My cat hates my baby :-(

stephker

When I got out of college and moved back into my parents home I had no job prospects, no love prospects, and lots of post-college bills.  This beautiful little cat, Lily, just walked into my life and saved me from a deep depression, and I saved her from being put down by a previous owner because of an unwanted pregnancy (spay or neuter your pets, people!).  I've had her for 7 years now and we've become quite bonded- annoyingly bonded, actually.  She cries at doors if she can't come in to be with me, and every school year I have to buy pheromone treatments to help her cope with my post-summer schedule change (I'm a teacher).

Cue baby.

My husband and I have closed off the baby's room to both of our fur-babies (both female cats), but they have the run of the rest of the apartment.   The cats have never had access to this space before, and Lily constantly cries by the door while I'm in there.  This bothers me because I can't handle two crying creatures at the same time. 

I took Zoe to visit my sister for 5 days about two weeks ago.  While I was gone, my husband reported that Lily peed on the bed.  My husband is NOT good at keeping the litter boxes clean, so I chalked that one up to 'she's got a dirty litter box and she's missing me like crazy'.  

My husband and I were getting into bed tonight and again discovered that the cat had peed on the bed, AGAIN.  I've spoken with the vet and he will run tests to see if it's medical, but I'm betting that this is behavioral.  My husband and I just bought our first home (we move in a month) and I don't know what to do.  Do we keep her and hope that this behavior will stop?  Or do we get rid of the cat that I've had since I began my real adult life?  This is the cat whose collar my husband planted my engagement ring on!

I love my cat, but I love my baby more.  This is (literally) pissing me off!  Please help!

mylove2005

We also had this problem with my DD and one of my cats that was my moms before she passed away suddenly so no way in hel* would i let her go.   I worked hard at it but what we did was lock her in a room with a little box with a litter (for the life of me can not remember the name) but it attracts the cats to the box.  She lived in that room most of the time then we started letting her out slowly and watching her like a hawk. I would also make sure that you really wash everything that she peed on really well with natures miracle.  they also make a spray called feliway and that helps the animals not want to go near what you spray.  I would spray the stuff with that and i would even lock her out of the room that she has been peeing in. 

 I would also take her to the vet to get a once over and make sure that there is nothing medically wrong with her.  I know that sometimes they can pee to get your attention to let you know something is wrong.

 

You can totally fix this if you are willing to put in a  lot of hard work .  I did and it worked.

namara5532

I know you love your cat, but you may need to impliment some tough love.  My cat I got in college who I love to death had peeing on the bed issues too that I know was behavioral.  What I had to do was show him I didn't want him doing it by sticking his nose in the pee, lightly spanking him, and put him in the bathroom (it's where we keep his litter box) for half an hour.  Then we'd wash the sheets and spray the mattress with a special cleaner to get the cat pee out.

These days, DH has forbidden the cat from being in our bedroom unsupervised.  He's allowed in the baby room during the day, and he has peed on the spare bed there a couple times since baby was born.  We punished him, but now that he's gotten used to the baby, he hasn't peed on the bed again.  We also make a point to give him plenty of attention (especially when DS grabs his fur).  Now he mostly pees on the bathroom floor in protest when he's stressed.  We don't punish him for that because it's right next to his litter box, but he does it less when we give him attention.

bigbear

I don't think your cat hates your baby. She's just not adjusting to the very drastic changes in her life that you put in place. When you are with your LO (other than the baby's room) try to have your cat over as well and give her pets.

Cats are definitely hard to train when it comes to that. Our cat did this when I first moved in. She started peeing everywhere and once she did it in one spot she'd go back there as she'd smell it no matter how often and well you cleaned the place. She could still smell it. So we got rid of the comforter (she pee'd on my side of the bed). She got over it and isn't doing it anymore. But it took a lot of effort to get her to be ok with me living there and I would work with her all the time at just giving her pets, treats etc. We did start locking her out of the room and she cried for a few nights but then got over it as we got her new toys and catnip which took away the focus. Now she's actually trained to go down to the basement when it's time to go to bed and she loves it.

So it is possible but of course you can't let it go for too long and just deal with pee all the time as it's just gross and not healthy at all!

 

Mehllers

Please, please don't take your cat to a shelter.  A cat with bathroom problems at the shelter is a death sentence.  Here are some suggestions.

Have one more litter box than the number of cats you have.  I have three cats and I have four, yep, that's right, FOUR litter boxes in the house.

Put at least one litter box in a very low traffic area.  Three of our four boxes are in the basement, where it is nice, dark, and quiet.

Scoop twice a day.

Don't shut the cats out of the nursery.  The cats will most likely check out the room, sit there for a few minutes, and walk out.  Before Margo was born, they would take turns sleeping in her crib.  Now one of mine likes to sit on the arm of my chair while I feed Margo, but they don't get in the crib now that Margo sleeps there.  The others rarely come in, but if I closed that door, I'd have a kitteh rebellion. 

If you absolutely have to close out the cats, consider removing the interior door and installing a screen door instead.  That way the problem kitty can see you and see what's going on.  This is how I introduced new cats into my household, too.

Make extra time just for your cat with the pee problem.  Lots of love, attention, and play.  Give cat affection while holding the baby too.

Make sure there is plenty of fresh water available.  Consider a fountain if you don't already have one.  Keeps the kidneys healthy.

Get a gigantic cat scratcher, a TALL one.  Life with three feuding cats got so much better once we invested in one.  They love being up high, feeling safe, and observing everything.

Punishing the cat after the fact is just going to cause more stress and more peeing outside the box.  

I know, I am a crazy cat lady.  But feel free to PM me if you want to chat about cats.  My oldest girl, Lucy, saved my life.    >^,,^<