Background
Sorry for the long background...I have 4 resident cats, and I foster (I usually have between 10-15 fosters at a time). Fosters are kept separate from the resident cats, although they like to escape from the foster room for funzies (they are quickly returned--I don't ever want fosters mixing with resident cats). Anyways, two of my resident cats, Angus (14) and Heidi (3) don't get along. Angus likes to corner Heidi and do this weird howling thing. Lately she has been cornering him and chasing him. They have lived together for over two years, and there has been an escalation in their fighting over the past few months.
What's going on
Then came the peeing a few months ago. Everywhere. They both spray (yes, girl cats can spray, I've seen Heidi do it) on the curtains, on the rug, the carpet, our antique furniture, the kitchen island. My previously nice house stinks and I'm so upset. I took them both to the vet, and Angus had crystals in his urine, but Heidi was fine. Angus is being treated with a special diet, but it hasn't changed anything. If I had to guess at the cat psychology going on here, I'd say that Angus, who has peed inappropriately before when he had urinary crystals, returned to this behavior when the problem returned. Heidi, who is bullied by him, was like, "oh really fool. This house is not going to smell like you!" and went about peeing as much or even more than Angus. So now I have pee wars going on. I notice that now, they pee when they smell anything related to the fosters. They pee on trash bags from the foster floor, in front of the washing machine when I'm doing a load of foster laundry, in front of the dishwasher when I'm cleaning foster food bowls. They didn't used to do this.
Things I'm trying:
I have 5 Feliway dispensers in the house. I use Nature's Miracle to clean up the pee but it's not doing the trick. I have 6 litterboxes for 4 resident cats, and I put one at the foot of the stairs to the foster room which is a common pee area. I use Clump and Seal and Dr. Elsey's and I scoop daily. I've made pee deterrent spray with citrus essential oils, which does nothing. I play with Heidi a lot (Angus doesn't like to play) and I try to give them lots of affection. There are a ton of toys in the house. They are indoor kitties only. They are both altered. I've cleaned carpets with vinegar/baking soda/peroxide combo, which does help the smell, but then they pee again. I have both an upright and handheld steam cleaner.
Questions:
1. Where do I go from here? Have you resolved a similar situation? What did you do?
2. Have you used any enzymatic cleanser besides Nature's Miracle that works really well? Cost no object.
3. Have you ever used any calming medication for your cat who is peeing inappropriately? How did it work?
My husband are devastated that our nice house and our things are being ruined. Please help. Thanks so much.
Sorry for the long background...I have 4 resident cats, and I foster (I usually have between 10-15 fosters at a time). Fosters are kept separate from the resident cats, although they like to escape from the foster room for funzies (they are quickly returned--I don't ever want fosters mixing with resident cats). Anyways, two of my resident cats, Angus (14) and Heidi (3) don't get along. Angus likes to corner Heidi and do this weird howling thing. Lately she has been cornering him and chasing him. They have lived together for over two years, and there has been an escalation in their fighting over the past few months.
What's going on
Then came the peeing a few months ago. Everywhere. They both spray (yes, girl cats can spray, I've seen Heidi do it) on the curtains, on the rug, the carpet, our antique furniture, the kitchen island. My previously nice house stinks and I'm so upset. I took them both to the vet, and Angus had crystals in his urine, but Heidi was fine. Angus is being treated with a special diet, but it hasn't changed anything. If I had to guess at the cat psychology going on here, I'd say that Angus, who has peed inappropriately before when he had urinary crystals, returned to this behavior when the problem returned. Heidi, who is bullied by him, was like, "oh really fool. This house is not going to smell like you!" and went about peeing as much or even more than Angus. So now I have pee wars going on. I notice that now, they pee when they smell anything related to the fosters. They pee on trash bags from the foster floor, in front of the washing machine when I'm doing a load of foster laundry, in front of the dishwasher when I'm cleaning foster food bowls. They didn't used to do this.
Things I'm trying:
I have 5 Feliway dispensers in the house. I use Nature's Miracle to clean up the pee but it's not doing the trick. I have 6 litterboxes for 4 resident cats, and I put one at the foot of the stairs to the foster room which is a common pee area. I use Clump and Seal and Dr. Elsey's and I scoop daily. I've made pee deterrent spray with citrus essential oils, which does nothing. I play with Heidi a lot (Angus doesn't like to play) and I try to give them lots of affection. There are a ton of toys in the house. They are indoor kitties only. They are both altered. I've cleaned carpets with vinegar/baking soda/peroxide combo, which does help the smell, but then they pee again. I have both an upright and handheld steam cleaner.
Questions:
1. Where do I go from here? Have you resolved a similar situation? What did you do?
2. Have you used any enzymatic cleanser besides Nature's Miracle that works really well? Cost no object.
3. Have you ever used any calming medication for your cat who is peeing inappropriately? How did it work?
My husband are devastated that our nice house and our things are being ruined. Please help. Thanks so much.
I’ve tried everything but Leo is destroying my home!!
