https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Wed, 20 May 2026 00:38:35 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/new-cat#post-2868462 Wed, 23 Jan 2019 20:21:43 +0000 irene 2868462@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Just want to chime in again...</p> <p>Our cat who passed away recently, lived until 18 years old. He had repeated UTIs when he was way younger and at one point, we were told that we need to switch him to a low PH diet. I think we had both Hills c/d and Royal Canin urinary SO in cans. I had to order pet food from the Vet for YEARS until he died recently, but he had never had UTI issues again. Again, that's not cheap... but at least there will not be UTI issues and urgent care runs afterwards (at least for my cat).</p> <p>I am just curious if your SIL would even consider keeping the cat with this info. Maybe it is more manageable if she doesn't have to run to the vet / administering meds every few weeks for repeated UTI? It just hurts me when some girl insisted of taking a cat to the shelter because she didn't want to pay multiple vet visits. Do not ever ever think about getting a pet because they do get sick, and there could be chronic illnesses, just like humans...... sigh....</p> <p>If the cat continues to stay with you and he's still stressed out about the dogs, try to buy a bottle of pheromone and spray on things so he feels more like home.... I hope this unfolds in a not tragic way.... :goodluck: </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/new-cat#post-2868448 Wed, 23 Jan 2019 19:47:44 +0000 caitcat 2868448@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>That sounds stressful to be stuck in the middle of! I feel for you and the kitty. Did he get in to the vet today? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/new-cat#post-2868401 Wed, 23 Jan 2019 15:31:03 +0000 cyoung 2868401@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <br /><p><i>This comment has been deleted by the original poster.</i></p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/new-cat#post-2868393 Wed, 23 Jan 2019 14:40:19 +0000 irene 2868393@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@cyoung: The whole story makes me frown :-( Why would people abandon their pet because they didn't get along with new pets / and sick is beyond me. People like that should not have pets. Ever. It didn't even sound like the cat was that old, only 4 years. So she didn't want him because he got sick and hissy. What did she expect, a healthy happy cute cat until it dies in 15 years and it dies with no health issues ever...? That's call a robot.</p> <p>Poor kitty, he's sick and hurts when he pees, and then he has to be in extreme fear with the dogs. It is amazing you guys took him in but still... </p> <p>male cats tend to have issues with unrination especially the neutered ones . Mine had multiple urinary tract infections, he held his pee or kept going to the litter box because it felt like he wanted to pee. I took him in every time (sometimes to the urgent care) he started "telling" me he couldn't pee. </p> <p>Can you just take the cat in once to see if it is even treatable? Honestly, if you don't take her in now, it can become a serious problem that affects his kidneys and he would die. The earlier you take him, it may just be 2 weeks of antibiotics and that would take care of the UTI. Yes it is money but heck, that's what you do when you choose to have a pet..... Forget about the sister. She already gave up the cat, she won't pay for the bills....</p> <p>Sorry, just really sad and mad because my cat passed away 2 years ago, I didn't dare to get another one because I know at this point of life I can not take care of a pet "in sickness and in health". And then there are people who gave up their pets at 4 years old because their pet is not "perfect". </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/new-cat#post-2868373 Wed, 23 Jan 2019 10:33:13 +0000 Sams Mom 2868373@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We're going through that with our cat right now. The vet gave her a shot, told us to come back in 2 weeks for a follow up, and to have one more litter box than the number of cats you have. She stopped peeing blood a few days after the shot, and the extra litter box seems to help her (even though I have extra work 🤦🏼‍♀️) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/new-cat#post-2868372 Wed, 23 Jan 2019 10:23:51 +0000 cyoung 2868372@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Well ladies come to find out this morning Chase is peeing blood. She told us he had a UTI a few weeks ago but was fine now. I think she knew he was still sick and didn't want to take care of him and knew he would need a lot of vet visits.