Hi all!
I need help with our male cat, Bruce. The story is long and complicated so I am going to try and sum it up.
We adopted Bruce from our local animal shelter. His papers said that he was neutered and UTD on shots etc. Once we got him home and acclimatized to the house and other cats, everything seemed fine. About three months later we bought a house and that is when we discovered that Bruce was not using the littler box; he had taken to urinating under our bed. We had noticed the smell before but had never been able to find the area.
We moved into the new house and that is when the spraying started. We expected that it might happen, so we did our due diligence in making sure we cleaned up after him. Since we were not finding any new "pee" areas, we assumed that the spraying was now taken precedence over urinating outside of the litter box. It wasn't until The Boyfriend sat down in a chair that was usually vacant that we discovered Bruce had found a better hiding place. Bruce also started displaying unusual behavior; mewling loudly before urinating, running around in circles before urinating, running from box to box etc.
We took Bruce to see our vet, Dr. Krum, and discovered that Bruce had a UTI. As for the spraying, Dr. Krum explained that it could take up to six months for the behavior to stop after being neutered. We treated Bruce for his UTI and continued to monitor him and clean up after his spraying escapades.
Just to get a second opinion, we discussed his behavior with our oldest cat's doctor, an IBD specialist. She said that Bruce HAD to have an undescended testicle and Bruce would need exploratory surgery. We took Bruce back Dr. Krum, who after discovering "barbs" on Bruce's penis, agreed with the other vet and scheduled Bruce's surgery. After the surgery, Dr. Krum was running through post-op care with The Boyfriend and expressed his surprise that he had found previous surgical scars on Bruce once they shaved his abdomen. Dr. Krum said that based on the scar and the fact that he only found a sliver of testicle, Bruce had to have undergone the surgery before. The Boyfriend left the vet's office and headed straight to the shelter. There he discovered that not only did the shelter not oversee Bruce's neutering, but Bruce had been returned to the shelter twice before due to spraying. The shelter had marked him as neutered because there were no obvious signs that he was an intact male.
We waited at least three months after his surgery before taking Bruce back to Dr. Krum. We explained that the spraying and urinating was still going on, so Dr. Krum discussed Bruce with several of his colleagues from vet school. He explained everything to his colleagues and also let them know that the "barbs" on Bruce's penis had not shrunk at all Again, all vets agreed that there had to be some part of a testicle producing the testosterone. We agreed to another surgery and this time Dr. Krum cleaned out Bruce's scrotum.
We are currently on week 3 post-2nd-surgery and we have not noticed any slowing down of the spraying. Honestly, if it wasn't for the tomcat smell, I wouldn't care about the spray; at this point, I'm so used to cleaning up urine and what-not that continuing to do so would not bother me in the least.
What I am concerned about is that there might be something else going on and since I'm not that educated on the endocrine system of cats, I'm coming to all of you asking for your thoughts.
From what I have read, I think it would be his thyroid but would that contribute to the tomcat smell of his urine? Bruce does display several symptoms of hyperthyroidism (nervousness, increased appetite, very thin, increased thirst) but I am unsure if the thyroid also produces testosterone.
I need help with our male cat, Bruce. The story is long and complicated so I am going to try and sum it up.
We adopted Bruce from our local animal shelter. His papers said that he was neutered and UTD on shots etc. Once we got him home and acclimatized to the house and other cats, everything seemed fine. About three months later we bought a house and that is when we discovered that Bruce was not using the littler box; he had taken to urinating under our bed. We had noticed the smell before but had never been able to find the area.
We moved into the new house and that is when the spraying started. We expected that it might happen, so we did our due diligence in making sure we cleaned up after him. Since we were not finding any new "pee" areas, we assumed that the spraying was now taken precedence over urinating outside of the litter box. It wasn't until The Boyfriend sat down in a chair that was usually vacant that we discovered Bruce had found a better hiding place. Bruce also started displaying unusual behavior; mewling loudly before urinating, running around in circles before urinating, running from box to box etc.
We took Bruce to see our vet, Dr. Krum, and discovered that Bruce had a UTI. As for the spraying, Dr. Krum explained that it could take up to six months for the behavior to stop after being neutered. We treated Bruce for his UTI and continued to monitor him and clean up after his spraying escapades.
Just to get a second opinion, we discussed his behavior with our oldest cat's doctor, an IBD specialist. She said that Bruce HAD to have an undescended testicle and Bruce would need exploratory surgery. We took Bruce back Dr. Krum, who after discovering "barbs" on Bruce's penis, agreed with the other vet and scheduled Bruce's surgery. After the surgery, Dr. Krum was running through post-op care with The Boyfriend and expressed his surprise that he had found previous surgical scars on Bruce once they shaved his abdomen. Dr. Krum said that based on the scar and the fact that he only found a sliver of testicle, Bruce had to have undergone the surgery before. The Boyfriend left the vet's office and headed straight to the shelter. There he discovered that not only did the shelter not oversee Bruce's neutering, but Bruce had been returned to the shelter twice before due to spraying. The shelter had marked him as neutered because there were no obvious signs that he was an intact male.
We waited at least three months after his surgery before taking Bruce back to Dr. Krum. We explained that the spraying and urinating was still going on, so Dr. Krum discussed Bruce with several of his colleagues from vet school. He explained everything to his colleagues and also let them know that the "barbs" on Bruce's penis had not shrunk at all Again, all vets agreed that there had to be some part of a testicle producing the testosterone. We agreed to another surgery and this time Dr. Krum cleaned out Bruce's scrotum.
We are currently on week 3 post-2nd-surgery and we have not noticed any slowing down of the spraying. Honestly, if it wasn't for the tomcat smell, I wouldn't care about the spray; at this point, I'm so used to cleaning up urine and what-not that continuing to do so would not bother me in the least.
What I am concerned about is that there might be something else going on and since I'm not that educated on the endocrine system of cats, I'm coming to all of you asking for your thoughts.
From what I have read, I think it would be his thyroid but would that contribute to the tomcat smell of his urine? Bruce does display several symptoms of hyperthyroidism (nervousness, increased appetite, very thin, increased thirst) but I am unsure if the thyroid also produces testosterone.
