At wit's end!

[jazzcat]

I can't take it anymore! I think we have multiple cats marking in the house now. Last night we came home to discover someone peed on our bed. There was no stain and it didn't show up with the black light but the smell of burnt waffles syrup was there through the duvet, comforter, two blankets and the top sheet. Luckily the mattress was spared. I was up all night doing laundry.

This morning I found pee all over one of the sunroom chair cushions. Luckily it is for indoor/outdoor furniture so I can take it outside to hose off and clean but still. This is just the two latest incidents, there are many more times that someone has peed in cat beds. I saw Rocky pee on one cat bed a month or so ago but I am afraid this latest stuff is Rumor. I can't say for sure who it is but I know these latest offenses are not Ripley (he is the one who usually sprays when upset but he wasn't in the area when this happened).

I talked to the vet a couple of weeks ago and she thinks it is behavioral because of where they are doing it and the manor they are doing it (more like marking spots) than it is health related.

I've tried Rescue Remedy from a health store - it's mostly alcohol and useless in my opinion. I've tried Feliway and it almost seems to have the opposite effect and makes the cats more aggressive. Oh yes, the cats are constantly fighting. Rocky and Rumor seem to be the worst about it, picking fights with everyone. They are very jealous of the kittens.

All my cats are spayed or neutered, up to date on vaccinations and with the exception of Ripley who has kidney failure all are very healthy. I (and the vet) really do not believe there is a health issue invovled.

Yes, I know the problem is probably because I've added Moxie and Decker to the household. I had no intentions of getting more cats and I would have given them away if I could have found a home but I couldn't and now they are here. Adding more litterboxes isn't helping either - like I said this seems to be a marking territory situation.

I'm not coping with this well at all and it's making things very stressful here at home. Does anyone have any helpful suggestions?

[Craftlady]

Rescue Remedy from health food stores I've been told by my friend who does Thumpers, Reiki treatments, are concentrated bottles that need to be mixed with spring water. So many parts of rescue to spring water type of deal.
Just thought I would add that tid bit of info
It really does work when mixed and used properly.

I would separate Rumor and Ripley (if these two are suspects) and confine them in a room or exlarge crate.
Litter box, water, food.
Dont give them full run of the house.

Exlarge dog crates can hold litter box, bed, water and food with room to spare.

Let them calm down and slowly re-enter them into the house.
Kinda like start them out as confined kittens and let them earn their way out to more space.

If you have to consider rehoming anyone, PT'rs sure have come to the rescue here lately. Might ask who can help.

[Medusa]

I know I sound like a broken record but Clomicalm does the job for me. I can't even remember the last time there was an incident and w/Specs, it used to be an every day occurrence. He actually ruined my old dining room buffet and I came close to rehoming him. But my conscience got the better of me. Plus I couldn't in good conscience give him to someone knowing that he would do that to them, too. But Clomicalm saved the day. Ask your vet about it. It doesn't make Specs drowsy or lethargic or change his personality in any way. I started giving it to Yodie Yodie, too, because she had her moments and since I bought this house a couple of years ago, I've slowly added all new furniture. I will not tolerate them ruining what I work so hard for. Anyhow, give Clomicalm a whirl. It worked when everything else failed. I hate the thoughts of medicating my cats but I hate the thoughts of ruined furniture, pee smell throughout the house and friends not wanting to visit.

[jenluckenbach]

I totally, TOTALLY understand! That isn't to say that I have any answers. Medication keeps the spraying here to a minumum, but it is not 100%. Retraining (by confining, and then reintroducing) is what my vet recommends. I did this with Jim and Sterling while getting them on the medication.

Possibly confining the 2 new ones and reintroducing them very slowly.

I have been forced to cover furniture with plastic (and then covering that with something easily washable, like sheets), and removing temptation (NO fluffy beds, for example).

I truly believe that every household DOES have a limit and that limit is set by the cats residing there. Go over that limit and someone gets angry. I did not believe this until it happened to me. Now I just clean up more accidents and try to keep things as calm as possible.

