Female cats spraying/peeing inappropriately

[Lizzie]

Jenn - My commiserations! I've been through this many times for over 20 years and I've never found a solution except to move the cats that are having the problems. I'm sorry to state that so baldly, but I think you have already pretty much come to the same conclusion yourself. Extra litter boxes, new litter boxes, extra attention, Feliway, isolation re-training, repeated checks for UTI, supervised trips into the garden, nothing has worked in my household on a cat that has developed this behavior, male or female.

I hate, hate, hate the fact that some of my cats have to live downstairs (my house is in a hill and I have a daylight basement with living room, bedrooms, etc.), but after having upstairs walls replaced and stripping out the carpet so I'm left with plywood subfloor with rugs thrown over it, I'm out of options. Those cats just don't get the attention the upstairs cats get and I have to make myself go downstairs and spend time with them. All their soft furniture has to be wrapped in plastic, they ruined the one sofa they had, sprayed on all the lamps and tv, so it's not a cosy place to be. Telling myself that they created this environment doesn't help the guilt or wish that things were different. I tried again last week to bring Thumper upstairs because I adore him and he longs for attention, but within hours I was cleaning spray pee off furniture and soaking my sofa in Nature's Miracle so he had to go back down. All five of them (except for Taranis) have fun downstairs together. They were all long-time shelter cats, Thumper for about 6 years, so they have a lot more freedom and comfort than they've had before, but it's far from what I want for them.

I have Taranis (female, although a male name like Boris) on Prozac and it has helped. She's never sprayed but she peed on just about anything, especially soft furniture, blankets, throws, pillows, etc. She's also now with cats that she doesn't hate quite as much as before; she will actually share the bed with them if they stay several feet away from her. She had had 4 homes in her first 3 years before I adopted her, being bounced back to the shelter for "inappropriate elimination" and not wanting to be cuddley. She should really be an only cat but that isn't going to happen. Sigh!

We share the same kind of cats - I have mostly FIV+, behavior problems and ex-ferals also, but with a couple of handicapped cats thrown into the mix.

Good luck with sorting things out, and if you come up with a good solution, please post it.

[Logan]

This is my greatest fear in having multiple cats. I have been so lucky over the years, but I have also done the unpopular thing of letting my cats come in and out at their desire. I only do that because we live in a very quiet area. We only have one cat, now, since we lost our 17 year old kitty in July, and he does not use the litter box, although it is there for him, if he is inside. He chooses to "go" outdoors and has never made a mess in our home in the almost 6 years that he has been with us (he was a stray that I took in).

I don't have much advice, but I sure would make it uncomfortable for any of those cats to be on my kitchen counters and table, especially if they are peeing on those surfaces. Can you shut off your kitchen with closed doors when you are not there to watch them? I have only heard and read, but using double sided tape, tin foil, and other things can discourage them jumping on the counters. I am not one that allows my cat to get on the kitchen counters or table, anyway, let alone pee on them. If he did, we'd be having a major discussion about it and finding ways to discourage that behavior. And I'm not sure that I could defend him well enough to continue to allow him free reign in our home. I'm not saying that he has never been on the countertop because I know he has and I have even photographed him there in the past, but I do not normally allow it and he knows it. If he tries, then one quick, verbal correction from me usually makes him get down.

I wish you luck. I know this is one of those awful situations that you simply must find an answer for. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately), I have never been in your situation and can't offer much help.

Logan

[Catty1]

One last thought...is an outdoor cat run a possibility?

[jennielynn1970]

One last thought...is an outdoor cat run a possibility?

Unfortunately, no. My yard is about 3 ft by 12ft, and mostly mulch and topsoil/potting soil. I'm planning on getting a deck installed, but again, not much area there for them. I live in a row home in center city allentown, pa. It's not conducive to having outdoor pets where I live (although I feed three to four neighborhood cats on my front porch).

[Logan]

Sorry that I upset you, Jenn. I had seen a link on the Cat General page, asking for thoughts, so I responded, thinking that you were really wanting as much input as you could get. I read every post in this thread before I responded.

Obviously, you disagree with me on some things, and that's ok, but please don't imply that I love my cat any less than you do because of how I would handle this situation, if I were in your shoes. That would be irresponsible of you, since you don't "know" me yet, and if you did know me, you would know that I care immensely for all of my animals (cats, dogs, birds, fish). We have had a very bad 12 months, losing 3 of our beloved pets, due to old age and cancer. The kitty I have now, Butter, is an unusual situation, and in order to keep him happy, after living the life of a stray, I had to choose to allow him to come and go as he pleases. No one at Pet Talk has ever been critical of me for my decision to do that, and many people here have lived through my experience with Butter from the very day he showed up at my house, almost six years ago. He chooses to be indoors or on the deck with our dogs most of the time, but does go "out" to do his business, and I do understand the risk I take every time he walks out the door, but after weighing it all, it was a risk that I was willing to take, in order to provide him a home. He sleeps beside me every night and wherever we are in our home, he is usually right there with us. I wanted to add that I was NOT implying that your cats should be indoor/outdoor cats, just telling you more about me so you would understand my situation.

Good luck solving your problem. I know it has to be tough.

