my very naughty cat!!

Question

Hi Ali,
I actually have a few questions, first of i have 5 year old long haired gray cat, she likes to urinate EVERYWHERE!! specially anywhere that is near the litter boxes. I have to cats and 2 litter boxes one for each cat. The cats also have there own room in the house it's called the animal room i also have 2 black labs.The gray cat we call Grey C  has been peeing outside the litter box way before we got the dogs they are not even 1 yet and i have had grey c for 7 years now. she has been peeing everywhere for about 5 years. I have taken her to the vet she has nothing wrong with ehr as far as that. But i have tryed everything shy of putting a diaper on this cat. i keep her in a cage while i am gone and when i let her out i have to watch her or she will pee all over the place. I am trying to move out and my boyfriend said he would not live in a nother house with this cat if she pees on things. i can understand his point but in the same sense i am an animal LOVER i got it from my momma. I cant seem to get up the courage to get rid of this cat and i don't want to b/cuz she is just going to do it to someone else. so this is the delima  either get this problem fixd or put her to sleep which would break my heart. I cant bring my self to do it.my cat means there world to me but i really need to move into another place and i don't want her to ruin a new place. And my boyfriend is basically telling me to choose him or the cat i cant do that so i was just writing to see if maybe you have any suggestions. oh by the way the cat is fixed and i also have another female cat who is fixed also they both have there own litter box though and grey c has one in her cage also so a total of 3 litter boxes. I don't know what to do i am at my witts end if you have any advice it would be much appreciated
                             Thank You
                                    Sidney


Answer
Sidney,

Have you spoken to your vet regarding drugs that can be used to help your cat eliminate correctly? It may be something to look into. Anti anxiety and anti depressant drugs are sometimes used to help cats get back into going to the washroom where they are supposed to. I think that if you and the vet can work something out so that the kitty uses the litter box reliably you won't have to be forced into making heart breaking choices. It may take a few months, but I do think that the time and work involved are well worth the result, which makes everyone happy. I would also suggest that you consult a behaviorist since this is a long standing issue. I think that between a behavior modification program, positive reinforcement and some anti-anxiety/anti-depressant drugs this should be fairly easily solved. The other standard recommendations that I usually make are things like making sure that you use an unscented clumping kitty litter, place the litter box in a quiet and private area, and cut out any air fresheners or scents in the same room as the litter box, all of these recommendations plus remembering to clean the box a minimum of once a day should bring your family back together again. I hope that this information helps. If you have any further questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me again.