</p> <p> We had a cat last year we loved so much who had to be put to sleep due to similar issues. His would never go away and he was able not to pee anymore and was dying. The vet told us our old cat was suffering. </p> <p>I'm making my husband text his sister and tell her to come pick him up and take him to the vet ASAP. We are not paying for something she knew about. It makes since she knew cause she kept asking how he was doing every day like she felt guilty. She also would keep saying we need to just take him to the shelter. I even asked her if she took him back to the vet to check his uti. She never answered and ignored my question. We only had him for a week so he still had it when she have him too us. Im.very angry. She knows we have a third baby on the way and need to save money. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/new-cat#post-2868329 Wed, 23 Jan 2019 01:18:46 +0000 Mrsbells 2868329@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@cyoung: I dont have a solution but I do find it weird they were so willing to give up their older cat for a kitten. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/new-cat#post-2868139 Tue, 22 Jan 2019 13:21:40 +0000 caitcat 2868139@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Has he been checked for any urinary issues? We had a cat who peed outside of his box often and it turned out he had struvite crystals in his urine (I think that's what it was called...) and switching to a prescription diet to control it helped some. The vet also prescribed fluoxetine (prozac) down the road and that helped even more. Honestly, we struggled with some marking issues his whole life, but on a much smaller scale than we did initially before we switched food and started the medication. </p> <p>I think there are also feliway collars you could try that are similar to the plug-ins. We found the plug in helpful when we introduced a new cat in one room, but it wasn't working as much in larger open spaces. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/new-cat#post-2868073 Tue, 22 Jan 2019 09:30:40 +0000 gotkimchi 2868073@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I agree confine him to his own room and try a feliway plug in. It’s not magic but it did help calm our cats when we had introduced a thjrd </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/new-cat#post-2868067 Tue, 22 Jan 2019 08:54:27 +0000 cyoung 2868067@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@erinbaderin: I agree. I think he needs a place where he is an only pet or so. We just kinda panicked and was afraid she would toss him to a shelter. I can see if there is a foster place. I don't think we have any for cats unfortunately. It makes me sad cause he is so sweet. I think we just bit off more then we can chew. His sister took him to the vet before we got him and he was fine. </p> <p>I agree she is a jerk. I think she didnt want him anymore cause he was getting older and he was a "boring" cat. It makes me sad. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/new-cat#post-2868066 Tue, 22 Jan 2019 08:49:21 +0000 erinbaderin 2868066@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Honestly, I'm not sure you can solve this problem. Cats are territorial - they aren't pack animals and generally don't want a new cat in their space. This is why he was hissing at the kitten. So now you've taken a stressed out territorial cat and made it much worse for him (not any slight against you! I think what you did was lovely!) by taking him away from his established territory and putting him in another animal's territory. Chase may just be temperamentally suited to be an only pet. Are there any foster organizations where you live who could take him and find him a family, as opposed to a shelter?</p> <p>Some things you could try - how did you introduce him to the "family"? They recommend, when introducing a new cat, that you give it it's own room for a while - a long while, like a week - that the other animals can't get into. That gives everybody a chance to get used to the smells of each other. Then you start slowly having supervised visits. Could you give him his own safe space that the dogs aren't allowed into? I would also add a third litterbox - it's recommended you have one per animal. And there's a product called Feliway - it plugs into the wall like an air freshener but has pheremones that are supposed to be calming.</p> <p>Have you taken him to a vet?</p> <p>Also, and this is just my personal opinion, your sister-in-law is a jerk. Who rehomes a pet because they got a new cuter pet and the original pet doesn't get along? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/new-cat#post-2868056 Tue, 22 Jan 2019 08:41:06 +0000 cyoung 2868056@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>You ladies always give sound advice. Maybe you can help. </p> <p>My husband sister was getting rid of a cat she has had since he was a baby. He is 4 and his name is Chase. They got a new kitten last year and she didnt want Chase anymore cause he was hissing at the younger cat. She wanted to take him to a shelter. Unfortunately all shelters here put down animals. My husband was so upset and was afraid he would be put down cause people here only want kittens.