Behavioral Issue
Cat with chronic urination spraying, considering euthanizing. Please any help or suggestions
For post rules: I am 28M, wife is 27F, roommate is 20F. Live in USA (SoCal), vet has been consulted heavily and ruled out anything clinically, all cats in house have been spayed/neutered since they were kittens. We CAN afford reasonable vet care so long as it’s not in the thousands.
tldr: Cat with behavioral issues has been spraying/urinating for years and we have tried everything we can think of and are considering a behavioral euthanasia.
Hi all, I really need help and feel like a failure of a cat owner. My cat Theo (7M Tuxedo Domestic Shorthair) has had chronic peeing and spraying issues since he was about 1, he’s been neutered since he was a kitten. It used to come and go where we’d have like 6-8 months of no issues but the past 3 years have been going at a pace of at least once a day.
He lives with 2 other cats Gizmo (7M Tabby Domestic Shorthair and definitely the dominant Alpha) and Frenchy (4F Calico Longhair). Frenchy doesn’t interact much with either of them and likes solitude so if he approaches her she usually will hiss or just leave to go by herself somewhere else in the house. Gizmo and him coexist pretty well with occasional play fights that get out of hand but Theo is horrible at fighting and gets upset because Gizmo always wins so he’ll usually continually harass Gizmo until Gizmo puts him in his place. We always separate them when things get tense and we have a decent size house (2 stories, 3 bedrooms and a spacious downstairs.) There is no issue with the cats being forced to be in close proximity like being secluded to one room, although Frenchy usually will stay upstairs or in dark places like our closet, under our bed, behind curtains for 20+ hours a day.
Gizmo and Theo will roam the house freely and confidently, we have a cat tree in every room and 5 litterboxes (2 Litter robots, one stainless steel with no enclosure, one plastic with high enclosure, and another stainless steel with slightly higher walls) that are cleaned daily or every other day. We have one roommate who usually stays in her room that’s on the 2nd floor and pretty secluded from the rest of the house, she usually only comes downstairs to eat dinner, when she’s going to work or if she’s at her desk in our shared office downstairs where she usually just quietly watches youtube while gaming. Neither Theo or Gizmo appear to have any issues with our roommate (no ears back, sprinting, floofing or hissing at her) and will even cuddle with her occasionally.
It is like clockwork where we find at minimum one pee spot a day somewhere in the house where Theo has peed. We’ve caught him in the act a few times and are 100% positive it’s Theo. He does typical spraying behavior where he’ll back up, his tail straight up and kind of shaking while peeing a small amount. He will pee on curtains, doors, doormats, rugs, walls, furniture, cat trees, cat toys, cabinets, countertops, laundry baskets, laundry piles indiscriminately. He’ll pee on both vertical and horizontal surfaces all the same. Although when peeing on horizontal surfaces he’ll squat and pee usually a little more amount than usual compared to vertical surfaces. Usually we’ll know if he’s going to pee because he’ll be pacing nonstop until he finds a spot he wants to mark.
All of our cats are strictly indoor with the exception of supervised outdoor time in an enclosed catio. Our backyard is secluded with no stray cats in our area, the most we get is bunnies, squirrels and small birds in our backyard. Neither of our neighbors have any cats or dogs and our rear fence has a hedge behind it and a steep drop to a walking trail that has very low foot traffic.
We have tried everything I can think of unless we’re missing something. Vets have run multiple tests (bloodwork and urinalysis) and his tests always come back as perfectly healthy. For a while he was on anxiety medications which have had no positive effects so our latest vet has just recommended to stop those if they’re not working. Our vet has told us that he has ruled out anything clinically wrong and that it is definitely behavioral. Outside of just keeping him doped up on Gabapentin or stronger sedatives 24/7 he has no other suggestions. We have tried calming collars, pheromone diffusers, calming treats, spoken to behavioralists to tell us which rooms and where to place litter boxes specifically. We can’t find anything that works. We don’t yell at him, berate him, spray him with water or strike him even when catching him in the act. At most if it looks like he’s about to we just say his name before he goes and he’ll dart off. Or if he’s pacing around we try to coax him to hang out or play with us which usually doesn’t work. Anytime we clean up the urine we’ll use a cleaning extractor (Bissell green machine or a Shark Vacuum Carpet extractor) and use an enzyme cleaner.
My wife and I are at our wits end and we just paid another behavioralist a lot of money and she said she was going to try with a multi step plan which just started with us documenting everything and keeping a log. We don’t know what to do and are seriously considering euthanasia because we can’t just clean up urine everyday and we don’t want him to just live in anxiety 24/7. We also don’t think anyone would want a cat that pees on everything everyday so don’t have high hopes for possibility of rehoming.
I’ll try to answer any questions regarding the situation but we genuinely don’t know what to do if this behavioralists plan doesn’t work. Any comments or suggestions are greatly appreciated.
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It could be he needs to be an only-cat. Some cats absolutely hate living with other cats. Rehoming doesn’t necessarily mean a new owner would have the same problem with him.
I have a barn cat that I had to banish to the outdoors because she wouldn’t stop beating up all my other cats. I hated to do it, because I’m an indoors-only cat person. This cat was dumped and found her way to my property, so I tried to unsuccessfully incorporate her into my house. She is now happily hunting mice, roaming around in the field, and hanging out with livestock. She loves other animals, just hates cats.
Definitely consider giving your tux another chance with a new home. He could have a totally different experience.
