Spraying cat, at my wits end.

[Obsidian_Fire]

One of my cats is a 4-yr old male. I semi-hand raised him from about 4 weeks of age on. He was neutered as soon as vet gave the okay.

He has always been a very, very good kitty.

Except several months ago now, he decided to start harassing the older female (who was here long before him). Then it progressed to spraying - in the house. Started with my husbands office - specifically the computer screen!

Then I found he’d sprayed the bottom shelf of my bookcase in our bedroom.

I saw him outside marking his territory, quite thoroughly.

Husband keeps computer covered with a towel when not in use, or better yet - keep the door shut! (but he is really bad about shutting doors).

But yesterday morning I went to pull socks from my dresser and noticed a ‘not dusty’ spot so I touched it - pee-yew. He’d sprayed. Not just on the dresser, but this spot is right where I set the cat food at. Why the heck would you spray where you eat?
In the afternoon I had the shed open, I set a box on the floor. I came back 30 mins later and I saw a spot on the box. Thought at first maybe some gas or oil from the lawnmower- nope, it had been sprayed. Quite thoroughly as it was also a wet drip on the floor.

Cat is very sneaky about this. You can tell he knows… his actions are furtive, you can just tell that he knows that you know he’s done something naughty.

I’m at my wits end. Cat pee is nearly impossible to remove from carpets, etc. I don’t know what to do. He’s in perfect health. Yes we have numerous un-neutered males in the neighborhood and no I can’t do anything about that. It is what it is.

So I get he’s territorial. But never ever ever have I had a neutered male spray. Heck I’ve even had an intact, older male who wasn’t housebroke who got his butt smacked for spraying, got him fixed, and he never did it again. So why this cat…?

I speak cat pretty well but this is beyond me.

Any ideas???

[Simkie]

Have you taken him to the vet? Check urine and bloodwork. If that’s normal, the vet will probably recommend Prozac.

[jetsmom]

Male cats frequently get utis and stones. Get a thorough vet check.
If all is well, try feliway or anxiety meds.

[SarahandSam]

Prozac helps our spraying male cat a lot. He has occasional bouts still, because he’s an asshole, but with Prozac they’re few and far between.

[CindyCRNA]

Jackson Galaxy has a site with calming defusers. I don’t know if they work. I have a 5 week old male kitten right now we love but this scares me. Would it help if he were indoors only and keep other cats out of the yard? My Cat From Hell episode used motion detector sprayer to keep unwanted males away.

[invinoveritas]

Dissolve a kitty cosequin capsule (well open one and dump it into a kitten nursing bottle with just enough water to dissolve it) and force feed it to kitty each morning and each afternoon. Do this every day and see if it resolves the issue.

If he has kidney stones or “sand” crystals of stones, it will allow them to go through without pain, usually works. He may be grumpy from pain and taking it out on the older cat.

If it’s meanness and aggression, prozac is the way to go.

[Louise]

Vet first to see if the problem can be diagnosed as a medical one. Go from there. Cosequin or prozac are good ideas, though, I have a cat on Dasequin and he eats his meds mixed right in with his food. Or try pill pockets first before having to force feed.

[Obsidian_Fire]

[QUOTE=CindyCRNA;8932510]
Jackson Galaxy has a site with calming defusers. I don’t know if they work. I have a 5 week old male kitten right now we love but this scares me. Would it help if he were indoors only and keep other cats out of the yard? My Cat From Hell episode used motion detector sprayer to keep unwanted males away.[/QUOTE]

I have had a lot of male cats over the years and this is the first time I’ve had this issue. So I would not be worried about your kitten; it’s just like any other being, we are all different and there are anomaly’s everywhere.

I had never heard of using Cosequin for bladder issues; first male cat I ever had developed stones and since learning about that I have changed my feeding so that it was never a problem again. However, doesn’t mean this cat doesn’t have something going on.

[betsyk]

When we’ve had spraying problems, or general peeing outside the box problems, it usually means someone is stressed. Sounds like your boy isn’t happy with - his roommate? the neighbor cats? something else? Half the solution is figuring out what’s stressing them before it turns into something worse than spraying. A vet visit can’t hurt - they will check for a uti, stones/crystals, etc and should have plenty of advice.

[TC3200]

I have a male who sporadically spays baseboards. Here are some causes i identified:

Hyperthyroid and the med dosage was no longer controlling it.
Constipated and aparently associated the litter box with pain or discomfort.
Old plastic litter box must have had a residual pee odor even after scrubbing and new litter. Replaced the old boxes with brand new ones. Cat is pleased.
Food - - Certain dry kibble, like a purina pro plan chicken or turkey, it’s a white, orange, and brown bag, have wicked good flavor and all the cats lub it, but it makes ALL my cats drink gallons of water and pee rivers. Too much sodium in it?? I quit feeding it. Drinking and peeing reverted to normal amounts.

[Obsidian_Fire]

[QUOTE=betsyk;8934159]
When we’ve had spraying problems, or general peeing outside the box problems, it usually means someone is stressed. Sounds like your boy isn’t happy with - his roommate? the neighbor cats? something else? Half the solution is figuring out what’s stressing them before it turns into something worse than spraying. A vet visit can’t hurt - they will check for a uti, stones/crystals, etc and should have plenty of advice.[/QUOTE]

I agree with you. But, how do you fix the number of cats that show up around here? I mean seriously we have a new cat on our deck at least once a week. I do not ever put food outside, so why my deck? And yes, he gets into fights with them at least some of the time. These are not homeless feral cats either. They are just ‘neighbor’ cats that were not bothered to be fixed and they are always male. I KNOW it stresses him out - every morning he can’t wait to get out to inspect his kingdom.
I bought calming collars awhile back. It worked GREAT for the older female who is very shy. For him - he went beserk. He literally got his jaw under the collar and then the jaw was stuck, trying to get it off. When that didn’t work he ran around the house like his tail was on fire. It was awful. I took it off and have not tried it again.

