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Major cat marking issue - need help - desperate
Hi there - I know this will be a long read but please, if you could get through it, I'm trying everything I can and need some help...
I'm hoping that maybe someone here can help me with a very bad cat marking problem. Here is my background...
Winston is 10 years old and was a barn rescue with his sister Jersey. They've been together their whole lives. The originally lived with my brothers, parents and grandmother. In 2006 both my mother and grandmother both passed away within 9 months of each. The cat noticed this loss and missed the attention he was getting from them and started a habit of marking. My brother hid the problem (was afraid my Dad would get rid of the cat) and tried to clean it up himself. He wasn't cleaning it properly so it just got much much worse to the point where there was nowhere in the house he wasn't marking. Took him to the vet, started him on diazepam and clomipramine and it never really solved the problem.
Fastforward to 2009. We have been putting up with this and cleaning it (properly now) for almost 2 years. My Dad tells me enough is enough and the cat has to be put down. I was getting married several months later and my then FI agreed to take the cat in and see if a change in environment will help. Guess what? It worked. We kept him on the clomipramine and he lived there happily for 2 years with maybe 1 or 2 accidents.
In August of this year, DH and I moved into a bigger house and took care to make the move as easy as possible for Winston. We gave him diazepam starting a few days before the move and kept him safe and crated the entire day while moving. When we finally got into the new house, we released him into the laundry room (which houses 2 litter boxes) until we could see he peed in the litter and knew he knew where to go. I think it took a day, he found the litter and we let him have free reign over the rest of the house.
Our house is a raised ranch with 3 litter boxes for 2 cats. 2 boxes in the basement and 1 upstairs. They are cleaned 1-2 times daily with the litter changed regularly. We use a mixture of clumping litter and Cat Attract.
Things were going well until October when we noticed Winston had peed on a mat in the workout area. Some also got on the carpet. It's so hard to get it out of carpet, we tried our best to clean it and then just shut the door to that room so he couldn't access it.
Then he peed on our gas fireplace. Several times, days apart, despite it being cleaned. At this point I was worried there were so cracks that weren't being cleaned properly so we bought a black light. Found where we weren't getting it clean enough and cleaned it up.
Then he peed on the standup shower in the basement. Cleaned up. No sign of pee with black light. If we leave that door open, he will go to that area and pee within 30 minutes.
Next he peed on a brand new bookcase. All these areas are in the basement. We have now placed an armoire and bookshelf blocking the basement so that he can't get to those areas.
Now we find urine on the sliding glass door upstairs, then on a rolled up carpet in the laundry room where he has 2 litter boxes (that he had to walk past), then on the front door and finally last night on the wall in guest room and also in the computer room.
I think you see where I'm going with this. We have 9 different spots, in 8 different rooms.
We have been in near constant contact with our vet and have ruled out any physical issues. He did have blood in his urine back in December but was treated for a UTI and x-rayed and shows no stones or tumors. They had us try a few things in case it was interstitial cystitis but these just made things worse (one was an injection we had to take him to the vet for every week - he's an anxious cat and we can't take him once a week).
It was decided to wean him off the clomipramine and try fluoxetine. He has now had 2 days of his full dose fluoxetine and I know it can get worse before it gets better but we are getting desperate here.
I have felliway diffusers in 3 different rooms of the house, I have felliway spray (but they just lick it off wherever I put it and he'll mark there anyways) and I've now bought him a felliway collar.
We have put mothball crystals outside all the doorways in case he smells another cat outside so that the scent is masked. Everytime we go to bed, we put out a toy with kitty food and treats in it that fall out as he plays with them so he isn't bored. We give him constant love and affection.
Does anyone have any other ideas of what I can try or what I can do? Things will seem okay (sometimes for a day or 2) and then he marks an old spot or finds a new one and I just break down and cry.
My vet has commended us and praises us that we've gone above and beyond what many pet owners would (remember, this has been on and off for almost 6 years) but I think we all know that if we can't get this under control, we might have to put down this cat. Please no flames for that. It is a thought that breaks my heart and makes me cry almost daily now. Honestly, if there is anything else I can do, will so any suggestions are welcome.
