Cat peeing & pica

[lscho88]

I have 3 cats. My 6yr old orange boy is neutered, healthy. Hes always been one to steal food, eat weird things & puke.
4mos ago an outdoor cat (he is not feral has a collar) shows up at various windows at our house and gets our cats all riled up. He is friendly we have to shoo him, but my guys get freaked & sometimes hiss & swat at each other when he is around.
My cat started peeing on the mat outside the litter box here and there, then it was everyday. 2 weeks ago he then started peeing on my 7yr olds wooden train table set. Hes now eating chunks of those kids foam letter floor mats. Everyday when I come home there will be a pile of barf with foam pieces in it on our entry rug. We have caught him doing all these things and had separated the cats to verify which 1 did it. So far we have tried:
- Vet visit - no urine issues, said it was behavioural and try Feliway, no results
- tried urinary kidney diet anyway
- different litter
- different litter box
- move location of litter boxs
- separate him from other cats
- more play and 1 on 1 time
- new toys
- urinary rx supplement for food
- bitter taste spray to stop the eating of foam
- enzyme cleaner for cleaning

I refuse to board up all my windows because of this cat. If I close the blinds they jam through them and bend them all up anyway.
Love this boy but he seems to have no intention of stopping. Not sure what else to do besides either live locked up in our basement where there is no window to see this cat, or rehome him to a single cat household... any advice appreciated.

 

[di and bob]

It is behavorial. My cat did the same thing when we moved and had ferals appear. I can tell you it will eventually stop when he accepts the other cat, but that could take a year, like it did mine. You could try to keep the cat out of your yard, it may be easier then trying to change your cat's feelings. Get some sprinklers that are motion activated and try that. Or those little motion activated noise maker statues that bark like a dog. Get some smelly 'small animal repellent' and sprinkle it around the perimeter of your yard. If the cat is gettingf through a fence or has special pathways, get some clear plastic carpet runner, cut it to fit and lay it nub side up wher he is walking. It hurts their feet.
Please try to keep in mind yoru cat is truly terrified and acting out of fear and instinct. He is not acting out of spite, he is acting out of wanting to keep his home from being invaded, and is attacking the others out of fear and anger because he is helpless. He is marking his litterbox as his, he is eating the nonfood items out of anxiety. Keeping things picked up would help, anything he could shred/bite into little pieces. Get some puppy pee pads and see if he will go on them to make cleanup easier. Getting him calm will eleiminate these behaviors. They do have collars that have calming pheromones on them too you might look into. Give him calm attention and treats. And know that in time, this too will pass.......

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. In addition to di and bob 's excellent suggestions, another option is to place chicken wire on the ground outside the window that the neighbor cat is visiting, if you can do so. Most cats do not want to walk on it and if this one won't, at least it stays away from that window.

Also, you might try placing a cardboard box or two out to see if he will chew on those. Unless he would eat hoards of it, it shouldn't be as problematic for him to digest as the cardboard is pretty easily broken down by digestive juices.

 

[lscho88]

Thank you for the suggestions!
And he likes chewing cardboard too lol. He wont eat that but does like to chew it Haha. But that might keep him busy