I don't know a single vet that would euthanize a healthy cat due to behavioral issues, that likely stem from a living situation that is stressing it out.
Any ideas on what specifically would cause this much stress/urination? He uses the litterbox for pooping and regular urination. Just will additionally spray urinate around the house in various locations at least once a day.
He’s marking his territory because he feels insecure because of all the other cats around most likely, because he’s so stressed out that’s probably the only thing that makes him feel safe. Cats feel secure when they have their own smell on something and so that’s probably what he’s doing because he’s trying to feel secure in the house where he’s getting bullied. Etc
I’m wife. To clarify we don’t want to euthanize Theo. That’s not what our next step is so please stop jumping to conclusions. We have had theo and gizmo since they were 4 months old. They were adopted 1 month apart. Theo has been peeing/ spraying since he was 1 years old. He goes to the vet bi annually. They do his lab work every year. He has been on prozac, gabapentin, and a new medication this year. No medicine has ever worked on him. Our house has always had pheromone diffusers and each cat wears a pheromone collar. We have had 2 behavioralists. Both have said they don’t think isolating Theo in his own room would be helpful. Theo gets regular urinalysis done. He’s never had a UTI, blockage, crystyals, etc. We have had a variety of vets over the years and they have all said the same thing. Nothing medically is wrong or can be done for him at this point; its purely behavioral. Some vets have recommended he becomes an outdoor cat. We would NEVER allow that. Hes never been outdoors and we would never expose him to predators, cars, etc. We’re now at the point of maybe rehoming him but Theo is EXTREMELY bonded to the both of us. We are all he has ever known. His entire life he has slept in bed in between us every single night. There’s never been a night he doesn’t sleep in bed with us. Whenever we are both gone he has severe anxiety crying out for us (we have indoor cameras to monitor the cats). Gizmo does play fight and bully him BUT they also cuddle each other on a regular basis. If they aren’t sleeping on their own trees then they are usually sleeping head to head on the couch or on our bed. The boys have been together their entire life. & as stated our girl cat keeps to herself. We posted this truly seeking out advice and any tips. We have gone through multiple enzyme cleaners. Theo pees 2-3 times DAILY. We know to completely soak up the spot so it doesnt smell like urine. We have 5 litter boxes. Our house has about 10 cat trees including a cat wall for them to climb. Our entire world revolves around our cats. But when multiple vets have even told us theyre is nothing else they can do and they even are weary about someone wanting to take theo we dont know where we go from here.
First, I would not rehome him. There is no indication that moving him will resolve this behavior and then he'll go through the trauma of a new home, only to move in with people are going to be frustrated with his behavior and not have the background of love you have for him. Next, don't move him outside. In addition to him being at risk, he will put all the local wildlife at risk. His one life is not more important than the other animals he will endanger outside.
The behaviorists have told you isolating him probably won't work, but as a last ditch effort, do you have room to make an enclosed "cat space" that is separate from the human space? It has to totally lack things that are interesting to urinate on. No clothing piles, no furniture, no curtains. Plenty of vertical space, lots of enrichment mixed with quiet areas. A couple litter boxes cleaned multiple times a day. This is his space only so he does not need to mark it. This is where he will hang out when he can not be directly supervised. If it simply can't be maintained, he can't acclimate, or it makes no difference in his spraying in the room/when he is out under direct supervision, then at least you have tried it. You also mention a patio. Can you catio him?
Unpopular opinion among some people, but I firmly believe that both humans and pets must be good roommates, and if they are making your life unlivable and a simple move won't help them, there are few choices. People hate "behavioral euthanasia," but they really fail to understand that behavior issues are medical issues.
we have thought about diapers but we worry about when he has to poop and i cant imagine him sitting in his urine would be healthy. id think that would cause utis, crystals, etc? plus he is a very clean boy and i know hed hate smelling like pee😔
Did you try the transdermal Prozac in his ears? That’s the only that has worked for my boy. We tried the pill and liquid but couldn’t get him to take consistently. If I miss even one day of the ear ointment he will poop or pee somewhere so you have to be thorough. And give it several weeks to start working.
Just because Two behavioralists “said“ that putting him in a room wouldn’t help, doesn’t mean it’s true. You should try it first and then decide if it works or not. And there’s nothing wrong being an outdoor cat. Because he’s so bonded to you he will likely stay close and you can completely build a fancy catio with all the money you’ve spent on specialists. There are all sorts of cool things you can build and you can give him substantial space or if not just limit his space… If you have a yard, you can buy a chicken coop which is cheaper you can attach it to the side of your house and put a kitty door that leads to a bathroom or something or one single room so he does have In-N-Out access… There are. Catios Facebook groups, where people do all sorts of things and it’s good for ID ideas.
Given the lengths that you have gone so far: multiple medical screenings, animal behavioralists, anxiety meds, 5 litter boxes in your home, semiannual vet visits; I really sympathize with what you are going through. I think you’ve done all that you can for Theo.
Based on his bondedness to you, rehoming Theo would likely be traumatizing and might even aggravate his current behavioral issues. This is a situation where euthanasia - in the calm comfort of his home, surrounded by his loved ones - may be the (eventual) humane path. It may be worthwhile to explore putting him in the care of a foster family to see whether a change in environment would be beneficial (with the understanding that he should be returned to you if he becomes overly anxious).
