Tuesday 17 January 2017

The Smooch Report ~ The Widdle Diaries ~ How to Help Solve Inappropriate Kitty Toileting and Spraying Issues - Part I



Many greetings supurr furriends

and welcome to 



Part I of The Smooch Report - The Widdle Diaries

As many of mew will know that offur the last 18 months or so Smoochie has not been feeling himself and has been widdling in places he shouldn't.

Now the P.A. read book aftur book, searched the internet and tried effurything suggested to assist his Smoochiness offurcome his little purroblem and while some of it was a help, in all honesty most of the info was completely worthless and she wasted time and money on crap advice.

So aftur a trip to the vet and a few tests to make sure that there was no underlying medical issue causing his purroblem, the P.A. enlisted the help of a Kitty Psychiatrist/Behavioural Expert.  In other wurds she brought the really, really big guns in, and it's not cheap.

And today in Part One we're going to share with mew a little of what we've learnt from THE EXPERTS.   Now there will be a few of these posts as there's a lot to talk about and if mew have any questions, feel free to ask.

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Furstly and most importantly if mew have a kitty that's widdling outside the tray mew must take kitty to the vet asap to rule out any UTI infection or kidney problems or medial issue etc... 

Secondly mew need to assess if your kitty has a toileting issue or a spraying issue* - as the two are entirely different. We'll talk more about that in a moment.

Also if mew have more than one kitty then mew need to be certain who's doing it and/or whether its a group endeavour.

Obviously stalking your cat 24 hours a day and watching his/her effury move to see what's happening isn't going to help the purroblem or probably yield any solid confirmation as most incidents happen when mew're not there, so what the P.A. did was buy 7 camera's 

Foscam C1 Lite 720P Wireless Cube Daytime Baby Monitor IP Camera, Mini Wide Viewing Angle Surveillance Webcam, Wi-Fi Connection, Two Way Audio, Motion Detection, Message Push
[Image @AmazonUK]

Foscam C1 Lite 720P Wireless IP Camera


and located them around the house where Smooch had piddled.  These handy camera's are furry easy to set up and have the facility to record via a small monthly subscription so mew can go back offur footage and see exactly who's doing what where and when. [They are not infrared so mew will need to leave a light on at night if mew suspect kitty is widdling offur night].

Thirdly: Get a diary or calendar and keep a log of every time kitty widdles and where.

Fourthly: Draw a floor plan of your house and mark on it where your kitty is urinating.

Now this seems like a lot of stuff to do, but if mew want to help solve your kitty's issues mew are going to have to put the time in.

We also need to say this:

If mew do have a kitty that is urinating/spraying outside the litter box there is usually a furry valid reason and it's your duty as primary caregiver to not just decide to take your cat to a shelter and give-up because mew can't be bothered and it's an inconvenience in your life.  

This is completely irresponsible and we would suggest that before adopting or getting a cat that mew think long and hard about the next 20+ years - as that's how long a cat can live - and make a commitment that you're going to keep kitty furever, no matter what.  If mew're not 110% in it fur the life of your cat life then don't ever get one.

And if mew effur decide to get rid of your cat because your new partner doesn't like kitty - SHAME ON MEW - our advice is: Get rid of the new partner furst, as kitty will likely be there a lot longer!

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 *How to determine whether your kitty has a toileting issue or a spraying issue.

If your kitty is spraying or marking up usually he or she will back up to an item, and while standing with tail erect will spray their chosen item.  The amount of urine won't be a lot.

If it is a toileting issue they will squat as they do in the tray, fur instance: if they do it on a hard surface mew will find a puddle.

Spraying is usually a territorial thing, whereas toileting is more of a behavioural thing.

*      *      *

Anyhoo, let's continue,

So below is the Smooch Widdle Diary started aftur the Expert's furst visit on the 22nd of November.

The P.A. has a calendar stuck on the fridge and we have been filling it in as and when an incident occurs, and mew can see how varied it is.  There were many other places around the house too but we weren't keeping a diary then, and the P.A. has just ended up getting rid of stuff that has been ruined and at the moment Smoochie's widdling has cost in excess of £4,500.00, yep it's up there but there was a Sony laptop and the leather sofa out of the office, they were the big-ticket items.

FYI: Insurance doesn't cover accidental cat pee incidents either.



Now at the preliminary meeting at BBHQ, the P.A. discussed several things that she thought were contributing to Smoochie's purroblem, but the biggest one was Tiger.

Tiger is a cat who lives somewhere in the village and has been going next door to the P.A.'s cousins for the last 18 months or so.  We have no idea where he lives, but he does come offur the fence, into the courtyard and sleep under the carport in the teddy bear's picnic area.  Smoochie really doesn't like this cat at all and this is one of his biggest triggers.


