Need help with confusing cat situation

[kago]

So my cat Patsy (9 yrs old) is being a naughty kitty!
We moved to CA 3 yrs ago and for the first time she had a UTI and started peeing outside the box. Mostly on bathroom mats, which I just tossed all. After UTI meds and diet adjustments the problem got under control. Then she started "misbehaving" when we had a housesitter for a while, when we left on vacation. But she was fine after we got back. But then the big thing happened - the birth of our daughter!!! Oh boy! First she was good about it. Just kept her distance and gave the baby the stink eye. But never did anything to her. Now the baby is one and started walking fully. We think that triggered major anxiety in Patsy. She started peeing outside the litter box like CRAZY now. I think it's more spraying. She might think the hierarchy changed, since the little person is bigger than she is now???Could that be???
I took her to the vet to make sure, it's not a UTI. Vet says no, but I discovered blood in the pee stains today....So what else could it be? Does anyone have any advise how to deal with this better? I just ordered the Little Green Machine to make sure I get rid of the smell and stains. And I gave her calm treats. Vet gave me anti anxiety meds, but she gets even MORE stressed and feels tortured when I try to give that to her. I am so frustrated....HELP!!!

[MowMow]

How did the vet determine it was not a UTI? Did she pull urine and culture it? Look for crystals?

[kago]

She said she did a urine analysis. She put her under for doing so, since Patsy didn't give urine on her own being at the vet for a whole day.

[kago]

I am getting another urine analysis done today. Can blood in the urine mean anything else than a UTI?

[kago]

Update! She did indeed have crystals. I knew it! The vet was wrong the first time around. So now she is on Royal Canin UTI special diet. I so hope that she will stop peeing outside the box, once she feels better. How long does this usually take? I forgot.
The vet says she is probably prone to this and we should keep her on this diet. So I am reading about raw food. It is supposed to help. I need advice for the aftermath - Clean up! Anything else than the "Magical Solution"?

[trickyspark]

Vinegar will kill the odor, but leave it's own odor. Kind of a trade off I guess.

[tghsmith]

does she have food available all the time or set feeding periods? about any enzyme type cleaner will work if its good (fresh and stored correctly) and allowed to work..

[Alpaca]

Originally Posted by kago

Update! She did indeed have crystals. I knew it! The vet was wrong the first time around. So now she is on Royal Canin UTI special diet. I so hope that she will stop peeing outside the box, once she feels better. How long does this usually take? I forgot.
The vet says she is probably prone to this and we should keep her on this diet. So I am reading about raw food. It is supposed to help. I need advice for the aftermath - Clean up! Anything else than the "Magical Solution"?

The poor dear is just trying to cope with all the stuff that's been happening, but cats can be prone to stress and that often translates to behavioral problems. She's not being naughty, just trying to tell you in the best way she knows how. You can't speak cat and she can't speak human. She's had a major change in residency, a temp change in ownership (vacation), new additional member to family. One of those by itself could be reason to set a cat off, let alone all 3. (not sure of the exact time span with the 3 items. but it does take time to 're-train' a cat).

UTI can be triggered a number of ways. Insufficent moisture in the diet, sometimes fish in the diet. Forget about the Royal Canin, it's not really going to help that much esp if it's a dry food diet.

You can start her off with a transition to canned wet, then after that to raw. We have a health and raw diet forum which can help if you are indeed interested.

You can also get a cat fountain (ceramic) if that'll help her consume more water.

All those things are kinda like bandaids to the underlying concern which is stress. Provide her with a safe room so she has some place she can call her own. It'll ground her, calm her and give her some room to de-stress. It might even boil down to providing her with a large dog kennel. Cats are territorial and your child walking around may also confuse her about territories and boundaries. Anyways, I'd say she's actually doing pretty good with the amount of stuff that's been happening.

You've also changed the litterbox and the substrate which can also set her off. For some cats, even a new chair can be the source of anxiety. If you want less odor, I suggest just be more religious with scooping. I have open litterboxes with no smell. I have a full time job, but I scoop 3 times a day.

[Alpaca]

I was going to say she's doing pretty good given the circumstances cuz it could be a lot worse. So give Patsy a hug today!

Also, forgot to mention about treats. What kind of treats are u giving her? Can switch to raw or freeze-fried treats instead of dry ones.

[kago]

Thank you all for the encouraging words. I feel so bad for Patsy. She still is peeing against the couch (not on it, but puts her behind up against it and kind of "sprays" it. She is a female though...?). Right now I am not giving her any treats, since I thought I should wait until the crystals are gone. Where would I find raw or freeze-fried treats? Do you make them yourself? I have to read up on the raw diet. Would you transition her to any canned wet food right now and toss the Royal Canin? She gets mostly the canned Royal Canin and a bit of dry to nibble on in between.
In regards to the safe place - she LOVES hanging out in the cabinet under the sink. That's her to-go place, when she gets scared, like the garbage truck driving by, or the baby getting too interested in her. I put all kinds of cuddly stuff there for it to be even more comfortable. Any other suggestions? Vinegar, huh? I don't think I like that smell much more - lol