How to stop a cat from peeing when scared?
 

Forest's peeing when scared has escalated to the point I can't even walk near him without him peeing.

He used to pee when we scruffed him, we stopped that b/c of the health issue associated with it and b/c it would trigger him to pee.

Last night, I heard a noise when I was reading in bed. I went out to check what was going on and saw Forest running away from where Gizzy was. They prolly were playing and knocked something over. I wasn't yelling, just checking around, and I walked a little closer to Forest and he runs away leaving a puddle of pee on the floor! :yell: :yell: :frustrated: (he had also went to the bathroom 10 mins before the noise happened so why wasn't he empty?) As I am getting the paper towels to sop up the pee he runs around the freezer to go under the couch in the drawer that pulls out in the middle, I step in his other puddle of pee that he left trailing. In BARE feet no less :yell:! This is when I really yelled, causing my bf to wake up and come out to see what the problem is.

What do I do?? I can't even walk near him after he knows he has caused noises that he knows I will investigate?! I wear slippers if I'm not wearing socks, but I thought this would be a quick trip to the living room and didn't put on my slippers.

Any advice would be great on how to break this habit!

You're probably not going to like what I have to say.

The type of peeing you describe is fear based and an [I]extreme[/I] reaction to being [U]under stress[/U]. He is obviously [U]afraid of you [/U]now because of the "scruffing" (do you mean being grabbed at his neck?). It's obvious Gizzy is a very sensitive cat, and you'll have to make efforts to regain his trust again. If he looks like he's trying to avoid you, sit on the floor and try to coax him to come to you---use treats if you have to. If he does come, do give him lots of loving, and play with him. Give him lots of attention. Your yelling upset him as he knows you're mad and displeased with him. If he pees out of fright, just clean it up, [I]don't yell [/I]at him or sound angry. In fact, you should do the opposite, with a sympathetic tone of voice say, [I]"Ah Gizzy, did I scare you? I'm sorry!" [/I] You and hubby will have to [U]be consistent with this[/U], and don't yell at or be angry with him. This is a very stressed cat!

I appreciate all advice, I just want a happy household! :)

It's not Gizzy, it's Forest who pees when scared. Grabbed by the neck is what I meant but we haven't done that since February.

Forest isn't avoiding me or anything, I've just chosen to stay away from for awhile for fear that he will pee just cuz I walk by him now.

I know cats are knocturnal and more active while we're sleeping at night, but b/c I'm not working I have a different sleeping schedule then everyone else. So today I went to bed at 6am to read and make me sleepy, and that's prolly when they woke up to play and run. They know that I always come out when I hear noises. So I guess it's too much to expect for Forest not to pee and be surprised when I do come out? And I'm guessing there's no cure to make him not pee when he's scared?

I agree with catlover2, you need to work on calming and trust, maybe dont go investigate the noises right away, just ignore that anything happened.

Most importand i would go to the vet asap to see if there is a reason he cannot hold his urine when he is scared, it is very likely there is, try and investigate this as much as you can.

It is possible to fix this, you will have to modify behavior, stay calm, and most important get him checked. Do you feed dry food? Dry food can cause all kinds of urinary troubles in males. Good luck!

I agree with catlover. Please don't ever use force on your your kitty unless it is life or death for the cat.

I know medicating isn't always the answer, but if you can't help Forest with positive reinforcement, perhaps some medication for anxiety will help him.

Sorry I got Forest & Gizzy mixed up, it was late when I posted. Good luck with Forest re his fear peeing. The cure is to gain his trust so that he feels [I]safe, calm and comfortable[/I]. :fingerscr Let us know how things turn out. We like to hear updates. :)

I really hope this is something that can be fixed cuz it's looking hopeless. Usually after he has a peeing episode the next day he is looking for lap forgiveness, so it doesn't seem like it's lack of trust, but then again who knows.

[QUOTE=lUvMyLaB<3;848443]I agree with catlover2, you need to work on calming and trust, maybe dont go investigate the noises right away, just ignore that anything happened.

Most important i would go to the vet asap to see if there is a reason he cannot hold his urine when he is scared, it is very likely there is, try and investigate this as much as you can.

