Female CAT Troubles! Advice anyone??

[jen6889]

My cat is driving me NUTS!!! It's her "time of the month" and she desperately needs saving from getting kicked out the door. She's not an outdoor cat - she has no claws, and we don't want kittens. Dh says we can't afford to have her fixed this month and keeps promising we'll get it done next paycheck (he says this every month).

It's not the annoying meowing that's the problem. That's actually not so bad. It's whatever she's doing - scenting?? - that's the problem. I just call it pee, cuz it seems like that's basically what it is. She only does this when she's in heat. She pees on practically anything. First it was my shower curtain that I had taken down to paint the bathroom. Then it was the dog beds, then a pile of papers my kids left in the floor. Next was a box that was sitting in the hallway. Then my son's bed, and then my daughter's backpack! UGH! The final straw was when I discoverd this morning that she had peed on my daughter's art project that was sitting up on my 150 year old antique dining room table (THAT the cat KNOWS she isn't suppose to be on in the first place)!!!!! 8o 8o :{ :{ :{ :{ :{

Ooooo I was fuming... I chased that cat all over the house trying to catch her I was so mad!!! She's too fast for me tho... So I cleaned up the downstairs bathroom, moved her food, water and litter box in there and she's shut up in the bathroom now. I'm going to tell my dh that's where she's staying until he has her fixed.

I'm so mad at her though! My daughter was so proud of that project and now I have to throw it away! :{ Not to mention that the color from construction paper sort of gets on everything when its wet and now I have blue, red and yellow stains on my white linen table cloth. Thankfully, I don't think there was any damage to the table. Lucky for the cat or my dh would've been up for some animal abuse tonight when he got home from work.

Does anyone know a way to stop her from doing this? I'd hate for her to be locked up in the bathroom for so long. And will she stop "peeing" all over the house after she's fixed or is this her habit now?
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[JenniferC]

to get her fixed. Call around prices can vary tremendously. I couldn't stand the constant 'crying' she would go on for HOURS Some vets require proof of all shots, rabies , etc. Others will not make you get everything done.
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[pandybat]

Yep..Jennifer is right. The only way to fix her is to get her fixed...lol
Even male cats will mark their territory by spraying on stuff until you get them neutered. It's not pee really, it's like a scent they spray. And you talk about stink!! There's nothing worse than male cat spray!




How many Jennifer's do we have at this site anyway? You all confuse me! LOL
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[Louann]

If she is only doing this while she is in heat, then you know the cause and the solution. No excuses for not getting her fixed. Not only do you have this problem, but every cycle she goes through, you have a bigger chance of her developing breast tumors later. Does your DH want to pay for THAT surgery? Or will he just kill her for being a female cat?
It is not HER problem! You have no right to be angry at her. She is doing what is natural. No one should get a cat if they can't afford to get it neutered. There has got to be some place, humane society, animal welfare, etc, that you can get low-cost surgery at, but it may cost more while she's in heat. Unfortunately, cats have no monthly cycle, they can go in and out of heat constantly with no warning.
She may still pee after being fixed, but probably not. If she does, it will be easier to train her to stop if you catch her in the act and scold her. Her pee won't smell as bad either. You are lucky this is not caused by a medical reason, like an infection, because that would require you to give medicine, which is hard to do for a cat.
PLEASE start calling around today, or search the net for places to take her for surgery. If you don't, you are already abusing her by forcing her to go through this mess that IS NOT HER FAULT, and you are stressing out your family for no reason. If she had gone on the art project the first time, that would be different, but you had time to fix this problem when she had just ruined things like papers and boxes.
Sorry if I sound harsh, but I am a vet tech, and I get really emotional when I hear things like this. :( If a pet is a member of your family, you need to put money aside for it too, just like for a son or daughter who needs medical/surgical care. You never know what's going to happen, even with an indoor cat. I had to spend $1000 for bladder/urinary tract surgery on my 12 year old last Summer, and that was AFTER discounts I got from friends who are vets, but I have had him another year, and even tho I didn't have the money at the time, he is worth it and I could never have let him suffer or die just to save money. A friend once told me "it's only money, you can make more". I'm sure everyone on DOD can give you tips on how to earn or save the relatively small amount the neutering will cost.
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[jen6889]

So it WILL stop after she's fixed?? Oh, that's a relief to hear! I got to thinking this morning that what if she's so use to this now that she'll keep on even after she's fixed??

