At my wit's end, I'm so tired. 5 years of spraying. Desperate for help.

[Norachan]

Just a few thoughts....

I have the pee pads taped on on the wall. I have also period pads (an absolute eyesore) on table legs too, because he will pee on those. I recently got the XL puppy pads few days ago (used to use smaller ones and TONS of paper towels) and for some reason, he seems to be really scared of those? I'm not sure if it's worsening his anxiety, I'll have to check back on this.

A lot of the puppy pee pads have an attractant in them to encourage puppies to use them. If possible get the unscented ones, just in case he is viewing the attractant as an invitation to spray.

I moved his litter box closer (a foot away or so?) from his pee corner a year or two ago, that didn't help.

Could you move it right into his pee corner with the pee pads still taped up to the wall behind the litter box?

I will be talking to my vet about Zylkene as well

Zylkene comes as a capsule that you break open and mix with their food. The cat I have that needs it is way too feral for me to ever pick up and pill her. Zylkene is made from a milk derivative, so the way that works best for her is to mix a dose with some of that cat treat milk you can buy and give it her that way. They don't seem to notice it mixed in with their wet food either though.

Do you have recommendations on trying to decreasing the dry food for two cats?

Try crushing up some of the dry food they love and sprinkling on top of their canned food. Sometimes the taste and smell is enough to encourage them to eat more of the canned. Don't mix canned and dry together though, as the dry food gets wet and this can allow bacteria to breed.

Hang in there, hopefully we can come up with something that will help.

 

[maggiedemi]

Do you have recommendations on trying to decreasing the dry food for two cats? The only problem with this method for me is that my older one loves dry food and I will take on any weight that this cat can get.

Sometimes I sprinkle a little catnip on top. There is this new catnip at Walmart that has Silverine in it that my cats just love.

Another thing I do, if you don't mind the sodium in it, I take a can of tuna and let it soak in a canning jar with some water, like a cup maybe, but you can play around with the amounts to see what he likes best..Then you can either put a TB on his wet food or put in a dish. I try to give him about 2TB per day, anymore than that and he pukes. (Just the liquid, not the tuna)

I would love to try those urinary dry foods, but Demi just won't eat them. Maybe I will try again. Let me know what brand you have success with, maybe there is a tasty one.

 

[Feste]

It won't resolve the issue, but it might be worth a try to keep him from spraying the same spots like your bed. You can put a little bit of a geranium or citrus scented spray on the spots that he sprays. Cats don't like the smell of either and will avoid those areas.

 

[artiemom]

Thank you for the kind words.. You are so sweet.

With the JG sprays, I went on line to his website. There was an option for a customer service chat.
I ended up using that. They were helpful, even sending me some articles which could help.. but I had already read them. They gave me specialized sprays for his confidence issues.
It sounds like a load of junk, but they have specific formulas for specific things. I noticed one for spraying.. so it may be worth a shot...

I have not been on his website for a couple years. I just looked solutions He does not seem to have a consultant available. darn it.... but, it is the holiday weekend, so you do not know...

It seems he is taking consultations! I do not know how expensive this is... consultation-sign-up-form and he has some webinars on things.

Customer Service contact-us

These solutions are expensive... but it may be helpful.
~~
No, I did not try diapers for Artie. I just could not put him through that, on top of all the meds I was giving him.. all day round. He was a terror to wash his bum.. He really was.. One time he was so up[set, he pooped in his carrier. THAT was a horrible experience. It was not from an enema, either. He was so frightened.
~~
RE: Miralax.. I, per orders from Vet, started out with 1/8 tsp mixed with some water, added to his food. If he would not eat it, I gave it to him in a syringe.

((Hugs))

 

[FeebysOwner]

The vet has never done a ultra sound for Baby, he has had urine samples and analysis done and they said it looked fine so they were not going to proceed with an ultra sound. Do you recommend the ultra sound and should I ask the vet?

I only suggested the ultrasound because I know of no other way to identify inflammation in the bladder. But, you could ask the vet if there is any other way. Baby's urine tests/analysis won't show inflammation as far as I know - just infection/crystals/blood, if there is any. Also ask the vet about the increased sensory nerves as another possibility. I didn't mention it and it might fall under the sensory nerve issue, but another symptom of FLUTD/FIC can be bladder spasms. So, speak to the vet about all three of things.

