Need kitty help....

[loribee59]

Two things:

1) I'm thinking of buying a pet insurance, because Ember is now 8 years old, and I'd have to consider her health more seriously as she ages. What insurance would anyone buy...?

2) I just discovered that Ember peed on my fave chair, where I sit to watch TV this morning. Not only that, the chair is quite old...that belongs to my great granny. Also, it was the very FIRST time she ever done this. I managed to get to it right away with "Folex Carpet/Upholstery Spot Remover" I doubted it'd get rid of the odor, but I'm hoping it would. I can't seem to get Ember to use her litterbox. (somtimes she use it, sometimes she doesn't) I need help/suggestions on what to do.

HELP???

~Lori

 

[Krazy_4given_1]

Not sure about the insurance thing but as for the stain... pet odor powders that collect the odor seem to work good. Make sure the litter box is very accessable to her, and make sure you keep it extra clean. Maybe with her age she is getting picky. You also may want to try to get her into the room with the litter box every now and then during the day, maybe she doesn't want to actually go in there anymore, and needs you to make her go into the room.
I hope all goes well, and I hope maybe this helped....
good luck
-kate-

 

[CeCe]

Febreeze will somtimes help pet odor. I used it sometimes when I had a cat. But cats can cause intense odors. So you may have to try several different things.

Also sometimes when cats do this, it's due to a UTI. Not always, but it's a possibility.

 

[Amy]

Failure to use litterbox is often a sign of a problem - stress, urinary tract infection, or something else. How long has she been doing this? Does she show any other unusual behavior?

 

[bubblegirl23]

I can't believe how many people run to chemicals!

Find out what's making your cat stink. If it's body odour try something like vinegar or baking powder. Both of these are acidic & will close the paws. They also kill the Bacteria that CAUSES the odour.

If the smell comes from urination don't be afraid to dunk the cat's feet in some soap and water, or vinegar once again. Using chemicals on pets or where they are to lay are not a good idea. More & more pets are showing allergic reactions. The smell could be old age which isn't fixable. If you have to use a cover-up fragrance go with baby powder.

As for the insurance, there's one you pay $2 a week and they cover 80% of all vet costs not exceeding $2000. I don't have it myself, but I think it's a fair deal.

 

[ceedaisy]

I can't believe how many people run to chemicals!

Find out what's making your cat stink. If it's body odour try something like vinegar or baking powder. Both of these are acidic & will close the paws. They also kill the Bacteria that CAUSES the odour.

If the smell comes from urination don't be afraid to dunk the cat's feet in some soap and water, or vinegar once again. Using chemicals on pets or where they are to lay are not a good idea. More & more pets are showing allergic reactions. The smell could be old age which isn't fixable. If you have to use a cover-up fragrance go with baby powder.

I'm not sure what you mean about about "close the paws" and why would we dunk the feet? And where would we put the baby powder? I would think all the powder would get on your pants when you sit in the chair. They just want to get rid of the smell in the chair. And yes vinegar is supposed to work on urine stains. I keep mine in a spray bottle mixed with water. But I also have Febreeze, that is safe for animals.

 

[bubblegirl23]

Well it may be safe for animals, but I won't forget how sick dog coat treatments made my little girl.

Close the pores I meant - talk about not concentrating!

Rather than deodorising the couch I would find out why the cat smells and deal with that. Treat the cat with what I suggested & save the couch altogether.

 

[sammipher]

Some really great insurance is provided by your local petsmart if you have one...I think their chain of vets would be banfield...we adopted two kittens from there once...we had min. coverage and it was only 12.95 a mnth...this just included getting them fixed, shots, and checkups...so for an adult cat and full coverage is most likely more..but a good investment and you pay for it monthly...We signed a contract for our kitties for a year...when I went to pay it out the insurance (cause they were adopted by a great family when we moved) the insurance had paid over 900.00 on them and all we paid was 12.95 for 12 mnths...you can see if you have a local vet nearby at www.banfield.net....for stains look on www.jeffers.com...I use to work there and I believe it was nature's miracle that got good reviews...I agree with above though to keep the cat pan extra clean...our kitten had a peeing problem and with cleaning the pan twice as more with him he stopped...it takes a little extra work...but worth it....I am soo glad our other two cats are not as picky as him.

 

[Dagna]

I don't know much about Pet Insurance. I've heard both good and bad stories about it so i choose to not use it. I just set aside money each month for emergencies. With the litter box thing, first take Ember to the vet. Many times, not using the litter box is a sign of a problem. Could be a urinary tract infection, or it could be something more serious. My cats always use their litterbox, except for when they get sick, so I feel a trip to the vet is necessary. If nothing comes up at the vets office, look into the stress issue. Have you moved furniture, anyone new living with you or has anyone moved out? Also, keep the litterbox extra clean. If you usually scoop once a day, start scooping twice. Get a second litterbox as well. Many cats seem to prefer having two. For cleaning the chair, try Nature's Miracle. You can get it at Petsmart and that stuff rocks. It cleans the spot but will also get rid of the smell so even your cat can't smell it.

 

[Heatherondo]

The litterbox issue could be one of several things
she could be not feeling well, be sick
she could feel the box isnt always clean enough
she could be responding to change of some sort in the home.