How do I keep a cat from...

1. 67

   Lady Guinevereposted 15 years ago

   How do I keep a cat from getting on my kitchen counters and pissing on it?
   It's just one of my cats--Little Bits and she is a VERY scardy cat.  I haven't been able to catch her red handed, but I know it is her.

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2. 72

   relacheposted 15 years ago

   First of all, you need to identify what is really causing her to act out in this way.  Most cats behave like this when something is pissing them off and they are trying to get your attention.  If you can't get rid of the root cause, you may never get the cat to stop the behavior.  Our cat does this very rarely, and it's always when a new roommate moves into the house and she's freaked out until she gets to know the new person.
   
   Secondly, make sure the cat box is kept fresh and clean.  Cats get really picky about that sort of thing.
   
   And thirdly, citrus (esp orange) is repellent to a lot of cats and using a citrus-based cleaner on your counters may help deter the cat.

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3. 76

   spryteposted 15 years ago

   relache is correct about finding the underlying cause (if only for your own sanity).  With five cats, I've had a few statements made around my household too. 
   
   When I was gone for two days, Foxy, who is VERY attached to me and rather suspicious of anything my husband does, decided to pee on his side of the bed to let him know that it must have been something he did and she wasn't too happy about it. 
   
   For a chronic case like your little counter pisser, I'd check the litter box to make sure it's in a safe spot.  Have you moved it recently?  Cats usually climb up to feel more secure...so perhaps this cat doesn't like where the litter box is, or it's been disturbed somehow, or perhaps the cat was scared while in it.  Try moving it to a quieter safer location.
   
   In the meantime, since the cat is a bit fraidy as you said, try lining the area used with tin foil while you are not there.  Cats loathe tin foil and hate jumping up on it since it doesn't feel pleasant beneath their feet and can make a nasty noise.

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4. 67

   Lady Guinevereposted 15 years ago

   Thanks for the help from both of you.
   A little background on Litle Bits:
   She and he sister, Shadow, were born int he woods in a tree----yep a tree.  The Electric Company cut a tree down that was going to lay on the power lines and it just so happened to make a nice nesting spot up there where three trees intersected.  Well the mother cat was a very nice cat, but she needed a more loving home and she also brought 5 more kittens with 2 litters to me and they all found homes except for Little Bits and Shadow.  Little Bits doesn't have all her marbles in her head and Shadow was her eyes and ears and such and that is why we had to keep both of them at the time.  Now the two don't get along AT ALL!.
   Well we already had a few cats indoors/outdoors.  She didn't like this at all and still doesn't.  Now we have a boy int he house and she gets all upset with him--and the other cats too.  She goes outside and comes in at her will--so it isn't that she really doesn't have a place to go.  We have 4 litter boxes! We do call her "the pisser". Shadow, her sister, when she gets upset about somethng she will spray--and that smell is awful!  We keep tellingher that she is a she and not a he!!
   Anyway, she is a hard one to please.

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5. 49

   quietschyposted 15 years ago

   Cats are stranger creatures thats for sure. Some are very hard to please. I call them slowly the messy and dirty pet. Why? We got her and we thought get a cat from the shelter. 2 cats will be fine. Yeah right. We found cat poop in the corner. So who was it? It took us a bit longer then normal. Both cats where outside as well. Then i found cat poop in the bathtub. We also have litterboxes standing in the house. I put the litter box in the corner where i found the poop. I found later out that our oldy was pooping in the corners. Why? Pissed at the other cat. I keep her now outside. I feed her outside and she is coming very seldom now in the house. Only by bad weather.

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