I have not tried miralax - only the digestive upsets. Are these the human grade ones, and what doses do you recommend them in? I have never heard miralax for a cat before! I will definitely try this one out.

I see that 1/8 tsp of Miralax (yes, the human version) was recommended above - the same amount I would have suggested as well. Just don't give it to him regularly unless he needs it.

Another thing - before putting Baby on urinary care food, ask the vet if there is any benefit to doing so. Usually this type of food is recommended for cats with crystals and/or urine PH imbalances. If Baby has neither, I am not sure the food will do anything for FLUTD/FIC. But, it is certainly worth asking about. Flushing out the bladder by having Baby eat more canned food than dry might be more helpful than a specific type of food.

 

[maggie101]

The Jackson galaxy peace maker work

Thank you everyone for your two cents, I will take any cents at this point. 1 cent, 10 cents, 3 whole dollars!!!
Thank you for all your supportive messages and comments. Thank you to the user who pointed out how to quote. I will go through them one by one and ask a couple of questions in return, thank you.

1.


Yes, Baby has never been a confident cat, it actually saddens me that I never really have seen his tail "up" and "straight". It's always middle, or low. While my other cat has his tail confidently high, with the little tip crooked. I feel very bad for Baby and what ever he is going through. Bless your soul with your cats as well, you seem wonderful.
I have never tried Jackson Galaxy's blends, will you recommend me the specialty blend that they have said to you? I will try this. Baby seems very like Geoffrey, too frightened for medication. I can squirt stuff in his mouth but he has learned to drool it out.
Or do you recommend a specific Jackson Galaxy blend for another?
Do you have any experiences with cat diapers for Artie? I have never tried one but I am curious on how it may work, and how long a cat has to have the diaper on.
I have 3 litter boxes so far, with litter attract. The spraying has definitely become a habit at this point...so hard to break...

2.


I am 1000% going to try out this method tonight.
I have a brand new litter box ready that I got after reading this, and I will fill it with puppy pads in his famous corner. I will see if he will use this and will update.
I have the pee pads taped on on the wall. I have also period pads (an absolute eyesore) on table legs too, because he will pee on those. I recently got the XL puppy pads few days ago (used to use smaller ones and TONS of paper towels) and for some reason, he seems to be really scared of those? I'm not sure if it's worsening his anxiety, I'll have to check back on this.

The vet has never done a ultra sound for Baby, he has had urine samples and analysis done and they said it looked fine so they were not going to proceed with an ultra sound. Do you recommend the ultra sound and should I ask the vet? I am a bit hesitant, because with my 2nd cat, his ultra sound cost $800 which was a hefty sum of money. Of course no one loves paying for anything at the vet but the ultra sound was a huge dent in my finances for quite some time and I'm not sure if I can handle that for this year.

I have not tried miralax - only the digestive upsets. Are these the human grade ones, and what doses do you recommend them in? I have never heard miralax for a cat before! I will definitely try this one out. I am also putting this in my shopping list.
The only reason I cannot have the fortiflora to my older cat is because my older cat HATES the taste and will not eat anything with that on it! I wish he could eat fortiflora! If he sniffs it, he will turn his nose away. My focus with my older cat is for him to maintain his weight, and for him to eat. I tried giving Baby fortiflora, and none with my older cat, but my older cat could smell the fortiflora in Baby's bowl and refused to eat his. Baby knew it smelled different from my older cat's so, that didn't work either. Sigh.



Thank you! Throw anything at me!
I moved his litter box closer (a foot away or so?) from his pee corner a year or two ago, that didn't help. But I do have the puppy pad inbetween the litter box and the famous corner to catch his pee. There isn't much space there so I'm not sure how closer I can get it? I will take any other suggestions as well, thank you!



Thank you SO much for the guides and advice. I am looking into the feline only vet near my area soon. I know that right now is also the most stressful month for him because I am preparing to move, and if he does have FIC, his flare ups are off the charts.
I am jotting all these down to talk with my vet. Thank you so much.



Yes! I thought the coldness was that too, but when I warmed it up with warm water and swirled it around, he seemed to hate it more (the older one, at least). And then I would just leave it out to be luke warm and he also didn't like that. The older cat is...something else, but hey! At least no pee from him.

