Cat urinating problem

Shewhomustbe...

I really need some help/advice, I am at my wits end & being driven very quickly round the bend.

One of my male cats will not stop urinating on the doors in my hallway (I live in a bungalow so he has a vast selection!) and where ever takes his fancy in my dressing-room. Its not just the occasional event it is now several times a day and it is beginning to cause serious damage to the wood.

He has no medical problems (though he has suffered with cysititis in the past) It is a multi-cat household, five males, two females, everyone is spayed or neutered.

I have tried everything I can think of, Feliway, vinegar, scolding, extra attention, ignoring the problem but absolutey nothing seems to make a difference. There is a litter tray for each of them plus one extra for fun!

Please Help!!

Dilbert75

What age is he? Neutered?

Sorry just re-read and you say they all are. Have you tried an animal behaviour specialist or a small animal vet? If you get a good one they might give some insight.

Shewhomustbe...

Sorry, forgot to include his age, he's five years old.

Ado86

There is a veterinary behaviourist who works on a referral basis in UCD Veterinary hospital. She is excellent at what she does, would be very worth looking into.

Rockiemalt

Hello
Have you tried orange peel? Used it last year to stop my little boy kitten wee-ing on everything! Just peel an orange and put the skin in bits where he's doing it. worked for me plus u get loads of vitamin c from all the oranges! Orange or lemon essential oils might work either as it's the smell that puts them off I read.

Shenshen

Shewhomustbe... wrote: »

I really need some help/advice, I am at my wits end & being driven very quickly round the bend.

One of my male cats will not stop urinating on the doors in my hallway (I live in a bungalow so he has a vast selection!) and where ever takes his fancy in my dressing-room. Its not just the occasional event it is now several times a day and it is beginning to cause serious damage to the wood.

He has no medical problems (though he has suffered with cysititis in the past) It is a multi-cat household, five males, two females, everyone is spayed or neutered.

I have tried everything I can think of, Feliway, vinegar, scolding, extra attention, ignoring the problem but absolutey nothing seems to make a difference. There is a litter tray for each of them plus one extra for fun!

Please Help!!

I've been reading up on this recently, because a stray has sort of adopted us, but everytime I let him into the house, he starts spraying the walls.
It's not a medical condition, he's just marking territory. Most websites said that behaviour like this is more likely to occur in a multi-cat household, and by the more timid cats. It's a way of asserting themselves.

A lot of the sites suggested medication to relax the cat, but I'm not too sure about that.
Do you have any way of giving the cat it's own room, that none of the other cats are allowed into?

Adventure Pout

With all the cats in your house, is there any chance that the one is being bullied?
There is always a dominant one, and a more "submissive" one.. Maybe he is getting bullied by the others, which causes stress --> then he shows it by urinating anywhere.
I agree with the person who advices on a animal behaviourist. Make sure she is specialised with cats and Not dogs!
There is one very well known but she is in England (Vicki Halls - she has written a few books on cats behaviour). You might want to drop her an email.
http://www.vickyhalls.net/
Hope this helps...

MsFifers

I'd also recommend you read the books by Vicky Halls - she has lots of good suggestions for this type of situation.

My initial suspicion is that it is something to do with the fact you have 7 cats! Your guy might just be feeling a bit stressed out or territorial. Is there any way you can give him a space just for him?

Shewhomustbe...

Thanks everyone, really appreciate all the replies.
It could very well be that Rufus is feeling a bit put out, one of our other male cats who he was best friends with passed away a few months ago. I do give him special time and attention, in fact he always has gotten more than the others but since Hughie died there has been a shift in the dynamics. I'll work on organising a room that only he's allowed in to and see if that helps. Hasn't been too much of a problem over the past few days. Maybe he's a bit more timid than I thought.

storm2811

I've heard that pepper works,did you try that?
I had this problem a while ago too but a friend gave me something that stopped it,it smelled awful though but I'll try found out the name,could've been home made though as she owns a kind of cat adoption centre.

I know how you feel,waking up to that smell,ugh!

The Sweeper

There's no point using aversion methods to stop the cat spraying - he'll either just spray elsewhere, or redirect his behaviour into something else destructive, e.g. shredding or yowling or fighting.

The most likely reason is the one you have described yourself, this cat's friend passed away, and the dynamic in your multi-cat household has changed. The spraying is territorial marking.

The vet may be able to give the cat a hormone injection to calm him and ease his spraying, but the best solution you can provide is to give him his own space, away from the other cats. Restrict his movements and keep him out of that hallway for a couple of weeks. Give him a safe sanctuary in another room. While he's in his sanctuary, get a blacklight and an enzyme cleaner and turn the black light on the hall in the evening when it's getting dark. Wee will glow a pale yellow (don't be panicked by anything that flouresces white when you turn the light on - that's not all cat wee!!)

Clean off every trace of wee. Once the surfaces are dry, buy a Feliway spray and spray Feliway on the formerly peed-on spots.

If the spraying cat appears lonely or frustrated while locked away, make sure he has toys and give him a companion who he gets along with - one of your cats with whom he'll play and interact. Gradually reintroduce the spraying cat into the household after a few weeks. This procedure allows you to manage the change in the dynamic of your own multicat household and hopefully reduce the instances of spraying.

If your cat has suffered cystitis before and it wasn't caused by crystals in the urine, it could be interstitial cystitis, or stress-related cystitis. A cat prone to stress related cystitis can be a temperamentally fragile animal prone to spraying and cat-to-cat aggression, so you'll always have to manage him a bit carefully.

Rescue remedy has efficacy on a cat - just two drops from the eye dropper on the back of each ear is often enough to diffuse a very anxious cat. (I wouldn't even put it in the water for ingestion - just a drop on the skin is fine). If you ask me whether the star of bethlehem and moonflower ingredients are what has the effect, or if it's just the brandy base that the flower essences are carried in, I'll say nowt. Let's put it this way - I don't use it to excess and I don't even use it weekly, but I find it very useful, just two droplets on each ear, before a car ride to the vet or if there's a fight shaping up.