Former stray purebred Birman suffering at cat lady's home

My friend started feeding neighborhood strays. One of the originals in the stray cat group is a Birman that a neighbor left behind. (neighbor said the cat was expensive to purchase, but left him when she moved) My friend allows several of the strays, including the Birman, to sleep indoors. As more and more strays roam into the house through the cat door, the Birman has begun to spray. It feels like cat chaos there, with so many neighborhood stray cats coming and going into the house, and new ones all the time. Clearly, the kitty is feeling overwhelmed. (You would not know it, as he is mellow, quiet, easygoing, friendly) My friend was unwilling to rehome the Birman, and he has sprayed for several months, with so many cats entering through the cat flap. Her hubby has now gotten angry, and has insisted she rehome the cat, as well as discontinue taking in strays. The Birman is now only allowed outdoors, just briefly indoors to eat, be groomed, and put back outside. My friend will care for him until a new home can be found.

Dibley is an intuitive, high-empathy, good-natured cat who did not spray before my friend allowed all the stray cats indoors through the cat flap.

What would be the best course of action in finding him a new home? Would temporarily Prozac help to try to stop the spraying until a new home is found? Do cats usually stop spraying once they are in a calmer, cat-free situation? What has been your experience?

Thank you for any help!

PS-- She is located in Oregon, in case anyone might suggest any local resources that may be of help to her. Thank you!

I'm sorry to hear about this situation. 

I don't know if you've done any research on Birmans, but they usually attach themselves to one human.  It's not unheard of for a Birman to either misbehave drastically or even sicken if they are separated from their chosen human.  Sounds to me like this guy needs a new home stat!  A home with little or no competition for a human's attentions.

We have a Birman mix, and I will tell you, she has been daddy's girl since day one.  She literally picked him when she was a kitten.  Seriously, Hubby was laying on the floor playing with all the littermates, and she kicked them off and claimed him!  It was a good 7 years before she warmed up to me as a secondary.  She is now 17 1/2 years old and lost most her teeth, but she will still kick the other cats off daddy's lap!  Ya don't mess with Daddy's Princess.

ETA:

Is the Birman not neutered?  That may make it problematic to find him a new home.  Any un-neutered male will definitely feel the need to spray amongst so much competition, but it may be even more stressful for the Birman, given the general personality of the breed.  Once an intact male starts spraying, it's difficult to get them to stop, and that makes it difficult to find them a home.  Getting him neutered should help on both fronts.

Whoops! I forgot to mention that he is indeed neutered. Thank you for your reply! I wonder if anyone has successfully gotten a cat to stop spraying by changing his home or situation? I supposed I should ask in the Behavior section, I'm simply trying to find a reasonable way to help rehome him for her, as well as nix the spraying habit. My hope is that in a calmer home without intruding neighborhood cats, that he would relax and stop the behavior. I have no direct experience with this, though.

Purrbuddy, I think your thoughts on this are correct.  I also don't have first hand experience, but I do know that heaps of cats are abandoned to shelters because of inappropriate urination.  And yes, that's different to spraying.  But those same cats can be put into a new home and not have inappropriate urination...so we can safely say that there was certainly a trigger that started it, removal of the trigger probably stopped it.  And stress, or the need to define their home because of stress, is certainly a trigger for both spraying and inappropriate urination.  

I'm not in rescue myself, but I guess the first thing I'd want to do would be to tap into a foster/rescue network. It does sound that a Birman's personality needs him to have his settled human asap, and maybe a network would know of potential cat-savvy adopters, who want just the one cat, or know of adopters who would be happy to have the organisation's help to get savvy and help this cat who has enormous potential to be a love bug (with no spraying).

Tank you, Tammy! I'll suggest just exactly that, so my friend can ring a local rescue/foster group as a resource. They may be best able to guide a new owner in helping the Birman settle into his new, more appropriate home Thank you!

Does your friend have any way of contacting her former neighbor to find out who the breeder was?  Many breeders will take back cats if the new owner can't keep them any longer, and in fact may even have this in the contract. 

You can also check out the Birman rescue organizations.  I found a website that lists the rescues here.  The rescues that specifically deal with Birmans are more likely to have people who can help with the transition and behavioral issues.

for the kitty and your friend.

Goldy, thank you for your helpful suggestion. The neighbor moved away and is out of contact. I'm forwarding the link you offered. Thank you for your concern and your suggestions! Hopefully, he can find a suitable home through a purebred rescue. Thank you so much!