When I think of the choices I have (rehoming, euthenasia, a shelter) I don't like most of them, so I live with the cats AND their "bad habits". And I console myself by saying "other people deal with this type of things, even those who have very few pets, so you can't always blame having too many". And I also say, "I know of many DOG owners who come home to accidents every day, so it is not only a cat problem".

Every day I make a choice......get mad at the cats for being who they are, or simply clean up after them. Sometimes I get mad, but I always get over it.

[Freedom]

I agree to separate the two "suspects" first. As the first step has to be to find the culprit. Heck, keep EVERYONE separated until you find the right one! I know, that's not doable.

You are singling out males and calling this "marking." So let me quickly tell you what happened here this week:

Vita peed on a cat bed Wednesday evening, right in front of me. She has lived with me 9 years, never did such a thing. I was too shocked to move.

Thursday evening at about the same time, she marched into the Family Room where we are sitting, got on the blue cat sofa, turned, stood up on her tippy toes, raised her tail, and "marked" the sofa.

I was SO SURE this was behavioural, and due to Sugar's arrival 3 months back. But when I posted in Cat Behaviour, everyone (well, all 2 of them) said get her to the vet for a UTI check. First thing Friday morning I was on the phone, half an hour later Vita was unhappily providing a urine sample. (Needle couldn't get any, bladder was too small, so then she conveniently peed all over the exam table. The vet was laughing and saying "where's it all coming from? There wasn't ANY in there!" ) The vet said it was much too late for Vita to start reacting to Sugar - that jealousy or upset would have happened within a week of the dog's arrival.

Got the phone call late morning today. Vita has a bacterial bladder infection, crystals - not the struvite, the other ones, calcium oxalate. And her urine is more diluted than the vet would like. Her white blood cell count is high, and her temperature is low. We are using Baytril for 10 days, then we re test.

I'd never heard of a FEMALE marking, and wouldn't have believed it if I didn't see her do it!

This morning, Vita again marked a cat bed. She is slowly destroying all the pet furniture! I hope the meds take effect quickly.

Moxie and Decker have been with you, living large in the full house (not confined) for some time now. So based on what my vet told me, it is too late for that to be the cause of the upset.

I hope this helps.

[Glacier]

Who gets picked on the most? I have a similar problem. The other cats pick on Ivy alot, to the point that she sometimes can't use the litter box. They chase her out. So she is the only cat allowed in my computer room(except Sophia for now too). She has her own toys, scratching post, treats and litterbox. She spends a few hours a day in this room and it greatly reduces the tensions in the house. That reduces the peeing.

Onyx is a behavioral inappropriate pee-er. My vet says Onyx would prefer a home with a few less cats. Since that's not happening, we have done a few other things for him. Onyx likes to pee on hard, flat surfaces. Since peeing on the kitchen counters is not acceptable, I have an almost empty litterbox for him. It's has to be cleaned more often, but I can do that. I often leave the bathroom door open for him. The tub and sink are easier to clean than the counter!

I have feliway diffusers throughout the house. One in every room. I think they do help. I put rescue remedy in their water. Not so sure it does anything, but it can't hurt. I find it's more effective with the dogs. If it does nothing for your pets, take some yourself! Might take the edge off your stress!

I use a SSScat bottle on the cupboards at night. It is motion activated, beeps and shoots out compressed air when something sets it off. It's very effective.

Good luck!

[catmandu]

Thats Why I Have Stopped Taking Cats In.
We Have Had Some Spraying Since The Kitten Trio But Luckily Not Nearly As Serious As You Jazzcat.
Its Mostly The Fact That There Are Unneutered Porch Cats Out There And The Younger Cats React.
We Wish We Knew The Answer To Your Problem, I Guess A Cage Might Be A Temporary Solution.
Good Luck And Prayers Are Coming To You From Us All.

