WHAT is With My CAT?

[waterlilly]

ILander--How's your kitty?

Stupid kitty! He went on the tree again. I took it down tonight and put it out on the porch.

I do believe he is reacting to the orange tabby, who came thru the yard again yesterday, and sprayed every bush we had. My kitty could only watch from the screen porch. Then my kitty sprayed the tree. I shooed Mr. Orange Kitty, which I hadn't done before.

Here's my plan: I will cut up the tree with loppers and spread the branches in the yard where the other kitty sprayed. Plus some other soggy branches all around the yard. He'll essentially be covering the other cat's scent by proxy.

Does that sound like it would keep Mr Orange out of the yard? Will it make my kitty happy?

This is getting annoying. . .

i've got to go find my beer hat . . .

I think all that would do is attract the other male cat to come back and re-mark his territory!

 

[movie zombie]

your cat is NOT a stupid kitty: he is doing what nature has equipped him and programed him to do which is protect/mark his territory. annoying but NOT stupid.

be prepared that now the tree he may decide to spray on another item....more precious like your sofa....in the home.

1-get to a garden center and buy LOTS of spray on product with the essence of peppers and spray on your plants. go to costco and buy the large containers of chili flakes and spread around the ground surrounding the plants. invest in a lot of aluminum foil and place it where the other cat stands. for some reason they are not supposed to like aluminum foil to stand on.

2-there is a product called Feliway. it is supposed to be "calming" for stressed cats....and your kitty is stressed.

3-if you can, block the view from this window! [or any window from which he can see the orange one]. if your cat can't see the orange one, he may quit the behavior.

4-do NOT be angry at your cat. i think you have identified the problem....which is the other cat. again, your kitty is programed by the nature of being a cat to spray in this situation.

5-find the owner of the orange cat...if there is one. explain you will be trapping and taking said cat to a shelter. hate to see that happen but you are making efforts to have an indoor only kitty....which is the right thing to do as you can see from this one problem that an outdoor cat can create. i'm sure your plants will also appreciate it.

good luck.

MoZo

 

[Imdanny]

I don't know that this will help, iLander, but was the cat fixed early (like at 9 weeks) or later? I think I've read that it's less effective the later it's done.

Hi Danny

We fixed him right after we rescued him, but he was a biggish kitty. I think he must have been around 6 months old, but nobody at the shelter seemed to really know . . .

Dang.

Hope you're wrong . . .

ILander, it's just one small factor. It doesn't mean you can't fix or manage the problem.

I have a female cat that was fixed at 9 weeks that doesn't do anything like this.

But that's the difference between you and me. You're more patient. I would lose my mind in a New York minute. I couldn't handle it.
Just couldn't.

It's one of the reasons I don't have a dog. I'm surprised I can take care of one cat. I waited a long time before even trying.

 

[JewelFreak]

It is less effective against spraying when you neuter a cat after he hits puberty especially. By then it is learned behavior, which he might (or might not) continue. However, the urine is MUCH less pungent & they don't do it as often. I adopted a cat who hung around our backyard -- took me 9 months to re-tame him -- and he was a fairly old fellow by then. Had him neutered but he still sprayed for years. Ack! Not much you can do but check his usual places -- yours seems to do it by the window? -- and clean it off. If you can discourage the visitor outside, he may quit doing it.

--- Laurie

 

[iLander]

WOW! i'm glad I asked you guys!

I was sure cutting up the tree and spreading it around the yard would be a good thing, and I'm glad you guys told me Mr Orange cat would just come back to cover the scent!

You guys saved me any more aggravation!

Sadly, I can't keep my cat from seeing Mr Orange, since my cat likes to hang out on the screened porch (which is over 50 feet long) and he has a kitty door to get to it. It would be tons of curtains, but it is a good idea. The window he keeps peeing near is actually a sliding glass door.

I will definitely keep shooing Mr Orange away, and hope that he gets the message. He's not wearing a collar, so I can't call the owner.

CAUTION: DO NOT READ THE FOLLOWING PARAGRAPH IF YOU ARE EATING!!

My cat is looking kind of forlorn since he wasn't always an indoor cat. When we let him go out, he got into fights with the neighbor's cat (chased the him right into the neighbor's house in the middle of the night ), brought in various rat parts (once just a head that he left upright in the middle of the bedroom floor ) got tapeworms (he barfed one up a live one in the middle of the floor ) and brought in a circus of fleas. We are kind of thick and it took all that to make him an indoors-only cat. I play with him plenty, he has a kitty gym, and we take him for car rides a few times a month. We do what we can . . .

 

[iLander]

ILander, it's just one small factor. It doesn't mean you can't fix or manage the problem.

I have a female cat that was fixed at 9 weeks that doesn't do anything like this.

But that's the difference between you and me. You're more patient. I would lose my mind in a New York minute. I couldn't handle it.
Just couldn't.

It's one of the reasons I don't have a dog. I'm surprised I can take care of one cat. I waited a long time before even trying.

I'm not more patient (as MoZo pointed out ), I just try to find some humor in it. I'm sure you do that too.

The panoply of liquids offered by children and pets is pretty wide, though: over the years I've been peed on, barfed on, sneezed on, pooped on and bled on. I think it's about time the tree took one for the team!

Sooner or later, almost everything makes a funny story.

 

[movie zombie]

The panoply of liquids offered by children and pets is pretty wide, though: over the years I've been peed on, barfed on, sneezed on, pooped on and bled on. I think it's about time the tree took one for the team!

now that is funny!

good humor, iLander!

MoZo

 

[Gypsy]

You should definitely try some Feliway. But what I'd do is trap the other cat and take him to a place that does spay and neuter and see if he's fixed. If he isn't... fix him-. It might stop him from wandering and it might just save you a fortune in cat pee issues from your cat. Then you can decide what to do with him from there... if you aren't in CA or another cat crematorium state you can try your best local shelter.

I will honestly tell you that if a cat isn't tagged or microchipped, mostly indoors (as in he's in indoor cat that occasionally slips the leash and has concerned parents hunting him down) and neutered I consider him fair game for a TNR. I don't care if he's the neighbors cat.

You can also try predator urine... I don't know if it works but it sure is hilarious to shop for .