2 male cats and marking problems question

[Aunty Social]

Please tell me there is a way we can put an end to this without having to give away one of our cats!

 

Background: We have three cats. We got a brother and sister about 8 years ago, and an orange male about 6 years ago. They all got along fine until the last year or so. Last year we had an issue with the animals peeing in the house, but we couldn't tell which ones were doing it, or even if it was just cats or also the dog. The problem was so bad that we wound up replacing the floor (and part of the subfloor) in the bedroom. After replacing the floor the problem stopped - we figured they couldn't smell it anymore so didn't feel the need to mark it.

 

Fast forward to the last month, and it's started again - and the areas have expanded. They are marking several different areas in the house. We've crated all the cats (we have narrowed it down to cat only at least) and let them out one by one. The female is clear - no problems while she was out. Her brother also seems to be okay - even though I caught him peeing before we crated and cleaned, when he is out on his own he doesn't mark. the orange one, however, seems to be a problem. We let him out of the crate and within a few hours the house smelled terrible! So, we currently have the orange one crated and the brother/sister out roaming. No problems so far. I don't think the orange one has any bladder infection, because when he is in the crate he uses the litter box with no issues. I really think he is having territory wars with the other male. I'd like to avoid the vet if possible....I don't really have the several hundred dollars they will charge me laying around.

 

So, is there any way to put a stop to it short of giving him away? He's a sweet, affectionate fool who really loves his people otherwise. And what would have caused this to start? They got along for years with no problems.

 

Thanks for any advice!

[Guest Alte Veste Academy]

Are they neutered? If not, that would be my first fix. If they are, I would get the orange male to a vet to check for infection. Using the litter box when confined to an enclosed space wouldn't rule that out. Kitty doesn't want to go where he sleeps, after all.

[Ellie]

Good luck. We had that problem for years and were never.able.to.fix.it. I don't know who started it (all cats were spayed/neutered), but both males and females were involved. When we moved from California to Texas, a couple of those cats almost didn't come with us (I had contact information for several no-kill shelters :-o). We never had a single problem when we arrived here. Go figure.

[Aunty Social]

Are they neutered? If not, that would be my first fix. If they are, I would get the orange male to a vet to check for infection. Using the litter box when confined to an enclosed space wouldn't rule that out. Kitty doesn't want to go where he sleeps, after all.

 

Yes, they are spayed/neutered. Forgot to mention that. I really don't think it's infection, because his actions are marking actions.....peeing on my dh's and kids shoes, on the walls and floors by the doors, and he did use the box once or twice while he was out of the crate - he just also went in other places. I may be wrong, but if he had an infection, he wouldn't use the box while out loose, right?

 

Good luck. We had that problem for years and were never.able.to.fix.it. I don't know who started it (all cats were spayed/neutered), but both males and females were involved. When we moved from California to Texas, a couple of those cats almost didn't come with us (I had contact information for several no-kill shelters :-o). We never had a single problem when we arrived here. Go figure.

 

Ahhhhhh! I really don't want to give this cat away - he adores my dh, and is such a people person I think a shelter would break his spirit. On the other hand, I can't have a house full of cat pee....at least the shelter here is no kill, and I think there are some organizations that take cats and place them for adoption.

[hornblower]

I think you really need to rule out physical problems first.

 

Blood test, urine analysis. The cat could be suffering from a variety of health problems which can manifest themselves like this.

 

Then, if that's clear, I'd think it's probably stress.

 

How many boxes do you have? For three cats you should have 4 boxes, not all in the same area - they need to scattered in the house - & they need to be cleaned daily. http://www.catinfo.org/litterbox.htm (all about the litterbox & inappropriate elimination)

 

Do all the cats have their own spaces to hide & rest?

 

Have you considered building an outside enclosure? Here are some pics to give you ideas. http://www.catsofaustralia.com/cat-enclosures.htm You can make one from chicken wire & scrap lumber. Put some driftwood, shelves, etc inside for climbing and hiding. It's ideal if you can make it accessible through a cat flap from a window in your house so the cats can go in & out on their own. A change of scenery, some extra mental stimulation may help.

 

There's also a product called Feliway which is a pheromone (supposed be like the odor produced by a lactating queen & therefore remind the cat of being a safe, nestled kitten). It comes in plug in like air fresheners & costs about $1/day.

 

There are also some psychiatric, anti anxiety meds which are being used in progressive cat veterinary care. A good cat vet can help with a multi part approach.