See what we mean!


The next trigger is, if anything new is brought into the house that 'smells' different.

Fur example, Smooch has widdled on a couple of the heavy jute rugs, which are really hard to clean properly, so the P.A. bought new rugs and within one day of the new rugs being down he'd widdled on them too.  So now the only rugs the P.A. uses are smaller washable cotton ones, which until the Saturday just gone, he'd shown no interest in at all.  But at least she can just throw those type in the washing machine and it's no big purroblem to deal with.

The third trigger is, loud external noises, ie; like last week when we had the drive done, the mini digger clanking about set him back a little.

And before we wrap this post up we feel it most importante that mew see what a little sweetie Smoochie is and even though he's only got 3 legs he loves to play....



So in this post, mew need to get prepared, get your diary and effurything else implemented and start monitoring kitty and try to find the triggers that may be causing the behaviour.

In Part Two we'll show mew what we implemented to assist Smoochie in his recovery, and more about his purrsonality.

How many litter trays you should have, and talk about the cleanup process and what is the best product to clean cat urine with, as well as his actual progress since new measures were introduced.

And like we said earlier if mew have any questions, we'll help if we can!

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And before we go, here's the draw fur last weeks Give-Away on Mandalas on Monday to win this really cute colouring book:


The entries were:



The live draw:



And the winner is:



WOO HOO, congratulations guys and if mew could email us your snail mail address to:

deardrbasil @ gmail . com

We'll ship the book to mew post haste, and congratulations again we really hope mew like it

Many thanks to effurypurrdy else for entering, and don't wurry if mew missed out this time, we've got another colouring book to give away next month.



Well, it's time for us to pop off, but we'll see mew tomorrow when Amber will be sharing another book just fur mew, and if mew want to see part 2 of The Widdle Diaries, click here.

Until then

We wish mew a supurr happy Tuesday

Sweetest purrs

Basil & The B Team








Gifs and Glitter Graphics www.glitter-graphics.com
Other graphics used under paid licence www.canva.com  and www.pizap.com

26 comments:

  1. You have to be a detective of sorts to figure out the source of what humans call "improper elimination!" But it's so worth it. I had a suspicion that Smoochie's main problem was an intruder... it often is. I think Tiger exacerbated the other issues... but then I'm just a laycat, not an expert.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Summer, mew are so right about being a detective, and yes Tiger has exacerbated the situation, the P.A. thinks that when the she went to OZ in July 2015 and the cousin came to look aftur us, he was feeding our leftovers to Tiger and that's when it started :( XOX

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  2. Great post. Max is spraying. He has his places goes back to them, no mater how we try to clean them up. Sometimes it is on a well. When we got him, he had been 'surrendered because of lift style changes'. We really suspect he was spraying at his old house,too, and they did not want to deal with it. I think one of his triggers is Angel, the oldest cat here. She is the original but he sees her as a threat. He chargers her and growls, slaps at and hits at her. Then she runs and he thinks he has won!

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Hi Angel, Kirby and Max, oh we're sorry to hear that and it is such a difficult thing to address, but your purroblem is harder to solve because the trigger maybe an internal one. We're wundering if mew've thought of getting Max to rub his face on a clean cotton hanky and then transfer his scent to the places he's widdled aftur they've been cleaned? So in theory when he goes to those places it already has his scent and it may help reduce his urge to mark up... it may be wurth a try! XOX

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  3. smooch...dood....sorree ya haz had an inn trood urr ta cauz ewe fitz....sew... like what if ewe wented over two tigerz home N peed on sum oh hiz stuff ( ya can sendz a spiez out afturr him ta see wear him goez....) we hope yur box izzuez iz on de way ta bee in a thing oh de past ...thanx for sharin thiz info buddy; lookin for werd ta next weekz post { haz de PA ever tried citruz rindz....suppozed lee if ya put citruz rindz out... de kitteh willna peez wear de rindz R ~~~ ♥♥♥♥♥♥

    N conga ratz two bear kat onw innin de awesum book ! ☺☺☺

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    Replies
    1. Tabbies, dudes and Miss Dai$y, MOL we love your comment, we're not sure if he's a farm cat as there is a farm at either end of the village and when Tiger furst appeared he was a scrawny waif, I told my cousin to worm him and he looks really good now. Yes the P.A. tried the citrus thing, it was her furst go-to idea, Smoochie was not perturbed by it at all, even when the P.A. mixed up a combo of citrussy essential oils in a water based spray and used that on the areas it made no difference to him going there. The only way to stop him was to remove the item completely, whether out of reach or out of the house. XOX

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  4. Wow, what a great post and so much info here. Looking forward to the 2nd part. And congrats to Momma Kat on the win!

