Jump to content

Menu

Funny question...has anyone tried pet diapers on a cat?


Recommended Posts

I have a cat that has pee issues. He has peed all over this house. I never catch him but I know he does it. We are moving into a new house and I don't want him to continue. I have tried re-directing to pee pads, as even that would be better but he's not taking to it. I am ready to buy the doggie diapers and just make him deal with it. I know he is prone to stress though and very stubborn so I wonder if this will create additional medical issues or if could relax enough to just be okay with it.

 

He first started peeing in different places two years ago when he was blocked. He did have surgery and not has not blocked again but I really think he associates the cat box with pain. He will go on the floor next to it but not in it. How do I break this habit? Re-homing him is not an option.

 

Any advice?

Edited by fourcatmom
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Have you watched him? Is he just next to the box, or is he actually in the box but too close to the edge so the urine goes out onto the floor? If he steps inside and just misses, you might try a hooded box so he'll go inside and turn around, which will help keep it where it belongs.

 

Also, could he possibly have an infection or the early stages of kidney disease?

 

:grouphug: Cats are hard sometimes.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A new home may break the habit. I went through something similar back in my pre-marriage days when I lived in apartments. I had a cat badly frightened in the litter box and she wouldn't go back in it for over a year. (Clumsy me tripped over the box while she was in it, resulting in a big fright and a stepped on tail. Stepping into the box was not pleasant for me either, but I still managed to use the toilet properly afterwards!)

 

When I moved, I tossed the old litter boxes and traded them for completely new ones with a different style. I used a covered box before, so I switched to an open box. I also switched litter type and texture and placed the box n a completely different area (previously in the bathroom, new place I put it in the laundry room).

 

When I moved into my new place, I left her in the room with the litter box, food and water for 24 hours before giving her free reign of the house. Never had any more litter box issues.

 

I don't know if it was just the act of moving or the complete change of the box that solved it, but it couldn't hurt. Doing so would mean the cat no longer had anything the same to relate to the previous pain. It may be worth a try before resorting to diapering.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

No, he's not missing the box. He won't go in to pee but he will poop in there. That's why I think it's related to the memory of the pain. I did already move once and have changed boxes several times. Nothing seems to work. He likes the corners of room and he seems to prefer the carpet. He is so stubborn! I have taken him in the bathroom when I know he has to go, when I see him looking for a place and he can sit in there for over an hour or more and not go but as soon as I let him out and I am not watching, he will go. I spent hours in the bathroom with him, trying everything for the pee pads to his own litter box in a separate bathroom away from the other cats and nothing seems to work. I just don't want another set of carpets ruined and I am sick of the smell. I just don't want him so stressed out either that he blocks again although since he had the surgery (now he's more like a girl down there) I don't think he can block but you never know.

 

Thanks for the advice!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

In answer to your question - no, I have never tried putting a diaper on a cat. I value my life too much to do so.

 

But in all seriousness, have the cat checked out first. If there is nothing physically wrong then it's mental. You could try boarding him for a week while you move and hope that he starts using the litter box at the boarding facility. If that doesn't work you could try locking him in a part of the house that has no carpeting. It is possible to out-stubborn a cat, but it takes skill and cunning.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Aw you must really love your kitty. I don't see how it could hurt to at least try it

 

The cost in carpet replacement is getting quite expensive. It's not healthy for us either but we do love him and want to work through this. I guess in some ways its my fault that I haven't gotten aggressive in getting him to stop. Not by hurting him just making sure he doesn't go. The problem is that I never see him go.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

In answer to your question - no, I have never tried putting a diaper on a cat. I value my life too much to do so.

 

But in all seriousness, have the cat checked out first. If there is nothing physically wrong then it's mental. You could try boarding him for a week while you move and hope that he starts using the litter box at the boarding facility. If that doesn't work you could try locking him in a part of the house that has no carpeting. It is possible to out-stubborn a cat, but it takes skill and cunning.

 

That's the bigger question. I know I could get one on him, maybe but I doubt I could get the second one on! I had to give him IV shots a few years ago and even that was a battle. :tongue_smilie:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A new home may break the habit. I went through something similar back in my pre-marriage days when I lived in apartments. I had a cat badly frightened in the litter box and she wouldn't go back in it for over a year. (Clumsy me tripped over the box while she was in it, resulting in a big fright and a stepped on tail. Stepping into the box was not pleasant for me either, but I still managed to use the toilet properly afterwards!)

