Cat peeing on floor…it is time to euthanize?
I have a 14 year old male cat. Here is his history:
I adopted him 6 years ago from a friend who couldn’t take care of him any longer. He is fixed. He was overweight and prone to urinary tract infections. 2 years ago, he was diagnosed with diabetes. A couple thousand dollars later, 2 insulin shots a day and special diabetic food, his sugars have been controlled, he lost weight and has gone into remission (no longer considered diabetic) and for a year has been off his insulin.
I had a baby 9 months ago. The cats (I also have a 3 year old male and the cats gets along great) were both fine when the baby came home. About 3 months ago, the cat in question started pooping on our bed and our guest bed. We have since barred him from both rooms, and he seemed to be doing fine…until now. I just recently discovered that for the past week, he has been peeing on my baby’s pkayroom floor tiles. There is no way to stop him. I am scared to death that my baby will contract something from his urine (I know the ammonia can be dangerous for babies) and to be honest, I cannot afford to even bring the cat to the vet anymore since he’s already cost me thousands and costs me over 0 a month just in food as it is. I am not working as I am off with the baby, so funds are extremely limited.
What do I do? do I put him down? Is it worth bringing him to a shelter? Would anyone really want to adopt a 14 year old cat with a history of UTI’s, diabetes, peeing and pooping on the floor/furniture and a 0/month food bill?
I love my cat, and this is an extremely difficult decision for me. I want to do what is best for him, and I know this would be to bring him to the vet. Unfortunately, my child comes first, and having the money to feed her is my priority. Since I cannot afford to pay a vet hundreds of dollars to diagnose him I(if there even is a diagnosis available), I’m really at a loss of what else I can do.
I love my cat, and this is an extremely difficult decision for me. I want to do what is best for him, and I know this would be to bring him to the vet. Unfortunately, my child comes first, and having the money to feed her is my priority. Since I cannot afford to pay a vet hundreds of dollars to diagnose him(if there even is a diagnosis available), I’m really at a loss of what else I can do.
Sorry about the confusion…the babie’s playroom is not her bedroom. She is never changed in the playroom, so there are no dirty diapers in this area. Also, this doesn’t expalin the pooping on the beds issue either.
Of course I have tried to see if anyone would be interested in adopting him, but nobody is. I live in a small community on an island with no humaine society, only 1 shelter. There are no foster programs in my community.
While I appreciate people are passionate about animals, please don’t compare a cat to a child, mother or any other human being. Asking me if my mother was dying of cancer would I put her down? Really. That’s going a bit far.
Tagged with: 6 years • 9 months • ammonia • babies • cats • diabetes • diabetic food • difficult decision • floor tiles • food bill • furniture • google • insulin shots • male cat • script type • sugars • text javascript • thousand dollars • urinary tract infections • vet
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Having had a diabetic cat for a few years, I know what you are going through. Our kitty, also about 14 years old died of kidney failure last year. Just before being diagnosed with diabetes, she was having problems with urinating everywhere and we had thought she had a UTI. After two years of treatment, insulin and diet, she started urinating everywhere again. A trip to the vet indicated acute kidney failure. You have a baby now and are limited on funds. I know that you love your kitty, but your responsibility now is to your child. Do not let other’s guilt you into keeping the cat.
I would suggest euthanasia because no one is going to adopt an old, sick cat. And it would be quite a shock to him to be put in a shelter. Chances are there is something else going on with him healthwise and we know it is not inexpensive to treat a cat or dog with these health problems.
If this is giving you a stressful time, I recommend taking him back. You’ll just have to pay more if you take him to the vet for checkups. Just don’t get anymore pets if you don’t want to pay 100s of dollars!
Did you just say "is it worth bringing into a shelter?" Yes, of course!
All of these things are fixable. Well, not the diabetes, but I’ve heard a story of a diabetic cat that, with meds, did just fine. If you had cancer would your mother just "euthanize" you?
Your cat is trying to tell you that that is his room not the baby’s. Before you get rid of him try to clean the floor with a mild bleach solution to eliminate all odors of urine. He may be smelling the baby’s urine and that sets him off. If you can try keeping baby’s door closed or change it out for a screen door. This will keep him away from the smell of baby pee that is setting him off. We may not smell a dirty diaper but a ct can all the way down on the floor.
I would have put him down long ago. I may seem heartless, but I have banned cats from our family at least until I am done having babies. Cats gross me out, far more than dogs. Not sure why, I used to love them, but the more I hear about the diseases they carry the less I like them. Good luck to you in this tough decision.
Do not take your cat to a shelter. Your cat will be put down immediately, in the hands of strangers. That is not fair to your cat. A rescue group for cats, especially special needs cats *may* be willing to take him (try searching "cat rescue(your state/city") There are just so many unwanted, but healthy cats in the world, sadly there is barely any room for unhealthy cats.
However, it is very very likely that your cat has a UTI, considering that he had diabetes and has a history of UTI’s. There are some places that will provide low-cost or free vet care. Please check these links:
Here are some ideas:
http://www.humanesociety.org/animals/resources/tips/trouble_affording_veterinary_care.html
Here is a low cost/free vet locator:
http://www.humanesociety.org/animals/resources/tips/trouble_affording_pet.html#Assistance_by_state
Also try checking with your local humane societies/shelters/rescue groups to see if they have any low cost programs.
I’m really sorry for your situation.
Take care and good luck.
ADD: I really think this is a UTI and if you get it treated and clean your baby’s play area well with an enzyme destroying cleaner (so your cat can’t smell the urine and be drawn back).
