[Hiker]

I have two cats. The girl cat is terrific, never a problem. The boy cat has become increasingly bad at peeing outside the litter box, specifically spraying against a wall or other object. He was neutered as a kitten. No, it is not a UTI; had that checked. Prozac helped for a while then stopped having any effect. And now, we just moved to a new house which previously had 3 cats and a dog and he's more angry than ever. I have been keeping him in an unused bathroom since the containment seems to calm him down, and he won't pee on the wall if he's kept in there. I experimented with letting him just stay in a blocked off laundry area (a 7x7 room connected to that bathroom and blocked off with cardboard)... didn't help, he sprayed 3 walls of that room. Now he's back in the bathroom.

Oh, in addition to spraying, he growls and hisses when he does not approve of the smells.

I can't think of anything else that has any hope of working, and I'd hate to put the poor thing down. How about if I buy a large cat cage and leave in a window that faces the bird feeders? I don't really want to keep him like a bunny rabbit but I don't see any other options here. Any cage suggestions? I'm thinking one that is tall enough to walk into so I can pet him and interact with him, maybe 6 feet long with several platforms. Does anyone have recommendations?

 

[tghsmith]

because our loveable male cat started to spray, we built our first outdoor cat kennel, its been added on to over the years and the current cat living in there has it pretty darn good, my idea for the best situation (depending on the cat) would be for a kennel with a connecting passage to the house.. giving more easy interaction. but an easy way to "put" the cat out when he cannot be monitored...

 

[Hiker]

I could stick him outside in warmer months in the daytime in that, but it looks like I still need to keep him contained when he's inside. Does Feliway or Clomicalm do any good? I've seen references to these in posts. I gave up on the Prozac.

 

[Samiam]

If it makes you feel any better, I'm in the same boat.

We also tried the Prozac with no success. In fact, I think it made my guy worse. I was just speaking with a member here about the Clomicalm, and am going to give that a try. Do try the Sentry calming collar. If nothing else, it does calm them down. May be it won't be the cure, but in the meantime.

I do not contain my cat to any one room but for one hour at dinner time. I just won't do that to him. I can't even imagine having a cat kept in a cage. He might as well be at the shelter. No offense, I just can't see it doing any good and can just imagine the at feeling like he's being punished, which we all know won't do any good.

You've just moved. Your cat is stressed. Work on getting him calmed down first then try some other things. We also have an enclosure attached to our house. Our cats can get in and out of the enclosure through a window. Ours is very large and has multiple levels. As nice as it is, our boy cat continues to spray. My problem started when I decided to make him an indoor only kitty. I had to do it because of a neighborhood bully, who ended up costing me about 800 bucks in vet bills. Anyway...get the collar, try the Clomicalm. Do whatever you have to do. At the very least though, let your kitty out of the bathroom when you are around to keep an eye out. There is always, always, a reason. The trick is to figure it out.

 

[catloverami]

Here's are a couple of simpler solutions....

1) buy a "black light" at a hardware store, and some enzyme urine eraser such as "Nature's Miracle". He is bothered by the scents left by the previous cats and dog. The black light will highlight any urine spray marks on walls, door frames, furniture etc. Thoroughly scrub all the marks off that you can find. Thoroughly wash the floors with cleaning solution or use vinegar and hot water. If it's carpet have it shampooed. Keep cat confined until you can get all the areas cleaned up. If cat continues to spray, here's another idea....

2) buy stud pantsfor the cat to wear.....some are available for sale at pet stores usually for females in heat, so get a small size that would fit a toy dog, or there are some people on internet who make custom ones to fit your cat in spiffy materials. e.g. Castle Paws Designs
I used to be able to allow my stud cat house freedom with stud pants.
Also I agree an outdoor enclosure with door flap to house is a good idea too.

Good luck

 

[Samiam]

catloveriam,
I don't want to highjack this thread but have a question.
That diaper didn't drive your cat nuts? How long did you leave it on?

Too funny by the way.

 

[shan841]

Have you read this article? Lots of good info:

Litterbox Secrets | Little Big Cat

 

[catloverami]

Samiam, I would let him have house freedom for several hours or as long as I could keep an eye on him.....obviously I didn't want him pooping his diapers! lol

 

[Hiker]

The previous cats did not leave marks in the house, so there's nothing to go around with a black light cleaning. (They did poop on top of the insulation in the garage's attic, but I'm not letting cats in there.) I don't think it is possible to remove every last smell anyway, plus he'd likely continue to spray even if I did remove every smell. My previous house only smelled like my cats and he was still angry.

He's still locked in the bathroom now. I'm thinking a cage is slightly preferable if it is large. I put a Feliway diffuser in there yesterday but I can't tell if it works unless I actually let him into the laundry area again. I need to find a better way to contain him there -- large carboard doesn't work for long since he tries to jump it or push it over. Does anyone know of any TALL cat gates? I looked online but every last gate labeled "extra tall" meant 40 inches (are they joking me?)

