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Question

My Devon Rex cat has started peeing in our house (not spraying just peeing). At first, he peed only in his area i.e. his house, his toys etc. Now he is also peeing on the stove, in our bedroom. He is not neutered but we will schedule an operation asap. There are no other pets in the house - there were no pets in our house before we moved in. The behaviour started after he stayed with the mother-in-law for 2 days. She has a neutered male cat but since they spent already 5 weeks together when we were abroad, we did not expect any change in behaviour. Our cat is 14 months old. In addition, he has started being very affectionate to my husband to the point of obsession every morning or during the night - licking my husband's face and purring. We can only make him stop by locking him out of the bedroom. Then he gets angry at that and pees as well! Any advice would be helpful

Submitted: 205 days and 13 hours ago.
Category: Cat
Value: $12
Status: CLOSED
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Optional Information

Age: 1; Male; Breed: Devon Rex

Already Tried:
We have tried to change feeding times, we have cleaned the area, we give lots of attention to him when we are home.

Accepted Answer

Hello, XXXXX XXXXXX

 

There are several things you can do to deter this behavior. He is urine marking his territory. This is common in all cats male/female fixed or not. Cats will mark by spraying, squatting and peeing, and even pooping outside the litter box. Getting him neutered is a must, or this will never stop. After getting him neutered he will take around a month for the testosterone to cycle down in his body. At 14 months he is definitely coming into his sexual maturity. There may be a female around your home you don't know about.

 

 

Try some of these tips to stop the behavior.

You should add a second litter box.
Many times cats do not like to urinate in the same box they defecate in. Nor do cats like to share litter boxes either sometimes. It always a good rule of thumb to follow this formula (n+1= number of litter boxes) N= number of cats in house.

 

You can use a litter called cat attract. Attract Litter is designed to make it easier to get cats of all ages trained or re-trained to use the litter box. You can get this a petsmart, petco, and larger pet supply stores.

 

Very important to clean the areas that has been marked. You need to use a enzyme odor eliminating cleaner such as nature's miracle. Regular cleaner such as Lysol will not work as good. He keeps going to the same spots because he smells his scent there. You must get rid of the scent. Nature's miracle also makes a cat only formula now.

 

You can also use a product called feliway. This is a pheromone spray that helps cats with aggression, territorial issues, and anxiety. You can spray it on surfaces he has previously urinated on. You can also get it in an electric plug in that puts the pheromone into the air called Comfort Zone. You can get this at Pet Smart or most larger pet supply stores.

 

When you do catch him using the litter box appropriately reward him with a yummy little kitty treat. Cats learn very fast a reward method of training.

 

If you notice him ever straining to urinate or blood in his urine, then you need to address this as a medical problem and not a behavior problem. Cats will avoid the litter box if they develop conditions like urinary tract infections and such. If this occurs then you need to make him an appointment with the vet., but he still ones for the neutering any way.

 

 

Sincerely, XXXXX

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Expert: Micki
Pos. Feedback: 99.9 %
Accepts: 
Answered: 5/1/2009

Expert in cat behavior and health

Expert in cat medical and behavior issues.

205 days and 13 hours ago.

Reply

Thank you Micki. However, Theo has always, always used his litter box before...there was never any incident of not using the litter box until now. There was even a time, when he had to go - I had moved the litter box to clean it and he even went on the spot the litter box was supposed to be. Theo was such a good little guy in this respect. There may be a female outside - we have heard some loud meowing going on...Also, what would be the reason for Theo's new obsession with my husband .- the rather agressive grooming in the night/morinings...Theo does not do this with me - only my husband. The poor man cannot sleep these days and then neither can I because I am worried about the peeing if we lock him out of the bedroom...

Posted by Micki 205 days and 13 hours ago.

Info Request

I really don't know why your husband has become his target of affection. It is common for cats to pick a primary human in the house as "their human"

 

When you lock him out of the room, he doesn't pee because he is mad. He does it because he is stressed from the separation. So the feliway can help that ease anxiety.

 

I understand that he has good litter box habits, but this can happen to any cat for several reasons regardless of past behavior. Since he has always been good about using the litter box, that is more reason to make sure there is no medical issue causing it like a UTI. Also in the past he didn't have hormones driving his behavior, and now he does. That can have a huge impact on behavior especially for boys.

 

Cats relate any pain and discomfort of peeing to the litter box, and think if they go else where it will stop.

 

205 days and 12 hours ago.

Reply

Thank you again. Although I was always the main human in the house - Theo sits with me and usually sleeps on my side of the bed...then around 2.00 am - he goes over to my husband and grooms him...very strange. I was hoping it was hormone-related.

 

Regarding the UTI - Theo has had UTI in the past which were treated with antibiotics and follow up urine tests but it was very evident that he was sick - straining to pee, blood in the pee etc. Now, he does not do any of that just pees in the house in different spots. Also, Theo meows very loudly now - almost roars...do you think we should get him checked for a UTI?

Posted by Micki 205 days and 12 hours ago.

Info Request

That meowing is very typical behavior of a girl kitty around. He is calling out for a mate that he can obviously smell.

 

Again I can't imagine why your husband has become this target of affection, especially because your husband is a man (obviously). If your cat was a girl than it would be easy to figure out because female cats become very receptive to males in the house (human males) when they go into heat.

 

My gut tells me this is his raging hormones causing all of this, rather than a sickness or medical issue, but you can't be 100% positive without a vet exam.

 

Just start by getting him an appointment to get neutered. He will receive an exam to make sure he healthy enough for the procedure any way.

 

Here is a link to low cost neuter clinics

http://www.lovethatcat.com/spayneuter.html

 

 

205 days and 12 hours ago.

Reply

Thank you! This puts my mind at ease a bit...I would like to send you a photo of Theo but cannot see how I can do that...anyways, have a lovely weekend

Posted by Micki 205 days and 12 hours ago.

Info Request

You have a good weekend too. Hope its not raining where you are, it is for me :(

 

There is a tool in the tool bar that looks like a little tree. You can use that to upload photos.

205 days and 12 hours ago.

Reply

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Posted by Micki 205 days and 12 hours ago.

Info Request

Oh that is too much LOL. He has a look on face like " what are looking at?"

Absolutely beautiful though.

205 days and 12 hours ago.

Reply

Yes, isn't he wonderful - everyone is bewitched by him! The quilt he is sitting in was especially made for him by a client of my sister's!! What a prince! I hope the rain stops- we live in Venice, Italy and it is very sunny today...
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