female cats marking territory

[Denine]

Has anyone had this problem? We brought our 2 cats home the same day in November 2004. They are friends, 1 male, and 1 female. Hera had been in the shelter for 1-1/2 years, half her life, before we brought her home. She has always been very scared, but has been doing much better lately. It seems she has been peeing in places since we brought her home, but I am really getting tired of it. I have been spending the day washing up bedding that she peed on. The bed arrived a couple of weeks ago, so it is new to the house. The litter box is in a private place and is quite large, but not too big. It is clean.
Does anyone have any ideas, experiences?

 

[marydmjj]

I can't give you any help. I can just let you know that all of my MIL and my own female cats have all sprayed. People say they don't if they are fixed, or they have something wrong, ie. urinary tract infection etc., etc., etc. All I know is that nothing was wrong with them, they were fixed and they still sprayed.

 

[Randi]

I know how annoying this can be. I had more problems with male cats peeing inappropiatley than the females. I assume that she is neutered. Perhaps there was something about the smell of the new bedding that spooked her. Based on her history, it would seem that new sounds, smells, etc. may make her anxious.
I guess I would first rule out any infection, than watch her as much as possible. Try to eliminate any odor (there are several products available) to discourage her from a repeat performance.
Good luck and hope she does better.

 

[Denine]

Thanks. She doesn't have any infection. I think she may just be doing it because she is a nervous one.
Right now, I have the door to the guset room closed, so she can't pee there again.
I have read about Feliway. I wonder if it works.

 

[teacherforhi]

My Emelia one day decided she wasn't going to use the same litter box as the other cats in my house. Then she decided she wasn't going to use the litter box if it wasn't cleaned after each use (like that was going to happen!). I finally figured out that she will use the bathroom on newspaper (found this out the hard way). I guess she likes the texture better than litter.

Anyway, I lay the newspaper on her litter box (just so I don't have to clean as much) and haven't had a problem since.

 

[lisajl]

Coming from a veterinary assistant, how do you know she does not have an infection? If you have not had her tested, she just may have one.
I can't tell you how many people are surprised to find out that cats can get bladder infections., along with other things.
Now, if you have, please forgive the statement.
Sometimes if you put aluminum foil down in the spot where she is peeing she will stop marking there. They don't like the sound that it makes.
I have 4 female cats and 2 male cats. I have had no problem with marking, ever, knock on wood. I do have 4 litter boxes and clean them daily. I use the scoopable litter. Once a month I dump it and scrub the pans.

Also, re:Feliway, we have several clients that swear by it.
They keep coming in for refills and have had no problems while using it.

Good luck!
Lisa

 

[Denine]

I had 2 litter boxes, but that didn't seem to matter, so we went back to one.
Hera has only peed in one spot twice. All the other times, it has been some place different, but washable. I just wash whatever she has peed on and that has been that.
She is due to go to the vet soon and I will talk to her about it.
The only problem with Feliway is I don't know where to put it, since she doesn't pee in the same place more than once. I am actually surprised she hasn't peed on DD's bed since that was new a while ago.

 

[lstokes]

I have a female, spayed, that started peeing in random places also at 6 years of age. She always seemed to want to be caught doing it. After this going on a couple days ,I got her to the vet and she had a whopping urinary tract infection. Long story short, after numerous rounds of antibiotics, anti-inflammatoryies and large vet bills, she finally had been diagnosed with feline interstitial cystitis. or a chronic inflammed urinary tract, that is actually common in cats. She is now on strict Prescription Diet C/D food. daily meds and is restricted to basement area only(it has our family room, office and furnace area there). She is doing fine after 6 months of these restrictions. Better than letting her suffer as when she was peeing in odd places, she was telling us "something is wrong and I am hurting" Please do not wait to take your kitty to vet. These cats are suffering and can die, kidney damage, if not treated!

 

[disneygals]

I had an 18 yo male and then got 2 kittens, brother and sister. The female, April, never cared for the older cat and eventually, didn't like her brother Jack. She "took" the upstairs and let the boys have the downstairs. Two years later, my older cat got an infection and started peeing all over the house. We didn't realize til he was cured that she was doing it also. She mainly did it in the spring-summer when the outside cats would come around. Rugs, couches, laundry baskets, any clothes left on the floor were her targets. After lots of vet bills, feliway, numerous cat boxes around the house, $$ thrown away to a "behaviorist" vet, prozac, we finally decided to let her outside. She is the happiest cat in the world. She has stopped all the outside cats from coming around. She is the sweetest cat, but extremely territorial.

Your story doesn't sound exactly like mine, but after ruling out infection, I'd say keep a diary and see if you can figure out her pattern. I researched online and none of the "standard" solutions worked for us.

Good Luck, I know how frustrating and tiring it is. I don't want to even think of the $$ I spent on Nature's Miracle! (enzyme cleaner)