I sometimes wonder if being separated from his mother and siblings at such an early age (he was lost and tangled in my rosebushes, and was only maybe 4 weeks old) is a contributor. He is missing some key social skills?? Which I could see as contributing to ‘neurotic’ behavior now.

I’ll keep exploring options, for now.

[Obsidian_Fire]

In years past, I had a male cat with stones. I learned about the causes, and since that time quit feeding food that would contribute.
Then I had 3 cats go down to pancreatitis. The last one was especially hard and the vet told me that likely there was a food allergy going on also.

At any rate I vowed I’d not go thru that again. So to that end my cats eat 90% wet food - the best I can buy. Chewy.com is my best friend (my wallets worse enemy). Their dry food is free choice it is Taste of the Wild.

And then I see cats living to a ripe old age on Meow Mix and 9 Lives. Go figure. :rolleyes:

[Justmyluck]

Veterinary visit first, second he needs to be an inside only cat as you cannot control the outside cats. You most likely will not be able to control the situation with out removing the inciting cause. I would put film on your windows so that kitty can not look out and see other kitties.

Pheromones such as Feliway everywhere, this isnt for your male so much as to increase the females comfort so that is is more willing to stand up to mister male kitty. Bell collar on Mr. Male kitty to alert your female to his attacks.

I would try all of that first, then reevaluate and look into behavior modifying drugs.

[Garythesquirrel]

Keep him strictly indoors and get something like a motion activated sprinkler to keep the neighborhood cats off your deck.

[eohippus]

I have a similar situation but my young peeing cat is a girl cat. She chases and harasses the 14 yo girl cat (who would love to be an only cat).

After seeing the vet the young cat is on Prozac. The peeing problem seems to be stopped. We also have a room we can keep her in at night or when we can’t supervise her. She seems to like it in there and often goes in there on her own. She still will chase the older cat. And on the Prozac she doesn’t seem to care about being petted or held any more. She has only been on the Prozac for about a month. so far.

[Obsidian_Fire]

[QUOTE=eohippus;8941119]
I have a similar situation but my young peeing cat is a girl cat. She chases and harasses the 14 yo girl cat (who would love to be an only cat).

After seeing the vet the young cat is on Prozac. The peeing problem seems to be stopped. We also have a room we can keep her in at night or when we can’t supervise her. She seems to like it in there and often goes in there on her own. She still will chase the older cat. And on the Prozac she doesn’t seem to care about being petted or held any more. She has only been on the Prozac for about a month. so far.[/QUOTE]

That’s sad. I hope your situation works out.

[Lazy_Palomino_Hunter]

[QUOTE=invinoveritas;8933357]
Dissolve a kitty cosequin capsule (well open one and dump it into a kitten nursing bottle with just enough water to dissolve it) and force feed it to kitty each morning and each afternoon. Do this every day and see if it resolves the issue.[/QUOTE]

Kitty Cosequin is flavored… you can just sprinkle it over their food and they gobble it right up.

OP, I have a cat who is a chronic inappropriate pee-er and a picky eater… he eats his food with Cosequin sprinkled over the top, and it makes a world of difference.

[still_dreaming1]

I am going through this right now. It sucks.
Too many things-- urinary, psych, litter, food, family pets, neighbor pets, etc. --to try and recalibrate.

My cat (Male, neut, approx 10, with me now 7) is spraying in my home. Curtains, walls, furniture, HUMANS. He is indoor/outdoor. One other Sr female cat who was here first.

Here is what I’ve done thus far, in case this helps:

1. Vet. Yes, his urine tested positive for crystals. Pain meds Rx’ed.
2. Pain Meds are horrible. He drools profusely and it freaks him out. More stress. We tried pills and a (very expensive) liquid compound form. He hates this, and it is so difficult to administer.
3. With meds going south, I tried an all wet diet. Purina Pro Plan Focus Adult Classic Urinary Tract Health Formula Turkey & Giblets Entree Canned Cat Food, 3-oz, case of 24. No RX needed. He likes this. I add a few extra tbsp of water to maximize the liquid he is eating. It is ok for other cats to eat this.
4. 30 days on wet diet, and this week’s urinalysis is negative.
5. Still spraying, all along.
6. Bought the kitty diffuser “comfort zone.” Did not work for us. It smells like burning plastic (scary) and he marked right next to it.
   After reading this thread, I want to talk to my vet about prozac. I do not trust him to hang out in the main living areas of my home. At this point, he is confined to the basement or outside.
   Best to you. This is not fun.

[Simkie]

still dreaming, do you have him on cosequin? Helps with those that have painful bladders.

[avjudge]

I’ve tried Prozac and Amitriptyline for my female sprayer and neither helped. I was told she never sprayed until she came to live here - if that’s true, then it was the stress of finding an unknown cat in her living quarters for the first time in her life that probably caused it. (That cat’s gone but the problem continues.) Her mom, who came with her, over-grooms - licks herself naked - so it seems they are a neurotic family.

Our only solution has been for Bagheera has become a basement/outdoor kitty (with a cat door) - and accept that the basement will smell (but not as badly as if she were male).

I hope things go better for you!