Any advice gratefully received!
Our 4 year old neutered boy has started peeing all over the house. He was diagnosed with a UTI a couple of months ago which would seem to be cured (no more blood or 'straining') however he has started to pee in a few select spots (behind the sofa, corner of the dining room, corner of the attic) rather than use his litter tray. We never successfully trained him to go outside to do his thing - we suspect he was attacked when he was young and is now too scared to go outside, but he has been OK with a litter tray. The litter tray is cleared every day, and the litter changed regularly.
Felix is a bit nervous generally, even though he is lovely and affectionate with us, he is definitely a scaredy-cat generally. He is wormed and flea/tick treated regularly too. He is constantly hungry - he seems to forget that he has been fed, and gets really demanding within in a couple of hours of his last meal, however he remains slender. We did have a problem with a flea allergy but that has been resolved too.
There have been no major changes in his life - no new animals (we have a couple of soppy Labs too), we haven't moved the furniture around, we haven't moved house - can't think of anything which would upset him.
Was wondering if Feliway would help - perhaps if he was a bit more relaxed about life in general, he might improve in other areas. Has anyone had any success with it? Or should I take him back to the vet to check that he has no other health problems which could cause this?
Not sure what happened there!
The only reason I pinpointed the French is because there aren't many expats here, and I have noticed that cats only seem to be 'done' as a last resort - I did mention it to a friend who seemed to think that neutering was cruel and unneccessary unless the animal was ill - by neutering your animal, you were somehow mutilating them (but she is bonkers in the nicest possible way!)
Whatever the reason, Felix is in good health and not 'disgracing' himself, so good news all round.
I'm sure you're right about the expat thing, there just aren't very many of them here, so all my experience has been of French dog and cat owners.
Good news Fiona, lets hope it continues.
Most cats are a little stressed to be honest when going to the vets, so this wouldn't be uncommon.
Do have to correct you though, as a cat Charity, we see just as many problems (sometimes more!!) concerning unsterilised cats from the British ex-pats, ignorance about cat welfare has no nationality.
An update - sorry it has taken so long after all your help and support.
The vet said there was nothing physically wrong with Felix (good news!) but he did seem to be a little stressed. He didn't think Feliway would help, and was a bit non-commital about what could help.
However, young Felix has stopped peeing outside his litter tray, and he is going outside a lot more - and for longer stretches of time, and is generally much happier.
I did hear that the local complete Tom (why don't they neuter their cats in France? grrrrrrrrr), had disappeared, so maybe Felix is now less scared to go out, because he knows he won't be beaten up, and this is reflected in his general demeanour?
But I do have a much happier, calmer feline which can only be good news!
Thanks once again for the advice and support!
Hi Fiona, I doubt this will help but thought I'd pass on that my vet once told me that cats and sometimes dogs often pee everywhere after a property has been re-decorated. Apparently, the aroma of some paints smells like pee to them so they feel the need to mark their territory! he also said that certain cleaning products can cause the same problem. Hope you get it sorted!
Hi Fiona, I think Felix may need to eat "urinary" wet food, and "specific light" biscuits, all of which you can get from the vet during the visit on Monday. It sounds as though he has stones in his bladder and his PH is too high, which is common for neutered cats. The vet will also prescribe spongyfyll, a substance you can put in his food.
Hope all goes well, after the visit>
Molly
It's Pet Remedy. The refills fit the Feliway diffusers. "special proven blend of valerian, vetivert and other calming essential oils. 2 refills £12.49 on UK eBay or see their website www.petremedy.co.uk. Also on Facebook. Helpline 01803 612772
Hi Fiona,
Can you arrange a sooner vet appointment? If Felix is peeing this much it could be many things including stress related but also trauma related and possibly diabetes or kidney problems. The sooner you can have him looked at the better.
Best wishes and good luck
Thanks everyone. I can't leave food in his pee places because the dogs would have it (and they are both on permanent diets - Labs are truly canine dustbins!)
