Tabbytudes Cat Behavior Column - August 2003

Now I'm thinking I'm going to have to medicate Fred and Cody. I don't want to but obviously I can't have Cody marking all over the house. He was staying in one area, but has extended his marking territory to several rooms (it was just the laundry room door before). I'm very disappointed about the communicator because I feel she didn't tune into Cody at all. She made it all about going out, but I'm positive it's because he is uncertain about how to interact with other cats.

They aren't constantly at it. They can eat side by side, but Cody is always wary. Giving him up is NOT an option, but I really would like the marking to stop, I just don't know what to do to achieve that goal. I would be willing to try another communicator but would need to really feel they knew what they were doing. The last one cost over $100.00 and was a waste of money in my opinion. Cody is a very loving cat, but he does give love bites, which leads me to believe he didn't have very good interaction with humans either. That is not a problem; he doesn't bite hard and stops when I tell him easy. I really need help. Do you have any suggestions? I don't want to medicate, but at this time I see no alternative.

We have since built an outdoor enclosure that is 21 by 22 feet and 8-1/2 feet high. It is covered on top with chicken wire and the cats get to come and go all day. This has not helped the situation, which verifies the communicator was wrong and there is definitely something else going on ... help!!

-- Belinda Sauro

Amy Shojai's Reply:

Hi Belinda, You certainly have your hands full with SEVEN cats! Hats off to you that there were no problems with the six-frankly, it's very common to have some sort of behavior issues when you have so many felines sharing the same space. Poor Cody seems to have been the final straw in the camel's (kitty's) back.

Sometimes it's the new cats that feel threatened. Proper introductions right from the start can really make a difference. For some it's love at first sight, and for others it takes days, weeks, even months for them to learn to tolerate each other. The same advice will apply whether the new cat is upsetting the resident cats, or vice versa.

First, know that you are doing a lot of things very right. I can tell how concerned you are about Cody's and the other cats' well being, and want to do the best for all concerned. Consulting with an Animal Communicator is testimony to your dedication. Unfortunately, there is no way to gage how accurate (or not) one particular communicator is compared to another. I also believe this can have a great deal to do with the individual cats/humans involved. It may well be that she "heard" Cody say he wanted outside. But the outdoor enclosure just duplicates the indoor stressors since the other cats are also allowed access, so I'm not surprised the marking continued. It's possible that free-ranging outdoor access might solve the problem since Cody could get far away from the other cats. Of course, Cody also likely would decide not to come inside again, or be injured, so that's not an equitable solution.

There are some things you can try that should help. First of all, consult with your veterinarian again and see about getting Cody back on the Buspar. It worked to relieve his stress before, so give him the help again so he's able to handle the situation. There's absolutely nothing wrong with allowing modern medicine to help our pets. If Cody had an ulcer from stress, I know you'd want to get him pain medication and treatment to help him heal-this is no different. Buspar (and similar drugs) take many days to a couple of weeks to reach effective blood saturation levels so it will take a while for this to show a positive effect. That's also why Cody didn't immediately increase his marking when you stopped the medication-his blood/medicine levels stayed high enough for a short time to keep him "level" and not act out from stress. Secondly, I'd suggest you also use some Feliway spray and/or diffusers. This product is an analogue of the cheek pheromones that cats use to cheek-rub/mark their territory. While urine pheromones/scent say, "come in here and I'll knock your block off!!!" the cheek pheromones tell cats to "calm down, chill, everything is safe and cool." Feliway was designed to help calm the stress that prompts cat urine marking. It also should help calm down Fred a bit. You can find Feliway at pet products stores. The plug-in product will "scent" an enclosed room effectively, while the spray can be used to sprits all the cats' favorite cheek-rub landmarks. After thoroughly cleaning the spray-markings, you can apply the Feliway to those targets to help keep Cody from re-baptizing the places.

Third, think about starting from scratch with Cody and treating him like a brand-new kitty-and segregating him from the rest of the crowd, and introducing him slowly to the house and other cats. Think about it: your other six cats know each other and have established relationships. Cody is the "odd-cat-out" and even if you don't see overt signs, he is very clearly feeling threatened by the six-against-one situation. Give him a break. You might even consider making the outside enclosure a Cody sanctuary and letting him spend time outside alone, without having to deal with other critters. You don't mention how your house or the enclosure is set up. If not already available, I'd urge you to add some "second story" real estate in the form of cat trees-a dozen or more multi-levels so that the cats don't have to argue over territory. If there's enough room to accommodate all the cats, there's much less reason for them to wrangle and get upset. Good luck with Cody-I applaud your dedication to this boy, and wish you all the best.

Amy