 

When I moved, I tossed the old litter boxes and traded them for completely new ones with a different style. I used a covered box before, so I switched to an open box. I also switched litter type and texture and placed the box n a completely different area (previously in the bathroom, new place I put it in the laundry room).

 

When I moved into my new place, I left her in the room with the litter box, food and water for 24 hours before giving her free reign of the house. Never had any more litter box issues.

 

I don't know if it was just the act of moving or the complete change of the box that solved it, but it couldn't hurt. Doing so would mean the cat no longer had anything the same to relate to the previous pain. It may be worth a try before resorting to diapering.

 

A quarantine to a certain part of the house might just work. I will have to think on how to do that. Thanks!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The problem is that I can't imagine any of my cats keeping a diaper on. It wouldn't hurt to try but cats can twist in ways that dogs can't and can wiggle out of things or claw them off pretty easily.

 

:iagree:

 

I can only speak for my own kitty, but my Mr. Cat would only consider the diapers if they were called something else ("diaper" simply wouldn't work for him, what with the negative, babyish connotations and all) and it also goes without saying that they would need to have some sort of designer label on the butt.

 

I should mention, though, that Mr. Cat is very particular about that sort of thing. :tongue_smilie:

 

I'm sure I could get him to try one on for me, though...... ONCE. :D

 

My dearly departed cat, Max, probably would have worn the diapers just for fun if I told him he looked handsome in them. When he was a kitten, I bought him a t-shirt that said KILLER on it... and he wore it until he outgrew it. He knew he was cool. :coolgleamA:

Edited by Catwoman
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The problem is that I can't imagine any of my cats keeping a diaper on. It wouldn't hurt to try but cats can twist in ways that dogs can't and can wiggle out of things or claw them off pretty easily.

 

Good point. He even managed to get out of his cone after his surgery. I am sure he would pick at it until it came off and then run to the nearest carpeted corner and pee just to spite me. :tongue_smilie:

 

You guys have talked me out of it. I wish I could just try one and not buy a whole bag full. I am just at a loss on how to change this behavior. We even tried tempting him with string cheese as a reward but he won't go for it. I was hoping the pee pads would work and I could graduate from there.

Edited by fourcatmom
Link to comment
Share on other sites

My cat pees on things and it never occurred to me to try out pads, so this might have helped our situation.

 

:grouphug: It is so hard when you love your kitty. images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSYjDFqpdeBB6OZ7U8a4xEH2UHveUULreSlJ0hIfznbAOoIBid7 I will never get another cat. images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSYjDFqpdeBB6OZ7U8a4xEH2UHveUULreSlJ0hIfznbAOoIBid7

 

If the kids leave towels on the floor, he will pee on those. I though pads might be "attractive" to him. So far though I am not having any luck. He never did this before he had the blockage. It was a huge ordeal. He blocked nearly three times and had a lot of issues and then surgery. I know it's mental.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

He did have surgery and not has not blocked again but I really think he associates the cat box with pain. He will go on the floor next to it but not in it. How do I break this habit? Re-homing him is not an option.

 

Any advice?

 

Have you tried a completely different type of litter box? Would he use a covered box with a pee pad inside it? How about a pee pad on the floor with a plastic trash bag under it? Maybe you could put one of the regular towels that he has already peed on under (or on top of) the pee pad so he gets the scent, and once he uses the pad, you could pitch the towel.

 

I would suggest trying different brands of cat litter, but I'm sure you've already done that.

 

I hope you're able to find a solution -- have you asked your vet for ideas? Vets have seen it all, so they often have ideas that we would never think of on our own.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Have you tried a completely different type of litter box? Would he use a covered box with a pee pad inside it? How about a pee pad on the floor with a plastic trash bag under it? Maybe you could put one of the regular towels that he has already peed on under (or on top of) the pee pad so he gets the scent, and once he uses the pad, you could pitch the towel.

 

I would suggest trying different brands of cat litter, but I'm sure you've already done that.

 

I hope you're able to find a solution -- have you asked your vet for ideas? Vets have seen it all, so they often have ideas that we would never think of on our own.

 

That might work, at least to get him started. I pretty much have only tried the standard boxes, that might be something to think about to.

 

Do cats really like the one's that are covered with the door?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That might work, at least to get him started. I pretty much have only tried the standard boxes, that might be something to think about to.

 

Do cats really like the one's that are covered with the door?

 

I think it's one of those "some cats do, but other cats don't" kind of situations. Some cats like the boxes with the open doorways and the roofs on top, and others won't go near them. I would think having a door on the box would be a bad idea, though, because it would hold the smells inside, and the cat might not want to go in there after using it once or twice.