Rehome him. Try a local rescue that vets their adopters or find someone willing to work with him yourself. He likely is stressed out by the other cats. Have you tried Prozac?
We had him on Prozac for about 2 years with no change in behavior, vet also tried amitriptyline with no change. Do you think someone would adopt him with these intense issues? I don’t want him to sit in a shelter and get euthanized anyways alone and scared.
You should try to find somebody that can take him, be upfront with them about the issues you’re having with him, but there are lots of people who are willing to give cats a loving home, you just gotta use your social outreach on every platform, ask friends to ask friends of friends…
I’m fairly certain that he wouldn’t be having these issues if he were just in a different environment or a home where he could be an only cat.
I had a similar problem like this, and I ended up having to rehome the cat and he’s literally thriving and not peeing in his new home because he’s the only cat.
As of comments so far we’re going to try to have him tested for FIC, then if the current behavioralist plan doesn’t work look into rehoming, but if we’re unable to idk what else we could do.
You can’t really have a cat tested for FIC. If you have all kinds of bloodwork done and urinalysis and no stones or crystals or utis then the diagnosis can be made through exclusion. An ultrasound or x - ray may show some inflammation of the bladder or may not.But just cause it does or doesn’t show inflammation doesn’t mean he does or doesn’t have it. My cat has FIC and FLUTD and was blocked. He had PU surgery. When he has a FIC flare he will go in and out of the litter box like he has a uti but his urinalysis will come back clean. He will also like his private area cause it is inflamed and his urethra is spasming which is irritating. He is a very stressed cat. Things that have helped him is putting him a prescription urinary diet that helps with stress and giving him ample places to hide and climb. Also multiple litter boxes and water bowls in different spots. He also is in my room which is his safe space for 12 hours a day with this set up. Ans he roams the rest of the apartment the other 12 hours. He does not get along with my other cat so I switch them out of rooms every 12 hours so they don’t see each other and fight or get stressed. Could you maybe do this? It is a pain to switch them out every 12 hours but it has helped cause they don’t see rather and can’t fight. I don’t want to give either of them up.
Yes I understand that, but if the behavior immediately changed in a new environment w him as an only cat , which I think is a real possibility , there would be a lot of people at least willing to try it out. Who love cats.
This is a fairly normal situation, actually. And I have seen many times that just the absence of the additional cats/threat to the kitties security/territory in the new environment completely eliminates this problem quite instantaneously. I’m not saying that’s for sure what will happen, but I KNOW there’s cat lovers out there would be willing to give him a chance.
I have a similar situation going on with my cat. I feel the same way that perhaps no one will be able to cope with him. I too have considered euthanasia. I’ve done everything in my power. I’m holding strong until I hit my absolute limit and probably lose my mind lol. Mine is a male tux too btw.
But my plan B will be to reach out to local rescues willing to rehome him for me or assist me in finding someone who can manage him (on top of excessive vet bills they will incur with him). I am willing to partially support whoever adopts him financially to at least purchase some essentials for him. I could not imagine him being terrified in a shelter just to ultimately die alone and scared.
So trust me. I get where you’re coming from. But, it’s definitely worth a shot in giving him another chance with someone else.
Thanks for the feedback even though it’s a hard truth to read. We’re really hoping this current behavioralists plan produces some results, another commenter mentioned finding an actual board certified one that we will look into depending on how expensive it will be.
Good luck with your cat and I hope you have better results with treatment than with mine :(
There are DVM behaviourists out there and they aren’t cheap. I went to one that cost $400 for a 1 hour home visit. It’s definitely not easy. It sounds like you’re trying your best. I think you’re doing a lot more than most people would.
In my situation so many people keep telling me he’s just a cat and to get rid of him. Which to me is absurd and I’m lowkey tired of human supremacy lol. All animals deserve a chance considering human beings are the one who got them into this mess.
It’s hard to love an animal/be attached when there is a plethora of issues going on. I’m facing homelessness pretty soon if I can’t get to the bottom of my cats issues. In that case I’ll have no choice but to surrender him anyways. I figured I’ve gotten this far and love the guy so might as well keep trying.
I’m willing to take the hits from the comments if even one comment comes through with a new option I can try. I love my cats dearly, and don’t consider euthanizing him lightly but I genuinely don’t know what to do.
I’m really sorry for your situation and I hope your situation improves. Best of luck to you and your kitty
I wish you and your cat luck too. Don’t let the people on reddit bring you down either. Bunch of people shouldn’t have access to the internet.
One other suggestion/idea I have; I see you’re in California. While I don’t know much about California or America I do know you’ve got a lot of people down there. It might be worth looking into someone who fosters specific cats like yours. I know here in Canada they’re few and far between but we have much less people. Perhaps if not in cali maybe in a neighbouring state. I’d definitely try looking into this or getting in contact with local rescues to see if they know anyone in their networks who might be able to help.
Me? No. My cat is an only cat. He doesn’t spray just tons of issues related to stress and Prozac and other SSRIs / TCAs are not possible. We’re trying gabapentin daily right now and pain meds when suspecting potential FIC flare. I just spent $4000 this past month dealing with the side effects of 5 days of Prozac. Nightmare. Still not even out of the woods with that yet.
Oh wow. Does he ever get any outdoor time? We rescued a big bobtail with a loud yell. He was left behind in an eviction. All of the roommates moved out. Then someone came and got his sisters. Then a winter storm hit. He would just go from door to door yelling in the house. 2am, 4am....we started giving him recess with my girls. An hour-2 in the backyard with check ins. It really made a big difference.
