HELP! Cat's peeing on only MY things?!

I know it's not unusual for cats to pee on their owner's bed, etc. My mom's cat actually had the same problem & she fixed it without too much hassle. But nothing I find online seems to suit my specific issue ...

I have a male cat who I've had since I found him as a stray kitten (he's probably around 7 or 8 months now). He has efficiently used his litterbox since he was a baby. About a month ago he started randomly peeing on things in our house, but this past week we noticed it's almost always MY clothes (as opposed to my husband's). The only other things he has peed on are a couple bathrugs.

I am curious if this is a dominance thing? My husband has always been big on disciplining the cat & therefore the cat respects him a lot more than me. Is he trying to hold more territory around here than me? That's what it looks like, but either way, I need to find out how to fix the problem! My husband has no tolerance for this sort of thing & has threatened many times to get rid of him if he continues this - Which would just kill me, he's like my child haha.

About a week ago we started keeping the bathroom & bedroom doors shut, not letting him in. He has been fine since, never pees on furniture or rugs in other parts of the house. But when I accidentally left the bathroom open today, he peed on a towel in there. It's like he's just trying to be rebellious!

Help?!

Is he neutered?

nope, he's not.

Getting him neutered might be the first step toward correcting the problem. Most vets will neuter between 4 to 6 months old. It is around this time that they begin to mature and some will start to spray. Neutering to take care of the hormones should help. This would be something to do right away before this becomes a behavior pattern.

Has he been to the vet lately? Most vets recommend a neuter by the 6 month age unless you are a breeder and have other plans for him.

A vet visit would be helpful to make sure he has no urinary health issues.

It's so easy to transfer human emotions to our pets, but "inappropriate" peeing and pooping are for two reasons: medical or stress. In this case, it is technically medical, though (most likely) not because he's sick, but because he has become a mature male, and it is his nature and his instinct to mark his territory. It is time to have him neutered - the sooner the better. Once the hormones cycle out of his system, he will stop spraying.

In the meantime, the only way to prevent him from continuing to pee in the same places even after he's neutered, you must rid anything he's peed on of the scent he has left behind - to his nose, not yours! The ONLY way to do this is with an enzyme cleaner. While these are available at most pet stores, they are not all made equal. These two are, in my opinion, the best products available out there: http://www.nokout.com/odorelim/pets/ or http://catfaeries.com/cleanup.html

For any carpeting or furniture, you must soak it down to the floor boards or thoroughly soak the area of pillows/cushions/mattress affected, making sure it gets down into it. Let it sit for 10 or 15 minutes, blot up the excess. We put aluminum foil down over affected areas of carpeting to help prevent continued attraction due to the smell by making it an unattractive texture. For a mattress, put a thick towel or a couple of towels down over it and make the bed. Thinks like chair or couch cushions or a mattress may require a second application. For walls, wood, or tile floors, just wash them down with the cleaner once or twice.

For any throw rugs or clothing, add the enzyme cleaner to the wash like you would fabric softener.

This is how to eliminate the smell he's left behind. Any place that smells like his scent to him just encourages him to keep going there.

So getting him neutered and removing the smell should solve the problem.

Just FYI, if he ever has a problem in the future (after being neutered), 85% of the time a cat pees or poops out of the box there is a medical problem, and they need to get to the vet.

Laurie

You will need to get him neutered if you want to correct this problem... This is part of his instincts, and he will continue to mark the territory...
Good Luck!

Originally Posted by carolinalima

You will need to get him neutered if you want to correct this problem... This is part of his instincts, and he will continue to mark the territory...
Good Luck!

Click to expand...

...until he's neutered! Just wanted to finish that for you.

Laurie

Thanks to all of you, very helpful! The neutering thing makes perfect sense now that I think about it, because the peeing also came along the same time as him suddenly ... ahem ... humping. Haha. However, he only does so to ME which led my husband & I further into this idea that he was somehow trying to win dominance in our home over me.

Glad to know my cat isn't waging war against me!

PS - Obviously I will have him neutered no matter what the cost, but while I'm here I may as well ask the experts, how much does the procedure cost? Is it terribly expensive?

Originally Posted by ellbeee

Thanks to all of you, very helpful! The neutering thing makes perfect sense now that I think about it, because the peeing also came along the same time as him suddenly ... ahem ... humping. Haha. However, he only does so to ME which led my husband & I further into this idea that he was somehow trying to win dominance in our home over me.

Glad to know my cat isn't waging war against me!

PS - Obviously I will have him neutered no matter what the cost, but while I'm here I may as well ask the experts, how much does the procedure cost? Is it terribly expensive?

Click to expand...

Oh not at all... In a low cost vet, or at SPCA, it costs around $30.00. On other vets it seems to cost $50-75... Usually not more than $100. Not an expensive procedure at all.

Good to know

You can search for low-cost neutering in your area:

http://www.pets911.com
http://www.lovethatcat.com/spayneuter.html

or search the http://www.petfinder.com cat pages in your area - each cat has an organization listed next to it, all the orgs have links to contact info, and you can e-mail or call around to see if they know of low-cost neuter services.

Laurie