He is peeing all over my house!

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kristlthor

Member Since 2013
Thor (diabetic, on 3 units of insulin 2x day) is peeing, and sometimes diarrhea, all over my home! And I have discovered by accident this peeing seems to coincide with his shots. He only pees in one room, which happens to be the playroom. So that is awful. We have adapted to not leaving any clothing or towels on the floor as that is just a red, flashing target for him, but now he's not so picky, and will just pee anywhere he wants in that room. I've caught him peeing on the mirrored closet doors even. Anyway, I was slacking with his shots the last few days. He always still got them, just not always at the normal time. My daughter has been sick, I've been sick, and my fiance has been working crazy hours, so our home has been chaos lately. At least in the schedule department. But I noticed that on days where we were late with his shot, he did not ever pee. Until after his shot. I didn't notice it when we were running on normal. I'd give him his shot, go put the insulin back in the fridge, do whatever needed to be done in the kitchen, and come back to the playroom area to get my daughter for a bath and there he was peeing on the carpet. He looked at me, ignored me, and kept on going.

I do not think this is behavioral, though I am wrong from time to time :)

Any ideas? I really can't have a cat peeing all over my house, especially when I have a crawling, on the verge of walking, child. Plus, it stinks to high heaven.
 
He might be acting out because of stress, and relates that stress to the shot. My cat started to act out because his only time with me for a while was poking his ear and shooting him up with a needle. A little extra love, even if it's just a little sit down with you before the shot, might pleasant up the experience. Treats might work too. If you rule out any health issues that might be making him pee at will, or check the litter box for overcrowding, then he might be just trying to get you to notice him.
 
A couple of thoughts
Is his UTI cleared up or is he still on antibiotics?

It looks like his dose was raised from 2u to 3 u - is this based on hometesting numbers? This stands out to me b/c this may be too much insulin and he knows that he is going to feel crappy from the shot. OR he may be sensitive to th sting of Lantus and 3 units is at his 'sting threshold'.
 
For inappropriate elimination, always go to the vet and rule out any medical problems. Have you a spreadsheet? I don't see a link. If the dose is too high, he could be hypoing and losing control of his bladder.

Here is a list I compiled previously. Some of the items may not apply.
***********************************************************************
You might try an integrated approach using multiple options from the list below on a consistent basis:

* start with crating, using a medium large crate (30" long is big enough for cat and a litterbox) until progress. She probably won't go where she'd have to lie in it ... but if she does, something is wrong and it may be medical.

* tarps and newspapers may be easier on clean up if you don't crate her

* feeding on a schedule and then placing her in the litterbox (maybe in a crate) within 15-20 minutes after eating, until she goes, then praising and letting her out.

* Feliway/Comfort Zone - friendly facial pheromones which reduce stress and may reduce marking behavior. Cheapest prices are usually on the net (ex http://www.LambertVetSupply.com ) I've used it and it helps.

* Cat Attract litter - supposed to help attract cat to litter box

* rule out arthritis or constipation - pain causes box avoidance

* watch if the other cats ever attack her in the box and if so, you may need to keep her separated from them. I've got one the others attack, completely unprovoked.

* littebox should be 1.5 times length of cat, litter cleaned frequently, but avoid really strong smelling cleaners as cats may avoid them due to the scent.

* you've got to get residual odors out from areas which were 'nailed'. If you don't get those spots thoroughly cleaned, any residual odor may trigger using the spot again. Enzyme based products such as Nature's Miracle, are the most likely to have success. Carpet may need to be rolled back and treated on the back side, plus treating the pad separately (or replacing the pad). It can require repeated applications.

