My cat is a mess

rubenandbuttercup

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I have had my cat Ruben for 2 years now, and never once did we have litterbox or behavioral problems.

Back in May we moved into a new house with colonies of feral cats around. We also had frequent visits from the friendly neighborhood outdoor cat (his name is Ron), and Ruben HATED this. At first he didn't mind the ferals, he would run from window to window and watch them, one of the kittens sat in our windowsill and looked inside and Ruben just stood there watching him with no signs of aggression. But he never once showed that they bothered him. As soon as Ron came around, Ruben's attitude completely changed. Ron and Ruben started having peeing matches on my front door which is where I think all of this started.

One day Ron was on my porch for a couple of days and it was getting cold. My boyfriend went outside to check on him while I tried to contact the owner because we knew we would be unable to take him inside. Ruben was at the front door the entire time, he started getting that razorback and fluffed up his tail. My kitten went up behind him, and he redirected his aggression towards her. It took us almost two days to get them comfortable with each other again. Every now and then when there is a cat outside, Ruben starts moving strangely (almost like a horse, it's very weird), and the kitten starts hissing at him which makes him go after her again. He's not even directing any aggression at her, I think she has just lost a little trust in him and gets scared that he will turn on her again. This has happened twice since the first incident, although it doesn't take us nearly as long to get them to trust each other again.

Another issue is now Ruben will pee all over the place. At first it was only when the other cats were outside; he would pee on my curtains or rug or by the door. He has recently started peeing on my couch, even when there are no other cats outside. We have tried Feliway, pheromone spray, adding more litterboxes, got litter that is supposed to attract them to the litterbox, nothing is working. I feel like he's just gotten comfortable with it, and we don't know what to do. His vet keeps suggesting Feliway but it's not working. He is on denamarin for liver issues, and we recently discovered that he has kidney stones and had to switch his diet. His vet says that they don't believe either of these is the cause.

So I guess my two questions are, how do we get Ruben and the kitten to stop being aggressive towards each other? It's really random, for the most part they are best buds. I really wish I could get a video of what Ruben does that makes her get defensive because I have never seen a cat do this before 😂.
And then what else can we do to correct this peeing problem?
 
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rubenandbuttercup

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I should add that we have already ruled out a UTI. Additionally, he is not straining at all and there is A LOT of pee.
 

Mamanyt1953

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OH boy! Looks like Ron has driven Ruben over the edge! He's gone into full "FILL THE MOAT, THE BARBARIANS ARE AT THE DOOR!" mode, hasn't he?

First, you'll need to THOROUGHLY clean everywhere he has urinated with a good enzymatic cleaner. I'd suggest getting a black light designed for spotting cat urine. They can be a lifesaver!

Next, you want to keep the cats at a distance. There are a couple of ways to do this. IF you can, the most sure-fire way to keep unwanted cats out of the yard is motion-activated, directional sprinklers. Cat walks by, cat gets doused, cat takes business elsewhere. The other way is compressed air cans designed especially for this. They are not loud, they just blast air in a cat's face. Again, cat takes business elsewhere. Neither method harms the cats in question. The air cans should be set up where cats are either entering your yard, or approaching your house. They may need to be replaced several times until ALL of the cats have learned. and they are not cheap. Not outrageous, but not cheap!

If you are like me, you actually enjoy watching the cats, and will miss them, however, you will NOT miss cleaning pee off of everything INSIDE your house!
 
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