The vet recently gave me Gabapentin for the last few days of the move, do you recommend this for a daily use? The vet just told me to give this to him during the last week.
I will be talking to my vet about Zylkene as well, it seems like that works wonders from the members on this forum!



Hello! Do you have recommendations on trying to decreasing the dry food for two cats? The only problem with this method for me is that my older one loves dry food and I will take on any weight that this cat can get. This is why the dry food is free range.
Baby gets one solid small can a day if he eats my older cat's left overs (which is almost everyday).



Oh! I forgot to mention that I do have Gabapentin earlier. The vet did not give me the go-ahead to give him Gabapentin on a daily basis, only to save it for the last week of the move though. I will definitely mention Chlorimpramine and Zylenkene to my vet. This seems really hopeful, Baby was very similar with Max on Prozac. Like comatose, AND aggressive, and peeing everywhere. It was really depressing to see. I'm really hopeful about this one. Thank you. For the urinary tract dry, will this be the Purina brand?
I will look into a small sample of this first before I add it, just to make sure that my cats will eat it first. Thank you!!!!!



Absolutely not a shot in the dark, thank you so much for your kind words.
Baby's confidence is rock bottom and yet he has no lights on upstairs, if you know what I mean. He might be the most unintelligent cat I have ever met in my life...but his heart is loving. For example: it took him......seven years to learn his name. He can hear fine, just, he...he doesn't have the recognition in his eyes? I don't know if his dimness or confidence is interrelated?
I have tried the little fun toys with puzzles or anything that needs a cat interaction (like one of those that dispenses treats if you bat it around) and he just does not understand. He cannot comprehend. I need to point out a treat 9 times that I just placed on the floor for him to realize it is there. I have never tried clicker training with him but I think he will get scared of the clicker noise.
I do play with him on a daily basis with a feather, which is the only toy he will play with (soft, no noise, large but not too scary). He plays with it for a little, then gets a look in his eyes, and then gets scared of the toy, and then will run and hide underneath the bed and that is the end of play time. If it is a string toy he gets scared, rod, bells, large plush, small plush, etc. It goes on and on. I don't really understand what is setting him off, to be honest?
Do you have any other toy suggestions? The play time honestly only lasts at 2 mins max, and he will get scared for some wild reason and will hide for hours and then sleep. I KNOW he needs more play time and exercise but I don't know what to do if he doesn't want to?



Ah! So I will definitely try out the purina pro plan UR. I will ask the pet store to see if they have a small sample to see if my cats will eat it.
I live in a studio, so I don't have any rooms. He can't get away from me even if he tried :LOL:.
He has 3 litter boxes, one in the bathroom, a smaller one by his pee corner, and one near the wall near the middle. I cannot walk more than 5 steps without a litter box in sight! I should just cover my entire apartment floor in litter at this point
All my litter boxes are uncovered, I have an XL super large one (like a storage box) in the bathroom, a medium one by his pee spot, and a smaller one by the wall. I don't quite have room to have 2 XL ones...should I do 4...?

Pro plan ur is a prescription for cats with Feline lower urinary tract disease so only your vet can prescribe it. I had a radiograph done on my cat after he saw crystals in a urinalysis. Purina proplan focus for urinary does not.

The Jackson galaxy peace maker and space saver did help the cat I was giving it to. Everytime I ran out of a bottle,a week later I bout another $20 bottle. It helped til I ran out And so on
Since it is unclear what's wrong an ultrasound might help. The whole carpet in my apt smells of cleaner from so much cat throwup for 10 years!

Ultrasound is expensive but is one was of ruling out if he has something more serious. It could all be stress but you have dealt with this for 5 years. It is odd that nothing has shown up in blood work.

 

[gmm80]

C coffeeandteas
Just curious if you have tried some of the suggestions and seen any improvement? I have a friend who has similar ongoing frustrations with one of her male cats. She also has a laundry list of anti-spraying measures all over her house and continues to struggle with him.

 

[Kflowers]

The neighbor's cat hanging around outside and spraying the doors and under the windows was behind our cat spraying. We just kept washing everything inside and out down with vinegar. Galaxy has some fancy stuff now, didn't then, that is motion detection and blows air at the neighbor's cat. He says it works.