We have given Felix a 2nd litter tray and we have had a few fewer accidents - not going to invest in anything else until after the vet appointment
Thanks again - heartening to know I'm not the only one!
Fiona. I also had this problem with 2 of my cats (3 and 4 at the time) when I introduced a third cat in the household three year ago. We had to find a new family for the new cat after 2 years because it did not stop for 2 years. Then we had some works done in the house which did not help. There was so many factors that it was difficult to spot exactly what was wrong, but stress was definitely the source since a check with the vet confirmed that there was no "physical" health issue. Things are fine now. We put 3 different trays in the basement in a quiet spot, one each and one spare and they use one for urine only and the other two for the big stuff but they use each theirs. We put the food away from the water because apparently ours did not like food being near the water and this stressed them. We also put dry food at disposal where they used to pee after a good clean and a white vinegar wash, since apparently they do not like to pee where they eat... So for a time we ended up with cat food everywhere in the house ah ah ah...We do not use chlorine in the house anymore...We used Feliway too all around the house (this whole story costed us a fortune !) They were very alert and a little noise used to scare them to death, so each time we took some time to cuddle them and have 1 or 2 minutes of peace around...(that sounds nothing but it is VERY time consumming...). We also gave them specific food for castrated cats (dry at disposal and tins once a day). It took around 6 months for them to calm down after the house works were finished and the other cat gone but now they cuddle much more, look for our company and are not so stressed...but I could not tell you what exactly worked. Probably a little bit of everything...Good luck to you. This is a very difficult time but there is a solution...
Felix is now on tinned food (which he is crazy for!) but still peeing for France. Seeing the vet on Monday so we shall see ....... Think I want shares in a kitchen roll company the amount we get through!
Hi there, my female cat had this problem and the vet told me that a sterilized cat needs cat food that is made for sterilized cats ( it has a low ph level) so, 'Chat Sterilisé' it is. When my male had uti problems she told me to introduce some wet food aswell or add some water to the croquttes. This has worked for my cats and stopped the squirting. Hope this helps.
We find that girls are just as much to blame Celia, if not more so especially when they are coming to maturity, which for cats can be between 18 months and 4 years. If you have a multi-cat household there are always fights to be Top Cat unfortunately!
If you have unsterilised females this can be a real problem.
One of my friends had very good results with Zylkene and I did try it. Because his problems are intermittent I haven't kept him on it, but would start again if he had a prolonged period of "mistakes".
Vivian, what is the cheaper alternative to Feliway please? I never found the plug-in of much use, but Felifriend worked quite well when introducing a new animal to the household.
Thanks for the info on Zylkene Lynn.
One of my cats (no-one owned up) peed somewhere near the fridge despite 3 litter trays and access to exterior. OH did a thorough clean, and then again when it still hadn't shifted. We also changed the litter type and that seems to have worked. No idea why he did it – I'm assuming one of the neutered boys as girls are far too circumspect – perhaps because my one female was in heat? It did seem to upset them. She's been and had her sallie with her Loof boyfriend and all's well now.
I find Feliway works on some cats and not others Vivien. You could try Zylkene too. This is a completely natural product and I have much more success with this, here is their blurb -
"Zylkene is a natural product that can support pets during many common situations such as a house move or kennel/cattery stay, or during fireworks season. It only needs to be given once daily, and is very easy to give - simply open the capsule and mix the palatable powder with food or a favourite treat. Zylkene has not been associated with side effects."
I have a similar problem with a 14 year old neutered boy. Intermittent and I'm sure stress related. We do use Feliway, or at least the cheaper alternative version, so that isn't a complete solution. Giggs favours the corner of the kitchen windowsill, including whatever plants are there, so it looks like he is defending a possible entry to the house. He may also see other cats from there. A bowl of dried food in the chosen places does seem to work - or at least persuades them to find a new spot.