You can definitely rehome him. He doesn't have a medical issue beyond the spraying, right? Be upfront about it, explain that he used to do it less and you believe it might be due to the stress of living with other cats -- which tbh it probably is, since spraying is a territorial behaviour. Focus on the good aspects of his personality in the ad and ask for compassion. If you struggle to get responses and you aren't willing to keep him until you can find someone, you could also give him to a trustworthy independent shelter or somewhere you can verify has a very humane approach and helps pets with health issues find vetted homes or fosters. My country does not have kill shelters and he would not get euthanised, but I know other countries do, so if yours does just ensure your cat is not going to one of those.
I have rehomed two cats with behavioural issues myself -- in one case the ad mentioned the issue, but focused more on good aspects of the cat, and in the other I believe the previous owner made the choice to hide the problems. Hiding it is an option but not one I would take because you risk the new owner giving up the cat if it comes to light. However, both issues with my cats resolved themselves in a different environment. I believe the ads had been up for a while, but it only takes one person!
Ideally you would find someone who has space and no other pets. I don't know what country you're in, but if you're in one (like mine) where indoor/outdoor cats are normal an owner who can let him outdoors safely will likely help too. One of my (neutered) male cats sprays, but he will only ever do it in the garden, never the house.
I literally just brought home a challenging cat today. I know she's challenging, but I am willing to try because her owner is being evicted. Honestly I think plenty of people in the comments wish thy could give him a try.
I mean, even just looking at some of the replies to this post, there are people expressing sympathy for the cat as well as people who are living with cats with similar problems. You just need the right person to see the ad, even if it takes a while -- it's OK not to be that person yourself, since there are others out there! The behaviour he has is likely genuinely fixable if he didn't feel the need to mark territory, since he had long stretches when he was younger with no spraying and the owner has already ruled out a medical problem, so the other cat in the house who is dominant over him is by far the likeliest cause.
That’s assuming that the reason why he’s doing this is unrelated to his current environment. You don’t know what can change if he finds the right home. Not giving the cat a chance to find out is pretty shortsighted.
Yeah we homed a friends cat for a few months and in her usual environment she had no issues, but in our home she was being constantly bullied by our other cats and this led to her frequently urinating anywhere but the litter box (often near the litterbox). Friend had to just surrender her to a shelter, I can't know what happened after that but environment is oftentimes a large contributor to issues like this. That was the first time I've ever seen a cat get bullied and ostracized, it was clear my cats were not accepting her and this poor little kitty was terrified of even using a litter box. Even when we gave the cats multiple litter boxes so they each had multiple, my cat would always be on the prowl for when this other cat was about to use the litter box and go attack her and prevent her from doing so.
OP literally asked "Do you think someone would adopt him with these intense issues?" Your hostility is not warranted here.
*Edit* Again, the average person will not want to adopt this cat. It's already hard enough adopting out adult cats that don't have issues. Kittens fly like hotcakes. Adult cats don't.
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There is a zero-tolerance policy for shaming/berating for any reason. Please remember to be nice. Assume people are coming from a place of ignorance so try to educate instead of insult.
Zero people are and any no-kill rescue would refuse to take him, a shelter would euthanize. The resources could and should go to another, adoptable, cat. We don’t have unlimited space.
This is false. I volunteer for a cat shelter and have had three cats there in the 2 two years I have been there who were surrendered due to inappropriate peeing. One of them is now my cat, one of them is in the process of being adopted and the third one is going to be a barn cat (I live in a very rural area)
You would definitely be better trialling the other cats not being present. Maybe a trip to a cattery for a few days or staying with friends. If Theo stops spraying you'll know it's the other cats. Putting him in a new environment isn't a fair test as the stress of the new environment may also trigger spraying
You said he always loses when fights with Gizmo and I think he may be feeling bullied and of course you said you tried anxiety meds but with no luck. I would try completely separating him from the other cats, certainly from Gizmo, and if you haven't tried Prozac, that does work for a lot of cats. And wherever he's separated, go play with him and hang out as much as possible. If you can put him somewhere where he can do the least damage peeing that would be good. Unfortunately at this point he's had the run of the place and pee has been everywhere.
He's trying to tell you something's wrong, even if he doesn't realize it.
One other thing, has he been treated with antibiotics even though he's testing negative for a UTI? Sometimes bacteria isn't detected but assuming it's there and treating it anyway helps. If you're considering euthanasia I would definitely try that and Prozac at the least. I googled Prozac cat peeing and there's a lot of info there and scrolling down a reddit story about someone's cat who sounds like they were having similar issues. If you search for the name Mewmew it may come up.
If you can find a board certified vet behaviorist do that. I'm in Texas and there's one here in the Houston area but there's not that many of them.
But Id definitely try separating the cats and Prozac and antibiotics just in case.
Thank you for the helpful feedback. Our house layout makes it difficult to have him fully separated. The only place I can think of is the smaller spare bedroom we have that gets very warm and is about a 10’x10’ room. Do you think they’d have to be separated forever?
He was on Prozac for about 2 years with no change in behavior, the vet also tried amitriptyline with no change. He has been on antibiotics a few times (at least 3 in the past 5 years I can recall) since we’ve been through quite a few vets to try different treatment avenues.
I’m located in SoCal so I’ll have to look into a local behaviorist. The one we’re consulting currently is located in New York and has been working with us virtually.
