pe t plan.co m .

au

http://www.petplan.co m.au/blo g/pet-insurance/what-to -do -abo ut-pet-to ileting-pro blems/

What to do about pet toileting problems

by Petplan Australia

You never know when your pet might become a toilet rebel. But whats behind it, and what can you do? Deirdre Vine investigates. Inappropriat e eliminat ion t wo sinist er words t hat st rike f ear int o every pet owner can happen out of t he blue, even wit h t he most domest icat ed, well-t rained animals. It s cert ainly not uncommon, but it s vit al at t he onset t o rule out any underlying medical reason f or t he t oilet ing dysf unct ion. As any vet will t ell you, much of t heir job seems t o involve discussions about pee and poop. In a career spanning 30 years, vet Pet er Culpin has seen it all. Many years ago, a client of mine couldnt underst and why his newly acquired rescued f emale dog couldnt st op weeing indoors and out , says Pet er. On examinat ion, we f ound t hat she had developed cyst ic calculi, or st ones in her bladder. T his is usually t he sequel t o a longst anding bladder inf ect ion and must have been very painf ul f or her. She underwent surgery t o remove t hem and we f ound she had more t han 400 st ones of various sizes in her bladder. He warns: Aside f rom t he obvious risk of get t ing caught short , if your pet suddenly st art s exhibit ing unusual soiling behaviour, dont just assume he has f orgot t en his t raining. T here is usually a very good underlying reason and t he most common is a urinary t ract inf ect ion, so get help early, ot herwise your pet may end up wit h an even worse problem. If all medical reasons f or your pet s inappropriat e soiling have been ruled out , t hen it may be t hat t he problem is a behavioural one. MIND AND BODY St ress plays a major part in behaviour changes in cat s. However, we owners somet imes t ake an overly humanised view of t oilet malf unct ion. Abby Ward t ells how when she went away f or a f ew days her part ner discovered t hat t heir cat , Phoebe, had burrowed int o a wardrobe and peed in Abbys best handbag. I f elt she was punishing me f or leaving, says Abby. Dr Claire Corridan, a vet wit h a special int erest in behavioural medicine, sees t he likely explanat ion f or such moggy misdemeanours very dif f erent ly. Cat s have no comprehension of revenge or malice, she says. Owners somet imes underest imat e t he st ressf ul ef f ect t heyre having on t heir animals. Deposit ing a subst ance cont aining t heir smell and pheromones is a pet s response t o t he st ress of t he sit uat ion. Claire says t hat whereas an odour is merely somet hing humans consider pleasurable or of f ensive, our pet s world revolves around pongs t heyre mot ivat ed and driven by scent morning, noon and night . If an animal is f eeling st ressed f or any reason, t he one t hing t heyre going t o do is make sure

t hey express t heir scent t o t ry and override t hat . In addit ion, says Claire, we underest imat e just how much t he emot ional and ment al st at e of our companion whet her it s a cat , dog or rabbit can af f ect t heir short - and long-t erm healt h, bot h ment al and physical. St ress direct ly af f ect s t he part of t he bladder t hat makes t he animal f eel uncomf ort able and can also af f ect t he musculat ure, which increases t he risk of incont inence, so you have t wo dif f erent physiological mechanisms t hat are direct ly relat ed t o how t he animal is f eeling, she explains. T he majorit y of behavioural cases at Claires pract ice are relat ed t o t he pet s environment . If we got t hat right , wed prevent a lot of t he problems t hat we end up seeing, she says. If t heir surroundings are t oo rest rict ive, lacking in ment al or social st imulat ion, or excessively social, a cat or a dog is going t o have dif f icult y coping wit h t hat . AVOIDANCE TACT ICS Soiling out side t he lit t er t ray is one of t he most common reasons f or a healt hy cat t o be given t o a shelt er, yet in most cases it can be easily overcome. Aside f rom it being caused by medical problems like blocked anal sacs or cyst it is, lit t er t ray aversion can result f rom a recent domest ic change, such as t he int roduct ion of anot her cat , a scrupulous puss disliking t he t ext ure of a new t ype of lit t er, or t he lit t er t ray not being clean enough or having t he wrong kind of smell. Using a non-ammonia-based cleaning product on t he t ray is recommended. Never use a deep lit t er syst em, advises Pet er Culpin. Scooping out t he solid clumps of lit t er is not a sat isf act ory way of managing your cat s t oilet . Place a layer of paper or a liner in t he t ray and add about half an inch of lit t er. When it is soiled, t hrow t he whole lot away, clean t he t ray and replace t he liner and add f resh lit t er. Cat s, like us, appreciat e privacy but a cat going t o t he loo out doors also want s t o f eel secure. Ipswich cat owner Jim Best report s how he not iced t hat a new moggy in t he neighbourhood liked t o sit on t he wall eyeing his cat f lap, t hus making his puss suddenly reluct ant t o t oilet in t he garden. Cat s, more t han dogs, will soil one part of t he house over and over again. Product s such as Feliway are a great help when cat s begin t o mark t he house t hrough st ress, as are special calming diet s cont aining amino acids such as L-Trypt ophan and LT heanine, says Pet er. Karen Wild is a dog t rainer, behaviourist and f ounder of Int ellidogs, which specialises in online advice. She cit es one commonly report ed cause of inappropriat e eliminat ion. Dogs can somet imes be lef t alone f or so long t hat t hey need t he t oilet in t he middle of t he day and no ones t here t o let t hem out , she says. T hey eliminat e in t he house because t hey simply cannot hold it in. Separat ion anxiet y may act ually compound t he problem. Moving house somet imes init iat es t oilet ing shenanigans and some remedial house t raining might be needed f ollowing a move, in order t o remind t he dog of t he desired place f or t hem t o go.

Beverley Cuddy, edit or and publisher of Dogs Today , recalls one incident of inappropriat e eliminat ion having an unusual payof f . Her beloved (lat e) Bearded Collie, Sally, used t o go t o work wit h her. One evening, a colleague and I had a lat e meet ing wit h an unpleasant charact er who owed us money, she remembers. Wed been t rying t o negot iat e but t he at mosphere became increasingly t ense. T hen Sally int ervened. She t urned her back on him and sprayed diarrhoea in his direct ion. Sally had creat ed a diversion as only she could. Beverley adds t hat , in general, Sally was a dog who had a lot of excuses. Shed been very ill, missed all her socialisat ion and was very high maint enance. T he slight est upset went t o her bot t om; somet imes shed poo so much shed end up on a drip at t he vet s. If you cant cont rol t he cont inence of your dog it s socially embarrassing and hard t o live wit h. But t hankf ully f or pet s and owners, help is just a t rip t o t he vet s away.