 

[marie73]

I bought 3 inexpensive gates from Walmart and stacked them on top of each other.

 

[puckih]

The cats and dogs, that lived there before let an odor there. A box, isn´t a solution. Or how long has he to stay in that box? the whole day?
You have to clean the whole house from the odor of the other animals. For this here in germany we have myrtle oil.
You can put it in the cleaningwater and it will take away the odor of the pee. Feliway is for the first a good idea, but it needs time.
In our Forum here in germany we have many experts of peeing problems there I will ask your question, perhaps there can somebody help you out, that you don´t have to prison your cat.
Edit: You can put some drops in water in a aerosol can, so you can spray the rooms.

 

[puckih]

BIODOR ANIMAL 1000 ml - Geruchsentferner, Reiniger (4003432659910) | eBay
This is what we use in Germany. I don´t know if there´s something like that in the USA?

 

[shan841]

BIODOR ANIMAL 1000 ml - Geruchsentferner, Reiniger (4003432659910) | eBay
This is what we use in Germany. I don´t know if there´s something like that in the USA?

not sure, is that an enzymatic cleaner? if so, our US version would be this

i agree with the blacklight idea, just because you don't smell any residual odors doesn't mean your cat can't smell them.

 

[puckih]

Yes I think this is the same.
I asked this question to our forumcracks here. I hope we can help.
And it´s right, only we can´t smell it doesn´t mean the cat can´t.

 

[Samiam]

I use Dr. Bachs rescue remedy. I can't make my guy swallow it so I rub it on to the top of his head. It's great for anxiety. Give it a try. I get it at the pet food store. It's made especially for pets.

Btw, I have had Jasper on the Buspar for four weeks now. It's starting to work for his marking problem. He's also much calmer and isn't tormenting my other kitty now. It's a little pricey because I chose to go the route of a compound (I rub it in his ear). It's worth every penny if it means no more cat pee.

 

[puckih]

This comes from our Facebook group:
http://animal.discovery.com/tv/my-cat-from-****/about-jackson-galaxy.html
How many boxes do you have? Where are they? Are they closed or opened?
And you can try this:http://www.google.de/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=zylkene%20englisch&source=web&cd=5&ved=0CHEQFjAE&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fawavizslas.com%2FFiles%2FSupplements%2FZYLKENE%2520package%2520insert.pdf&ei=pWJ-T_WmNsLxsga5wPyhBA&usg=AFQjCNG5z9cVw16zePagmn_MRN4vq_FYdw&cad=rja
I hope this could help you

 

[puckih]

The link above isn´t right
Here is the right one: Link

 

[Binkers]

You need to clean the house with a black light. Frequently (more often than not) you can't see where an area has been sprayed. That is why you need the black light it highlights where the urine was sprayed. It allows you to identify easily the spots on the carpets and walls which can the be washed with an enzymatic cleaner to remove them. This is especially important in a new situation where a cat is uneasy, and already marking. Imagine going into a new place where 4 other animals have been marking their territory and you don't know when one of them might suddenly appear and attack?
You also haven't mentioned how he gets on with the other kitty in the house. Was he an indoor/outdoor kitty at some point? Was he a first kitty? These are important pieces of the picture.
Did your vet recommend using another drug similar to Prosac? There are many SSRI's on the market now and perhaps changing to a different one would help, I did it frequently with humans with good success. Just remember they have to build up in the blood and it can take up to a month for full effect. I would also try Rescue Remedy orally. It comes as drops, is herbal, safe for cats and works to reduce the animals stress overall.
This is going to take some work overall as well as time and patience. Caging an animal IMHO is the easy way out. I can guarantee he will just become more unhappy. To me re homing would be preferable (and kinder) than locking him up.
Last but not least Jackson Galaxy (cat behaviorist) on Animal Planets "My Cat From ****" deals with this in several episodes and has some great ideas to help. The AP website has episodes you can watch. GL B

 

[Hiker]

I bought 3 inexpensive gates from Walmart and stacked them on top of each other.

Oh wow that works? I'd figure they could tip over or fall. Which one can be stacked?

 

[Hiker]

not sure, is that an enzymatic cleaner? if so, our US version would be this

Amazon.com: Natures Miracle Stain and Odor Remover: Pet Supplies


i agree with the blacklight idea, just because you don't smell any residual odors doesn't mean your cat can't smell them.

The thing about a blacklight is that everything except the upstairs is shiny laminate flooring. Since it was cleaned by the sellers, then cleaned again by me, there's no pee stains from previous cats on those floors. Now, there can be a pet smell impregnated into every surface in the whole house, such as the walls and ceilings, but not much I can do about that - not really a good idea to wash them.

The upstairs is carpet and does retain a pet smell, but I see no stains and I'm not sure how I'd clean the whole thing. Maybe I could have a professional carpet cleaner do those.