[barncat]

You and your vet are probably correct in thinking this is territorial... and as others have said, females will martk territory too. Things might be more intense right now because of the season change. Even "fixed" cats sometimes react hormonally to the spring breeding season (that's assuming you live in a area with warm/cold seasons...I forgot to check). My guys always get into more fights and "play" sex (everyone is fixed!) when the weather warms up. Providing separate spaces and reintroductions (as everyone is saying) may help. Once they settle in and are used to each other it usually gets better. You may want to make your bedroom off limits to the suspects. It is most likely your "nest" that is the most contested spot and if they can't compete for it, it might help....It will certainly help you get a better night's sleep.

[jazzcat]

Thanks everyone! I think I mostly needed to vent.

Craftlady - I've added the Rescue Remedy to their drinking water so it gets diluted but maybe I need to try more direct approach of putting it on their tongue. Or else I'll just do what Glacier suggested and use it myself, LOL.

Medusa - I will call my vet Monday and ask about Clomicalm. I remember you mentioning it before but I didn't get too far once I saw I needed a prescription . I'll persue it now.

Jen - Thanks you and (((HUGS))). I knew you would understand since you've been dealing with it for some time. You are right - cats do set a limit and my guys are telling me we've breached the limit.

Freedom - Rumor is female so I'm not excluding them. I really do suspect her and her brother Rocky. They were my babies before Moxie and Decker and they are extremely jealous and act like big babies over every little thing. Rocky even cries like a baby, constantly. It used to be cute but his behavior has gotten out of hand.

Glacier - thanks for the suggestions. I think I may go back to using the Feliway diffusers to see if even amounts being dispensed works better than my sporatic spraying. Scout gets picked on the most but she seems to take it in stride. I will be shocked if it is her though.

Gary and Barncat - thanks for the support and we've started closing the bedroom door so they don't have access to our bed now. I'm just praying it doesn't make them worse.

For everyone, I don't know if I can really separate anyone. I don't have a large enough kennel and I really don't have a room to put them in. How to do that stumps me right now. I love Moxie and Decker and I would have a hard time parting with them but if someone here on PT really wanted them I would consider it just to get back to some kind of normal here. This just frustates me and breaks my heart.

For now I will try the chemical route. I will use Feliway and Rescue Remedy again and hopefully my vet will help me out with Clomicalm.

Thanks for all the support and prayers! I went outside and worked in my yard to work off some frustration and anger. I chopped down two forsythia bushes and pruned some others to almost stubs but I feel better!

[krazyaboutkatz]

Lori, I'm so sorry to hear that you're having spraying problems. You've already been given a lot of great advice. I hope that the clomicalm, feliway diffusers, and rescue remedy will do the trick. Please continue to keep us updated and take care.

[Craftlady]

Rescue works great on humans, a few drops on wrist works wonders for humans.
With animals and humans, frequency of use is key. 4 drops on the skin 3 times a day for pets.

[krazyaboutkatz]

Lori, Here's a very good article that goes over exactly what you're going through. I hope it helps. How To Solve Housesoiling Problems.

[jazzcat]

Craftlady - I will try applying it to the skin, thank you!

Tracey - that article is great! It has a lot of the advice I was given here plus more. Hopefully with all this I can nip it in the bud. I'm trying to be positive.

[carole]

Lori just wanted to say i completely understand your fustration and stress, since adding the two newbies to my household I have had a few problems now and then too, luckily its not been really bad, and mostly the offending has occurred downstairs, when i just had Lexie and Ash i never had these problems and i have never known who the culprit is,,sometimes you regret your decision, but when those lil loving eyes look up at me , i know in my heart i did the right thing, i just hope something works for you and the kitties, and i know how awful it all can be, here's hoping hon. good luck.

[catnapper]

Lori, I admit I didn't read everyone's replies, so if I repeat anything, then its just goes to backup what someone else already said

Have you tried "Cat Attract" litter? I swear it works. When I use it, I have very few markings. I won't swear nobody pees where they oughtn't but I might get one or two little spots a week when I'm using the Cat Attract litter. Its expensive, but highly worth it. One bag will fill two small litterboxes for a week.