Cat Spraying

I have been exactly where you are. I lived in Africa an brought my cat home with me when I came back. A few years afterward, she started peeing all over the house. I was so angry! I did all the things you mention, but it didn't get better. We moved, and ended up having to put hardwood floors in our living room because she had chosen that room to pee in. Nothing is worse than cat pee, as you know! We had already tried anti-anixiety meds like amitriptyline and buspar with no success (they both made things worse because she was totally out of it).
Well, just before my son was born 2.5 years ago, things got REALLY bad. I was ready to make a very hard decision. Luckily, our vet was on top of things, did a urine culture on her, then also did an ultrasound on her bladder. Turns out she had bladder stones. Supposedly there are two kinds- one kind responds to medication, the other requires surgery. The doctor felt surgery was needed. We were very fortunate to have pet insurance at that time which covered most of the surgery. (We later found out the stones would have responded to medication), but after the surgery, we put her on Hills c/d canned (now on Royal Canin SO because it's cheaper), and have not had any more issues. IF we start to notice an issue, we call our vet, get sub-q fluids and give them to her twice a day under her skin to help flush out her bladder. That has taken care of things for the past almost 3 years (knock on wood!).
I totally understand your frustration. There were many times I would have shipped her back to Africa in a minute! I hope your vet is a good one who knows a bit about these types of issues in cats. We tried EVERYTHING to make it better, and this is what worked for us. I hope it might work for you too, or that you find something that does.

Good luck
T.

2 moms found this helpful

I am a cat person too. But spraying is a big pet peeve of mine, I can't stand it. I would make him an outside cat. Just make sure to put food and water out the same time every day and he will probably stick around. If there is no urinary tract infection, he is probably just trying to punish you for not letting him outside. I had a cat who went into heat before I could get her spayed. I wouldn't let her outside. She started peeing around the house. She even went as far as to pee in my laundry basket when I was right there doing the laundry! She stopped as soon as I let her go back outside again. And she would still come inside when she wanted to. Now one of my cats is strickly an outdoor cat because she refused to use the litter box because the other cats were using it. I put out food every morning and she will be there waiting to be fed and loved. She would rather be outside than inside.

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Try the West Linn Shelter in Old Willamette -It is a cats paradise! I'd get rid of it;-( It's hard enough to have two kids. Hope you figure it out soon

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If cat really needs new home, you could put notices up at barns and feed stores. There are a lot of people who want a cat to keep the mice away from the grain for the livestock! :)

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Start by confinig the cat to one room. (Perhaps even a crate when you are not supervising him). If he is fixed he can still be territorial. Keep the kitty litter near and in the room you confine him too when he is there. (That will reduce at least where you need to clean up. Bring him out of the room to socialize him, but put him back if you catch him spraying. Cats can learn and its not a wanted to type thing. Territory is territory. He probably was on his own when he was gone from you. That or he lived with other outdoor cats and they do spray..fixed or not. Expand his space slowly..as the spraying reduces. Only let your children be around him supervised for awhile. Teach them about "gentle touch, and also that the cat doesn't always want to be touched. (Some are just not that affectionate with anyone but some just have favorites. ) Perhaps its just a jealousy issue with you. SO, I would confine it to a room, let it out sporadically but routinely to another room, and don't let it out of that room..etc. Only let it into the rooms you want it in (should be able to move through on its own. First the laundryroom/hallway..then the laundry,hall,bath..whatever (or however..first and foremost go with the least furnishings in the room as possible, or the easiest to clean places.) When you see him do it..make a loud noise..it can startle them enough to make them stop. Tisk tisk and naughty kitty him the whole way back..you tell him that's "MINE"..and he can't have it. The kids can do it too..you might also get him a kitty tree and some of his own stuff to have around the kids' things. They do play. Those laser pointers make great kitty toys and the kids can play with them with the kitty without touching the kitty. (Which seems to be important for some reason). My guess is kitty is having "mine" issues after being gone from his home for awhile he forgot they live there perhaps and doesn't remember them as members of the household. Give it a little time if you can. You took him back in so you must care about him..and like you said he's not going to get a home if you have to tell people he sprays everyone. Start with smaller spaces..definitely crate him at night. Feed him up on things where the kids can't reach. (Washing machine for instance is a good height for kitties if they can jump to it) You do have to have patience and take time, but if you can put him in a room and close the door, at least the mess is contained and he can earn his way amongst the family again. I call it "acceptance via omission". Our dog is sort of aggressive towards others, but he behaves himself much better if the first few times the new person is over if he is confined and doesn't get to see or meet them. By the third or fourth time he's begging to be good.) Now, with cats, they don't care about good or bad but they do want to be accepted. SO, you have to show them acceptable in some way..and that's probably the easiest way..just keep him in one room for awhile. Move him into the house gradually and he might get used to it. Also, give him things that are definitely his so that he can have his stuff too. Some cats like their stuff!

