Cat Spraying

[annah]

Just recently I've noticed a problem with a cat spraying inside the house. I used to think it was not one of ours, which was gaining access inside the house via the cat door, however we locked it so that they can't get inside and the problem still continues.

I now suspect it's our younger male, Orion, who is to blame. Strange thing is he does it in the oddest places. Several times I've discovered the pee up on the kitchen bench, near the microwave, even directed at our cappucino machine (which I was VERY not impressed about). Then a couple days ago, I went to make toast, and realised his latest target was the toaster!! I tried to clean the toaster as best I could and put it through a cycle (the smell.. omg). I think the toaster is effectively ruined which is a shame because it was a good toaster, and was a prize that we won from a magazine for submitting a wedding photo. But anyway I'm trying to figure out why he would be doing this. We do have another male cat, who is a couple years older.. could it be something to do with dominance or rivalry?

I have read the sticky post on the forum, and will try some of the recommendations made, but still I'd like to have some insight into possibly why this might keep ocurring.

 

[bnwalker2]

Is he neutered?

 

[annah]

Sorry should have mentioned that. Yes he is, all my cats are fixed, oh except for Ariane, she'll be getting spayed soon though.

 

[kittymonsters]

The intact female may be stimulating the male to spray, but I think that is probably pretty unlikely.

Since you mentioned thinking maybe another cat was coming inside it may be there is a new cat outside that your kitty doesn't like. If he can see this kitty through a window in the kitchen then he will be marking that area.

If you know there is a new cat "invading" his territory you are going to have to try and deter the cat from coming around. Not easy.

If the behavior is new enough trying Prozac or another of the meds we have been discussing recently might help to break the cycle. I need to add here that I am normally not big on jumping to use medications. However, personally I believe with behavioral inappropriate urination in cats it is best to try it early before the behavior becomes too ingrained. This is just my personal opinion and certainly not a professional recommendation.

I have had the cat urine in the toaster....nothing can describe the smell. YUCK!

 

[cc12]

It could be distress about having had the invading cat in the house and the cat sees the invader outside or it has distressed him. Or there is rivalry between the males.
You may have to keep them from the kitchen if at all possible until you can clean the area throughly with a urine cleaner.

 

[annah]

Thanks for your replies.

Could be he is getting stressed from the other cat being around, but I think unlikely as he's been coming round for over a year now, and this behaviour has only just started. I would have thought it would have started earlier. Plus, I haven't seen him around as often as he used to be around. And he also can't get inside now as the cat door is locked so that you can't get in from the outside.

 

[annah]

Nearly two months later and we are STILL struggling with this problem. My husband was home late yesterday and caught someone in the act. Up on the bench spraying the wall. It was the cat that would have been the last to get the blame, Murphy our eldest cat. She has been having some problems recently, losing weight, not cleaning herself, being unable to eat as she's experiencing discomfort in her mouth. Several trips to the vet have revealed that she doesn't have aids or a kidney problem, but they think there is something terminally wrong, like cancer but have not explored any further.
We don't know her real age as she came to us as a stray, but vets at the time estimated her age to be about 3-4 although I thought she looked older. So that now makes here about 9-10 now. She moves pretty slowly, isn't interested in doing much other than sleeping or occasionally exploring places that she doesn't need to. If all events have been from her, its very odd because its been done even when there is a clean litter tray in the room.

Could this just be lazyness? If this was the case, wouldn't it just be easier for her to use the litter box? Or the carpet even, rather than going to the trouble of leaping up on the bench??

 

[aswient]

Maybe she's not feeling well. They go very strange places when their not well. If you bring her to the Vet and she gets a clean bill of health, then its probably emotional. Maybe Feliway difuser would help. One of my males is spraying but his problem is some stray cats outside. I use the Feliway, it really does help, I just need to put a couple more around. Good luck.

 

[enuja]

That's tough. You can't rule out health problems, because you know she's not healthy, but you don't know what's wrong.

If she's not moving around much, would it make sense to confine her in a small room? Preferably one with easily cleaned surfaces? That way you'd reduce the areas she could urinate on (and make sure it's only her who is urinating in the wrong place). If she's ill, being in a small, comfortable space without the stress of other cats might be good just for its own sake. You could spend time with her by brushing her (which she needs if she'd not doing it herself), and by quietly reading in that room and such.

I'd recommend getting a second opinion (as you don't really have a first one, right?) from another vet. The "inappropriate urination" might also be a useful clue for the vet about what's wrong. Or it could simply be a symptom (or even completely unrelated, but that would be surprising). Inappropriate elimination can become a habit, even when it starts with a health problem, so solving health problems won't necessarily solve the urination problem, but I doubt you'll be able to re-train an unhealthy cat back to using the litter box.

 

[annah]

I've been to the vet with her three times in the last couple of months and as I said they ruled out AIDS and kidney failure, everything else they tested for was ok. She had a minor irritation in her gums, (which would probably be causing the odd behaviour when eating) but her teeth seemed in good shape for her age. The one thing they couldn't rule out was cancer or some other thing, I can't recall what it was but the vet basically told me there wasn't a lot they could do for her, other than pump her full of steroids, to make her comfortable which I didn't want to do as we've had previous experience with a cat on steriods and it was not fun.

Trouble with getting a second opinion is we live in a small town which only has one vet. There is another opening soon but no exact date as yet. The only other option would be for me to drive her to the city 40 minutes away, which I also don't want to do because its very stressful for her, she starts drooling badly, howling and working herself up into an awful state.

My husband mentioned this morning that we may have to consider putting her to sleep. Maybe this would be the best thing to do... I mean things aren't going to get any better.

 

[fluffee]

Had my female spray our toaster. It still works, my dh took it outside, scrubed it out, and used the water hose with the sprayer and rinsed it out good. He used Dawn and then let it dry in the sun real good. So you are not alone...... because before your post I thought I was<sigh>