Cat marking behavior - tried everything! Help!

drdebjo

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We are at our wit's end. We have a male bengal cat (neutered) and he is exhibiting marking behavior. It is marking and not just urinating - we have had him checked several times for a UTI, and the marking is on vertical surfaces. When we first got him, we also purchased one of his sisters (she is spayed), and we had a male Maine coon cat already - about a month older (also neutered). There was no problem for about 9 months. We then moved to a new house, and still no problem for about 6 months. Then all of a sudden he starts marking things. We tried Feliway, Prozac, Buspar, and have spent probably hundreds of dollars on cat urine remover. Also, about a year ago we got a female mixed breed (she is spayed), but his marking started before that and did not seem to get worse. We have tried behavior modification, including keeping him in a cage and then allowing him one room at a time, as well as spraying with a water bottle when he is caught in the act. The cage system seems to work for a few weeks, but then the marking behavior returns stronger than ever. He gets lots of attention - all of our cats are very spoiled. Food and water is available to them 24-hours a day, they each have a litter box plus one, and the litter boxes are scooped every day and cleaned once a week. He sprays on curtains, pillows, mirrors, on the pans in the kitchen cabinets, shoes, clothes - you name it. We very much love him, as he is a sweet, loving cat and is like one of the family. My husband and I would be completely heartbroken if we had to get rid of him, but we don't know what else to do. Moreover, we are getting new carpeting (not because of the marking, we just need it), and are afraid of what is going to happen, particularly given that it is something new without his scent. He is an indoor cat, but has slipped outside at times (once overnight). We cannot let him be an outdoor cat, number one because we signed a contract with the seller that he will not be an outdoor cat (given the great hunting cats that they are and the danger to birds and other small animals). Plus, we live in the country and there is a lot of wildlife around, including coyotes and vicious fisher cats.

Any ideas - we'll try anything and money is not an issue.
 

solaritybengals

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Did you get him as a kitten or as an adult (pertaining to when he was neutered)? Adult male breeders when neutered don't always eliminate spray behavior. Other than that it does sound like you've tried everything...

Maybe an outdoor run or enclosure? Maybe he just dosen't like being around other cats. Thats a tough one.
 
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drdebjo

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Got him as a kitten - 10 weeks old, and he was neutered at about the age of 3 months. The outdoor run doesn't sound like a bad idea, but we live in New Hampshire, and so may not work well in the winter...

ThanksQ
 

susanmly

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Sounds just like my cat. I too have tried everything and I mean everything. I would never get rid of him but he sprays everywhere and in some very strange places. It's a constant battle to keep my house from smelling like urine. I'd give my right arm to find something that would stop him. And yes he has been to the vet numerous times to check for a UTI and has been found perfectly healthy.
 

solaritybengals

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My homestate is NH, so I'm very familiar with that situation
! I've always though about what I'd do if I had a stud since I'm getting into breeding and you might have to treat this like he is not altered. Maybe look into what people do for stud enclosure, particularly in the north. You can often turn part of a garage into a comfy warm indoor area then have a cat door leading to an outdoor enclosure. When I lived in NH my cat was an indoor/outdoor cat and was more than happy to be outside during the colder months, but he was long-haired and well-acclimated. And of course that wasn't for an extended period of time nor at night.

If I were building a stud enclosure I'd see if I could have an area where the cat could still see me a lot inside the house but seperated off and then have that lead to an outdoor run.

Thats all I can think of. People don't often post pictures of their stud houses online but there are many breeders you could contact about what they do with their spraying studs. I know there are several bengal breeders in NH, not to mention all the other breeds.
 

rang_27

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Just a couple quick thoughts, you mentioned he was checked for UTI, but did you ever have a vet check his testosterone levels? We had a cat at our shelter who was neutered & was a big time marker. He would just walk down the hall & spay all the way down the hall. His testosterone levels were off the charts, when they did an ultrasound they found a third undistended (sp?) teste that had a lump growing on it.
If it's not medical, have you tried a litter called Cat Attract? I use it because of the low litter dust, but my cats LOVE it & I've heard that other people have had good luck with it helping cats who have spraying behaviors.
 

tuxedokitties

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Originally Posted by Rang_27

Just a couple quick thoughts, you mentioned he was checked for UTI, but did you ever have a vet check his testosterone levels? We had a cat at our shelter who was neutered & was a big time marker. He would just walk down the hall & spay all the way down the hall. His testosterone levels were off the charts, when they did an ultrasound they found a third undistended (sp?) teste that had a lump growing on it.
If it's not medical, have you tried a litter called Cat Attract? I use it because of the low litter dust, but my cats LOVE it & I've heard that other people have had good luck with it helping cats who have spraying behaviors.
That's an amazing story! It's great that the vet thought to check for unusual problems.
 
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drdebjo

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Thanks everybody for all the thoughts. I will look into the enclosure, because he does cry sometimes to go out. As far as the testosterone levels, I'm going to follow that advice. I had heard that sometimes the neutering isn't entirely successful for some reason or another, but never thought about having the testosterone levels checks. I'm surprised the vet hasn't mentioned it, but I'm going to ask him.

Thanks bunches!
We certainly don't want to get rid of him!

Deb
 
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drdebjo

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Oh, and I'll try the Cat Attract, too - where did you get it?


Deb
 
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