The cat came back

[Daisy2943]

My cat Felicity got out about a 8 months ago when id had her for about a month (she was about 12 weeks) when we moved into our current house. When she got out she had an ear infection well shes back and still has the ear infection in otherwise good health. I have the medication i ordered in on PetMEDS since i had the prescription. Shes really tiny though but really fat she weighs maybe five pounds but could pass for a kitten. Could the ear infection cause stunted growth? Should i wait to get her spayed until the ear infection gets cleared up? I know bad pet owner but i had only had her a month before she ran away and during that time Charlie had to have the surgery for cherry eye and Daisy disslocated two toes from running in weeds and getting her toes caught lol .I can't get an appointment for a week and a half the vets packed and the sooner appointments don't work with my work schedule. But I am curious? Another question anytime Marco comes inside now that he has become "wild" he poops or pees right in front of me in the living room which results in his exile outside or in the kennel i think hes doing it because he wants back outside since he is introduced to his box everytime jason thinks its because he forgot his litter box training.

[Daisy2943]

the reason i think that he does it to go outside is because he will sit and meow and scratch at the door till we let him out

[Scott_B]

Your best bet is to talk to your vet.

Also, your cat is still very young and will learn to be an indoor cat. I wouldn't worry about that. Put up with some annoyance now and keep the cat inside. There also could be other issues (medical) as to why she's not using the litter box. Again, check with your vet.

[badger]

I would have her spayed immediately (yesterday). The vet will tell you if the ear infection is a problem but I doubt it.

Either build a cosy shelter for Marco and leave him outside permanently OR bring him in, confine him in one room with a litter box, take a fecal sample to the vet to find out if he has worms (which would partly explain his 'problem') and give him loads of attention. And keep your litterboxes clean; cats avoid the dirty ones and go elsewhere.

Pets take work and money and especially TIME, they do not raise themselves or unlearn bad habits alone. You can't be throwing them outside when they do something to upset you and expect it to be a learning experience; they are not children and they DON'T GET IT.

[Daisy2943]

Marco was just at the vet maybe a week ago and hes in perfect health he had to get his rabies shot updated and he did get a stool sample. I have a shed in the backyard that has blankets in it and food and water for the stray cats around the neighborhood and my own. Felicity is getting spayed the 19th and shes easy to keep indoors. I really don't understand why Marcos doing that though i mean even when hes locked in the "animal" room he does it. The litter box is clean and everything he never used to have this problem. The only reason he and Felicty got out in the first place was because my husband shattered the glass in our backdoor and it took until the next day to get it fixed. I swear i think ive payed my vets car off in the amount of vet bills i have each month lol

[Inisfad]

I think you should keep him in until he's neutered, no matter how much he wants to go out. If there are other females in your neighborhood that are in heat, he will seek them out and, whoops! more unwanted cats that just keep adding to the problem. He's probably so small as, being out for all this time, he has not had the nutrition he needs to grow properly. And, all cats know how to use a litter box when they're shown where it is. Your cat isn't using it probably to punish you for keeping him inside.

[Daisy2943]

Marco has been neutered from the first week i got him that was a priority my husband's best friends girlfriend's family had found him as a kitten and they didnt' have room for him so i took him he was my first cat when my husband and i bought our first house is when he escaped. The female is now spayed someone cancelled

[Daisy2943]

inisfab we are talking about two different cats. The male one is the perfectly healthy one that wants to go outside all the time and poops in my living room floor. The female has the ear infection which has been drained and is on antibiotics and i haven't had a problem since.

[CyberKitten]

The infection would not result in stunted growth - if she was on her own for so long at such a crucial age (12 weeks to 8 months, most of her kittenhood actually, poor baby!), it is no small wonder she is small. I am not saying this is your fault but because she was lost and away. Granted, she was likely not that far - most cats who manage to sneak out do not go very far from their home but if out for longer than a certain period - depending on backgrounds and other variables, they can become almost feral and even afraid of their humans. Some ppl even trap (using a humane trap) their kitties almost the very next day with smelly food like tuna tho that is not good to feed to cats typically.

Glad to hear she is spayed. She was prob watching you all the time, scared out of her little head. (I find her story so heartbreaking!)

As for your male cat, please do not banish him simply because of bad behaviour = it does not work with cats and they need to be inside since there are so many dangers outside. You are so fortunate to get your other kitty back - pls don't loose this guy because of something that is not his fault. The ideas Badger gave you are good ones. The general rules is one litter box per cat plus one. and cats do like clean boxes. You could contain him in a single room until all is well. What does the vet say about this?

Cats will meow to go outside if they have seen it and/ or have some recent feral background but in general, most cats learn to love being inside. Mine run when the door opens but they have short or no hair so they hate the cold this time of the year. (Siamese and Sphynx, lol) The outside equals cold and unfriendly in their eyes as well it is for cats (sad to say).

[Daisy2943]

Well i locked him in the animal room ( i did visit him all the time in fact my computer is in there). He has completely rippid up the carpet in the corners of the room he has pooped all over the room ( i did clean it up so don't think eww dirty house) The vet says that he is has become a feral cat and its going to take a long time for him to want to be inside if ever. I swear I can never has peace in my househould its like having a puppy all over again lol I still love them though even though theres days where its like what ever convinced me to get all these animals and one look in there eyes and you remember why

[huskypup]

Not sure if this will work, when I take in a ferral kitten, (never tried with an adult) I don't use Cat litter in the tray to start off with, (I know there is supposed to be something in it that attracts cats), I start off the first day or so, with just normal soil - yes it dosn't absorb any smells but its better than the carpet, I also use a larger than normal tray, when the kitten starts to use the tray, I mix slowly the earth for litter until itis completely litter, I also don't use cat litter granules I use, a pine based natural litter (not sure if you can get that - as we are in the UK)

Ive never had one accident on any of my carpets or on the cat room floor - touching wood as we have two ferral kittens upstairs now, and they are on the earth mix and its seems to be working for them.

[Daisy2943]

Well he was litter trained prior to going outside.