Just "throwing my hands in the air" over my little buddy

[ScratchCat]

This is difficult. I've never posted about pets in this forum. I doubt anyone has any solution, but here goes...

About four years ago, my little grey tortie kitten that I had rescued from outdoors got pregnant before I could get her spayed(she was indoor/outdoor). She had four kittens and because I didn't want more stray cats and I planned on keeping her, I let her have the kittens indoors. She had three solid black(one male, two females) and one traditional calico. I was able to adopt out two, which were the black females(a friend of mine who owns rentals agreed to let one of her tenants take two cats and because she doesn't typically allow pets I gave the tenant the females). I have kept the calico and black male.

I had the calico spayed at six months to solve the "immediate problem" with her brother becoming mature. Because I had already been to the vet three times that calendar year(euthanized elderly cat, spayed mother, spayed kitten), I didn't get the black male neutered. You probably know where this is going.

About a year ago(when he was 3), the male started urinating outside the box and spraying. Its ramped up over the past six months or so. It seems "vindictive" because he does it every time I am doing anything that doesn't involve him and the couch. He will go to his box, walk right out and urinate in one of a growing number of places to. Nothing I do discourages him. When I clean it up, he then wants the rag and the hand I used to clean with. He has followed me to the pantry and tried to grab my hand with the rag several times now. He has a complete obsession with his sister's back side even though she is spayed. Wont leave her alone. Constantly sniffing and licking her backside, especially when she come's out of the litter box. Stands over her and bites her neck(she's bigger and can handle herself) in the traditional mating/dominance ritual.

I love this cat so much even though he is doing this. He has ruined my house. Almost all my furniture is garbage now. I can't afford to re-sheet rock a house. I can't take him to a shelter; I'd never be able to live with myself. I can't put him outside because I live in a townhome neighborhood and there are stray cats. I'm afraid that even if I get him neutered, it wont help. To make it worse, he has never been out of the house and is deathly afraid of anyone that's not me. Voices on the stoop send him upstairs to hide. I can't have him euthanized just because of this.

I am so distraught, I just don't know what to do. My entire life at my house revolves around chasing this cat and trying to stop him from urinating on walls, doors and furniture. His sister is tired of him, but still loves him too.

Like I said, I doubt anyone has a solution, but I just had to vent.

Thanks.

Sincerely,

ScratchCat

[spooky3]

1. I think if you get him neutered it will help.

Vets can also recommend anti anxiety or other drugs that could help.

[sinkingfeeling]

2. Get him neutered. Then write or call Best Friends and ask them for advice on breaking his urination habits.

[TexasTowelie]

3. You might also try "odor therapy" to keep the cat away from certain areas.

Several of the suggestions in the video are odors that humans would find tolerable and even pleasant so that you don't feel like you are punishing yourself while solving the spraying problem.

[iscooterliberally]

4. We live with a similar problem.

We have two males and one female. They're all litter mates. They're all fixed too. Our two males have been in fights with some of the strays in the neighborhood. They started marking everything in the yard and then one came in and marked one of my guitars. I moved all my instruments into the spare bedroom and closed the door. No cats allowed in there. Unfortunately for me, there's no real solution. The good thing is that both males go outside. It was only one of the two who marks inside. If you don't already have one, I would get a black light or UV type of flashlight so you can see where all the markings are. We did that and cleaned them up. It seemed to tamp down the behavior. I would get your cat fixed as soon as possible. Also, how many litter boxes are you running? If it's only one, you should add more. I heard that the rule is you have to have one litter box per cat, plus one extra. So, two cats = 3 litter boxes. Don't give up! Good luck!

[BobTheSubgenius]

5. We have a problem cat, too.

Not nearly as bad as the situation that you are in, but still pretty damned annoying. Ours is OBSESSED with food, and is constantly on the prowl for more and more. Feed him, and as soon as he lifts his head from the bowl, he's following us around, mewling for more.

We used to put food items that don't need refrigeration on top of the fridge, but he has learned that he can jump that high. He is the JJ Watt of cats vertical jumping. He often eats so fast that he pukes, which is just charming, of course.

Both the insatiable appetite and the vomiting have improved very slightly, as we have taken to feeding him 5 times a day - one helping of high-end wet food in the early morning and at dinner time, and 3 automatic feedings from the dispenser. Needless to say, you can just about set your watch by his laser focus a couple of minutes before each one.

We had to resort to storing bread in an enamelled Dutch oven, and I've caught him weight-training a couple of times, so I'm sure he'll bulk up to the point that he can open that, too. You can't even put things behind a closed door, because all of our door handles are levers, and he figured those out on his first or second day here.

He is so brazen that trying to eat off your plate is a mere trifle - he will try to get the food that's in your hand or on your fork.

He came to us already litter-trained, but he won't use it if it isn't diligently cleaned. For some reason, he pees so much that he leaves clumps in the clumping litter that, without ANY exaggeration, are the size of hockey pucks. How a sleek, in-shape cat can hold that much liquid is beyond me.

He will not even consider not jumping onto the counters, and will sometimes do so while he's right beside one of us. His zoomies are unbelievably energetic. and you sometimes can't even focus on him as he breaks cover, then dashes somewhere else that can hide him. He's not trying to hide, it's just that we have stuff.

So, in summation, while the cross we bear is nowhere near as heavy as yours, it still exists, and whatever problem in one's life is #1, it's still #1 until something else supplants it.

I feel your pain, and wish you the best of luck.

[ScratchCat]

6. Thanks everyone

For the responses and kind words

[JustAnotherGen]

7. No solution but I promise you

Cats and Dogs are not vindictive.


I mean - my maltese has looked directly at me and chewed faster when I asked him what he had in his mouth but that's a different situation altogether.

[radical noodle]

8. Neutering him may not solve the entire problem

but I believe it's likely it will ease the problem. He won't be as obsessed with it because it will have lessened his desire to mate. After you neuter him, there are a number of things you can try. There is a litter, and also something you can add to your regular litter, that will attract a cat to pee in the box (Cat Attract). I'd recommend trying that first.

Another thing you're going to have to do is eliminate the odor of his urine in the house. There are special products to do that. Regular cleaning products will not... even though you may not smell it anymore, he will. That will attract him to go in those spots again. So try something like Nature's Miracle for cat urine. They may make a heavy duty one which I'd invest in, if so. It's gonna be a tough job. Also a black light can show up urine in places where you may not know it exists.

This has gone on long enough that it will have become a habit, but I think there are tools to help. First, he has to be neutered.

Good luck, and keep us posted on his journey to being your best buddy after all.

[ShazzieB]

9. I agree that neutering may not solve the problem completely, but I believe it's a necessary step.

It's those male hormones that give him the urge to mark his territory. Neutering him will get rid of them and lessen the urge. It might or might not automatically eliminate it completely, but as long as he's not neutered, there's no way he'll lose the urge to mark.

Also, I'm not sure how old he is now, but I know that the longer this goes on, the more entrenched the habit tends to become. My advice is to get that boy to the vet and get him fixed as soon as you possibly can. Once you see what effect that has, you'll know whether additional steps are needed, but neutering is an absolute must!

[radical noodle]

10. I agree 100%

My post said that more than once, I think.