Kitty Problems!

[Sanguar]

So, I have two dogs (a shih tzu and a westie) and until two months ago, three cats. One of our kitties went to live at my MIL's three blocks away. She was down to one lonely cat and we figured Pino would be the perfect mate for the lonely kitty she had. Fast forward to now. We're left with a male two year old cat and a female (and very undersized) one year old cat. They always got along before and snuggled. The cat that now lives at MIL's was the loner that was left out (which is why we figured it wouldn't upset the balance). So in the past two weeks the male cat has been beating up on the female (to the point where I'm afraid for her safety. I've honestly never heard a cat squeal so loudly. It gets our westie riled up because she's always been very protective of 'little kitty'.) and has in the past week taken to peeing other places that the litter box. It's usually in the same spot or two, but it's pretty embarassing because we have company pretty often. His litter box is cleaned daily by my DH, so that's not it. Unless maybe he wants his own? I'm starting to wonder if he shouldn't be confined to one space with the litter box to 'retrain' him. Little kitty has taken to hiding underneath to sofa to take her naps because she's too scared to be seen by the other cat. I just can't deal with this stress right now (and my doctor would NOT like to see my BP). It's been two months since the other cat moved out, and he just fought with the remaining male cat when they saw each other as it was. UGH.
Also, are there any good products for thoroughly cleaning the cat pee spots so he's not tempted to mess there again, just based on the smell?

 

[bnjj]

You need an enzyme cleaner to completely neutralize the smell from whatever he's been peeing on and you need to thoroughly saturate the area. However, there is no guarantee that he will stop going in those spots.

Sounds like he's having separation anxiety with the other cat no longer being there, which I have no suggestions for.

 

[Sanguar]

You need an enzyme cleaner to completely neutralize the smell from whatever he's been peeing on and you need to thoroughly saturate the area. However, there is no guarantee that he will stop going in those spots.

Sounds like he's having separation anxiety with the other cat no longer being there, which I have no suggestions for.

Thanks! I'm just wondering why he's just started with it. He's been going on the hardwoods. They need to be refinished anyway, but EW.

 

[jenskar]

oh dear -- hardwood is the worst. I really am not a great fan of boy cats because when they stress, they do tend to have these "territorial marking" issues. Try to discourage him from the wood -- refinishing is not enough, unfortunately, you may end up with darkened stains that only really show up after everything is sealed if you don't stain the wood. Sorry, but would rather tell you than have you do expensive refinishing and find out later. I actually ended up replacing some wood (oak).

 

[Tibu]

We had kitty behavior issues that started a full four months after we got our Shih Tzu puppy. One of the kitties became violent with the puppy. When I talked to a behaviorist, the first thing that I was advised to do was to get the cat checked out by the vet because you should always first rule out any medical issues that might be causing a change in behavior.

As for the spraying issues, I know that my parents were able to stop one of their cats from spraying by putting tin foil down in the areas that the cat was peeing. Apparently they hate the sound and texture of the foil and will avoid the area like the plague. By putting the foil there for a few weeks they broke the pattern and were able to take it away without the peeing starting again. I have also always heard as a rule of thumb that you should have one litter box per kitty. Good luck! I hope things get better!

 

[Sanguar]

We had kitty behavior issues that started a full four months after we got our Shih Tzu puppy. One of the kitties became violent with the puppy. When I talked to a behaviorist, the first thing that I was advised to do was to get the cat checked out by the vet because you should always first rule out any medical issues that might be causing a change in behavior.

As for the spraying issues, I know that my parents were able to stop one of their cats from spraying by putting tin foil down in the areas that the cat was peeing. Apparently they hate the sound and texture of the foil and will avoid the area like the plague. By putting the foil there for a few weeks they broke the pattern and were able to take it away without the peeing starting again. I have also always heard as a rule of thumb that you should have one litter box per kitty. Good luck! I hope things get better!

Thanks! We used Nature's Miracle on everything. So far he's quit using the upstairs bathroom and has only gone in the downstairs a couple of times. I have radar nose right now, so I know when he goes right away. I will try the tin foil trick too. We have also started picking him up and taking him to the litter box whenever he goes downstairs. And we shut the door to that room, but it's an OLD house so it creaks open now and then. Our hardwoods are about 100 years old and stained dark mahagony, so it's not staining that's the issue. Thanks for the replies!!