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Hi all,
I adopted my three-legged cat 7 years ago after she was found with severe frostbite in Boulder, CO which resulted in half of her back left leg, tail, and a few toes being amputated. She's managed to get around just fine over the years but still uses her back peg leg a bit as she scoots around. We've lived mostly in apartments with carpet but now live in a house with hardwood on the main floor and carpet on the second floor.
I'm looking for some advice from those who have a tripawd who is aging. Due to her back leg missing and part of her other back foot, Miss Peggy doesn't use a proper litter box. When I first adopted her she had one but would often have cuts on her peg from the cat litter pellets and after trying a variety of brands, shapes, textures, etc. we decided to have her use puppy pee pads instead. She's been great at using them and when we moved into the house a few weeks ago, she found the new pad location and used them regularly. Only in the past few days has she taken to peeing on our bathroom mat, kitchen rug, the blanket on the couch and just today she actually pooped on our guest bed. All of this is really out of character and I'm wondering if anyone has advice on aversions to litter box/pads locations or if it the beginning of an aging thing. The pads are currently on the landing of the stairs (which she is able to get up and down just fine) but should we move them? It seems odd that she was using them 100% up until recently where it's about 50% of the time. The vet says the blood work came back fine and there is no kidney or bladder issues. Is she just a jerk? haha
Any advice would be great. She's an awesome cat and I know she will end up having some arthritis issues because of the way she still uses the peg leg for support but want to hear about other tripawd owners experiences!
1:17 pm
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18 October 2009
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Hello and welcome, your future posts will not have to wait for approval.
How old is your kitty, 7 or older?
I'm a dog person but the behavior sounds to me like she is telling you she is not happy with something- maybe the move? Since she can get around OK and got up on the bed I would doubt it is an injury or mobility problem. Is there another animal in the house or a new person? Are all the things she peed or pooped on new or has she seen/smelled them before?
Do cats mark their territory like dogs do? Maybe she is 'claiming' the new house as hers.
I'm sure you will get some better input from our kitty members.
Karen and the Spirit Pug Girls
Tri-pug Maggie survived a 4.5 year mast cell cancer battle only to be lost to oral melanoma.
1999 to 2010
Maggie's Story Amputation and Chemo
Find me now on Tripawds Circle
1:36 pm
14 February 2016
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I tend to agree - I have three cats right now, and have had others in the past. It sounds like Miss Peggy was doing just fine with the pee pads, so I don't think that is the problem, and if your vet has ruled out a physical cause (no UTI or anything similar?), it is likely anxiety/adjustment related. Sounds like you have been in the new house, without issue, for a couple of weeks? Has anything changed in the past few days - a new person, pet, smell (construction, road work), noise (fireworks, animal sounds at night) that she might not be liking? Has your schedule changed such that you are not home at the 'normal' times? Any change in food or food dishes?
Although cats, especially males, do mark, this sounds different - pooping on the guest bed is not a normal marking behavior. And generally, marking is on walls or furniture more than on a flat surface like a rug. It is more of a "I'm upset/angry type behavior."
Otis - 106 pound lab/Dane mix, lost his right front leg to osteosarcoma on Febuary 9, 2016. Four rounds of carboplatin completed in April, 2016. Lung mets August 25, 2016. Said goodbye too soon on September 4, 2016. Lost his adopted sister, Tess, suddenly on October 9, 2016. likely due to hemangiosarcoma.
Wherever they are, they are together.
In my experience from things I've read, cats just don't do it to be jerks. If there's no crystalis or kidney or bladder issues, It's a way to make the place smell more like them because something or someone is ruining the routine and stressing them out.
The things you notice her peeing on (rugs and blankets) are all things that feel a lot like a pee pad IMO. It sounds to me like she might not be able to get to her normal pee pad and she's finding the next best thing to try to be a good girl.
If I were you, I would set up extra pads in the house, perhaps near by where she's going and see if she goes on them instead. You may find that she starts using a new location and everything is fixed. As she ages, it'll be harder to get to just one location for bathroom duties, so it may be best to leave them in multiple places, or at minimum one on each level of the house You'll have to see what she does.
In case it's not just an access issue: How much has changed in her schedule since around the time this began? Anyone new staying over?
You can try Feliway too. It's supposed to calm cats though I've thankfully never had reason to use it.
Tina and Smore
(with the spirit of Pebbles watching from the Rainbow Bridge)
Smore is my tripawd kitty who adopted me one summer evening. She had an injury to her front left leg and had to have her leg removed July 17th. She was only 3 or 4 months old at the time. Now she moves faster than some four legged cats!
5:35 pm
14 February 2016
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Just wanted to check in? Any improvement?
Otis - 106 pound lab/Dane mix, lost his right front leg to osteosarcoma on Febuary 9, 2016. Four rounds of carboplatin completed in April, 2016. Lung mets August 25, 2016. Said goodbye too soon on September 4, 2016. Lost his adopted sister, Tess, suddenly on October 9, 2016. likely due to hemangiosarcoma.
Wherever they are, they are together.
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