Misbehaving And Aggression Towards Others

GabreilleM · Feb 28, 2019

Recently I got the last male cat of my litter neutered and it seems his personality has taken a turn for the worst. He's been peeing (not even scent marking but just peeing) in my closet, fighting until fur flies with his brothers (but not his sisters) and altogether just being a bad kitty. We've tried a squirt bottle as our vet said but it isn't working and my fiance is really considering getting rid of him. The biggest problem with that is that he's incredibly bonded with me and I not only don't wish to see him go but also don't think he'd fare well if we did. Any and all suggestions on what we can do to fix at the very least the fighting would be very much appreciated! Some additional info; we have five cats, three male, and two female who are all rescues from the same litter. The previous two males were much easier to reintegrate and the four are fairly well behaved minus some scratching issues we are working on and The newly neutered male is the most aggressively loving and loud of the group as well.

Kieka · Feb 28, 2019

How old is he and how long since he was neutered? Is he on any pain medications?

Spray bottles do not work on cats. They are not wired the same way dogs are and simply don't make the connection in the same way dog or person would. Check out our article for more information on that one, 5 Reasons To Never Spray Water On Your Cat

She's a witch · Feb 28, 2019

GabreilleM said:
Recently I got the last male cat of my litter neutered and it seems his personality has taken a turn for the worst. He's been peeing (not even scent marking but just peeing) in my closet, fighting until fur flies with his brothers (but not his sisters) and altogether just being a bad kitty. We've tried a squirt bottle as our vet said but it isn't working and my fiance is really considering getting rid of him. The biggest problem with that is that he's incredibly bonded with me and I not only don't wish to see him go but also don't think he'd fare well if we did. Any and all suggestions on what we can do to fix at the very least the fighting would be very much appreciated! Some additional info; we have five cats, three male, and two female who are all rescues from the same litter. The previous two males were much easier to reintegrate and the four are fairly well behaved minus some scratching issues we are working on and The newly neutered male is the most aggressively loving and loud of the group as well.

It can take up to a month for hormones to quiet down after the neutering procedure so maybe they are the reason for his behaviour?

GabreilleM · Feb 28, 2019

Kieka said:
How old is he and how long since he was neutered? Is he on any pain medications?

Spray bottles do not work on cats. They are not wired the same way dogs are and simply don't make the connection in the same way dog or person would. Check out our article for more information on that one, 5 Reasons To Never Spray Water On Your Cat

He's about 9months old now and it's been a week and a half since he got neutered. They never gave us any pain meds. I had heard about the squirt bottle thing before but I figured I'd trust the vet but he wasn't the one we usually like to see so I was feeling iffy about it.

GabreilleM · Feb 28, 2019

She's a witch said:
It can take up to a month for hormones to quiet down after the neutering procedure so maybe they are the reason for his behaviour?

I'm hoping that's it. I think we're going to try keeping them separated for the next few weeks and then try and reacquaint them again as well as getting those mama cat pheromone diffusers to help along the process.

Kieka · Feb 28, 2019

GabreilleM said:
He's about 9months old now and it's been a week and a half since he got neutered. They never gave us any pain meds. I had heard about the squirt bottle thing before but I figured I'd trust the vet but he wasn't the one we usually like to see so I was feeling iffy about it.

It is still early enough that he could just be still adjusting to changes and/or the others have a little recognition issues from the vet smells. Give him and the rest of them some time to readjust.

war&wisdom · Feb 28, 2019

Also, remember that your fiancé doesn't get to make any decisions by himself. If you want to keep this kitty, you should make that clear!

sargon · Mar 3, 2019

Sometimes cats need to be reintroduced after vet visits, and a week and a half isn't nearly long enough for his hormones to rebalance.

it sounds like he's anxious ( aggression and inappropriate urination are both symptoms), but ti also sounds like he's afraid of the other boys.

if you can keep him separate from the rest for a bit and then try a reintroduction, things should improve.

if normal behavioral methods fail, and rehomign is really the only other option you can consider, you could talk to your vet to see if they consider "kitty prozac" to be an option, since it often helps with aggression and anxiety. i doubt you'll need to go that far, but it is something you can look into verses rehoming.

Kflowers · Mar 3, 2019

I think you need to take him to a different vet. What you describe sounds like a uti. Why hasn't your vet considered this? Does he think it's impossible in his ultra-clean surgery? I don't think so. Your vet already suggested using a squirt bottle. I think you need a new vet, one who thinks beyond the straight lines to all the possibilities.

It's possible he's now picking up on your fiance's hostility, which will make him worse. He may realize your fiance wants to get rid of him, and keep you to himself, which would increase his marking, if some of it is marking. Perhaps your fiance has always felt a little jealous of the close bond you have with this cat.

GabreilleM · Mar 5, 2019

Kflowers said:
I think you need to take him to a different vet. What you describe sounds like a uti. Why hasn't your vet considered this? Does he think it's impossible in his ultra-clean surgery? I don't think so. Your vet already suggested using a squirt bottle. I think you need a new vet, one who thinks beyond the straight lines to all the possibilities.

It's possible he's now picking up on your fiance's hostility, which will make him worse. He may realize your fiance wants to get rid of him, and keep you to himself, which would increase his marking, if some of it is marking. Perhaps your fiance has always felt a little jealous of the close bond you have with this cat.

The clinic we go to has multiple vets and we dont always get to see our favorite. Needless to say after this whole situation we'll be trying to exclusively see our favorite from now on. We shouldn't need to however as all of the kitties are now fixed and in perfect condition (yay!). We've restarted the reintroduction process and it's been a whole lot of ignoring and a little bit of hissing but luckily no fights and we're reinforcing it with positive attention when they act politely around each other. I think we'll be able to have our little ones all together again sooner than we thought!

danteshuman · Mar 5, 2019

Besides reintroduction and making sure it is not a UTI .... I would suggest a good enzyme cleaner and a black light to show you every where your cats have marked. If it was my closet? I would put an extra (large sized) litter box that is open in that closet corner. In a month when he is calm, hormones balanced out and double checked for pain/ UTI .... then I would slowly (2 inches at a time) move the litter box out of the closet to where in that room you want it.

* Are you sure it is just him that is spraying? Girl cats do it to. Cats love to copy each other.

GabreilleM · Mar 9, 2019

danteshuman said:
Besides reintroduction and making sure it is not a UTI .... I would suggest a good enzyme cleaner and a black light to show you every where your cats have marked. If it was my closet? I would put an extra (large sized) litter box that is open in that closet corner. In a month when he is calm, hormones balanced out and double checked for pain/ UTI .... then I would slowly (2 inches at a time) move the litter box out of the closet to where in that room you want it.

* Are you sure it is just him that is spraying? Girl cats do it to. Cats love to copy each other.

No UTI and the peeing in the closet has stopped completely! Now it's just reintroducing him back to his siblings. One of his brothers is making it difficult now that Droopy (the original aggressor) has calmed down but things are looking up!

GabreilleM · Mar 19, 2019

So reintroduction is not going well. The boys will sit close to each other but they'll growl until a fight breaks out. We had made some progress with Droopy and Kachan but a fight between Droopy and T'Challa seems to have erased it all. We're thinking of separating them completely for a week and looking in to kitty Prozac to help things along but if that doesn't work I'm not sure what else I can do.

Misbehaving And Aggression Towards Others

GabreilleM

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Kieka

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She's a witch

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GabreilleM

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GabreilleM

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Kieka

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war&wisdom

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Kflowers

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GabreilleM

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danteshuman

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