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Boo, i was just gonna ask if Kitteh has his cat-man parts. Have you talked to the vet about ways to control behavior? They make lots of products that are supposed to halt these nasty behaviors.
You could always put a diaper on kitteh. =]
That's really strange that your cat is neutered but still spraying... I'd echo ejs and say go talk to your vet. Honestly, it sounds like you're totally right and your cat needs to be in a home where he's the only animal. You might be best to find kitteh a new forever home and you'll all be happier in the end. You're not an awful person for thinking of that, you're thinking of what's best for your pet and it's welfare. And that's coming from a person who was a long time volunteer in the kitteh department of an animal shelter, a cat foster mom, and treats her cats like her children (somewhat obsessively). Don't feel bad. I think if you just let it continue on that would be the bad thing to do!
Oh man I'm so sorry! I know how horrible that can be. I have no advice, it sounds like you guys have tried every conventional method to curb his behavior. We went through it with our male cat a few years ago, but that was because he hadn't been neutered. He immediately stopped once they chopped up his junk. I have no tolerance for coming home to the overwhelming scent of cat urine. I hope the vet can offer some guidance!
When we took him to the vet to see if he had an UTI, the vet just said, "He'll get over it, just show him that you still love him and give him extra attention for the next few weeks."
Umm, okay? Well, that didn't work. Does anyone know what kinds of training products actually work? We've tried the tin foil thing, the water spray and the jar with coins.
No judgement here, I totally understand and was in a similar situation myself. You can try contacting a behaviorist, but honestly with cats in my experience there isn't much you can do unless it's diet related. For example, my Mom found out her cat was lactose intolerant and that's why she was acting out. She made it so the cat did not have access to any dairy and her behaviour has totally improved.
But all in all I agree it sounds like your cat needs to be the only animal in the household which means you should look into finding him a new home. Good luck!
I don't know what to tell you, other than I was in the same boat a few years back.
I adopted a kitten in college, and he was great for about 3 years. He was extremely smart (he is still the smartest cat I've ever met), and very opinionated, although he was easy to train. During these years, any time we went out of town, we took him to my MIL's house because the cat was seriously in love with her. But every time we got home, he turned into the devil for a few days. He'd pee in my bed if I scolded him. He'd bite us for no reason. He'd get on the counters, which he absolutely knew was forbidden, then stare at us like he was daring us to tell him "no." He started shredding the couch. Basically, he acted like he hated us. So we eventually just offered him to my MIL, she took him, and they've lived happily ever after.
So all I can say is that cat's must despise change. We hoped Belmont would go back to being normal, but after months of trying, I had to give up. He was destroying my home. But it would have been really hard had it not been for the fact that my MIL would take him and we would still see him all of the time. Good Luck!
I am an avid animal lover and we have two cats and one dog (currently we have friends staying with us and their dog) and I would be heart broken if my kitties started acting like that! It looks like you have already done everything your vet has suggested, maybe ask you vet if there are many options and if they can't come up with anything, it might be best to find your kitty a new home :( It doesn't seem like he's that happy, I wouldn't suggest bringing him to the pound or shelter, try to rehome yourself, maybe you know someone who is looking for a cat? Or try a craigslist posting for a free cat, and do a home inspection just to make sure he would be going to a good home!
Oh and I will just add that the spray bottle didn't work for us either. They would just kind of sit there while being sprayed, then continue to wake us up every m orning at 4am. The cats we had also destroyed our furniture. It makes me so mad thinking about it. They would stare at us defiantly while clawing away at our expensive couch. It's ruined now, but of course we can't afford a new one..
Thanks, everyone. Your comments totally help. It's such a tough situation because we've had this cat since we first moved in together. I mean, he was our first pet together, and part of me seriously just does not want to rehome him.
I think we may consider giving him to someone in our family so we can still visit him. But most people in our family have other cats, so I dunno. Ugh!
When mine act up, i actually scruff them real hard. They immediately get submissive and chill out. Ok like once, they pooped somewhere. I scruffed him, took him to the spot, and spanked him. Never acted up again.
As far as spraying--i know there are scented things that keep them away. My parents have successfully used a few. I have sprinkled cayenne pepper on a corner of my grass where a neighborhood dog looked to poop.
I use a No-Scratch spray at home and it works for my cats =\
I think your vet is kinda sucky, by the way. If after a few weeks, kitty hasn't gone over it, he's not just gonna magically get over it!
When we got our dog, our cats did the opposite behaviorally - they retreated to closets and the tops of cabinets when they're normally very friendly. I'm not sure if this would work for you anymore, since you've had your dog for awhile, but we made sure to have time where we put our dog in her crate and took the cats into another room while we watched TV or read, and gave them attention whenever they came up to us. It was difficult to get a few hours of that in, but it really worked. They now come up to us even if the dog is in the same room.
