Does Feliway actually work?

I have my doubts about the "cat hormones", but I'm getting a little desperate. I'd rather not spend a couple hundred on something that may or may not work, so I figured I'd consult you!

Toby has a UTI, I'm pretty sure, but Trina has been tested and found neg for it. Their litter box is clean. Both of them go in bad places--Trin even went on my bed a few weeks ago! I was so happy when I moved, because all of their bad behavior stopped for a month, but now it's just gotten worse. I'm going to get cat attract at the very least, but I don't know if that'll fix it.

I'm at my wits end. I hate perpetually having to clean up after them. Toby, I'll take to the vet this weekend and get him taken care of, but I don't know if that'll fix the behavior, especially since Trina is doing it too. Ugh.

What has everyone's experiences been with feliway?

I SWEAR by Feliway diffusers, although I have never had improper urination issues. It REALLY makes a difference in helping the cats to be less stressed out - which could be what is causing your two to mark.

What are you using to clean the pee spots? You need to be sure to use an enzymnatic cleanser or else the smell will stay - you might not notice it, but the cats will, and they'll pee there again.

Have you read the sticky on improper urination?

Well, I read it, and most of it was something I hadn't heard before. Something different, however, was the spikes--I somewhat recently set up a kitty scratch sheet that has plastic spikes to capture some kitty litter. I guess I'll get rid of that.

The thing that's a problem is that they don't go in the same places. After I spray it with the nuetralizer, he'll just go somewhere else, always in my room, but never in the same place after it's been cleaned. I'm not sure why they'd be stressed out--I'm home more, they're getting more attention than ever, and they don't have my dad yelling at them anymore. Sigh.

Guess I'll have to give this "feliway" a shot..

I bought the feliaway plugins in lieu of a spray. I never had the spraying problems with a cat though, I bought it due to anxiety issues with moving, and they seemed to adjust fine to the new home.

Now I don't know if the Feliaway worked or they are just not stressed cats, but maybe if you try the plugin, that slow release of cat hormones will be more effective. You may need to buy several, the instructions for the plug in seem to indicate it works for a certain amount of space.

Good luck!!

I just plugged my Feliway diffuser in today, so not sure if it will work. I am using it for introducing a new cat to my 8 year old existing cat although they've been fine for the last couple of days without it. Thought it couldn't hurt. It is expensive, but I got mine from Amazon and it was $21 instead of $42 at PetSmart. Even with the shipping and handling, it's a lot cheaper. It's worth a try.

My 12 year old girl is having some troubles adjusting to the 1 year old Bengals. She very recently started having some accidents in the dining room, which is one of the places that she has claimed as her own area.

I started using the diffusers about a week and a half ago and the vet also suggested using the spray on any spots where she has urinated. I do have to do some additional cleaning, but for the most part, she seems to be doing much better with the "kids". They say to give it a month to really be sure, and I do think any recurrances I've had have been due to residual scent that I need to work on getting out. We're going to give it another week or two before we resort to anything more drastic (the vet suggested putting her on anti-anxiety meds for a while, if this doesn't clear things up).

Kristi

I bought a Feliway diffuser and the spray when i recently moved house, and i swear it helped the cats relax.

I bought the Feliway refill for the diffuser on tuesday because i adopted a kitten last saturday to be with my two resident cats, so that along with Rescue Remedy has helped them in the bonding process

So yes, i say it works

I also swear by Feliway. I've used it continually for many years now and it calms my three cats (two of which don't especially like each other and things can get a little testy). It's definitely worth a try! I get mine at www.petguys.com.

Good luck!

Originally Posted by Fiery

Well, I read it, and most of it was something I hadn't heard before. Something different, however, was the spikes--I somewhat recently set up a kitty scratch sheet that has plastic spikes to capture some kitty litter. I guess I'll get rid of that.

The thing that's a problem is that they don't go in the same places. After I spray it with the nuetralizer, he'll just go somewhere else, always in my room, but never in the same place after it's been cleaned. I'm not sure why they'd be stressed out--I'm home more, they're getting more attention than ever, and they don't have my dad yelling at them anymore. Sigh.

Guess I'll have to give this "feliway" a shot..

Click to expand...

We just moved into my mother's house with 3 cats in a 4 cat household. The feliway is helping to keep them calm so they don't fight but it is not helping with the spray issue. I bought enzymatic spray to clean the marks but they just mark next to that area. I don't know if you would have more success but it's worth a shot. Check out Amazon. I order from two different places there. They seem to compete with each other on the prices.

A vet who is a cat behaviorist talked about Feliway at a lecture that I attended. He claims that it helps approximately 70% of cats so the odds are in your favor that it will help you, at least with the stress.

It didn't help mine. My alpha walked up to it, turned around and sprayed it. Don't rush out to buy one for every room as they are expensive. Try it in a problem room first then buy more if they work for your cats.

I have two diffusers for both sides of my apt. It has helped tremendously with Chevy's aggression and Summer's anxiety. You can definitely tell when its time for a re-fill.

Okay, here's my amazing Feliway story. My cat Isadora is HORRID at the vets office. I dread taking her because she throws a fit about everything (it's embarassing). I bought a Feliway plug-in to keep her from peeing on my bed (and I'm pretty sure it helped that problem). More interestingly, I set the plug-in in the bottom of her cat carrier before we went to the vet one day (took it out when the time came to put her in). When the vet took her out of the carrier I never heard one hiss or growl and she never once tried to attack. I was absolutely floored.

Unfortunately, it hasn't worked that well since then, but I did switch to the spray...so maybe that's why. I still think it's worth a try though!