<br /> Well we have two little kids, two cats and two dogs. We made sure to set up a second litter box. He is fine with the cats and kids but the dogs he is terrified of and growls at. He refused to come out when the dogs are inside. We have a crappy fence and our dogs try to get out a lot so we only let them out to pee. We do not want to get rid of him cause the shelter will put him down and he is a sweet cat but he has peed behind our couch a few times cause he wont come out. I want to keep him but I dont want a couch that smells like cat pee. We are getting a "new"couch and I dont want that one smelling like pee too. Any tips. The litter box is in the bathroom close to the couch. He will go if the dogs are outside. I just want him to come out and get used to everything more. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/little-box-issue#post-2146830 Thu, 16 Apr 2015 20:21:32 +0000 Chaosmaven 2146830@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>The only time we had this issue, it ended up being a UTI. I would get the kitty checked out and then maybe add a second box. We technically have 3 boxes for two cats, but they mainly only use 1, now that they are comfortable with each other. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/little-box-issue#post-2146815 Thu, 16 Apr 2015 20:13:14 +0000 avivoca 2146815@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@LAZB: In addition to getting another box, you might want to get your kitty to the vet. Cats sometimes go outside the box because they associate it with pain if they have a UTI. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/little-box-issue#post-2146780 Thu, 16 Apr 2015 20:00:43 +0000 LAZB 2146780@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Thanks for the advice everyone! We only have the one box for both cats, so we can bring back a second and see if that helps. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/little-box-issue#post-2146712 Thu, 16 Apr 2015 19:34:24 +0000 MenagerieMama 2146712@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I'm going to echo everyone else - get kitty checked for a UTI first and then make sure you have a minimum of 1 box to kitty ratio. We had horrible cat pee issues with one cat (entire living room had to be stripped and sealed, ugh) and that's where we started. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/little-box-issue#post-2146704 Thu, 16 Apr 2015 19:30:21 +0000 lilyofthewest 2146704@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Do you have at least as many boxes as cats (preferably at least one more)?</p> <p>Have you cleaned the wee'd on spot with something like BacOut, Nature's Miracle, or Kids n Pets?</p> <p>Are your boxes big enough? Most litter boxes that you can pick up some place like the supermarket or Target are actually quite a bit smaller than most kitties prefer.</p> <p>Any mobility issues for your cat? Could they be having trouble climbing in and out of the box or making it to the box on time?</p> <p>Has your cat (or cats) been checked for a UTI and/or crystals? Sometimes if they have pain when they go, they blame the pain on the box and try other places to avoid the hurty place. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/little-box-issue#post-2146690 Thu, 16 Apr 2015 19:24:52 +0000 hotchildinthecity 2146690@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Yep, definitely add another box! Cats are picky about their box and can be picky about sharing. And this can come along later in life...ours shared a box for a long time then we had to get two and now we're back to one. But we keep an extra on hand because sometimes they get all snazzy about sharing. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/little-box-issue#post-2146641 Thu, 16 Apr 2015 19:05:32 +0000 ElbieKay 2146641@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Are you using enzyme cleaner when they pee on the floor? Supposedly that is the only way to fully remove the pee smell. Other cleaners leave a residual odor that humans don't notice but cats do. So this results in the cats thinking that the spot is "marked" and continuing to pee there. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/little-box-issue#post-2146622 Thu, 16 Apr 2015 18:55:08 +0000 MrsSCB 2146622@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Going off of what @kick641: said, my next suggestion was that our vets recommend one box per cat, so getting a second might help. We currently have three cats and two boxes, which works. But when we tried one box with two cats, one of the cats started going elsewhere :-/ </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/little-box-issue#post-2146616 Thu, 16 Apr 2015 18:51:52 +0000 kick641 2146616@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>This is going to sound insane, but one of my cats was kind of OCD, and we had to get separate boxes, one for pee and one for poo, and she bullied the other cats into complying. She peed right outside the box until that happened. Do you think a second box could help? