2 16 Year Old Cats Peeing Every Where and My 4 Month Old. Should I Euthanize?

I do not like cats at all, so I won't comment on what to do with them. I will say, however, that you can shampoo that carpet until it's thread-bare and you are not going to get rid of the smell. It's soaked into the pad and probably into the sub floor. You have to completely remove the carpet and pad, seal the floor underneath and then replace with new carpet and pad. With summer here, the smell is going to become horrendous. Yuk!!!!!

Google Jackson Galaxy! Or watch My Cat From H%$#. He has a lot of great suggestions for problem kitties. Going outside the litterbox (when it is not a medical issue) is a sign of anxiety. Cats are very territorial, they are trying to mark the room, house, whatever, as MINE MINE MINE. It makes perfect sense that this is in response to the introduction of a baby.

A couple of ideas from the show that seemed brilliant- can you give the cats a place to escape, maybe a guest room with a baby gate, so the cat can escape the baby? SOmeplace with lots of toys, a climber, etc. Cats also tend to enjoy getting up high, so anything you can buy/build that allows the cats to climb out of reach of the kiddos can help. Try to give each cat some attention each day, away from the baby, even 5 minutes.

oh, i'm so, so sorry. what a hard thing.
i don't actually agree with the suggestions to rehome your cats. if they were 5 or 6, or even 10 (maybe), but 16 year old cats who have always been with you will have a terrible time adjusting to even the kindest home.
and frankly, you'll have a terrible time trying to find anyone who will adopt 2 ancient cats who are having litterbox issues.
when i brought my first baby home, one of my cats couldn't take it and objected by declining the litterbox. like you, despite how much i loved that little tabby girl, my baby came first. i was so lucky that i was able to find a terrific home for her. but she was only 7.
i'd try the crate thing thing first, or isolating them in a particular part of the house that's easy to clean up (a bathroom?) and giving them lots and lots of love when you can. but it's a long shot.
you're going to take a lot of flack for even thinking about euthanizing, and it's an agonizing choice. but i think it's better to take them and let them go, held in your arms, than to send them off to cope with learning a new home and new owners at their age, even if you were lucky enough to find someone willing.
{{{{}}}}
khairete
S.

1. Ensure that the boxes are clean.

2. Give them at least 20 minutes of your attention every day (no baby pulling at them) before you feed them in the evening. Play with them with the red dot/laser until they're tired.

3. Give a few days of doing this regularly and see if there's a change.

You said it started when the baby arrived so...what changed? Did you stop paying them attention? Did their place in the house move? Do they continue in the same spot? Does that spot relate to the baby? Do you use enzyme cleaners like anti icky poo? Have you tried the long term feliway plug in? How were they introduced to the baby?

I would go back to basics. I would clean everything with a good enzyme cleaner. I would make sure they have accessible litterboxes and that they are reminded where those are. If the baby's stuff moved their toys or furniture or they feel like they can't be on the floor anymore, what about a new cat tree or a window seat? If you used to sit with them but now the baby takes up your lap, can you deliberately pay attention to them throughout the day?

We have a cat who will pee in the food bowl if she's angry. I'm not pleased about it, but it has mostly stopped since I started being deliberate about how I pay attention to her. It got worse when my stepdaughter moved to college - I think the cat missed her and was angry at the lack of attention. It may be the same for you.

You can also seek the counsel of an animal behaviorist. Find out what you can do to bring back harmony to your household.

ETA: http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/cat...

It is more than important for your child to not be exposed to the pee and poop. It's imperative. I would have to either find them a home where there are no children (the likely cause of this) or have the vet put them to sleep. No amount of deriding my choice by ANYONE would change my point of view on this. Your child's health and welfare comes before 16 year old cats.

I had a cat who did this, except it was only defecating - urinating still happened in the box. She would have diarrhea and soft stools everywhere, but usually next to the litter box (which we kept in a room the kids did not go into).

There were several things that happened in her life all at the same time and I think she just couldn't get over the changes - her buddy (our other kitty) passed, two months later we moved into a new house, and three months after that a new baby was born (our second).

We did everything - back and forth to the vet, all kinds of different food & medication to see if digestion or anxiety was a problem, made sure she had quiet places to herself, paid her attention after the kids were in bed. We couldn't put her outside because she was declawed and couldn't defend herself. Not only that, we didn't want an outdoor cat to bring in fleas, ticks or other things that belonged outside. The few times in her life we allowed her outside she would cry at the door to get in, so I don't think she would have been any happier - probably would have felt abandoned.

Finally after a couple years of this, we had to put it to an end and we had to put her down. It was filthy and we were out of options. Frankly, it was such a negative experience for us we will probably never get another pet.

It sounds like the cat box problems started when your son was born - they are jealous of the baby.
Google it or ask about it on a cat forum.
I'm not sure how you get a cat use to having a baby around the house but at 16 yrs old - I'm not sure old cats can lean new tricks.

