Neutered Male Cat Spraying

[skmccown]

I need some help. Feliway doesn't work -- my cats have all been checked out by the vet. No medical problems.

Spraying started a couple months ago -- on my husband's recliner. After 40 years of marriage and countless cats in our household, my husband's patience has run out. He knows my love for my six babies who now reside with us, from 2 years to 9 years, but something has to be done. I have used Feliway with no success, so have resorted to covering the chair with plastic and then putting a large beach towel over it. It doesn't happen every night, but several times a week.

I have four males and two females, all spayed and neutered. There have been no changes in our household routine. Everyone still uses the litter boxes. The vet can find no medical problems, and I'm sure that the problem is being caused by one of the males as the spray pattern is high on the back of the chair. All of my cats are indoor only.

I have been rescuing animals all my adult life, and at the age of 60 I find myself being stumped. What can you do with healthy cats with a behavior problem. I have even considered putting them all down and finally getting my home back -- and as I write this tears are streaming down my face as the thought of doing this is something I don't know I could live through and forgive myself. I know that no one out there can solve this problem for me, and I'm sure I'll be judged harshly for thinking about a solution, but somehow it just helps to talk about this with people who love animals.

[jenluckenbach]

First of all....WELCOME.

Let me start by saying, "been there/done that!". And no, MY problem is not 100% gone. But it is greatly reduced.

First step is to find out WHICH cat! Not an easy thing to do.

Second step is to THINK..when did it start and what could have triggered it?
some ideas-
-new litter?
-move a litter box?
-new cat introduced?
-rearrange furniture?
-dominance issues between cats?
-stray cats outside your home?
-change of food?
-Did you go away on vacation?
oh my, the list could go on and on.

Third step, clean the area thoroghly with an enzyme cleaner to remove the scent. (and do not feel strange covering your chair. My living room set is covered with plastic and then draped with "easy to wash" sheets. )

Now for the questions.
-Did you use the feliway plug in or srpay bottle? Even though I personally do not believe feliway is 100% effective, others have had success. But it needs to be the spray bottle (for this problem) and it needs to be done consistantly!
-Was a urinalysis part of the cats' vet check up? For spraying, urinary tract problems are the most common physical cause. But not the ONLY cause.
-Could your husband (since it is his chair) offended a cat in any way, lately? A stern scolding? Giving less attention than usual? Or more attention to another cat?

Well, the list can go on.................

What I personally did.
-first, separate the offending cat. This is to a large cage or small room. the idea is to "retrain" the cat to use the litter box.
-second, is medication. I have 2 "pee-ers" on amitriptylin twice a day. It is like a kitty prozac. reduces their stress and their need to spray mark. (I also have a 3rd cat on this medication once a day because he is also high strung)

But like I said, it is not 100% stopped. I foster cats for a rescue group. And even though they live seperately from my cats, whenever there is contact I tend to get spraying again. So I continue to keep the furniture covered and just clean a lot.

I too have thought of ALL the ways to get myself out of the situation. And I cried over the thought of losing any of them. I made a committment and I just have too TRY to live with it (no matter how frustrated and mad I get at times). You will find others who are the same as me here on this board.

Hang in their.............those babies NEED you.

[Maya & Inka's mommy]

I have 4 cats. A while ago I noticed that one of them peed on the floor. Then I found pee on the sofa and on my new t-shirt! It wasn't easy to track down who the culprit was!! One day, while 3 cats, Maya Inka & Zazou, were playing in the garden, I found a new pee-puddle on the floor. This time I knew it had to be our little Snoopy! I tried to pick as much pee as possible with a syringe, put it in a glass and brought it to our vet.
She found out that Snoopy had a bladder infection and some chrystals too.
After 2 rounds of anti-biotics, it is much better!! Once in a while Snoopy still pees on the floor, but it is always when she is in heat. I hope that this problem will be solved too after tomorrow (she is getting spayed!)

Good luck finding out the spraying cat! And, welcome to Pet Talk!!

[Laura's Babies]

I think if you keep at it and follow the advice given, you will get to the bottom of this and while you may not slove the rpoblem completely, you could make it managable and something you could live with...

I hope you will hang around and post pictures, tell us stories or at the least, give us updates on this.

[kb2yjx]

Please do not give up!!! Spraying is such a hard problem to deal with!! The above posts have given you some food for thought. I cannot offer another suggestion, but keep hope!!! And please keep us posted...and welcome to PT!

[Catsnclay]

Welcome to PT - you will find a lot of people here that will be more than willing to help you out. Also quit a few of us have a cat that pee's - me included.

Yoshi is my baby and my pee-boy. He was born feral, but resuced even before he could walk, so we are not sure if this is part of the cause or not.

Yoshi started peeing when he was about 1 1/2 to 2 years old and he still does it today, he is now 6. I constantly have a Feliway plug going (I don't use the spray) and Yoshi is medicated with Fluoxetine (there are a few different meds for this problem). He gets blood work once a year to make sure this medication does not harm his kidneys & liver (always a down-side to medicating ) But he seems to do well. I still see an occasional spray but nothing like it was before.

Please, please don't put your kitty down for this. I know it is anoying and a pain, but you have to play dective and help find the cause of this. They don't spray because they want to, they do it for a reason, and you have to figure out that reason.

Jen gave a good start on what to do, if you need more help, ask. We have all been through this and are more than willing to help!

Please give us updates, and pictures!

[skmccown]

First of all, thank you to you who posted suggestions -- and most of all, for not judging me harshly for my aggrevation. I can see that this is not an isolated problem for cat lovers. It is just one that I've never had to deal with in all my years of kitty-loving.

I have printed out all your suggestions and plan to begin my Hercule Poirot investigation. I will use my "little grey cells" to find the culprit and then apply your great ideas.

As to your question of Feliway, I do use the spray. Never heard of the plug-in.

I will try to keep you posted as to success.

Again, thank you for your support. I'm so glad I found a place to share my cat loving ways.

Susan