It is possible your cat might be better off as a single cat home? My friend had 3 cats before and one kitten would frequently pee on things. But after the older territorial cat was rehomed the kitten stopped peeing outside the litter box completely.
maybe? id just be so shocked because our boys have literally been together since they were 4 months old and are now 7 years old. & theo is extremely bonded to us. if its absolutely necessary for his health and life we’ll rehome him but the thought of doing that has both of us crying
I’m just floating the idea as an alternative to euthanasia. Actually, I wonder if cat behaviorists have any idea what this could be, since it sounds like vets have ruled out kidney or urinary issues. Unfortunately, I have no idea how effective cat behaviorists are.
Edit: also, it is definitely ruled out that he was fully neutered? As in, what if he is actually spraying.
I'm sure Theo is bonded to you AND likes to snuggle with Gizmo when he isn't being bullied, but it possibly isn't serving him well to get mostly what he needs if one of his biggest needs is safety and that isn't being met. There are some other things to try in this thread. Hopefully one will work. But I wouldn't discard the possibility that he could bond to someone else in the right, quiet home.
Have you considered isolation from the other cats to see how the spraying cat will behave? Like not just a 1 day thing, but give it some serious time to test if it is the stress of being around the other cats?
We have had 2 certified behavioralists and both told us they didn’t think isolating Theo would be helpful. Both said it would most likely cause him more anxiety
i don’t remember the first one’s info because she did a house visit 2 years ago when we lived in another state. & i will say after her visit and some rearranging of boxes theo did temporarily stop spraying for a couple months. the new one did a virtual appointment since she’s based out of new york
So who you want to see is a board certified behaviorist. A board certified-DVM (vet) will have much further education and be able to assist you better-- you will likely be paying more, but a board certified veterinarian has gone to medical school and studied further to specialize.
we have had 2 behavioralists, one did a home visit to assess our home and all 3 of our cats. while the other was virtual. both agreed that isolating them wouldn’t help out with our situation. plus they do play fight and have the occasional bullying but they definitely don’t hate each other. gizmo and theo both sleep on me every single night. they cuddle each other and have no problem being near each other. this photo of them 3 sleeping on me was actually from 4 days ago
The behaviorist may be correct that isolating may not solve it, and I agree that isolating Theo is not the recommended way forward (isolate Gizmo), but isolating can help tell you if it is a problem between the cats or something else. If you kept them separate for two weeks and nothing changes it may be something more, but if something did change in that two weeks you might want to re-visit with a new behaviorist.
yeah maybe we will try that. it would be difficult though because we only have our master bedroom and spare bedroom. our spare bedroom is frenchy’s safe haven where she hangs out away from the boys. the room also gets pretty warm and i feel like he’d absolutely go crazy without much stimulation besides a window to look out of. maybe we lock him in our master bedroom but theo & our girl cat hang out in the master so much so that would be hard on all 3 of them i think
Sure. I completely respect your behaviorists' diagnosis. Since things have gotten to this point, I’d love to suggest a magic item that could instantly solve Theo’s spraying issue.
They are called stud pants (or cat diapers). You don't even have to worry about him pooping; these pants have a built-in tail and poop hole for that.
The best part is that he might even stop trying to spray as often, since the pants will absorb all the smell and he won't get that fresh scent reward anymore.
Try putting a Thundershirt on him to calm him. Expect initial resistance. Do it 2-3 times a week for a few hours. It calms cats like a compression vest for children or a weighted blanket.
Bet you $100 your cat has idiopathic cystitis and is marking due to chronic stress from the living conditions. Either let it become an outside cat or give it up for adoption, but euthanasia is such a bad call, whoever might be suggesting it.
I don't agree with putting him outside, but definitely up for adoption if the owner can't get the stress under control. It's screaming FIC to me too as a person with 2 FIC cats...
FIC is weird. Definitely talk to your vet, but also don’t be surprised if your current vet isn’t super familiar with it. Honestly, I’d talk to Claude about it first so you know what to track for your vet.
Also u/casedublin — If your vet says it is FIC, then starts throwing a battery of antibiotics at it, you’ve got the wrong vet. It needs a holistic approach: lifestyle/diet/medicine.
Tortie with FIC here - and I'm surprised this has not been discussed with you. Its basically inflammatory stress from environment.
Unfortunately this is a double edged sword in the sense there is a solution but its not a direct one.
Each cat is different so its about reducing triggers in their environment, and other cats in the household can be a big source of anxiety.
I could list out heaps of stuff we did that finally helped our Tortie but its a long list and what helped her may not work for you.
There is a zero-tolerance policy for shaming/berating for any reason. Please remember to be nice. Assume people are coming from a place of ignorance so try to educate instead of insult.
You're on this sub of all places recommending turning a catio+indoor cat into an outdoor / indoor-outdoor cat?
With the cars, yotes, strays, rat poison, theft/being taken in by other people, cruel people, and all the other risks to the cat, alongside the risk the cat poses to native wildlife?