 

I keep thinking that anything that resembles a litter box might trigger his fear, so that's why I thought you might try not using a box, or if you use a box, make it a lot larger and shallower than a regular litter box so he might not make the same association about it. You could try a very shallow and large cardboard box cut down to about an inch high, then put the whole thing inside a plastic trash bag and add the pee pad and the "used" towel. If you can locate it someplace other than your regular litter box location, that might help a lot, too. You want him to think this is his idea, not yours. :tongue_smilie:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think it's one of those "some cats do, but other cats don't" kind of situations. Some cats like the boxes with the open doorways and the roofs on top, and others won't go near them. I would think having a door on the box would be a bad idea, though, because it would hold the smells inside, and the cat might not want to go in there after using it once or twice.

 

I keep thinking that anything that resembles a litter box might trigger his fear, so that's why I thought you might try not using a box, or if you use a box, make it a lot larger and shallower than a regular litter box so he might not make the same association about it. You could try a very shallow and large cardboard box cut down to about an inch high, then put the whole thing inside a plastic trash bag and add the pee pad and the "used" towel. If you can locate it someplace other than your regular litter box location, that might help a lot, too. You want him to think this is his idea, not yours. :tongue_smilie:

 

Good Suggestions, thank you. I have even thought about a rubbermaid container too. I could line the perimeter of the inside of the house with foil for a few weeks. That might stop him.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Good Suggestions, thank you. I have even thought about a rubbermaid container too. I could line the perimeter of the inside of the house with foil for a few weeks. That might stop him.

 

I tried the crumpled-then-sort-of-straightened-out foil thing when I was trying to keep one of my cats off of a new sofa.

 

He whacked the foil off the couch and batted it all around the house... and then he took a nap on the new sofa. :glare:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have no other suggestions for you (and you've gotten some really good ones!!)... just wanted to let you know I feel your pain.

 

I have a cat that for whatever reason a couple times a month just decides she doesn't want to pee in the box and will pee either right outside of it or over by the front door. We have logged when it happens and tried to see if there is something different going on or what may be triggering it, but there's never a pattern as to why or when.

 

We have had her at the vet and she is fine. We use large rubbermaid containers as litter boxes. We have 2 cats so we have 3 boxes, all in different areas of the house, 2 boxes have a lid, 1 doesn't. We have tried different litter. I just have no idea! And out of the MANY cats I have had in my life, this is the only one I've ever had that has ever had a peeing outside the box issue. Very frustrating!

 

And like you, I am moving in 3 weeks and I am hoping she doesn't do it at the new house. We will be renting and the whole house has hardwood floors! I'm a little nervous about it.... :(

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Have you considered Feliway plug-ins or Kitty Xanax? Might be worth the effort to keep him from marking your new carpets!

 

:iagree:

 

I don't know if it's Xanax, but I do know there are medications that can sometimes help with inappropriate elimination. I'd also try a different style/type of litter box and some Dr. Elsey's Cat Attract litter. I've heard of miraculous things from that litter.

 

The first non-medication step for inappropriate elimination is always confinement in a small area. That can be a laundry room or bathroom or a large dog crate. Anywhere that's small and there's nothing soft that would tempt him to "go." The thinking is that you need to confine for at least two weeks to retrain to the litter box. That's absolutely what I'd do when moving. I've always confined my trustworthy cats for a few days whenever we've moved, because it's much less stressful for a cat to adapt to a small space than to a big house all at once.

 

As far as the diaper -- Depending on your cat, getting it on might be easy peasy. Getting him to keep it on . . . . probably not.

Edited by Pawz4me
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have a cat that has pee issues. He has peed all over this house. I never catch him but I know he does it. We are moving into a new house and I don't want him to continue. I have tried re-directing to pee pads, as even that would be better but he's not taking to it. I am ready to buy the doggie diapers and just make him deal with it. I know he is prone to stress though and very stubborn so I wonder if this will create additional medical issues or if could relax enough to just be okay with it.

 

He first started peeing in different places two years ago when he was blocked. He did have surgery and not has not blocked again but I really think he associates the cat box with pain. He will go on the floor next to it but not in it. How do I break this habit? Re-homing him is not an option.

 

Any advice?

 

I have not but I absolutely love that you won't rehome him. I have one that will do the same thing but as long as it is the wooden floor where I can clean it up, I live with it. I love him.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...