OT - Cat problems

[TooLover]

We have two cats; one is fully black, the other fully white! The black one is declawed and neutered, and has been absolutely wonderful. The white one is my daughter's, need I say more!
This white cat, Jeeter, pees on everything. He pees on the newspapers I put down for the birds; he pees on plastic bags left in a corner; tonight hubby called me from work. Seems Jeeter peed all over his work bag!
Once I get this cat neutered will this stop???? My daughter may be taking this cat back to her dad's house so he can pee over there - heck, he probably wouldn't even notice!
Any suggestions?

[The Outlaw]

Laurie:

If he's simply peeing, then no it won't work. If however, he is spraying (a little different) then maybe. Your problem is that once they start, the smell always comes back and draws them.

Try mixing up a batch of Oxiclean and really soaking the areas the cat has sprayed.

If however it isn't the classic marking of territory, you need to check the litter pan. If a cat has a urinary tract infection, it will not normally use a litter pan. And, you'll usually see some blood in the urine.

[TooLover]

Thanks Nancy. I am not sure if he is peeing or spraying There is no blood in the litter tray, and I thought maybe it was because my black cat, Kahlua, had taken over the litter pan, but hubby says that he sees Jeeter in there as well.
I am calling the vet tomorrow to get him in to get fixed; will tell the vet about it and see if he has an infection of some sort.
Since he is my daughter's cat, I can only imagine what goes on in that head of his! Half the time I have no clue about my daughter!

[felisdomesticus]

TooLover,

I'm going through the same thing right now with my 3 year old baby boy, SoCo. I actually caught him peeing on my hardwood floor this morning and took him to the vet this afternoon b/c I thought he had a UTI.

NOPE. It's behaviorial as he is healthy as a horse. I knew there was a phantom pee-er here in the house the past week and I've been going slightly insane ever since trying to clean and Nature's Miracle every spot I can find with a smell. He has peed on the newspaper under Scarlett's boing, on the rug inside the door, on my bathmat, next to the litter box, on the linoleum in the bathroom, etc. I am a cat lover like you are a Too lover. I have had them all my life and consider myself very experienced in caring for them. This is totally new for me.

I have my 2 cats here plus several fosters: a 5-month old kitten, 2 4-year old neutered/declawed brothers, a 1-year old beagle/rat terrier foster dog, and the foster goffins cockatoo.

One of the panther boys (the adult cats) likes to try to fight with him in the middle of the night but SoCo likes to wrestle with my other girl, Cosmo, so I never thought much of it.

Anyway, I have been advised to separate the brawling cats and add an extra litter box. They recommend 1 per cat plus one more which would be 6 in this case. I now have 3 (including 1 new one today) and clean them all 3 times per day. They also recommended something called Fel-away which is like a plug in of natural cat pheromones. I asked the vet if it was safe for birds and he said it is natural pheromones so if your birds can live with cats, they can live with this stuff though it is supposedly pricey at $40 at PetSmart. Some online research has also told me that chamomile may be helpful with calming the cat down in terms of territorial anxiety/aggression.

There is a difference between spraying and inappropriate urination. Spraying is usually vertical on a wall, couch, TV, etc. If he is peeing on bags, floors, etc. that is usually just full-out peeing rather than spraying. How old is he? You want to get male cats neutered as soon as they can be b/c once they start spraying, they usually tend to continue the practice even after they've been neutered. If they are neutered before they start, they usually never will.

Have you tried Nature's Miracle on the spots on which he's urinated? It contains enzymes that will "digest" the urine and remove the smell. You can try to clean it with any cleaner, including bleach, but your cat will still be able to smell it even if you can't. I've tried other cheaper versions sold at PetCo sold alongside Nature's Miracle but I find they don't work as well. If you have a hard time locating the source of the smell, you can use a black light to illuminate the spot--if you can find one. :)

I learned an expensive lesson today--cats will pee if they are stressed out. I couldn't figure out what was wrong with my baby boy b/c he is totally trained and, according to the vet, completely healthy. It is now my mission to make sure I keep him away from the fosters who are stressing him and to do my best to keep him happy.

Good luck with your daughter's cat. Don't give up on it yet!

[felisdomesticus]

Originally Posted by ParrotletLover

Laurie, you might want to invest in a "belly band" for Jeeters. It is common for un-neutered male dogs to mark, or spray, so many dog owners have resorted to using these.

This is a cat, though. I don't think they make them for felines.

[TooLover]

Thanks for the great post. We only have one litter box for the two of them, and up until now it hasn't been a problem. My daughter has an extra litter box, so I will fill that one and try it.
The only thing I can think of that would stress this cat out (by the way he isn't a year old yet) is that he IS my daughter's cat and she isn't home much. He loves my hubby but can't stand me!
Again, thanks for the information.

[felisdomesticus]

Cats are funny creatures and it's hard to determine what is exactly pi$$ing them off. It could be a change in litter, moving the location of the boxes, changing food, addition of new pets to the house, or even something like your daughter not being around as much.

Other cat people recommended Rescue Remedy and Content-UM tablets. I need to research them a bit more before I rush out to buy them. I am more inclined to try chamomile and the plug-in first.

Please let me know how it goes. I'm not expert but I am suffering through the same thing.

[jen&friends]

[font=Comic Sans MS]If it is not medical then it is behavioral - hard to stop once they start....Felaway is a really good product - I have clients that use it to prevent peeing, spraying, scratching furniture, etc. You have to really keep on top of it though - and definitiely use one litter box per cat.[/FONT]

[Rowan123]

I have a cat that used to do this when he was younger (he's 12 now). I finally figured out that he was just being really picky about his litter box. I had given him a covered box to cut down on the mess but it probably also contained the smells more because he just did not like it. Once I uncovered his box and started cleaning it more than once a day he stopped peeing everywhere else. Good luck!

[Rue]

...start with the litter pans...they do recommend 1 per cat, plus one more...I know it get nuts with having to clean that many...but if it works it's the easiest solution...

...we have two indoor cats...and 2 litter pans, but we don't have any issues...so it's okay...

...another thing you can do if nothing works...is to crate the cat when you're not there to watch it...better than rehoming it...