Cat Submissive/excitement Urinating - Any Help Out There?

[ads3j]

Hello friends,

On January 9th I rescued a male (approx 2-3 y.o. FIV+) buff tabby and had him neutered and given all his shots/microchip tests etc... he had a severe cold and I kept him in his safe room for the first two weeks prior to introducing him to the rest of the house. He has been urine marking all over the house, we've got feliway plug-ins, using flower essence drops in and have done everything we can possibly do to help him adjust to living in a house, with the understanding that this is a learned and normal behavior. We have had three good potential adopters (one even a veterinarian) but all are afraid of adopting a cat who marks.

It has gotten slightly better, but I have noticed that when the girls (two resident cats) want to play - and I am pretty positive this is all initiation play as there are no signs of aggression, and they nap together and co-exists good otherwise, but when he gets REALLY excited (what I call the "zoomies" his ears go back and he gets crazy excited and pees. Especially when the girls chase him. We have tried playing with him to let out some energy (but he just gets excited anyway) and we're at our wits end as this is happening at least 2xs a day, which is still better than the 4-6 times a day. Anyone had experience with a cat who was submissive/excitement urinating (commonly seen in dogs, but this is our rescue cat.)? If so, what can I do? The vet just says be patient that in three months he'll be a totally different cat - health is all good.

We are desperate for help, even if you've had this experience and can tell me it will be okay, I would appreciate it. Thank you for reading this long message.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi!
Have you tried calming treats? With your vets ok, but something to calm him down. Surely your vet understands that three months is too long to wait, and by the way, may I ask why is the vet saying that? Where is the three month marker coming from, with the guarantee you'll see a different cat?

 

[ads3j]

Thank you for your response. I did offer him some calming treats I had, but he didn't like them, do you have a recommended brand? I have purchased two different ones and neither were palatable to my cats. Also, when do you recommend giving it to him? I have tried to be consistent with the flower essence drops, which can help if I catch him in time, but sometimes his energy spurts are incited when he engages with my girls, and it's unexpected, so that's been a challenge.

As for the three months, it was in the context of his being newly neutered, a former street cat who was used to spraying and it being his norm with all his testosterone. I took it to mean that because he still had testosterone running through his body he was still spraying, and once it had left (presumably in approx 3 months) he'd stop. I also feel it's way too long to wait - I may reach out to another vet for answers.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. 3 months seems like a long time for hormones to run their course after neutering, but I guess it is possible. It has improved some as you said, so maybe you'll see it reduce as time passes?

Do you have extra litterboxes you could put out for him in areas where this most often happens? Perhaps, if he knows one is close by, he will try to use it.

Has his urine been tested for a possible infection? If not, I would push for at least that much. A second vet opinion might not be a bad idea.

There are a slew of calming treats, you can just do a general search on the internet or go to site like Chewy.com, Petco.com to see all the offerings. Your flower essences drops, which you said work - is there a comparable spray you could try, one that you could consistently spray on his bedding, toys, areas that he commonly hangs out?

 

[Furballsmom]

I also feel it's way too long to wait - I may reach out to another vet for answers.

That's a great idea FeebysOwner has to see about a calming spray in the flower essence you have

 

[Furballsmom]

If there isn't one in the essence, maybe something here in the list below might work.
Regarding when to give them, I'm thinking that there should be information on the products, for example with an Only Natural Pet spray product called Just Relax Calming spray with essential oil (catnip oil), it's suggested to spray 30 minutes prior to an event such as a car ride to the vet.
With treats probably once or twice a day depending on what the product suggests, but you could also check into a collar.

There's also this one, be sure and scroll all the way down the page;
Bach Flower Remedies - Rescue Remedy Pets Dogs Cats Horses Birds

Music can be useful in helping a cat to relax (not 24 hours a day though, just now and then for a couple hours or so).
Low volume classical harp music, there is an app called Relax My Cat, and there's MusicForCats . com as some sources.

You could try one of these, only a small selection of a fast-growing section of pet products;
Richard's Organics Pet Calm-this one is drops that you put on the tip of the tongue. Also, Quiet Moments Cat treats, there is Calming Care, Calm-o-mile, Sentry, Natures Miracle calming spray, Vetri-Science's Composure is another item to look at, Pet Remedy (it has valerian) is yet another, as is Essential Pet Pet-ease, Only Natural Pet (brand and website) has a calming product, Pet Naturals also has one I believe.

Also Thunderease has diffusers as does Sentry, and feliway although diffusers are expensive and not always the answer.
You might want to check with your vet, but some people have good results with CBD oil, plus there are vet-prescribed calming products too.
Lambert Vet Supply is a website to look at, and of course chewy, also there's Petwishpros, drsfostersmith, animaleo, Petco and PetSmart, and other pet stores.

There is also product called a lickimat which could be helpful, as cats can be calmed by the process of licking. The LickiMat - Food Puzzles for Cats

This discussion's post talks about some other products;
Calming Treats For A Very Picky Cat