Thursday, April 26, 2007

Reggie commits atrocities anew


Reggie continues to pee on the carpet. The sad truth, he's always peed in a couple of places down stairs, even though the litter boxes are kept five feet away and they are the automatic kind so they are always clean. But, as I've said, he's starting to pee on the carpet in front of the book cases, and I've now got my lower bookshelves covered in tin foil, for fear he may end up ruining more of my books and TPBs. This is clearly a behavioral thing. I've already got one cat on Prozac, and don't really want to medicate Reggie. We've had him checked for urinary infections, and he's okay. So I don't know what to do. Putting him outside on a permenent basis is not really and option, and getting rid of him would destroy me.

Any ideas on how to stop him from peeing on the carpet?

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

The most common reason cats are turned into shelters is because of this. Dont be another lame ass pet owner who gives up on their pet. If this is something new- it probably has to do with the new addition to your house.

Enzyme clean the area.
Try crate training like what they do to puppies.
Dont give up. It seems annoying, but hes trying to tell you something

Anonymous said...

I agree with anonymous (c'mon post your name), but I also don't have to live with the behavior OR the pee smell so I'm not going to judge you. If either cat goes near the baby and does something goofy, game over. There's quite a few behavioral issues that can lead to the problem, but have you ruled out a medical problem, John? If not, it might be worth a vet visit. Additionally, if you have a good vet, s/he can be a valuable resource for advising on what your next steps can be to discouraging the behavior. The new baby could definitely be it though particularly if you've noticed it more in recent months. Cats are really competitive in nature. My alpha male can't stand when I'm giving attention to the female in the house. He's RIGHT there pushing his way in when I'm petting her and giving her affection. Is Reggie the alpha in your house?

I haven't seen your bookshelves or how you have things laid out, but I don't blame you for wanting to protect your valuables. Sounds like the cat(s) have trashed one or more in the past. I keep most of my stuff behind a closed door so I don't know if this is an option for you or not, but it might be worth looking if you can move a bookcase or two behind a closed door and at least shelf the really valued and valuable stuff there.

Anonymous said...

The important thing for you to keep in mind is: It's your fault.

You are the Hitler of cat owners.