Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi everyone,,,Glad I found this forum and hope someone can help me out here. My daughter recently moved to another state and I acquired her Tonkinese. I didn't even realize what I had until I took him to the vet. He is approx 4 years old and was owned by a friend of hers that then in turn after about 3 years gave him to my daughter and then now,,,I have him. So the poor thing has been passed from household to the next and I'm hoping he will adjust in his new household as we really love him. My question is,,,,I do have other cats which the Tonk is getting along with fine but when he goes in the litter box,,,,His urine seems to be so much stronger then other cats. Is this true with Tonks? Also he occasionally has been going just a little on bathroom rugs and kitchen rugs. Just enough of a spot that causes an odor and I have to wash. He has been spayed. Do you think this is a territory thing or what? Thanks so much for any advice on this.....

First of all, welcome to the Tonk board!

Your poor little guy has certainly been through more than his share of stress in his first few years of life. Tonks develop very strong bonds with their people and he's already lost two of them.

I'm guessing that the urination problem is a symptom of the stress and insecurity he is feeling. You might try adding another litter box in another location if you have one. Maybe that will help.

I can tell from your message that he is getting lots of love and attention from you, and that should help him adjust, too.

As for the odor, that has not been my experience with my neutered male, Eddie. The other thought that comes to my mind is that he may have a urinary infection. Don't know if that would explain the odor, but it would explain him going somewhere other than the litter box. When cats have a problem that causes urination to be painful they tend to go in other places, because they associate the litter box with the pain. I would suggest that you ask your vet if a urinalysis is in order.

Please do keep us posted and, again, welcome to this board and to the wonderful world of Tonkinese cats!!

Carol, Emily, & Eddie

>>Hi everyone,,,Glad I found this forum and hope someone can help me out here. My daughter recently moved to another state and I acquired her Tonkinese. I didn't even realize what I had until I took him to the vet. He is approx 4 years old and was owned by a friend of hers that then in turn after about 3 years gave him to my daughter and then now,,,I have him. So the poor thing has been passed from household to the next and I'm hoping he will adjust in his new household as we really love him. My question is,,,,I do have other cats which the Tonk is getting along with fine but when he goes in the litter box,,,,His urine seems to be so much stronger then other cats. Is this true with Tonks? Also he occasionally has been going just a little on bathroom rugs and kitchen rugs. Just enough of a spot that causes an odor and I have to wash. He has been spayed. Do you think this is a territory thing or what? Thanks so much for any advice on this.....

>>Hi everyone,,,Glad I found this forum and hope someone can help me out here. My daughter recently moved to another state and I acquired her Tonkinese. I didn't even realize what I had until I took him to the vet. He is approx 4 years old and was owned by a friend of hers that then in turn after about 3 years gave him to my daughter and then now,,,I have him. So the poor thing has been passed from household to the next and I'm hoping he will adjust in his new household as we really love him. My question is,,,,I do have other cats which the Tonk is getting along with fine but when he goes in the litter box,,,,His urine seems to be so much stronger then other cats. Is this true with Tonks? Also he occasionally has been going just a little on bathroom rugs and kitchen rugs. Just enough of a spot that causes an odor and I have to wash. He has been spayed. Do you think this is a territory thing or what? Thanks so much for any advice on this.....

Firstly welcome to the wonderful world of being owned by a Tonk! Poor boy Tonks have the Siamese tendancy to bond strongly to their person and this poor soul has been abandoned not once but TWICE! Bless you for taking him in and giving him a loving fur-ever home. As for his strong urine... Since you say he is neutered my guess would be he has an infection going on, but that is only a guess on my part. I would take him to your vet to be evaluated and put on a round of antibiotics if needed. As for his inappropriate piddles... Be sure you wash the rugs in something that will take the odor out completely. I know XO works well and have heard Nature's Miricle is a good product. Confining him to a room (preferably with no rugs) when you're not home to imedetely correct inappropriate litterbox behaviours might also help break the cycle before it becomes an ingrained bad habit. Mostly just give him lots of love, attention, and playtime and soon you won't be able to do a thing in your home without Tonk supurrvision. Do you know what pattern/color he is? Please post a picture so we can see this handsome boy of yours. Welcome to the board and remember: Tonks are like potato chips: Can't have just one! ^___^
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PURRS!!!!
Tricia
Da-Katz Tonks
Siamese on valium/Burmese on speed!

Good Morning,,,

Thanks both of you for the big welcome! Looks like I will be making a trip to the vet this week to rule out any urinary infections and then if no,,,,,I know I have to deal with some behavior problems. Yesterday,,,I was gone all day and when I got back,,,,I found where he had gone on my couch! I just never have had a cat do this and of course,,,,I can't let him go on furniture as that would be quite expensive to have to replace. I immediately moved his litter box and toys in my master bath which is quite big with windows and trying that out for a few days to see if he will use his litter box only and if he does go anywhere else in there,,,,That all can be cleaned. Geeze,,,I really wish I knew what was going on. I will post a picture soon for you guys,,,He is beautiful and such a sweetheart. We are laughing because it seems like we have brought another dog into the house instead of a cat. His name is Gabriel,,,that was what the original owner had named him and since he is 4 years old,,,I thought best to keep same name and especially since he has been shifted from one house to another. Tell me more about your tonks and how long you have had,,,,

Honey1: I have two Tonkinese. Chris, my champagne, will be 17 years of age on 11/8/05. I've had him since age 2 months. My "baby girl" SkuShi, a natural mink, is 12 and I've had her since age 3 months.
Needless to say, I love both of my cats ENORMOUSLY. I'm very fortunate that my veterinarian knows how much I love my cats and she treats both my cats and me very well. I'm very lucky to have two great kitties and a great vet. You can find pictures of both of my cats in the Photo's section of Pet Hobbyist. The picture of SkuShi was taken after she had surgery to remove a vaccine related inflammation that we thought could turn cancerous. She's just fine and doesn't have to wear that idiotic sweatshirt sleeve anymore. At any rate, the sleeve was much more preferable than the plastic cone.

I LOVE MY KITTIES!!