hi,
i just posted a separate thread asking for product recommendation (
How to remove urine odor (not stains) from LEATHER - Cat Forum : Cat Discussion Forums). here i will describe the behavior issue i am dealing with.
6 weeks ago, adopted two boys (not brothers), both approx 8 months, both neutered, both from same shelter, same foster mom, same cage in shelter. Star is older by 2 weeks. He is athletic, slim, fit, curious, fearless, and smart. Romeo is smaller framed, small head, thin legs, but overweight with disproportionate fat in belly. Vet says it is "pure fat". Romeo is slower in movement, learning, more scaredy, but is adorable and easy going. Incidentally, both are on Wellness Core wet food diet, with occasional dry food (same brand) mixed in for variety, but never over the daily recommended amount of food intake.
they appear to get along fine. no hissing, growling or anything. they play rough and tumble at times, but they also lick each other's ears, and sleep together occasionally. Star is obviously the dominant one, as he always always gets the toy, runs faster, jumps higher, gets more pets 'cos he's a people cat. Romeo is much more deferring (except when it comes to food, as evidenced by his weight).
knowing all this, i consciously make sure Romeo gets the toy sometimes, and i pet/groom him quite a bit. however, two weeks ago, before christmas, Romeo decided to pee on the leather couch, in the same spot where my 16 year old cat had peed on before she passed away. i knew right away that we had not completely removed the odor from the leather. we did not have anything except saddle soap, so that's what we had used.
in my other thread, i asked about cleaning products. here, i'm trying to figure out why Romeo decided to pee on the couch. is he under stress because Star is so dominant, even though they appear to get along, both at the shelter and the first four weeks at home? i do my best to compensate with attention giving to both. Romeo is by nature deferring, and a bit lazy, as he'd rather the toy be given to him than run for it. he also does not move much as a young cat. his weight is a factor affecting his activity level, which is why i switched him to wet food. neither the weight nor the belly will go away in matter of weeks. it will take months.
so, back to the peeing. i'm really upset that he's peeing, as i'm trying my best to help him gain confidence. besides cleaning up the odor (though not 100% successful yet), i've also purchased two brand new litter boxes, supplemented the Precious Cat Ultra with Cat Attract, and bought Feliway spray. they both had vet visits several weeks ago, and no health problems at all.
so at this point, did i make a mistake in matching two cats with such different personalities together. i had no way of knowing this until i got them home. i would hate to separate or give one of them up, but i don't care much for cleaning cat pee either.
any thoughts or feedback would be great. thanks!
