cat urinating in house after being declawed.

Question
I recently got my cat declawed- i didnt want to do it and I feel aweful, but he was ruining our home and it was either that or the high road for him. So its been two weeks and he is peeing in the house. At first I thought it was because he was in too much pain to walk through the house to get to his litter box. But I dont think he is in any pain now- is it spite? And what can I do to deter him from doing this?

Answer
Hi Julia,

Declawing is a very stressful thing for cats. I'm not going to lecture about the pros and cons. I have one of my own that I declawed. He wouldn't learn to play without scratching our arms very badly.

It sounds like he is still very tender at his paws. It can take a while for him to go back to normal. Try changing his litter. Go to a pet store and ask them for a soft type of litter. If you can find it get a litter called C-9 Cedar. It is a very fine cedar shavings. Very soft on the cats feet. And it smells great too. Or try cedar animal bedding. But make sure it is very fine. Try a scoopable if you don't use it now. This is also soft. Peat moss works good too. Try one of these and see how he does.

Also, take a look at his paws. Make sure he doesn't have an infection going on there. One other thing, get a product called Feliway. Get the whole house spray. It acts to relax cats and destress them. He would benefit from this. Good luck.

Ciao, Karen