Thank you SO much if you have gotten this far.
Re: Major cat marking issue - need help - desperate
5 cats. 1 baby.
Thank you for your feedback. We were using Nature's Miracle and now I have just recently starting buying a new product called Get Serious which is another enzyme breaking down product.
I can check out those books but I'm not sure it's an issue with his sister at all and I'm not sure if it's a litter issue since he does go in the litter most of the time. Maybe there will be something in there that can help me.
Also of note, it's all very random when he does mark. Sometimes it's middle of the night, sometimes it's daytime when we aren't home and sometimes we are home. There is no rhyme or reason.
Pretty much the only 3 meds they recommend for marking are clomipramine, amitriptyline and fluoxetine. The vet seemed to think we would have better results with the fluoxetine than the clomipramine so that's what are trying now.
This has just been so frustrating and the up and down roller coaster of emotions with it is really starting to take it's toll on me. I know that if this isn't solved by the time baby is here that odds are, it won't ever happen.
I'm assuming your cat is neutered? If not, this worked miracles with our male cat...
The feliways sucked for us even though everyone suggested them to us... ummm...Is he still allowed to go outside? And if he isn't, could you let him be an indoor/outdoor cat? Some people have weird feelings about this...
I don't know what else to suggest, but I can tell you I have been right there with you... IT SUCKS!!! I truly wish you the best of luck! Sorry you're going through this...
It sounds like you've really tried it all but have you looked at the FAQs (in the top green bar)? There is a section on this issue that may have something you haven't tried.
I am sorry you are going through this and I also commend you for sticking with it for as long as you have. If it truly will not stop after trying everything maybe it comes down to him having to live in one cat pee proof room and come out only when supervised. I don't know - that doesn't sound like the greatest life either. I really hope you are able to find something that works.
- Martin Luther King Jr.
5 cats. 1 baby.
We're huge fans of Pam Bennett Johnson. I have one cat who marked a lot when we got him and will still pee on my things when he's stressed. I'd suggest confining him when you can't watch him and definitely the Pam Bennett Johnson books, she has several and she's GOOD. In addition to Feliway you could try Rescue Remedy. A cat tree has helped a lot with our anxious cat as well.
Are they by any chance declawed? It can be really hard to get a declawed cat to use the box b.c. of pain associations, you might try different softer litters if that is the case.
I have a cat that goes through spurts. He'll be fine for weeks and then he'll pee on something. Most of the time he squats, every once and awhile he'll spray. I found that he prefers to pee outside. He goes outside and sprays the weeds across the street and some of my plants. I found he is happier that way. Even when I take him to my parents, he pees in their grass.
So maybe you can invest in an invisible fence and a collar for him and let him be an indoor outdoor cat? Maybe setup an inclosure with chicken wire and a cat door into a porch so he can hang out safely?
I know people have mixed feelings about it but you are in a very sticky situation.
Good Luck!!
Everyone else has covered about everything, but it's worth it to mention that fluoxetine can take a few weeks to start working.
Good luck! I have two inappropriate peeing cats. It's frustrating.
Snow!
<a href="http://www.thenest.com/?utm_source=ticker&utm_medium=HTML&utm_campaign=tickers" title="Home DYes, he is neutered (at about 1 year old) and he isn't allowed outside and hasn't been in 10 years. He is front declawed (one of my Mom's rules from living at home when they were kittens).
We do have a fenced backyard but I'm not sure how I feel about letting him outside, especially after years of being indoors. Also, it's really cold here now in the winter.
Thank you for your kind words.
I have a question about confining. Would you do this whenever you aren't home and even when you're sleeping?
We did confine him when he was a kitten (before he was declawed) and it got to the point where he could recognize when he was going to be confined (getting ready to leave, getting ready for bed) and he would just hide.
Rescue Remedy - I'll have to look into that!
I did mention above that he is declawed but had been for years before the problem started. Do you think the issue would pop up after such a long time?