They don't like the household now that the baby is in the picture. Their routine is different and they are letting you know about it. Is there an area in your house that could be a cats only area? Like an office where you can put a couple comfy cat beds and maybe a shelf by the window so they can look out?

I had a cat who was a friendly feral. He came to live with me when he was around 2 yrs old and since he had lived outside he didn't take to the litter box at all. I tried everything but nothing worked. I'd had cats all my life but this guy just wouldn't use the litter box at all. He ended up being an outside cat because I just couldn't spend a half hour every single day running around the house with a black light to spot and clean up all the pee.

If you can't keep them you can go on petfinder.com and see if there's a rescue group in your area that can assist you in rehoming them. But keep in mind that at 16 it'll be hard for them to adjust to a new home if they can be placed at all. I wish you luck.

you might try crate training with them. Most animals won't pee or poop where they sleep. It can also be an effective way to stop unwanted behaviors.

Get a couple of crates ... and every time they pee or poop outside the litter box ... into the crate they go.

If that doesn't work ... the only other choices you have for this situation is rehoming (which gets more and more difficult to do as animals get older ... because their life span isn't going to be much longer) or euthanize.

Feces has all kinds of nasty stuff in it ... the health of your child comes before the cats ... period.

Yeah, I don't think they are "accidents". Two friends if mine had to just finally find their cats a new home. Yours sounds jealous of baby :( Could you start asking your friends if anybody wants to adopt two older cats? I say word of mouth b/c I don't trust Craigslist. Good luck!

My older cat started doing this when my first was born. We turned him outside and he was perfectly happy. Just hung around outside the house all day and came in when we were home. Never peed in the house again. To me, that was a better solution than having him put to sleep.

What does the vet say? I realize they are 16 and some cats live much longer than that.

Since blood work came back normal and BOTH cats are doing this........Maybe they are adjusting to your baby in the house and this is their way of getting attention. They have been "replaced" in their minds by the baby who is rightly so getting more attention right now, therefore acting out.

I am typically not a crate trainer but in this case, crate training might be a good idea OR keep them separated somehow.

We have always had dogs and fortunately didn't have those issues when daughter came along.

My daughter did rescue a cat about 6 months old which was set to be euthanized at the shelter for social issues. She didn't respond to anyone who tried to take her and she is a beautiful tortoise shell and weighs 4# but her hair makes her look bigger. Anyway, my daughter didn't find the available cats receptive to her and she asked about this one. It was like they found each other.. even the attendants could not believe the instant bond.. this cat went directly to daughter's lap, sleeps with her and is actually a cat/dog. Great cat. She kept her strictly in the bathroom and slowly allowed opened up the rest of the condo to her so she would not be confused. It is the best thing daughter ever did!

That said, maybe you cold adopt your cats out if you can't control the behavior. I would seek out some behavior specialist before I euthanized 2 normal cats with no health issues who had the world as they know it turned upside down by a new baby. Hopefully they can adjust to the new routines and schedules with more attention from you.

I agree that your child should not be in any contact with litter, pee and poo from cats. I hope you find a solution that works for your family.

This could indicate a kidney or UTI infection. It could also be a parasite caused by fleas which causes cats to show the same symptoms as a kidney or UTI infection. Have your vet look at parasite infections too. My cat did the same thing & was at the vet's all day to see what was wrong w/her. I forgot the name of the parasite infection but it was caused by fleas due to injesting of the fleas while grooming.

After treating her w/the medication & vitamins the vet gave me, it took some coaxing over 2 to 3 days or so to get her to use the box again but she's fine now.

As for the carpet. Get rid of it. Carpet is the hardest thing to keep clean with pets in the home. Replace with regular flooring. Do some research on the type of flooring that's easiest to keep clean. Good luck!

I think you need a new vet. Bloodwork wasn't the appropriate kind of testing for this. What is needed is urine samples to check for crystals and UTIs. Medication and a change in food would be necessary.

The reason why they stop using the box in this case is because they think it is the source of their pain.

Additionally, even after they are healthy again they may continue peeing inappropriately. This is because your carpet cleaner is only cleaning the surface. No matter how much you clean, it is't enough.

Even when everything smells fine to you, they can smell it all the way to the subfloor and the areas still seem like a litterbox to them.

Since this has been going on for months now, chances are you will need to completely tear up the carpeting and pad, scrub and seal the subfloor (or replace if it is too damaged) and put in new flooring. I highly suggest hard flooring. Wood, compost, vinyl, etc.

We replaced our carpeting with a durable fiberglass vinyl that is slightly soft but also waterproof.

there's a cat litter called "Cat Attrack" that you can buy at Petsmart, that really does work and it has a booklet that gives other tips.
My cats were doing this too and switching cat foods to a grain free seemed to help as well. One cat was put on a special canned food cause he was thought to have a bladder issue and that stopped the issue pretty quickly.
It could also be the age of your cats, 16 yrs is about the life expectancy of a cat so it may really just be their age.