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Definatley check with the vet!! How long was he gone? I think cats can go wild (feral). If you want to keep him, he might just have to be an outdoor cat. If you provide him water and food outside he might stick around. He has had a taste of the outside world and trying to keep him in is probably making him crazy.

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I would keep him outside until you can find a home. I hope the vet has some good ideas...

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We have an outdoor cat that will always be an outdoor cat. My husband was trying to let him come in the house but he sprayed on our couch. We tried everything we could to get rid of the smell including using a turkey basting needle to get the solutions into the foam padding. Nothing worked. The couch set is now at the dumps, we only had it about 6 years and could have had it a lot longer if it wasn't for the darn cat. $1600 wasted. We still have the cat but he is not allowed in the house no matter how good he tries to be. I refuse. I don't want my kids exposed to it if he does it again and I don't want anymore furniture ruined if he does it again. You might consider keeping him outside. On cold nights my husband lets him in the garage, he has sprayed in there too. I did not help find/clean the mess. It took him a few hours to clean it out and get rid of the smell. Lost a back pack in the process. The cat hasn't sprayed in the garage in a long time so he's allowed there when it's cold otherwise he is strickly an outdoor cat.

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We found that our cat actually doesn't spray inside when he gets plenty of time outside every day. He's only inside when we're home and awake and it's working really well.

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It sounds like you are doing everything you can- cleaning the areas well, multiple clean litter boxes, etc and you are taking him to the vet to make sure there is no health issue. Assuming no health issue. You can try a different type of litter in one, sometimes that helps. Part of it could be if he was living outside he learned to mark, if you keep him in a smaller area for a few days see if he will use the litter box there and then expand the area. There is a product called feliway that can help with spraying and helps with stress if there is any for him, which moving back into a house with kids may do it. If you do end up rehoming talk to as many organizations as you can to see if they can help you, it may be you keep him until they find a new home. I would look for a rescue group, since pets that are owner surrenders rarely make it at the shelter no matter how wonderful they are since the shelter has limited space and they know the owner is not looking for those to get them back. Good luck and I hope the vet has an answer for you and he can stay!

I do have one cat with urinary issues and on medication and rx diet she is doing great. Growing up we also had one cat that would only use the litter box as a last result, he would scream to go outside and since he was would stay in the backyard, he was allowed out. At night he would go out rather than use the litter box and come back pretty quickly. As much as prefer indoor only cats, some really like to be able to go outside and it is hard to break them of the habit.

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If you put the cat outside, are you worried that he won't come back again?Was he living as an indoor or outdoor cat when you found him? If it were me, I would put the cat outside. He may or may not stick around, but cat pee is the worst and it does sound like he is not happy! Good Luck!

1 mom found this helpful

He's probably spraying everywhere in the house... because outside, as a "wild cat" they have to do that to defend themselves. Instinct.
So the behavior is still there.
Don't know that you can remove the behavior from him.
And yes, maybe he didn't want to be found, nor be confined in a home.

Could you possibly make him an outdoor cat? Putting a collar on him, with tags. He may still come around the home, and eat... you could put food outside for him etc. And you could put a pet door, in your door, if he can come in and out. Like the ones' for dogs.

But yes, its filthy if he is spraying in the home, around kids, on everything. And yes the cat doesn't like the kids. Thus maybe why he ran away. And its interesting that he is spraying mainly on the KIDS things...

I've had cats... and they'd be indoor or outdoor pets. Mostly outdoors.

All the best,
Susan

You are a good pet owner, you are looking for options. I would say... lket her be a wild cat again and check with your vet about the problem. My cat did that but after we sprayed him it stopped. Good luck!