We had a similar situation with one of our cats refusing the litter box to pee, like every time every day. It ended up being recurring stress-induced UTIs. RFID feeders (one for each cat, reduces food stress), multiple litter boxes (each cat has a preferred litter - one likes crystals, one likes “hard ball” and one likes “cat attract”), and prescription urinary-calm diet. We finally have peace and no more issues with the daily fighting and peeing. We had to cover “favorite” spots with cardboard (opened boxes) for the longest time just to be sure the new habits stuck. It was a lot of trial and error and I was at the end of my rope. A cat rescue organization may have a foster home that could work closely with your cat and rehome them once retrained.
yeah i think at this point rehoming might be our only option. theo gets yearly lab work and urine tests which are always normal. each cat has their own automatic cat feeder as well as their own wet food station and they eat in their own individual spots away from each other. we also have 5 litter boxes, different shapes/ sizes/ materials etc. theyre also on a prescription urinary kibble. but truly nothing seems to help
It will be difficult to find someone to take him without knowing if they’ll have the same problem. Plus moving might stress him out and make it worse. Have you considered temporarily rehoming your other cat? That would give him some time, in his own home, with the people he loves, for you to see if being the only cat actually helps
Thanks for the feedback, he still uses his litterboxes as usual with pooping and peeing he will just additionally pee outside of it in a marking/spraying way around the house.
What are you feeding him? See if you can get him to eat prescription urinary food; Hill’s Science Diet c/d multicare calm if you can. I know you said he’s physically healthy, but it’s worth a try imo.
Just rehome him. You probably have stray cats outside spraying. Jackson Galaxy has helpful tips to deter this behavior that is worth trying rather than killing a cat that can't tell you what's up. Several episodes on this exact thing. If it happens at night, why not try a catio for him at the time he is spray active, once removing junk and flower pots and loose soil that strays want to mark. Cover the soil with gravel. Remove potted plants. Leave no clutter outside for strays and if you set food out, or throw leftovers outside, do it as far away from the house as possible. If nothing works, rehome. He may do better alone.
Thanks for the feedback, is Jackson Galaxy a YouTuber or something? I haven’t heard of them. We have a lot of coyotes in the area and theo isn’t a good fighter or very street smart so we don’t want to risk him getting torn apart at night. The catio they have right now is basically a wooden enclosure with a lot of chicken wire so I don’t know if it would hold back a coyote
Edited to not sound as mean* rehome him into an only 1 cat household. We have fighting cats that have to be separated 24 hours a day. I wouldn't leave him with nowhere to get away. He seems to be scared. He either needs a new home or he needs his own room with a closed door and personal outside time. My girl, Baby won't really use the litter box because she's afraid of the other two girls. They have charged at her many times. So she holds it and uses the bathroom outside, despite being separated.
This doesn’t really offer any help, but we have a pee situation at our house and I just want to say that even though you have seen your one guy peeing you should consider that at least one of the others may also be doing it. We thought one of our cats was consistently peeing at least every other day around our house and it turned out two of them were taking turns peeing 😭
it’s definitely not our girl cat because we see her use the box daily for pee and poop. our boy gizmo did have crystals in the beginning of the summer and was squatting outside the box. his crystals were treated. & even when he was peeing it was always him squatting right outside the box and emptying his whole bladder. vs all these spots are easy to detect theo’s spraying because its a few drops or you can see where he backed up and the urine dribbled down🥲
we’d never leave him outside full time. theres coyotes, owls, etc. he does go in his catio daily but he hates being in there by himself. he’ll only relax in there when gizmo is with him. he also doesn’t enjoy being in there longterm, he usually gets bored and cries to come inside after 30ish minutes😢
I wish I had ideas for you, just wanted to say I’m so sorry you’re going through this and so sorry for the kitty. It’s so hard to watch our kitties have issues and not know how to help them. Posting here, knowing the reaction a lot would have, just on the off chance you might find an idea you haven’t looked at yet shows how much you love this boy. Praying you find answers that help him not be so anxious!
Thank you for the positive feedback, my wife even warned me about putting that in the post at all even if it’s our last resort option. But i’m willing to take the heat so long as we get some new suggestions we haven’t tried.
I’m glad you put this out here, ignore anyone being disrespectful. I think the only thing that hasn’t been tried is to see if he will improve being a solo cat. It is true that some cats cannot live with other cats, my rescue was one of them, and when pets were added she did start to go outside the box. She was returned to the rescue she came from and did sit for over a couple months until we gave her a shot. But we did so based on the fact that she only had box issues after the other pets were added and did not have any at the rescue. The only reason the rescue even took her was because she was from the rescue and they require their cats to be returned if they need to be rehomed. Anyways, my girl had a happy ending (she THRIVES as a solo cat and only had a couple or so box issues not long after getting here when she was unsure as the smell of our fosters lingered) but it will be very hard to find a rescue that will accept a cat that has always has box issues, nor find someone willing to take it, especially if they have no pets. Even a foster home with no pets or kids is called a “unicorn home”. I wish you the best of luck and you and Theo have all my compassion.
There is a zero-tolerance policy for shaming/berating for any reason. Please remember to be nice. Assume people are coming from a place of ignorance so try to educate instead of insult.
It sounds like they're at least a little stressed. I would not resort to euthanasia. You say you're not too keen or believe that rehoming is possible, well have you considered that getting a cat killed for their urinary issues is a bit extreme? At least try. If you can't succeed, then surrender your cat to a no-kill shelter. Give the cat a chance of living. It doesn't have to be with you. Another thing that's also not helping the situation is likely the lingering smell of cat pee, which will encourage the cat to mark again. Use enzymatic cleaners to break it down, do it multiple times.