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/little-box-issue#post-2146606 Thu, 16 Apr 2015 18:48:04 +0000 MrsSCB 2146606@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Hmm, is the new box covered? Was the old one also covered? I've had cats who did not like covered litter boxes and wouldn't want to go in them. Or for some reason they would go into the covered box but not far enough in. So like their backside was still poking out the front so they'd pee a little on the floor, if that makes sense. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/little-box-issue#post-2146554 Thu, 16 Apr 2015 17:38:26 +0000 LAZB 2146554@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Lately one of our cats has started peeing right outside of the litter box. My husband keeps the litter pretty clean, the litter is the same, and both cats poo in the box itself.<br /> We got one of the litter boxes that looks like furniture a week or two ago so that we could put a pan thing to catch the pee so it won't go on the floor. There is still pee that is caught near the front of the litter box in the litter catch mat. My husband thinks that maybe one of the cats is "missing thier mark" and inadvertently urinating outside the litter box. </p> <p>The letterbox is on hardwoods (we have them throughout our house) so the concern is to stop the activity before we damage the floors. </p> <p>Any suggestions? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/cat-during-pregnancy#post-1267141 Sat, 07 Dec 2013 18:51:06 +0000 PurplePeony 1267141@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Add me to the list of ladies who had to scoop the box when my DH was traveling and did the disposable gloves-dust mask-wash REALLY well thing. I wasn't that worried because our cat hasn't been outside since we got him over 6 years ago and the only things he's ever killed are moths and flies. But I did take as many precautions as I could just in case, and everything is fine. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/cat-during-pregnancy#post-1267089 Sat, 07 Dec 2013 17:41:24 +0000 avivoca 1267089@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We have two cats, and for a couple of months I had litter duty while my husband traveled. I wore rubber gloves, a dust mask, and washed my hands and gloves well when I was done with the litter. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/cat-during-pregnancy#post-1267083 Sat, 07 Dec 2013 17:38:15 +0000 GrapeCrush 1267083@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We have cats and I didn't worry. DH changed the litter </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/cat-during-pregnancy#post-1267035 Sat, 07 Dec 2013 16:54:24 +0000 blackbird 1267035@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I have two indoor cats. Used gloves and a mask when I cleaned their box. </p> <p>Did not worry about it at all. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/cat-during-pregnancy#post-1267003 Sat, 07 Dec 2013 16:09:57 +0000 lemondrop 1267003@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>It's really simple to request a toxo titer for your cat from your vet. Then you'll have your answer and not have to worry. I know there was someone on here with a toxo positive cat some time ago, and we do see it from time to time in practice.</p> <p>I've worked in many situations with some less than healthy cats for the past 15 years, and for what it's worth, my toxo titer has been 0 for both pregnancies. I've always practiced good hygiene around litter and washed up well after handling it. Frankly, my husband sucks at cleaning out the litter boxes, so we tested our cats and I clean the boxes and wash my hands. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/cat-during-pregnancy#post-1266956 Sat, 07 Dec 2013 15:12:18 +0000 lilteacherbee 1266956@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Exact same answer as @Pepper!</p> <p>We have 2 indoor cats and they've always stayed inside. My husband changed the litter and I'm still letting him do it at 3 weeks pp ;) I never really worried too much about it (and that's saying a lot because I had lots of crazy anxiety during my pregnancy). </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/cat-during-pregnancy#post-1266951 Sat, 07 Dec 2013 15:09:09 +0000 heartonastring 1266951@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I didn't worry about it. It's really not much of a concern at all if you have an indoor cat, as cats contract it, mainly, from eating animals they hunt and kill. I used disposable plastic gloves when I did the litter and washed my hands afterward. </p>