 

Finally, do not delude yourself about the fate of your cat in the shelter or rescue system. Cat adoption rates are much, much lower than dog adoption rates & I can assure you that there's nobody lining up to adopt a cat with a hx of inappropriate elimination. That's the sad truth. At best the cat will live out its life stressed & worried in a small cage in a no kill shelter. At worst, it will be euthenized in the arms of a stranger, frightened and confused.

 

If you cannot or are unwilling to spend the $ get this under control, & are unable or unwilling to make changes to your home to accomodate or deal with it, then see it through to the end & let him die in YOUR arms.

 

best wishes

[ThatCyndiGirl]

You are much nicer than I am. If a cat made my home smell that bad and especially if I had to replace flooring to get rid of the pee smell....THAT CAT WOULD BE GONE!!

 

 

We had a cat who peed on our couch on xmas morning. Got rid of the couch and the cat was suddenly an outside cat.

[Guest jesseb83]

Hi There-I literally have the exact same problem! We have a brother/sister who we have had for 4.5 years and an orange cat we have had for 4 years. I have had no problems with them until a year ago and we figured out it was the older male (brother) cat. So, under my vet's instructions, I retrained him and kept him locked up with a litter box for 3 weeks and stopped letting him outside, where he could smell other cats and become territorial. Fast forward a year later, I thought it was happening again, only to find that is is my orange cat now marking everywhere. Sometimes just urinating-sometimes marking upright/spraying against things. They had all lived together peacefully and now it is a nightmare. Now I have my orange one locked up to try to retrain him. I have motion/spray sensors around the house in areas that the cats frequent as a deterrent. I have tried the tin foil approach. I have had my carpets cleaned. I have an enzyme based cleaner to get rid of the smell so they don't remark. They have no infections or problems. They are all neutered/spayed and have lived together for over 4 years! I have 4 litter boxes, my house is rather large so they're not cramped. I just don't know what to do. He is not brave-and would not make it as an outdoor cat as he is pretty afraid of going outside. And I just can't think of sending him to a shelter. I was wondering if you had anything work for you??!?

[ChristusG]

Definitely have the vet check his urine...it could be an infection. My parents have a male cat that suddenly began peeing on the couch. Only on the couch. They had him checked and he had a bladder infection. A few days on antibiotics and he's never done it again.

[Aunty Social]

Hi There-I literally have the exact same problem! We have a brother/sister who we have had for 4.5 years and an orange cat we have had for 4 years. I have had no problems with them until a year ago and we figured out it was the older male (brother) cat. So, under my vet's instructions, I retrained him and kept him locked up with a litter box for 3 weeks and stopped letting him outside, where he could smell other cats and become territorial. Fast forward a year later, I thought it was happening again, only to find that is is my orange cat now marking everywhere. Sometimes just urinating-sometimes marking upright/spraying against things. They had all lived together peacefully and now it is a nightmare. Now I have my orange one locked up to try to retrain him. I have motion/spray sensors around the house in areas that the cats frequent as a deterrent. I have tried the tin foil approach. I have had my carpets cleaned. I have an enzyme based cleaner to get rid of the smell so they don't remark. They have no infections or problems. They are all neutered/spayed and have lived together for over 4 years! I have 4 litter boxes, my house is rather large so they're not cramped. I just don't know what to do. He is not brave-and would not make it as an outdoor cat as he is pretty afraid of going outside. And I just can't think of sending him to a shelter. I was wondering if you had anything work for you??!?

 

We wound up re-homing him. He got a clean bill of health from the vet, and were told it was behavioral. If he was given his own space then he was fine...but if he had to share with the other male, then it was a dominance contest.

 

So, he's now the alpha cat in a single cat household, and we hear that he is doing very well and is quite happy. He just hit an age/stage where he couldn't share with another male.

[black_midori]

We had comparable spraying problems with both a male and 2 female cats at our old house - it was wretchedly disgusting, and the whole lot of them ended up being booted to be outdoors cats. In retrospect, it was probably mostly because for awhile we did not have enough litter boxes (I had gotten rid of some when my baby was young because he wouldn't leave them alone). However, even with a litterbox RIGHT THERE one of the females would pee outside it. The male just like to mark territory (everywhere). Eventually, carpet and floorboards needed replacing.

 

As far as I can tell, the only real way around it is to only have 1 or 2 cats in a house and have multiple litterboxes for each cat (and of course get them spayed/neutered young!). In that situation, I've never had a problem.

 

In fact, I'm hedging heavily on that - we just rescued a male kitty last week, and I'm hoping we can keep it in the house. So far, it uses only the litterbox (but has been locked in my bathroom). At this point in my life, knowing what I know now, I will not hesitate to boot that kitty outside if it starts to reek in this house (new house now, NOT SMELLY!!).