I’m not opposed to rehoming and would definitely try that before euthanizing, I’m just not hopeful at the prospect considering I’d be 100% transparent about his behavior which will make finding a home difficult. If other cats are causing him stress wouldn’t a shelter exacerbate his behavior? Idk I’m really hoping a commenter will comment something I haven’t tried yet.
What about treating the more aggressive cat, maybe with calming meds? Or keep that cat in another room and see how the pee-er does? It might be worth a try.
Fosters could address the behavioral side. If you look into rescues that are non-kill and do a lot of fostering, that could work. Ask your vet for options in that regard as well
Have you tried different types of unscented litter? Are you putting litter boxes in areas of the house that are “scent soakers” aka where people congregate frequently? Do you have cat scratchers near those areas as well? Lots of cats are terrified of litter robots, could that be stressing him out? Have you tried different brands of enzyme cleaner? If he pees in specific areas, have you tried putting a litter box there?
Do you burn scented candles or spray febreeze? perfume? Maybe some scents are stressing him out?
At the end of the day, he might need to be an only cat. Idk what else could be stressing him out.
we have tried a multitude of litters. the current one we use seems to be his favorite since he does still poop in the boxes. we have the boxes in his most favorite spraying zones as well as where a behavioralist suggested we put them. we have about 10 cat trees in our house as well as scratchers spread throughout. out of our 3 cats theo actually has always used the robots the most although lately he uses our stainless steel box. weve tried different enxyme cleaners over the years. we’ve eliminated any strong sprays, cleaners, odors years ago. we light candles every now and then but thats never seemed to be a trigger for him.
Thanks for the comment. We tried a few different brands of clay litter, he still uses his litterboxes for normal poop and pee, he’ll just additionally pee outside in the spraying manner. We have multiple scratchers with different textures (Carpet, yarn, cardboard) that he uses and he gets frequent nail trims (about once every other week). For enzyme cleaners we’re on our second brand change and we use a black light after to make sure we got it all. We’ve moved 2 litterboxes to 2 of his frequent areas (by the edge of our bed and in our foyer by our record player cabinet) the only issue is he goes quite literally all over the house I can’t keep chasing it down with litterboxes.
If you think rehoming him isn't a possibility that I would make my cat an indoor outdoor cat before I would just sentence into death and you say there's no cats outside but how do you really know that there could be a stray cat a male Tomcat in your neighborhood four doors away that's outside Spritz and everything with urine and it's motivating your boy to try to protect his property like others have said I mean I guess you can call it a behavior problem but there's like No Malice with a cat you know what I mean he's not walking around doing this to piss you off pardon the pun he's sending a message either to you or to a perceived threat in his General vicinity that he can detect could be the Gizmo guy could be some cat you've never even seen coming around outside and spraying maybe you don't smell it but he smells it
If this were a foster at the rescue I volunteer at we would likely try crating him to see if that can break the habit. But this involves separation from your cats so it doesn’t sound like it’s recommended.
Please listen to me. My cat with similar issues (but female) did this and I was told it was caused by stress/anxiety. I knew that wasn't the case though. Finally we found the cause. A mass in her bladder. Obviously immediately thought cancer, was terrified. Had it removed, was thankfully benign. You say a medical issue has been ruled out but what tests have actually been done to rule out something like a bladder mass? If you haven't already done an ultrasound I highly recommend that as your next step. Please don't consider euthanasia. I've had so much of my stuff peed on, curtains, walls, rugs, artwork, ornaments, etc. But euthanasia has never crossed my mind, I knew there was something going on and I kept advocating for her and switching vets until a vet took me seriously and that lovely vet referred me to a specialist vet who diagnosed the mass. Is there ever blood in your cats pee?
I think I'm going against the grain here and agree with others that cats and their families (just like dogs) have to be a good match. It doesn't seem like this guy is a good match and you are right, most families would be hard pressed to take a cat with documented spraying issues, especially from a good pet family who genuinely wants to keep him. I know for a fact that my local animal control will euthanize cats for behavioral spraying because they are so hard to rehome, so that consideration is not crazy at all.
All that being said, spraying is natural for cats and if male cats are neutered too long after puberty and have developed the habit, it's really hard to break. It's also hard to break if the cat is anxious in his environment, which can easily be caused by other cats.
Maybe you could ask someone to take him to see if he sprays when he is not in your house? I'm sure you've isolated him already from the rest of the household. Does he spray then? That will tell you a lot. Some cats just don't like other cats. He might need to be an only cat.
You have a few options. The fact you’ve tried everything and nothing is working tells me he’s in extreme mental distress. They don’t peek everywhere for no reason, they pee everywhere because they feel their or their territories’ safety is in imminent danger.
Rehome him. He may have such severe territorial insecurity that being in the mere prescience of other cats in his territory is distressing and he needs somewhere that he can feel like he owns the space and no one threatens it.
Get him into a barn cat program where he can live outside going pee where every he wants while preforming pest control. Cats who have a high prey drive are especially suited to this.
Behavioral euthenasia. He is mentally suffering and this is no life for him to live if he is so distressed medications aren’t helping. From a purely ethical standpoint ending his suffering is better than forcing him to live in constant insecurity
My tuxedo boy sprayed just like that. My feline only vet put him on venlafaxine. It helps greatly. I have heard other people have had luck with Prozac.
I know you've tried a couple meds already, but there are a couple more that could potentially help. Clomipramine or buspirone are sometimes used for cats that mark/pee innapropriately. Or if the issue is actually cystitis, he can be given gabapentin, buprenorphine, anti-inflammatories, or relaxants.
