Background: I took in two kittens from a guy back in June. A feral came by and had a litter in his doghouse. He wanted to find homes for the kittens and advertised them as 3 months old. When I got there they were ridiculously small and couldn't have been more then 3 WEEKS old. I think his dog scared off Momma as it looked like they hadn't eaten/been taken care of. There were two left. When I reached in one sat there and the other hissed and tried to scratch. The man told me the hissing one was "nasty" and he would "probably have to get rid of it". Whatever that meant I didn't want to know and I took them both.
We battled some size issues and eye leakage, and they lived on kitten milk for a long time. But they are happy healthy beastly creatures now. And I LOVE them! The hisser turned out to be my big marshmallow and a total momma's boy (Spoon), and the other is my loving biter (Spork).
Problem: A little while back I caught Spoon peeing on some clothes in the bottom of my closet. I figured it was my fault for having clothes on the floor and I cleaned it up and let it go. There were no other issues, and the items peed on didn't smell that horrible cat pee smell. They just washed normally with no issue.
But just recently, in the last month I'd say, I found a few things (a towel, a pile of socks and a shirt) all wet and reeking of that horrible smell. About the same time my boys started to get violent in their play, biting each other, scratching.. full on attacks. But 10 mins later they are laying on the couch together grooming each other and being loving.
I have shut them out of the bedrooms (where most of the clothes get left out) and I have made it a point to pick up whatever is out in the living room. No issues since, until today. Spoon got on the second couch on a blanket my fiancé used this morning before work and peed.. a lot! Two big puddles to the point where it dripped off when I went to clean it up! I'm pretty sure Spork didn't pee there too, because it was all warm. I was so upset! But again, this didn't have that horrible smell.
What I can come up with: I know they are right around six months old, so I'm pretty sure they are coming into their sexual maturity, which would explain biting and marking. But this doesn't look like marking. It looks like peeing, and only on soft things (clothes and blankets) I am having them both fixed but not till March (I know it sounds horrible but I am waiting for the Humane Society's neuter event, which will be a difference of almost $100, and I can get them Micro-chipped at the same time, so it's worth it)
I'm wondering if I have two different culprits, because of the different smells. I wonder if Spoon is peeing and Spork is spraying. Or it could just all be Spoon. I can't be sure. But then why the two different smells?
Because they are out of my bedroom I have moved their food to the hallway.
There doesn't appear to be any sign of UTI and they got a clean bill of health last time they saw the vet.
There is also the fact that I am pregnant. Because of complications I have been out of work since September and spending all my time at home with my loving kitties. However I can't change the litter box and I don't think my fiancé is changing it enough. I also just got put on bed rest, so I have been preoccupied, uncomfortable and less attentive to them. I'm wondering if Spoon is mad at me?
And then theres the fact that we are working with our dog who was recently diagnosed with Submissive urination. (I'm dealing with pee everywhere!) The Dog isn't new and the cats and dog all love each other and lay together. The cats have never gone where the dog went or anything like that. But I have to pay a lot more attention to her because shes peeing because she thinks I don't love her.
My Questions: I need ideas from now until I can get my boys fixed which will *hopefully* end the problems I'm having. I can't run around after my family picking up everything and I can't clean the litter box. I'm thinking about getting 2 more litter boxes to make it a little last a little longer and I am recruiting my son to be on clothes patrol. I'm trying to love them a little more (special time) I don't have the money to blow on the Felaway plug-in and I can't spray down my house every day. I heard cats really don't like citrus. Anyone try washing/drying/spraying their clothes/blankets in something citrus to keep the cats away? I have no lingering urine smell in the house. I was able to clean it with baking soda paste right away. And as of right now they haven't gone on anything that's supposed to be where it is (couches, carpets, etc) I'm really hoping it doesn't get any worse. I don't think I could deal with the stress! Any suggestions would help and I hope I gave enough information.
We battled some size issues and eye leakage, and they lived on kitten milk for a long time. But they are happy healthy beastly creatures now. And I LOVE them! The hisser turned out to be my big marshmallow and a total momma's boy (Spoon), and the other is my loving biter (Spork).
Problem: A little while back I caught Spoon peeing on some clothes in the bottom of my closet. I figured it was my fault for having clothes on the floor and I cleaned it up and let it go. There were no other issues, and the items peed on didn't smell that horrible cat pee smell. They just washed normally with no issue.
But just recently, in the last month I'd say, I found a few things (a towel, a pile of socks and a shirt) all wet and reeking of that horrible smell. About the same time my boys started to get violent in their play, biting each other, scratching.. full on attacks. But 10 mins later they are laying on the couch together grooming each other and being loving.
I have shut them out of the bedrooms (where most of the clothes get left out) and I have made it a point to pick up whatever is out in the living room. No issues since, until today. Spoon got on the second couch on a blanket my fiancé used this morning before work and peed.. a lot! Two big puddles to the point where it dripped off when I went to clean it up! I'm pretty sure Spork didn't pee there too, because it was all warm. I was so upset! But again, this didn't have that horrible smell.
What I can come up with: I know they are right around six months old, so I'm pretty sure they are coming into their sexual maturity, which would explain biting and marking. But this doesn't look like marking. It looks like peeing, and only on soft things (clothes and blankets) I am having them both fixed but not till March (I know it sounds horrible but I am waiting for the Humane Society's neuter event, which will be a difference of almost $100, and I can get them Micro-chipped at the same time, so it's worth it)
I'm wondering if I have two different culprits, because of the different smells. I wonder if Spoon is peeing and Spork is spraying. Or it could just all be Spoon. I can't be sure. But then why the two different smells?
Because they are out of my bedroom I have moved their food to the hallway.
There doesn't appear to be any sign of UTI and they got a clean bill of health last time they saw the vet.
There is also the fact that I am pregnant. Because of complications I have been out of work since September and spending all my time at home with my loving kitties. However I can't change the litter box and I don't think my fiancé is changing it enough. I also just got put on bed rest, so I have been preoccupied, uncomfortable and less attentive to them. I'm wondering if Spoon is mad at me?
And then theres the fact that we are working with our dog who was recently diagnosed with Submissive urination. (I'm dealing with pee everywhere!) The Dog isn't new and the cats and dog all love each other and lay together. The cats have never gone where the dog went or anything like that. But I have to pay a lot more attention to her because shes peeing because she thinks I don't love her.
My Questions: I need ideas from now until I can get my boys fixed which will *hopefully* end the problems I'm having. I can't run around after my family picking up everything and I can't clean the litter box. I'm thinking about getting 2 more litter boxes to make it a little last a little longer and I am recruiting my son to be on clothes patrol. I'm trying to love them a little more (special time) I don't have the money to blow on the Felaway plug-in and I can't spray down my house every day. I heard cats really don't like citrus. Anyone try washing/drying/spraying their clothes/blankets in something citrus to keep the cats away? I have no lingering urine smell in the house. I was able to clean it with baking soda paste right away. And as of right now they haven't gone on anything that's supposed to be where it is (couches, carpets, etc) I'm really hoping it doesn't get any worse. I don't think I could deal with the stress! Any suggestions would help and I hope I gave enough information.
I'm thinking it's most likely because they aren't neutered. I'm also afraid I will be sounding very negative here - but I honestly don't see another way around it.
)