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  5. Poor Smoochie. My take's always been that when there's something outside the litter box, there's usually a good reason. I'm glad you included the bit on commitment. You wouldn't get rid of a kid for wetting the bed. Over the years, I've heard all kinds of stories and in every case ... it seemed pretty easy for me to point out to the person the underlying issue ... and the person usually did not care. Drives me insane. Kitty peed in my bed every day for a couple months after my ex-husband and I moved in together (we didn't share a bed, we weren't married yet ... we had separate bedrooms even). What does getting mad and yelling accomplish? Did I appreciate having to wash my sheets every day? No. But I'm not getting rid of a cat because it's inconvenient. For Kitty, there was a very good reason why she was doing it and with patience and a little time ... it worked out. Smoochie is a sweetheart ... he must be truly stressed to go outside the box. Poor guy.
    ps - Yay! We e-mailed you earlier today with our address ... thanks!

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    Replies
    1. Hey Momma Kat & Bear, mew know we wrote exactly the same thing a few weeks ago about if it was a child wetting the bed.... great minds huh??? MOL We know exactly what it's like to have your bed pee'd on, Humphrey went through a phase about 12 years ago, yet he decided to pee on effury bed in all 3 bedrooms. It stopped aftur the P.A. shut the doors and limited his access unless she was in the room with him. But washing sheets and duvets is no fun! Thanks fur your address we'll be sending your book tomorrow! XOX

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  6. Aaaaaaaaaaaw We're so sorry 'bout da piddlin' purroblems. Me has done dat meself a time or 10. We're sendin' lots of purrayers fur Smoochie and all. We hope things get better real soon. Big hugs

    Luv ya'

    Dezi and Raena

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    Replies
    1. Hi Dezi & Raena, thanks so much fur the purrayers and things are improving! XOX

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  7. Great report, Smoochie. Sometimes humans have to think like cats to figure out what's going on. The cat that came before us was a sprayer and the mom did everything to help him to stop.

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    Replies
    1. Hey Island Cats, yep they do indeed have to get their inner cat-brains on to figure out the why's and wherefores. It's no fun having to clean up cat pee effuryday! XOX

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  8. Concats to MommaKat and Bearcat!! Smoochie is adorables AND obviously is a big fan of wand toys and tunnels - GO BOY GO!!!

    Love, Angel Sammy

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    Replies
    1. Hi Angel Sammy, Smoochie loves to play and effury night the P.A. get's all our toys spread offur the lounge rug fur a mass playtime! MOL XOX

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  9. Excellent post. I wonder if Tiger needs to be fixed, maybe he is a stray. Congrats to Momma and her Bear.

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    Replies
    1. Hey guys, the P.A. thinks Tiger is/was a farm cat as when he furst appeared he was skinny, scrawny and dirty. She told her cousin to worm him and he looks so much better these days, in fact he's rather chubby! MOL And no he hasn't been fixed, the P.A. has asked her cousin to borrow a trap and they'll take him and have him scanned fur a chip and have him done. XOX

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  10. hope you can get Tiger fixed - maybe that will help with the spray problem inside... I have a little girl kitty with toiletry problems... I think she just wants her own place to go and the boys keep bothering her...

    Concats to Momma Kat and Her Bear Cat - glad they won something. They are new to blogging and such pawsome posts about Bear and fun to read.

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    Replies
    1. Hi katie Kat, yes I think that would help, so hopefully we TNR asap. We hope your little girl kitty get's her wish of a boy free litter box experience! XOX

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  11. Great post ! Concatulations to Momma Kat and Bear ! Purrs

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  12. Smooch, we're glad you and the P.A. are starting to figure what's making you widdle inappropriately. It's hard detective work, but you are worth it.

    ConCATS to Momma Kat and Bear Cat!

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  13. Wow, we had no idea things had gotten that bad with the inappropriate widdling...
    How interesting the wayyou habe been working to solve the troubles. Pipo has not done those kind of things, but he gets into the box,and stands upright facing the back wall of the covered box and lets it 'rip'...and then there is a puddle outside the box, because it leaks out through the crack where the top meets the bottom. So...I have to keep the box on a plastic mat,and a soaker between the mat and the box to keep the puddle from travelling off the mat onto the carpet. At least he is facing the bk and not the doorway to the covered box...MOL! I don't think we can use regular pans here because this. He has been doing that since he was quite young, and he never covers up his big jobs...but...well, we love him anyways!!

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    1. Hiya Pipo & Minko, yep it's been purretty rough but we're solving it slowly and Smoochie is getting much better - in fact as of today there's been no incidents since 14th January, which is a new wurld record! WOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOO way to go Smoochie!!! XOX

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