Cats with bad habits

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Cats with bad habits
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sally_in_wales
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 06 Mar 2005
Posts: 20809
Location: sunny wales

Posted: Wed Apr 12, 06 6:44 am Post subject: Cats with bad habits

Hagl has recently started scent marking the house in very inconvenient places and I'm at a loss how to stop him. He's neutered, so fortunately its not the full on tomcat spray, but he's definately squirting noxious dribbles around. He's a bit neurotic at the best of times (was a rescue kitten that had been mistreated and its taken several years to get him calm enough to handle let alone aiming for a laidback cat).

Obviously I'm cleaning up after him when we notice, but I'm not sure if thats just making him do it more, and its not all the time either, some days he seems to do it a lot then not for a week or two. I caught him backing up to a big bag of (fortunately plastic wrapped) balls of wool earlier with evil intent.

Anyone got any ideas on how I can either dissuade him or make him feel its ok and he doesnt need to prove anything?

bernie-woman

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 7824
Location: shropshire

Posted: Wed Apr 12, 06 7:21 am Post subject:

I know all about this.....

This has happened with two cats that my mum had when I lived at home - basically it is a territory and anxiety thing. Are their many cats around you - my mums started becasue when she went away another cat entered the cat door - sent him totally neurotic

She was told that even seeing another cat through a window on their territory can start them off doing this. Firstly, you need to clean up with water that has a small amount of biological washing powder in it (it dissolves the fats and proteins in the urine) - then follow that with a cloth with some surgical spirit in it (takes away the smell of any ammonia)

The problem with this is that yoou can get into a cycle of spraying (the cat that is not you) and then you cleaning up after it so my mum in the end moved a little amount of food into the areas where the cat was spraying - cats will not spray near food

She also used a chemcally manufactured cat pheronome called Feliway - if you use this do not wash with biological washing powder just use surgical spirit. The Feliway can make the cat think it has rubbed his facial pheronomes onto whatever he has been spraying and that should deter him and make him feel more relaxed

Also you need to make the cat feel as happy and relaxed as possible as possible so lots of playing, fuss and lots of catnip (you should have no problem with this one)

I would imagine that this has been started by another cat or seperation anxiety as you have been away

I think that is all that I can remember that my mum did but if I think of anything else I will post it

sally_in_wales
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 06 Mar 2005
Posts: 20809
Location: sunny wales

Posted: Wed Apr 12, 06 7:36 am Post subject:
He does have a running feud with the local tomcat and also sometimes shares his dinner with a slightly underfed little female. He doesnt seem to mind the girl cat, she's very shy and isnt a threat to him, but he gets in a real state when the old tom is on the prowl. I'm sure thats the cause. Will make an even bigger fuss of him and see if that helps

saffranne

Joined: 23 Aug 2005
Posts: 428

Posted: Wed Apr 12, 06 9:23 am Post subject:

have eight cats here,which three of them is bengals and i have found feliway plug in very useful out of the eight five of them are indoors all the time,my youngest bengal was refusing to wee in the litter box because of the dominant male bengal jacob,the plug in feliway has help a lot,it does make them more relax.i do also use simple solution which will take the smell away so she does not go back to her bad habit again

cab

Joined: 01 Nov 2004
Posts: 32429

Posted: Wed Apr 12, 06 9:34 am Post subject:
Can you train the other local tom into not snooping around so much? Supersoakers are wonderful weapons in the battle against cats.

bernie-woman

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 7824
Location: shropshire

Posted: Wed Apr 12, 06 9:37 am Post subject:

cab wrote:

Can you train the other local tom into not snooping around so much? Supersoakers are wonderful weapons in the battle against cats.

My two cats were terrorised last summer by two unneutered toms

despite mine being spayed

and I found those huge water pistols very useful indeed - stopped them coming round here

sunnyside

Joined: 23 Oct 2005
Posts: 96

Posted: Wed Apr 12, 06 3:14 pm Post subject:
My two cats and dog were being terrorised by a neighbours cat so I got a cat flap that only lets in our cats. theres a magnetic 'key' on collar. did calm things down tremendously.

Bernie66

Joined: 14 Jan 2005
Posts: 13967
Location: Eastoft

Posted: Wed Apr 12, 06 8:44 pm Post subject:

cab wrote:

Can you train the other local tom into not snooping around so much? Supersoakers are wonderful weapons in the battle against cats.

Catlover coming out in you again?

mayhem

Joined: 23 Sep 2005
Posts: 40
Location: Crosby

Posted: Wed Apr 12, 06 9:05 pm Post subject:
The ultimate deterant for cats is Ferret poo!!!!! I know it sounds weird, but it works. A mate of mine has had ferrets for a while, he keeps myself and several other friends cat free by giving us a small amount of the nasty stuff every now and then. I don't know why but it works. Mayhem

Penny Outskirts

Joined: 18 Sep 2005
Posts: 23385
Location: Planet, not on the....

Posted: Wed Apr 12, 06 9:07 pm Post subject:
Hey up, a trio of reds (yes I know I should change my avatar, but I like boo)

mayhem

Joined: 23 Sep 2005
Posts: 40
Location: Crosby

Posted: Wed Apr 12, 06 9:09 pm Post subject:

Penny wrote:

Hey up, a trio of reds

(yes I know I should change my avatar, but I like boo)

There is a few of us about!

Always glad to meet another.

Mayhem

Bernie66

Joined: 14 Jan 2005
Posts: 13967
Location: Eastoft

Posted: Wed Apr 12, 06 9:09 pm Post subject:

Penny wrote:

Hey up, a trio of reds

(yes I know I should change my avatar, but I like boo)

You must. !!!

mayhem

Joined: 23 Sep 2005
Posts: 40
Location: Crosby

Posted: Wed Apr 12, 06 9:11 pm Post subject:

Bernie66 wrote:

Penny wrote:

Hey up, a trio of reds

(yes I know I should change my avatar, but I like boo)

You must. !!!

Must, must, must, must!

Mrs Fiddlesticks

Joined: 02 Nov 2004
Posts: 10460

Posted: Wed Apr 12, 06 9:33 pm Post subject:
we have a nervous tortoiseshell who sometimes wee's on the inside door mat. We've worked out that we accidentally 'walk in' a smell. So try as far as possible to wipe feet on outside door mat and change in to slippers as soon as we get in. It's reduced the incidence of it somewhat but thank goodness the door mat is washable!!

Nanny

Joined: 17 Feb 2005
Posts: 4520
Location: carms in wales

Posted: Thu Apr 13, 06 7:36 pm Post subject:

i always keep a bottle of milton handy for problems like you are having

it also takes away the smell and is really easy

it does sound like a territory thing.............

one of our cats, the last one we acquired, has done it a couple of times when the head cat gives him grief.............

seven (last cat's name) isn't at all a dominant animal and gets very submissive, stays in the kitchen when in the house and sometimes lets rip

we are hoping that over the summer, they will find a bit of common ground as they are all out in the playpen for the season now.......

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