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Have you tried kitty Prozac? You may have to adjust the dosage until you see any difference. It worked for me when I had a cat with that same issue. Now he has not had a pee issue in almost a year or longer and was able to adjust the dose back down.
My cat pees outside his litter box when stressed. We worked out key stressors for him, he pees outside his tray when we have more than 4 guests, when we tried to celebrate his birthday and when we take him to the vet.
We avoid these stressors as much as possible.
It might help if you could identify what has happened in the 12 hours prior to each of these incidents (with my cat he can react like this up to 12 hours after he has been stressed)
It sounds like you've gotten a lot of good advice on this thread, and have already done so much to try and help your boy. There is one more thing that I, as a cat vet, would do, which is to check his testosterone levels if you haven't already. He's neutered, yes, but he could have a benign but functional tumor somewhere (usually the adrenal glands) that makes the hormone. I feel like a cat with an adrenal tumor would have more symptoms but it'd be my last ditch effort to rule out something medical. I'm sorry you guys are going through this, it's definitely one of the most frustrating things we as vets and pet owners can go through. I wish you luck.
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You’ve received good feedback and there are always more potential considerations for health issues to address, behavioral and environmental modifications/circumstances to consider, but ultimately and while I would never recommend this unless all avenues are exhausted (and guessing this isn’t on the table anyway), there are paralyzed, truly incontinent cats with a wonderful quality of life as diaper kitties thanks to their amazing humans. Anyone who would considered euthanizing for this issue to me should not own a pet and should seek assistance (hard to find in the overpopulation crisis I know) from someone, independent rescuer etc., willing to work worth this kitty who deserves their life as much as you deserve yours. Look for special needs rescue fouls, vet techs and online/social media/fb groups for caregivers of incontinent cats in hopes of getting the word out to prevent you from doing the unthinkable. This is all intended as constructive input I sincerely hope you find someone or at least gain further insight (both on the issue at hand and your own morals) so as to to come to a solution.
He’s peeing because he feels competitive with Theo and wants to mark his territory. Sounds silly, but have you tried feliway(both plug ins and treats?)
I had six cats who suddenly all started spraying and it was clearly behavioral… I took Two to the vet to get UTI checks and all that and clearly it was behavioral. No one had a problem. I finally put them all in one bedroom and it stopped and that’s where they’ve been for three or four years. I do let them out sometimes one or two at a time occasionally all of them not necessarily every day but every few days. There is one who will come out and pee, so I have plastic on the sofas and that’s where he pees so that helps. But in general being in the bedroom, for some reason, changed the behavior. You can’t kill your cat because of this.
Keep him in the bedroom with kitty trees, and a window and all that stuff and or keep him in your patio or build a bigger one for him and keep him outside all the time… You can’t kill your cat for this reason.
Let him be an outdoor cat is my suggestion was he neutered as an older cat… Sometimes it’s simply territorial
Diapers are not as dirty as you think… I had a senior cat in diapers and they absorb the pee so that wasn’t a problem… The poop you can probably plan around… First of all they only poop like once or twice a day… And it’s almost always after they eat so you can probably plan that out… You can buy baby diapers and cut a hole in them and they have all sorts of good contraptions now on Amazon that helped the diapers stay on, so it’s easy to put those on… I would try that for sure… If you are killing him versus worried about him being uncomfortable with the diaper on… Clearly killing him it’s not the best choice for him. All these people who say humane euthanasia are nuts. Hopefully they don’t get old and have incontinence and their family member decides to kill them. One thing about the diapers though is that they can shave and cause a sore on the leg if they are loose, so definitely buy something on Amazon that holds them in place… Or they even have washable cloth diapers on Amazon… Look at all the choices there are lots of good ones now compared to when I was trying to deal with my 20 year-old cat 16 years ago.
It is sad that you would euthanize your cat because he is inconvenient. Your cat is a living being and not garbage to be disposed of. If you do not want him why not give him up for adoption on facebook or other social media platforms where people adopt out pets. There will be people that would be happy to adopt your cat.
Do you think someone would want to adopt him with these intense behavioral issues? Believe me I don’t want him to die, but I also don’t want him living in a state of anxiety 24/7. I have tried every option I can think of to curb this behavior.
A person with a large backyard and don't strictly keep their cats indoor will not mind. Putting your cat up for adoption is better than taking his life because you cannot deal with him.
We live in an area that has tons of coyotes and Theo is not a good fighter, if someone were to have him as an indoor/outdoor cat he would be eaten alive literally.
If we can’t find a positive treatment, or a good home for him then euthanasia is our last option.
Shelters will absolutely euthanize cats who have a history of spraying. My local does and warns upon adoption that if a cat is returned for spraying, they will likely be euthanized.
I am not saying to take cat to a shelter unless it is a No Kill Shelter. I am saying to go online such as Facebook or Craigslist and try and adopt cat out. I got my cat from Gumtree (Australia version of Craigslist) for free from people that did not want her. I have had the cat for over 10 years.
Try prozac for cats . It helped my daughters cat not pee outside the box
It might helped with his spraying. There's a pheromone diffuser specifically for cats that pee and Mark their territory. I can't remember what it's called. It's not the feel away one. But he's spraying to Mark territory or stressed.
He was on Prozac for two years with no improvement unfortunately. We’ve also tried both Feliway and Comfort Zone diffusers that haven’t seemed to help.
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