I got a letter recently from a lady who got engaged and her cats have made her life urine-soaked – is it because they know her fiancee doesn’t really like them? Or do they need an outdoor enclosure from Purr-fect Fence…?
Dear Tracie & Sally,
I have 3 cats; two females, age 8 and 19, and one male, age 10. The 8 year old female runs the house and picks fights with the 19 year old female every day. She’s very high strung, possessive and jealous, and meows most of the time for attention, especially if I’m talking on the phone. My problem with her is that she urinates everywhere in my home, and mainly in my bedroom. I have now caught the male cat also urinating on my bed. I have tried everything suggested on websites – I clean their cat box everyday, I use a Feliway diffuser in my bedroom, used No-Mark and other cleaners, but they are still both urinating all over the house. The vet can’t do anything and I’m sickened by the smell and at my wits end.
I have just gotten engaged and plan to sell my house, but I can’t show a stinky house to prospective buyers. And now my fiancé wants me to get rid of the cats because he doesn’t want them to pee all over our new house that we will get together, and I don’t blame him. But I really love my cats and don’t want to get rid of them. Also, the male cat has a mild case of Epilepsy and is on daily medicine so it would be difficult for me to find a new home for him, even if I had to. They have been indoor cats all their lives, but I tried putting them outside to see if they would like it, but they were terrified and would not do well anyway as I live on a busy street.
What can I do? I need help with my cat’s behavior issues ASAP, and I don’t know where to go. Otherwise, they are going to end up at the pound and my heart will be broken.
Thank you so much for any help you can give me.
Dear Sally says:
There are lots of questions here. Since the cats are older, how long as the problem been
going on? How does she define “all over the house”? Repeat peeing in same areas or different areas?
She referred to “cat box” — does she have only one? Could be as simple as adding additional boxes.
What is the male cat’s role in all this? — he’s probably peeing on the bed in response to the female, but how does he react to the two females. I have a feeling her fiance may have a role in the way the cats are reacting — how long has he been part of the scene?
Have the cats been left alone while Janet is visiting OR has the fiance been visiting a lot with Janet paying less attention to the cats? The 8-year-old seems to feel insecure, hence demanding her attention, peeing, and picking on the older female.
Given the real estate market, she will indeed have to get rid of the animal smells before she tries to sell the house (the local paper just ran an article about that). I doubt that she’d want to invest in an enclosure before she sells.
I do think that once she and the fiancé (clearly NOT a “a cat personâ€) settle into one place, the cats will all be on equal footing and perhaps less likely to be conflicted. A fence/outside enclosure can also be built in the new area. Wouldn’t hurt to add flower essences from www.SpiritEssence.com), but I don’t think things will settle down until Janet is settled down.
