Spraying again - at the end of our rope

bluedaisy

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Our adult male cat never had a spraying problem until we were taking care of another cat for a month. Since then it's been an issue. Our female cat (who we adopted at the same time as this male problem cat) isn't doing it.
We took him to the vet a few months ago and he had a really bad UTI. Meds resolved it. Well now he's doing it again. He's got a bit of an anxiety issue too.

We've tried the pheromone sprays, doesn't seem to have an effect. Thinking of having him checked for a UTI again. Was googling and the ASPCA site also recommended anti anxiety meds.

He is fixed.

I'm desperate - please throw all suggestions at me. We're moving into a new house in a few months where we can NOT have him spraying.

Thank you.
 

ritz

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Welcome to The Cat Site and I'm sorry your cat is having problems again.
Always the first step when a cat is peeing outside the litter box is a vet check to rule out anything medical. As you may know, UTIs in a male cat can be serious.
The cat you fostered may have precipitated another stress induced UTI; Ritz is prone to them. So while she has never peed outside the box, I am always checking to make sure she is peeing an appropriate amount.
Pheromone sprays are in my opinion somewhat useful; however, Feliway plug ins might be more effective. And sometimes composure treats work well. Anti anxiety meds might be appropriate, particularly given his background.
I use Feliway (but am tapering off in case Ritz has gotten use to it) and l-methonine supplement (sprinkle on food). When she seems particularly stressed, I put some drops of Bach's Rescue Remedy.
 

shadowsrescue

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I find the Feliway plug ins very effective as long as you are using enough of them for the size of your home.  If you place one in a bedroom and the litter box is somewhere else, the feliway will not work.  I like to use the feliway spray too especially in areas where I don't have an outlet. 

Composure feline treats work well, but not all cats like the taste.  My boys love the Liquid Composure Max.  It is more expensive, but only require 1/2-3/4 t. per day so it last a long time.  I have a territorial aggressive (neutered) male who was once an outdoor feral.  He doesn't have spraying issues, but he is so territorial.  He often cannot control himself and chases, lunges and pounces (claws out) on my other indoor boy.  I have been using the Composure liquid Max on him since November.  In early spring I decided to wean him off and took him completely off for about 3 weeks.  After a week I notices more chasing, then full on fights again.  Once back on the Composure he settled right back down.  It does not drug the cats, it just calms them and allows them to not feel as stressed.

I also use Rescue Remedy and other Bach flowers.  Spirit Essences is a great place to order flower essences.  I am sure they have one for spraying.  The essences take about 2 weeks to start working, but they work well if you have the right remedy.
 

stephenq

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UTI's are known to recur and since he has a history of this, this is the first thing I would check out.
 

blixxa

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I also agree with taking him to the vet again. Are you still looking after the other cat?
 
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