 15L06 at 2:22 PM on October 15, 2014
A simple and cheap if somewhat disgusting solution is to empty the content of his litter box around the house - not one big dump somewhere, but with a shovel sprinkle small amounts all around, into the lawn, and if you can bear it also use poo. It does not have to be much at all, their sense of smell being so acute. You may have to repeat it after rain. You mark your cat's territory for him, so to speak. If this grosses you out, and he sheds a lot you could try his hair.
Personally I would also investigate the health issue further - I lost a cat to renal failure due to an incompentet vet, who assured me several times nothign was wrong. Luckily I found a better vet for the two that followed her, who actually did (expensive) blood work, etc. But eventuelly they too died of renal failure (but only at age 14).
posted by 15L06 at 2:22 PM on October 15, 2014
Nthing everyone who said it's likely that strange, outdoor cats are causing his anxiety. Also nthing Feliway and enzyme cleaners as a good start. However, prozac really is the magic bullet for anxiety-related peeing. It has never failed me with any of my behaviorally challenged fosters. The good thing is that you don't have to give it forever. It only takes a couple of weeks for the prozac to work, and then you can try taking him off it after a few months. With a lot of cats, once the behavior is broken by the prozac it doesn't come back. At least not right away - there is always the possibility of some new anxiety, but then you just lather, rinse, repeat.
posted by ereshkigal45 at 2:46 PM on October 15, 2014
posted by ereshkigal45 at 2:46 PM on October 15, 2014
Response by poster: Thanks for all the replies. I live in Japan, so I'm not sure if I could find the motion-detection sprinklers here. Also not sure about the kitty prozac, but I'll ask my wife about it. But I do know there are strays around, I just never see them much. We have a barn near the house that the strays might be hanging out it. I'll work on getting that patched up so that they can't go in. Maybe that will keep them away, if that is indeed their base of operations.
We've taken him out on leashes a couple times. But my wife also doesn't like that idea because he'll get used to it and it will only make him want to go outside more. I don't know. Maybe if we can work on clearing the strays, and let him go out on the leash and pee around the house, it might help?
Gah! If only you could speak English, my kitty! :D
posted by snwod at 4:40 PM on October 15, 2014
We've taken him out on leashes a couple times. But my wife also doesn't like that idea because he'll get used to it and it will only make him want to go outside more. I don't know. Maybe if we can work on clearing the strays, and let him go out on the leash and pee around the house, it might help?
Gah! If only you could speak English, my kitty! :D
posted by snwod at 4:40 PM on October 15, 2014
They also make outdoor cat-repellers that emit an ultrasonic noise when the motion detector triggers them, but I don't know if the range would make the sound carry indoors and upset your cats too. Check out gardening supply websites, there must be plenty of people with home gardens that need to scare away more than just birds.
posted by oh yeah! at 5:45 PM on October 15, 2014
posted by oh yeah! at 5:45 PM on October 15, 2014
Can you block part of the view so that, if there are cats outside, he doesn't see them?
Also: I wouldn't be surprised if Japan is the _source_ of motion-detector sprinklers. Good luck!
posted by amtho at 6:36 AM on October 17, 2014
Also: I wouldn't be surprised if Japan is the _source_ of motion-detector sprinklers. Good luck!
posted by amtho at 6:36 AM on October 17, 2014
Oh, there are also devices that shoot a blast of air, but I don't know how effective those would be outdoors, I've only seen them in videos of people using to get indoor cats to stop walking on kitchen counters. And there are scat mats, that give a little shock when you step on them, you could probably put one of those under the window outside to keep cats from lingering for a face-off.
posted by oh yeah! at 7:32 AM on October 17, 2014
posted by oh yeah! at 7:32 AM on October 17, 2014
I am with everyone who said "outdoor kitties." My mom had the same issue with her last male cat, and, like percolatrix, was given a script for kitty prozac. (In my parents' case, I think the stray/outdoor cat eventually went away before they got the script filled.)
posted by hipstertarian at 11:27 AM on October 17, 2014
posted by hipstertarian at 11:27 AM on October 17, 2014
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Still, have you tried switching his feed? If it is something digestive, finding a high quality feed could help.
posted by Milau at 3:36 AM on October 15, 2014