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| Chucky |
...outside of the litter box! More like vertical peeing, but some of it sprinkles over the edge instead of inside on the litter. Am trying to NOT FREAK OUT, but think that's not going so well. Pretty sure it's the Tax Man, Chucky-My-Chucky, The B.B.C. (Big Black Cat), His Blackness.
Seems to be marking behavior, so now we have to figure out how to destress the boy so he feels safe in his own house again. It's kind of hard to figure out what is the problem:
- a new feral (there's an orange cat that I've seen recently...but that cat has been around for a couple of years off and on)
- the new renters across the street who have a REALLY NOISY car that they start up every evening (sends Angel and Chuck flying around the house every time)
- something else outside or inside the house that hubby and I haven't been figured out yet
- could be medical; we'll take him to the vet if the behavior continues
Really do NOT want to put up plastic all over the house, but we'll do it to save the woodwork. Again, not the time to FREAK OUT, but to start looking at life from Chuck's point of view to help him regain his calm. Anyone know Kitty Zen?
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| Chuck asleep in his cup bed, only ears showing! |
In the meantime, a few days ago, Sammy was asleep inside his favorite shelter, and I got the bright idea to sneak up (yeah, you know where this is going...) silently and swiftly with a trap to close off the entrance, and catch him! First, I had to walk back around the house and get the key to the garage. Then, I had to pull the trap out of it's storage spot, so I had to find something to stand on. Pulled over an old milk crate, yanked the trap down, then stealthily tip-toed to the deck.
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| Trap |
I lightly walked up the steps, and silently snuck up on the shelter...and whoosh! Sammy went flying out of there when I was still six feet away. The score now has to be about Sammy 15 Me 0! I swear, I did not make a jiggle or any kind of metal trap noise; these traps are renowned for being very quiet! Did I telegraph my intentions in my thoughts? Is Sammy a mind-reader?
Obviously, Sammy is just smarter than me, so I'm still wondering how I'll ever catch him again. But I'm not giving up! Just so you know, I did catch him twice: the first time when I had him neutered in 2011, and again that same year when he had suffered a bite wound. So maybe it's really Sammy 15 Me 2, but I've had ZERO success in the last two years.
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| Smart Sammy |
We purr Chucky is just having a nervous moment and will relax soon.
ReplyDeleteCould be the new renters if that unnerves Chucky.
As for Sammy...kitties are mind readers ;)
Purrs Georgia and Julie,
Treasure, JJ
and Angels Tiger and Tillie
I'm sorry to hear about Chucky's peeing. I do hope it's not related to medical condition and hope you can figure out what is causing the stress.
ReplyDeleteSammy is very smart and definitely a mind-reader!
Maybe a deeper box would help. Or a covered box, if that wouldn't upset Chuck and Angel. We used the large size Van Ness covered box for eons; then my mom made one with two large Rubbermaid boxes (one for the bottom and one for the top). We upgraded because there were a lot of us and because one of us gained a wee bit of weight and needed more room. ;-)
ReplyDeleteSounds like you have your hands full. Hopefully Chucky is just nervous about something and will settle down. And hopefully you can outsmart Sammy again.
ReplyDeleteCats hear a lot better than we do. That is probably why you're having poor luck catching Sammy.
ReplyDeleteThe only time I've had marking behavior in a cat was when I'd recently adopted a big female tabby. I got involved in moving furniture, vacuuming behind and under. She sprayed the wall behind her litter box. She never did it again. I always assumed she wanted to make sure I didn't mess with her litter box corner ;)
I did a poop in one of mums pans when she had it soaking in the sink. I also did a big pee on an oven glove that mum didn't discover till she put her hand in to take daddy's dinner out of the oven...but in my defence I was only 3 months old, I didn't like my kitty litter (mum changed it to one that was soft for my feets) and I wanted to sleep in bed with mum (till I was potty trained I had to stay in the kitchen at night). Since I got to sleep in the big bed & go anywhere in the house I only poop & pee in designated areas!
ReplyDeleteAnd Smart Sammy looks a lot like the kitty that has being sitting on my step....hmmm....
We're sorry Chucky is having pee issues. We hope you can figure out why. Maybe some feliway plugins would help?
ReplyDeleteAnd you know us cats...we have a sixth sense when it comes to traps and carriers. All the mom has to do is think about putting us in a carrier to take us to the vet, and we're under the bed!
Oh, we hope Chuck feels better and calmer soon! We hope you can find the reason and/or the solution to help him (and you woodwork too).
ReplyDeleteWell, speaking as a ManCat, it *is* a little hard to forgive and forget when someone has chopped off your fancy bits, you know. That memory kinda lingers with a guy over the years, MOL.
Skootch is a "high flyer". There are some litter boxes out there with really high backs - I got one made by Purina that is well-designed and that he uses. There is also one [uncovered] box that Glogirly featured on her site a couple of months ago. I hope it's nothing medical, but it's good that you're getting him checked out.
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