* regular play sessions of about 15 minutes to reduce stress and promote bond with you

* reward desirable behaviors - if you see her use the box, praise and treat her

* put unpleasant textures in places she has peed to encourage avoidance

* read some of this author's books: http://www.catbehaviorassociates.com/ she's pretty good - ex "Starting from Scratch"

Good luck.
 
kristlthor said:
Thor (diabetic, on 3 units of insulin 2x day) is peeing, and sometimes diarrhea, all over my home! And I have discovered by accident this peeing seems to coincide with his shots. He only pees in one room, which happens to be the playroom. So that is awful. We have adapted to not leaving any clothing or towels on the floor as that is just a red, flashing target for him, but now he's not so picky, and will just pee anywhere he wants in that room. I've caught him peeing on the mirrored closet doors even. Anyway, I was slacking with his shots the last few days. He always still got them, just not always at the normal time. My daughter has been sick, I've been sick, and my fiance has been working crazy hours, so our home has been chaos lately. At least in the schedule department. But I noticed that on days where we were late with his shot, he did not ever pee. Until after his shot. I didn't notice it when we were running on normal. I'd give him his shot, go put the insulin back in the fridge, do whatever needed to be done in the kitchen, and come back to the playroom area to get my daughter for a bath and there he was peeing on the carpet. He looked at me, ignored me, and kept on going.

I do not think this is behavioral, though I am wrong from time to time :)

Any ideas? I really can't have a cat peeing all over my house, especially when I have a crawling, on the verge of walking, child. Plus, it stinks to high heaven.
Click to expand...

OK my first thoughts were dose too high and what are your home test numbers, and also jealousy?

For the dose, most cats never need that high of a dose and he could well be letting you know it's too much and maybe that it stings. Lantus does have a sting but Levemir does not.... you could try changing insulin if all other things don't help.

Are you home testing? It's important to know your cat's blood glucose number before giving a shot because he may be too low to get a shot. Many cats DO pee all over if their numbers are very high or very low, but if happening right at shot time, it may be a sting of how you are giving the shot is upsetting. Where are you giving the shots? Are you lifting the scruff and shooting just under the lifted skin? If you are not home testing, that would be a good place to start so you know what Thor's numbers are.... you could find out that he's really low and then really high from bouncing due to too much insulin. You can pick up a cheap human blood glucose meter, the Relion meters are fine and the test strips are the most economical ones.

When giving insulin, we hope that we are helping the pancreas to heal enough so that we can stop giving insulin, and the only way we will know if the numbers are improving is to home test and then we can lower the dose. Many cats do go off insulin.

What about diet? What are you feeding Thor? If it's a dry food, it is likely contributing to a higher need of insulin. By feeding a low carb wet diet, Thor will have lower BG numbers and will need less or even no insulin. Most people just go with Fancy Feast or Friskies pates, but here's a list of foods - stick to under 10% carbs.
catinfo.org/docs/FoodChartPublic9-22-12.pdf

For the peeing all over, once you know how Thor's numbers are and he is getting a dose that is suitable, plus he is eating a low carb diet, the peeing may well lessen or stop.

When my first cat was diagnosed, it was due to my taking her to the vet because 'she was peeing all over the place'. Once I got her on a good diet and decent insulin dose, she stopped.

Many others can help you with products that can be used to clean an eliminate past spots where he peed.

What about thinking back to the time when he first started peeing all over..... did anything change in your place, or diff food or diff litter, or any other change? Is he peeing in the playroom ONLY? If yes, you have to realize he's telling you something about that room. I keep thinking jealous of the baby .... maybe getting less attn now with the baby around? Just a thought.

I still come back to your saying he pees shortly after his shots, so it's got to be something related to the shots, the dose, the insulin, or your method of shots. Once you are testing and you have some numbers to share, people can help you with the dosing.
Gayle
 
I'm pretty new to this board, but as a life-long cat owner, I agree with almost everything the other members are advising. I can' really offer anything else regarding the kitty, however, I can offer a solution to the smell! One of my cats, Hector, is prone to struvite crystals in his urine making him feel like he has to pee every second of every day!!!! Before I switched his diet to fix it, he had a week-long pee fest in my house. I bought this product called Earthworm carpet and upholstery cleaner and it was a MIRACLE. It's an all natural live enzyme product - it won't hurt your baby and it will most certainly take the smell out (if you can find exactly where he peed). Just saturate the spot with the cleaner and leave it dry on its own. I wish you luck with your kitty - I know its frustrating, but sounds like he's going through as much stress as you are. A vet visit and the extra love sound like great advice.
 
it will most certainly take the smell out (if you can find exactly where he peed).
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To find exactly where he peed, get a black light. You will need to use this at night, with all the lights turned off. You need to run it over the area you are checking in a pattern. Check the walls too. The black light will also highlight any lint fibers or dust so be aware of that.
 
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