It is possible to fix this, you will have to modify behavior, stay calm, and most important get him checked. Do you feed dry food? Dry food can cause all kinds of urinary troubles in males. Good luck![/QUOTE]

What kind of medical reason would cause this? If a vet could fix this that would help immensely!

We are on a canned diet, albeit cheap at the moment due to low funds. Since February we have transitioned from dry Iams to high quality canned to NV raw and now to Fancy Feast wheat gluten free canned.

[QUOTE=catlover2;848560]Sorry I got Forest & Gizzy mixed up, it was late when I posted. Good luck with Forest re his fear peeing. The cure is to gain his trust so that he feels [I]safe, calm and comfortable[/I]. :fingerscr Let us know how things turn out. We like to hear updates. :)[/QUOTE]

No worries! I think you can consider me a regular visitor so updates will always come! :)

I appreciate everyone's advice and really hope this issue can be fixed! Will update when there is one!

Cats react to the moment, not necessarily what happened the day before. So it would be your actions at the time that he pees that scares him, not the times that you are sitting quietly on a chair. At those moments he may not feel threatened or scared.

But this is what I don't get. Usually he pees if we yell at him, but this time all i did was walk near him to to check under the coffee table, and he "jumps the gun" and pees in reaction to me being near him? That's never happened before, and I wasn't even yelling. :(

My bf has confirmed he is a sensitive cat, so that's one answer resolved. Found this link: [url]http://www.our-happy-cat.com/scared-cat.html[/url]

I'm hoping to get him to the vet this weekend or next week. He's good with getting medication but in case that doesn't help, Feliway/Rescue Remedy/Bach Flower Drops possibly do the trick?

Cats ears are very sensitive and Jasper gets very stressed if we are talking loudly and even when I am choping bones making their food, perhaps this is the same as Forest :shrug:. It could have been your stride that stressed him :shrug:.

[QUOTE=dollface;848589]
What kind of medical reason would cause this? If a vet could fix this that would help immensely!
[/QUOTE]

Some cats lose sphincter control as they age, and while this usually means they randomly dribble urine, or else don't realize they have to pee until it's too late and they can't make it to the litter box, I'll bet stress-induced urinary incontinence also occurs. Kind of like old people that urinate when they cough or sneeze or laugh. Not sure how that would be fixed beyond just making sure Forest is as stress-free as possible. I'd be cautious about trying meds because cats are super-sensitive to them and other health problems may result.

Maybe Kegel exercises??? :laughing::laughing::laughing:

is that something clicker training can help with :laughing:

Has Forest's "fear-peeing" stopped or does he still do it?

He hasn't done it since, even when i heard a big bang last night, all he did was run and hide behind the couch when he heard the door open and i calmly looked around but didn't find anything out of place :shrug:

Happy to hear Forest didn't [I]pee [/I]. But he did run to hide behind the couch, so he's [I]still in fear of a reprimand and/or being yelled at[/I]. Whenever my guys do something like that, but nothing gets knocked down. I'll say something like "Hey, what are you guys doing?" in a friendly inquisitive voice. Usually, they both stop and just look at me as if to say, "Who me?" :angel: :laughing: But if [I]something[/I] gets knocked off a table, I'll reprimand with a stern "Bad!" and if I know who did it, and stare at the guilty one while saying it. They know when they've misbehaved. :p

Oh [B]catlover2[/B], you should be an animal behaviourist! You have soo much knowledge it's amazing!

Most of the time, he will run away if he's close to the door even when I wake up for the day :shrug: Maybe the answer to all my problems is to keep them separated forever :laughing:

Thanks for the compliment. :thankyou: I wouldn't call myself an "animal behaviourest", but I've always enjoyed [I]observing[/I] the interactions of cats over many many years, so maybe that makes me an animal observer? :shrug:

As for keeping them separated forever? I don't think you'll have to do that. When cats really love and respect you, I think they like to please you and behave themselves most of the time. Cats do like to "play fight" to have fun, and chase each other around. Sometimes they do it to attract attention, if they think they're being ignored. I know my two get into play fights or into mischief if I get into a long conversation on the phone just to get my attention. So they're really like two y.o. kids! :laughing: But could never live without them, right? :thumbs up