Thanks Jennifer & Sandy!!

I had called our vets about it when we first got the cat. My dh wanted to know how much it would be to fix her and get shots and all. It's going to be about $85 for the actual surgery and then the pain meds were $8. We had the option of laser surgery too, but it was some outrageous amount. She had all her shots at this same vets so we're ok there.

Thankfully, my cat isn't that loud. It's annoying, but the house is big enough that I can't hear her as well on the other side of it! She also will roll around on her back on the floor and meow and purr. Now THAT is really annoying. But her absolute favorite thing to do is to rub herself up against our male dog. Uh.. right gender, but wrong species there, kitty!!! LOL! My dog just stands there and looks at me like "HELP!"
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[bestmidwest]

Jen-if you can drive her to Chicago and pick her up the same day, this might be worth it. They charge $10. I think it would be worth the drive. See website:

[url]http://www.anticruelty.org/spay_neuter_clinic.html[/url]
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[Jennifer M.]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by pandybat [/i]
[B]How many Jennifer's do we have at this site anyway? You all confuse me! LOL
[/B][/QUOTE]


I'm a Jennifer ;)
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[tlspiegel]

Call around for spay cliinics. For ex., in Phoenix the Animal Shelter has one saturday a month where they will spay for free. You need to make an appointment. Call around and ask at pet shops, vets, etc. Someone will know where you can get this done if not for free, at least within your budget.

I'm sorry... this is normal behavior in a cat. Not her fault. Also, a spayed or neutered animal is a much better pet, and it will reduce chances of further serious health problems down the road.

Good Luck!
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[tlspiegel]

I know you're in IL - can you post some major towns w/in driving distance you're willing to go? I can search for you on the net. I'd need a location and then I'll look for you.
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[cujo0123]

There is a product called Natures Miracle and it is truely a miracle!! It uses enzymes to get rid of the odor so that your cat can't smell the spot and do it again.

Please, please, please have your cat fixed, your cat will be so much healthier!! Check at local shelters and see if there is a vet school nearby. One of them should be able to help. Good luck.

[tlspiegel]

Nature's Miracle is great.
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[hrdlife1]

yep, phoebe is a FIXED former pee cat.

my last straw was when she actually PEED ON MY DAUGHTER. oh yes she did....*whew* i was LIVID.

so i took her to the vet, had a long lonnnnnnnnnnnng talk with the vet, and went ahead and got phoebe fixed (we were afraid she was still too small but she was just old enough to have it done)...some cats have no "heat" indications at all except that they just start peeing all over stuff which is what phoebe did so i thought she wasn't mature yet...3 comforters and one traumatized daughter later i found out she was and could be fixed.

another thing the vet did tell me though was that i may want to remove the hood from over the litterbox and try a different litter, we did take the hood off and change over to the sand scoopable litter and all 3 kitties are much MUCH happier with that, so i'll pay the little extra for the sand litter :)

but, like my vet said, 9 times outta 10 it won't stop until you get her fixed...good luck!!!
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[luvmetender]

Have you tried calling your local SPCA to ask about spay vouchers? There are usually some vets who will take them and do the spaying for a greatly reduced fee.

If that is not an option where you live, try talking with your vet. Maybe they will let you go on a payment plan to pay for the surgery. I know my vet has this option.

Good luck!
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[Pipanella]

I'm taking my new kitty in on Wednesday to have her first shot. I'll ask him how soon I can get her spayed. I want to get her declawed, too, so I'll find out when she's old enough to have that done. I would dream of not having her spayed just as soon as she is old enough! I think I heard a long time ago, if you do it too soon, they can have a peeing problem, too. Anyone know if that is true?
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[luvmetender]

Kylee, I've had 11 of our females spayed, ranging from 6 months (the earliest recommended age) to 2 years old and none have had a peeing problem. The only problem I have right now is from one last male cat that has not been neutered yet (he's a stray that we've kind of adopted that isn't around enough for me to actually find and take to the vet on the day of the appointment!) He likes to come in the house and spray the kitchen counter, ugh!

Before you get your kitty declawed, I urge you to read some of the latest opinions on that. Here is just one of many:

[url]http://cats.about.com/cs/declawing/[/url]

It isn't just like "cutting their nails." It's way more invasive than that and can really affect their personality.
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