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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I put an otherwise healthy 3 year old cat down after struggling with the same thing for 3 years.  Ruined our couch, peed on everything soft,  and if he jumped on our bed,  even in the middle of the night,  I'd wake right up from a dead sleep and try to grab him mid-pee. Because jumping on our bed always led to peeing. Peed on my mother in law in the middle of the night.  Would stop for a month or so,  then do it again.  [b]Had him on Prozac, then a miss of 2 drugs,  saw a cat therapist behaviorist  (didn't do any good,  she was useless), and had scat mats on the couches.[/b] Finally decided we couldn't live under seine any longer.  He was anxious, so we couldn't make him and odor ir barn cat, couldnt give him to someone else as I knew he'd do it there, etc.  Vet came to the house and peacefully put him to sleep.

In your case, OP, you've had him for years,  he's very elderly now and you will need to put him down in a year or so, and I think it's time now.

How would you ever think to put him in a windowless basement? Even stuck in the laundry room,  it's away from his people,  and he's a social cat. Time to do it, he won't know anything after its done,  you're going to lose him in a year,  it'll just be a bit sooner. I'm really sorry, OP, this is a hard decision. But living in a tiny room with no human contact isn't really living.  Why not let him go? You'd do it if he was in physical pain,  well.... he's in emotional pain.

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Omg, next time just try to adopt the cat out to someone with problem solving skills instead of killing him.[/quote]

You're a jerk. Did you not read the highlighted parts where she TRIED the problem-solving skills?

Not all cats are good pets. Not even with all the problem-solving in the world. Behavioral peeing problems are extraordinarily difficult to solve -- this is way beyond the "just add another litter box and scoop it every day" litter box strike issue. We have had two cats with peeing problems -- one started as a physical bladder/urinary tract problem, and the other was pure anxiety -- and we tried ABSOLUTELY everything and spent thousands of dollars on expert veterinary medical evaluations, drugs, behaviorists, etc. Sometimes no matter what you try you can't solve the problem. And the idea that there are people out there just begging to adopt your peeing cat is ridiculous -- we know. We looked.

For the OP -- the fact that your cat has had this issue for 5+ years and is now 15 years old means in my mind that you are very unlikely to solve this problem. Your cat is not going to change. So your options are:

1) Cover the furniture all the time and be extra-vigilant about soft stuff. We did this with one of our peeing cats. It's crazy but only you and your family can decide whether you can live like this.

2) Lock your cat in the laundry room. Frankly I don't know why you think this is a humane option. To me it sounds like torture and no way to treat a pet. At that point you're valuing quantity of life over quality as there is no way to justify locking your cat in the laundry room as the best way to treat your pet.

3) Try to rehome the cat. Also sounds like a great idea in theory but it's practically impossible in practice. You also have to ask yourself whether you can trust someone else to take care of your pet, especially an old cat with peeing problems, and whether your cat will survive the move and adjust well to a new home at age 15.

4) Or you can euthanize your cat, which to me sounds like the adult and humane option. 15 years old is a ripe old age for a cat. 14-16 years is the average lifespan for a neutered indoor-only cat. Just because some cats live longer (and some die sooner) is not a meaningful comparison -- your cat is an old cat who has spent a long life with you.

I think you have to ask yourself the hard question -- are you considering locking your cat in the laundry room, rehoming him, etc. because you can't bear to take the responsibility for his death? Are you truly considering his best interests or are you prioritizing your own emotional fears? Are you in denial about how old he is, or what his quality of life is like? What is truly in your cat's best interest in terms of quality of life, not quantity? Because he neither fears death nor anticipates it, but you do.[/quote]

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