I get what your vet was saying - the attention should have worked. But every animal is different, and maybe there's something your kitty still doesn't find "right" - if you can try "one on one" time with him for a significant amount of time, this should help.
Also, if he's the playing sort, Catnip balls really tire our cats out. You can get them at Kriser's, they're the size of those plastic jingle balls but entirely made of catnip.
@lilyfaith: Thanks! We actually did the one-on-one thing with our cat. We still do it a few times a week (down from everyday a few weeks ago). We also got him catnip toys, and he plays with them all the time, and gets worn out, but it hasn't helped :(
I don't know how much you are willing to spend on this situation, but believe it or not, a very dear friend of mine with a very similar situation used a "cat-psychologist", who managaged to get the cat to stop spraying/attacking the other cats. I've no idea how, other than the cat-psychologist worked with her on various techniques. I believe it did cost a pretty penny though. Also, my aunt actually used a "dog-psychologist" to deal with her dog's aggressive behaviour, with similar success.
Again, pretty expensive in most areas, I believe, but might be worth looking into? Certainly cheaper than replacing all your furniture, clothing, shoes, rugs, shower curtains, bedding etc (my cats sprayed like the devil until I came to my senses and had them neutered, so I know how unbelievably awful it can be).
@Miss Chapstick: Oh man. :( It really does sound like you're on top of things. Definitely no judgment here! I know how finnicky they can be. If it helps, our cat Zoey had a few months where she was spraying. There was change in the house, and the attention I described did really help her, but it took time. She hasn't sprayed in over a year now, so I hope if you find something that works for your boy, it's equally permanent. Good luck!
There's a couple things that you could try...
Try Feliway. It's a plug in diffuser which emits calming pheromones into the air. This could help calm kitty down. You can find this in most pet supply stores.
Ask your vet about prescribing prosac. Some times this helps a lot with behavior problems.
I would consider taking your cat to another vet. Cats are vengeful. They don't act out in answer to something a person has done at a previous time, generally. Most behavior problems can be controlled by finding the correct medical solution.
I personally would get a second vet opinion on the UTI idea. I would also ask about urinary crystals and blocked anal glands. This all sounds gross, but are issues with male cats.
My elderly cat started spraying all over the place a few summers ago. He was partially upset by changes in his life, but we discovered that he was in a lot of pain with blocked anal glands. I felt so bad and his behavior did get better after the medical issue was resolved.
I totally sympathisize. Maybe you can buy a feliway plug in to make him feel more relaxed, but I would also make sure that he is getting lots of love too.
Have you considered or tried Prozac? One my cats has been on this for quite some time due to similar issues with urinating and it was an amazing fix.
One of DH's cats also gets a one-week-a-month Prozac regimen for what seems to be a combination of feline OCD/ADHD.
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I realize that I'm going to come across as an awful person in this thread, so I'd appreciate it if everyone could just keep an open mind about our situation.
Our cat is driving us nuts. To the point where we're debating finding him a new home.
I'll start at the beginning. We adopted him five years ago, and he's always been, well, the Alpha male cat. If things don't go his way, he acts out by knocking things off shelves, spraying and getting aggressive. Half the time, he's sweet and just likes to cuddle. The other half? Well, we call it Monster Kitteh. We've tried training him with spray bottles and loud noises, but they never phase him (he even seems to like the water!).
For three years of his life, he shared the apartment with another dog, a six-pounder that had no interest in taking him on. That dog passed away earlier this year, and for about three months, he was king of the castle again. When we got our first dog, the cat didn't seem to care. I mean, the first few weeks, he would hiss at her just to show her who was boss, then he just went on with his life. About five weeks ago, we got another dog, and ever since then, the cat has been worse than ever. At first, we thought maybe he had a UTI because the spraying was as its worst, but the vet said it wasn't the problem, and the cat was probably jealous of the dog. We started to show him extra love and attention, got him some new toys, etc., and it hasn't improved. He's become aggressive with us (biting and clawing) and openly defying by scratching furniture right in front of us, and peeing everywhere. We've had to take everything off our shelves, cover all our furniture in blankets and remove all the area rugs from our apartment.
I'm at a point where I just do NOT know what to do. It's awful. And trust me when I say I hate to admit this, but my husband and I, as much as we're animal lovers, we're more dog people. I form stronger bonds with dogs for some reason, and I can't help but feel that way. I do NOT want to rehome our cat, but part of me thinks he would be 1,000 times happier where he's the only pet in the house. Or maybe had another cat buddy? I dunno. I want to do what's best for our kitty, but at the same time, I can't live with cat pee everywhere.
It's going on six weeks now of constant peeing and breaking things, and I can't take this much more. I can't keep having him ruin our apartment, especially when we're renters. We're desperate for ideas and opinions! I should also mention our cat is neutered and our dog is the same size, about six pounds, and she leaves him alone completely.