When a cat urinates a on a new baby's things, is this supposed to be taken as a threat (or maybe just jealousy)?
My husband and I have a new baby (3mos.) and have two inside cats. When we brought the baby home, one of them began staying underfoot constantly and then jumping up next to us when we held the baby. We tried to give her extra attention and encouragement and thought we were doing OK until she crept into the baby’s room and peed on one of the rugs in his room, then the next night on the baby’s clothes themselves. We’ve had problems with this cat showing her anger by having “accidents” in other parts of the house before, but my husband and I took this to be an act of aggression and put her outside. We feel guilty, but the baby has to come first. I hate thinking that she might have to stay outside permanently. Has anyone else had a problem like this?
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This is very typical cat behavior. She’s trying to let the baby know she’s higher up on the chain.
Look for a pheremone calming device that you can either spray or plug into the wall. The one that comes highest in recomendations is the FeliWay diffuser. You plug it in, like a Glade plug-in, and it calms the cat down by releasing pleasing pheremones into the air.
Their website is www.feliway.com
Another question- is your cat spayed? That can have an effect on her ‘protectiveness’ factor. Also you might want to get her checked out by your vet. Many cats’ first sign of illness is urinating outside the litter box. It could be she isn’t reacting to the baby at all- only a vet check up could tell you that though.
Good luck!
While it certainly sounds suspicious of a behavioral issue, I would recommend that you have her checked at the vet for a urinary tract infection. It’s a simple procedure (a urinalysis), and think how bad you’d feel if you put her outside for trying to tell you about a health issue. It’s a good idea to eliminate the possibility.
Ugh. Did you think about how to introduce your cat to your children? Did you ask anyone? Did you consult a book? You took care of the cat, loved it and kept it inside, now it lives outside? This is one of my pet peeves. The health and well-being of the cat is important too.
See your vet. Read a fuckin’ book.
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