We love him. We really, really do. But he has this HORRIBLE habit of spraying. EVERYTHING. He's 10 and came from another household, and to get here he had to travel 2 days in a cat carrier. Then he spent another 3 days at my neighbor's home- in a room with a large dog outside the door.
I did go out and buy a Feliaway diffuser. Unfortunately I had it in UPSIDE DOWN last month- so I don't think it did much of anything. So I decided to try it again (and I now have the unit in the wall the right way
).
I can't tell if it's helping or not. Today I found a HUGE spot where he's been spraying. All over the wall and all over my curtains. I washed the curtains off best I could with some pet 'accident" spray that I've used for the furniture. And I washed the wall (thank goodness for washable paint) I don't have time today to take them down and wash them so it's going to be Monday.
I found it b/c he was walking back there just sniffing. Not spraying though. So I don't know if it's a new spot- or an old spot that I never saw b/c there was a chair in front of it (and he'd spray the chair too)
Though he does seem calmer. He still kind of paces around the house and looks nervous, but it's nothing like it was when he first came into the house. We took him in from a neighbor whose sister-in-law they moved here, and she couldn't keep the cat. And it would have KILLED her to put him up for adoption- because he's 10 I just don't think that would have ended well.
I just have a diffuser going. If anyone has experience with this- does the spray work too? And how about training him- we've been telling him "NO" when we see him backing up toward the wall to spray.
Or maybe this behavior will just slowly dissapear as he becomes more comfortable here?
BTW- he came as an "only" but had been part of a multi-cat household years ago. I've got 2 cats of my own- 10 and 1, and we can't get "rid" of any of them.
Cheryl
I did go out and buy a Feliaway diffuser. Unfortunately I had it in UPSIDE DOWN last month- so I don't think it did much of anything. So I decided to try it again (and I now have the unit in the wall the right way
).I can't tell if it's helping or not. Today I found a HUGE spot where he's been spraying. All over the wall and all over my curtains. I washed the curtains off best I could with some pet 'accident" spray that I've used for the furniture. And I washed the wall (thank goodness for washable paint) I don't have time today to take them down and wash them so it's going to be Monday.
I found it b/c he was walking back there just sniffing. Not spraying though. So I don't know if it's a new spot- or an old spot that I never saw b/c there was a chair in front of it (and he'd spray the chair too)
Though he does seem calmer. He still kind of paces around the house and looks nervous, but it's nothing like it was when he first came into the house. We took him in from a neighbor whose sister-in-law they moved here, and she couldn't keep the cat. And it would have KILLED her to put him up for adoption- because he's 10 I just don't think that would have ended well.
I just have a diffuser going. If anyone has experience with this- does the spray work too? And how about training him- we've been telling him "NO" when we see him backing up toward the wall to spray.
Or maybe this behavior will just slowly dissapear as he becomes more comfortable here?
BTW- he came as an "only" but had been part of a multi-cat household years ago. I've got 2 cats of my own- 10 and 1, and we can't get "rid" of any of them.
Cheryl