Logan
Butter (kitty), Honey and Lilly (Golden Retrievers), Mack (English Bulldog puppy), Ben (Golden Retriever foster boy), Roger and Milly (Cockatiels) and Otto (Betta Fish)

[jennielynn1970]

I responded, thinking that you were really wanting as much input as you could get.
Obviously, you disagree with me on some things, and that's ok, but please don't imply that I love my cat any less than you do because of how I would handle this situation, if I were in your shoes. That would be irresponsible of you, since you don't "know" me yet, and if you did know me, you would know that I care immensely for all of my animals (cats, dogs, birds, fish). I wanted to add that I was NOT implying that your cats should be indoor/outdoor cats, just telling you more about me so you would understand my situation.

Hi Logan, I wasn't trying to imply that you don't care for your cat... far from it. We have different situations, and where I live it's just not an option to allow them to venture outside. And yes, I was wanting input, but I was looking for what would be applicable to my situation... that's what I meant. Not sure if I mentioned city living or not in the previous posts, so that would be my mistake. Sorry! I just get touchy with the outdoor cat thing because my parents took their cat back after he had lived with me for 5years, saying he'd be happier back on their farm, and they let him out whenever he wanted, and didn't watch him as closely as I would have had it been me in their situation, and he ended up getting hit on the road that runs about 1/3 mile down from their house. I was so upset when that happened. They just didn't realize how much of a city cat he was, and how he just didn't have that common sense about being outdoors and the dangers there. That was a few months ago, so it just touched a nerve. I wish there was a way I could do that, but I can't.

I've tried isolation. I tried letting them in the basement, and I had 8 litter boxes down there for 5 cats, and they still peed all over, and add in the cement, it was just horrific. So, the basement is now closed and off limits. I'm annoyed with them peeing on the counters or the baseboards of the walls, and I wish it would stop, but I wouldn't want them to start doing it somewhere else either. Ugh.

Again, sorry if I upset you... Jennie

[fragrancehound]

Jenn,

Have you tried those sprays that are supposed to keep cats off things? I'm assuming you have but I thought I would ask.

What about a product like this?

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Produc...53&N=2002+2017

Do you think that might work?

I totally sympathize with your situation. It can make things very difficult.

[jennielynn1970]

I have also done the unpopular thing of letting my cats come in and out at their desire. I only do that because we live in a very quiet area.

I don't have much advice, but I sure would make it uncomfortable for any of those cats to be on my kitchen counters and table, especially if they are peeing on those surfaces. Can you shut off your kitchen with closed doors when you are not there to watch them? I am not one that allows my cat to get on the kitchen counters or table, anyway, let alone pee on them. If he did, we'd be having a major discussion about it and finding ways to discourage that behavior. And I'm not sure that I could defend him well enough to continue to allow him free reign in our home.

Logan

Ok, a few things....
1. I live in the city. I will not let my cats outside. Just won't happen. My parents live in the country, but even there I wouldn't let my cats outside. They are inside cats, never having been outside, and I tend to value their companionship.

2. As I did say in a previous post, although it is very frustrating that they are peeing on the countertops, it is easier to clean than say, the sofa, my bed, and the various other porous surfaces. So, while I'd like to put things there to discourage them, I'm not exactly in a position where I can try and see if they decide to destroy furniture. I don't have the kind of income where it's just disposable and I can replace my furniture every month or so.

3. Normally my cats were never on the counter tops, and I only discovered this when I saw the pee on them.

4. We've had major discussions, but as far as I can tell, they haven't really become fluent in english, so they haven't been able to enlighten me as to why they are doing it. I'm guessing it's territorial.

5. While I don't relish the idea of cats peeing on my countertops, I do love my pets, and I will not just shut them off somewhere because they are doing something I don't like. This will make them MORE unhappy. If they are already feeling insecure or jealous or territorial, how would they feel if I stuck all three of them in a small room?? Not the greatest I'd bet. Which more than likely would make it worse. So, while you may not want to give your cat free reign and would confine him, I cannot do that to my girls with a clear conscience.

I don't mean to sound so defensive, but apparently you didn't read all the posts or don't understand where I'm coming from. While I hate cleaning up cat pee, I will not have my own cats be made miserable so that I clean less. I will not endanger their lives by letting them outside. I'd rather clean pee off a non-porous surface rather than a porous one and replace my belongings monthly. I'm just trying to get ideas on how to alleviate the problem, maybe stop it, not transfer it to another area.

[mruffruff]

I have one of those too. Shai still sprays on occasion after being here for 3 years. I have a plastic shield in front of my kitchen TV and wash it regularly. So far, she's sticking to hard surfaces--bathtub, kitchen counter, washing machine. I consider it an improvement over my toothbrush.

I suspect she wants to tell me that she's unhappy about all the other cats living in HER house. Unfortunately, they were here first and some came after, but most aren't going to be leaving soon.

I will be contacting the psychic soon. She helped me with a feral cat that I have.

[Catsnclay]

Yoshi is our pee-boy, and we have tried everything and he still pee's!


Luckily I have a husband who understands and yells at me when I yell at Yoshi. He keeps telling me that cats pee, we can't change him (I wouldn't any way ) so don't get mad when he pee's.

What a great husband.....huh?!