Is there anyway you could get an estimate from a vet to just get your cat’s urine tested, and if it is a UTI get some pills for it? Maybe there’s a vet that can do this for pretty cheap? Maybe there is some way you could work out a deal with the vet? Perhaps you could make a bargain. Do you have a certain skill? Maybe you could make a website for them if you are good with that sort of thing, or if you are good with photography maybe there is something you could do with that? Another poster on here baked cookies for the vets/techs in exchange for nail clipping.
The cat is marking his territory, hence the peeing and pooping. I can understand how terrified you must feel in case something happens to the baby and you are very right for being at such a loss. Obviously you love your cat or else you would not have spent thousands of dollars for the vet. But the healthy of your baby is of course, first priority.
I am sure you love your cat but when I read the "euthanize" option, I was disappointed. Surely, there are other less drastic measures you can take. Do you have a friend who can have him? If not, it is worth putting an advert/poster. I understand that you want solutions fast and probably taking him to a shelter is what springs to mind instantly but I am sure you would feel so much better knowing he is well taken care of and loved by a cat lover. I am sure for the past 6 years you have bonded enough with the cat to only want what is best for him.
Have you tried completely barring him from the baby’s room? He is picking up on baby’s scent and he is trying to "eliminate" the intruder. It is an instinct to prevail. Of course he does not do it to be mean. I know his motives make no difference to the end result, though. So you can try to always make sure you keep the door of the baby’s room locked so he does not sneak in. (Sorry if this advice sounded too obvious!) It is likely that you do not spend as much time with your cat anymore because of the baby and that is understandable. Try spending at least 10 minutes a day with him, even if it means 10 minutes of pure petting/massage, playing, bathing (if you bathe him), combing him. He feels neglected. I am sure that is the least of your to-do things right now but I have a feeling it might make things better.
Whatever you do, try giving him away before anything else. It will take him a while to adjust but it is much better than being euthanized. Consider that he deserves to live after all this money for food and the vet; there are many people would not mind taking a 14-year old cat. Yes, he is old and that is the reason why he should have a calm passing when the time comes..
This is exactly why the shelters are overcrowded with homeless and unwanted pets. Too many irresponsible people believe that pets are disposable.
To those that want to euthenize their cat if it pees on the rug or scratches their precious furniture, karma will get you back someday.
I get so frustrated when people’s first response to a behavioral problem with their pet is: Should I euthanize him?
Seriously?
So if your child was 8 years old and for some random reason started peeing in their pants or wetting the bed would your first thought be to euthanize your child?
When people adopt animals, it is supposed to be for life. These pets look to you for love and support and when things happen, you are supposed to try to help the animal and not have the first response of, oh, well, maybe I should put the cat down… You adopted this cat from your friend because they could not care for him anymore, and now you are going to give him up as well. How do you think the cat feels about being tossed from place to place? You are supposed to be his "family".
Yes, I understand your money is tight and that your (human) child comes first. That’s granted. But what it sounds like is that your pet probably has a UTI which causes him to not want to use the litterbox because of it being painful to urinate, so to him, the litterbox = pain and he is going other places as a result. And maybe at the same time, your cat is not getting the attention he was so used to from all the love that you had poured into him with all of the expensive vet visits so maybe he is jealous of your infant and is leaving you little "presents". Now he gets less attention and instead, you are just shutting him out, literally.
Animal’s behave differently for a reason. Don’t punish your cat or think that you should put him down. That is ridiculous! Maybe if you are so frustrated and do not have the time for your cat or the money to spend on expensive vet bills (which there are family-owned vets that run significantly cheaper, and there is a such a thing as pet insurance which has a low monthly bill and will save you thousands on vet bills) maybe your first thought should be to give your cat to someone who can give him the love, attention, and medical care that he needs.
There are hundreds of organizations which take in animals that can no longer be cared for by their owners and these animals are rehabilitated by foster families and then adopted out to new homes. Yes, there are people that would take in a 14 year old cat. 14 is not THAT old. Some cats live to be 20 or more. And you say he doesn’t have diabetes, etc. anymore…and these places are adept at supporting the $100/month food bill for special food that your cat needs. If anything, your pet can be placed in a loving foster home to be cared by a knowledgable person who has the time/money/patience to care for your cat until his time.
You can also try looking in other communities nearby to see if there are animal rescue groups and put an ad in the paper, on craigslist, etc. to see if someone would be interested in taking in your cat. Maybe you would have to travel a bit to find a solution but I think it is worth it/your cat deserves it after all of the time and money you have invested in your cat.
I get frustrated when I see people giving someone like you a hard time for NOT taking the easy way out. You have clearly put a lot of time, money and effort into this cat. When people say to bring tha cat to a shelter…It is so cowardly to dump an old cat who has urinary incontinence off as a shelter and say "Well…someone will adopt him". Because the reality of it is, no one will. 99.9% of people do not go into shelters looking for an issue animal. 50% of people who walk in want kittens and the first question out of the mouths of adult cat adoptions is "Do they pee out of the box?".
I think if you feel euthanasia is the best option then you should listen to that. 14 years old (although not ANCIENT) is a decent age for a cat. It’s not as if you are euthanizing a two year old cat who is peeing out of the box (which still even that I wouldn’t condone). I think it would be worth it, just to make sure he doesn’t have a UTI. A test for that doesn’t cost too much.
I have a cat who pees around our house if she is left out of my room for too long. I feel your pain…it’s really frustrating. Do what you need to do.
Have you taken him to the vet since the peeing has started to see if he does have a UTI right now. A urinalysis does not cost much, and if that IS the problem..the antibiotics are also not expensive. That would be the FIRST step to see if this can be solved simply. Also, your baby cannot contract anything from a cats urine. Is there a way to confine the cat in one of two rooms and separated from your baby? If you find out this is behavioral and not medical..then it is a lot harder to solve. If this is the case, talk to the vet about your options.