Help! Older Cat Won't Stop Marking MY TERITORY!

My poor cat is so up tight that he marks his territory every time anything changes in the house. I give him his own box and it is better. Before the second box I found something else Lavendar. I put lavendar oil on the cotton ball and throw it in my dryer boy doe he calm down. I cannot stand the smell otherwise it would be on the beds as well. Try some Freshwave for the smell. You can get it at ACE Hardware. It just takes time for the adjustment.

You have to descide what's more important; a playful cat or the health and hygiene of your home for a new grandchild to enter (and yourself). Your friends will stop visiting and a cat is just not worth the misery or repercussions. I know what you mean by the odor, believe me. The time does come when enough is enough. Good luck

Are you sure he is marking? Often times cats will pee outside the litter box if there is a health issue. Another thing you may want to make sure you have 3 litter boxes. The rule of thumb is 1.5 litter boxes per cat. He may not want to do business where she is. I have lots of experience with animals. I worked at a vet for over a year, I am a volunteer at an animal shelter and I have a house full of animals. In fact 3 days ago my cat started peeing in the house. I took him to the vet and he has a urinary tract infection. So before you give up one of the cats talk to the vet first.

I would always recommend a vet check for any cat that's marking that never has before - even with a new cat in the mix. As for getting them to like each other, HSUS.org has articles ont his type of thing as well as American Humane. They are both wonderful resources.

A.,
This is possibly just a coincidence. In older male cats one of the VERY first signs of a blocked urinary tract is inappropriate marking. The very bad smell is the second clue. You need to take him to your vet and have them do a urine dip. Cats aren't dogs they don't usually mark. If however you think this is the case you might want to get another litterbox. Some cats take great offense at sharing a litterbox or having it dirty. Make sure you scoop both litterboxes daily. Even getting a bigger box might help. Take him to the vet first to rule out a blockage. As a vet tech I can't stress this enough. They can become completely blocked in a hearbeat and die an agonizing, painful death.
Luck to you
L.

Hi A.. Sorry this is happening to you. Male cats are often this way. But like others have said, it may be a urinary tract infection. Cats pee outside of their litter boxes when they are having problems like an infection.

A product that I use for pee on the rugs is called Urine Out. It has taken the smell out of my carpet from our dogs going there. Google it and see if it might be something you would want to try.

Good luck!

IF you use Natures's Miracle, and it is not working, you may have to soak the rug all the way through to the padding. That is what Ihad to do. As you may already know, male cats have fouler smelling urine and if you don't get the NM on all if it, your cat will smell it and continue to mark that spot. I bought a watering can and "watered" my carpet until it was soaked with NM. It took to gallons to get it covered, but it finally worked! Also, purchase a black light to see EXACTLY where he marked, so you can get to it quicker (urine stains glow green under a black light). GOod luck to you!
K.

P.S. You may want to talk to your vet about how to get him to stop marking!

Ugh. I've been through this with at least two male cats in my lifetime. It is HORRIBLE!

First, def. take your older guy to the vet and make sure the peeing isn't because he's sick. Your vet can also give you directions on how to decrease/get rid of the inappropriate elimination.

Next, make sure that catbox is squeaky clean. I mean, don't scrub it every day, but make sure that you scoop it daily without fail. You may also want to consider giving each cat its own litterbox. I had a kitten once that kept peeing on the sofa...until we gave him a box of his own. We went from almost having to give him away to him using "his" own box 100%.

Last -- and as loathe as I am to promote a book or product on this site -- I suggest you read "Think Like a Cat" by Pamela Johnson-Bennett. It has helped me with a range of kitty issues, by trying to understand from their little furry brains' point of view.

Good luck!

Hi A.,

I am so sorry that you are having to deal with this. Other people gave some really good ideas but I will just add on.
1. Take him to your vet. You need to rule out a urinary tract infection (even though I agree it is most likely behavior). Another thing that is possible is feline cystitis which is caused by many things but stress is one inciting factor.
2. I would restrict him to one room in the house with one litterbox just to retrain him.
3. Is he peeing on the floor or the walls? It makes a difference. Marking is on the walls not floor.
4. Try to clean your carpet as best as you can
5. When all other things have been worked out slowly re-introduce him to Oreo.

It will work out...good luck
V.

Hi A.!
My mother went through the same thing with my old cat, Gizmo, when her new husband brought home a kitten. Unfortunately for her, the place Gizmo liked to mark was my mom's bed! She too her to the vet, who actually suggested a cat psychologist. There was no way that was going to happen, so my mom came up with ways to show Gizmo attention. She bought a new litter box, and started letting her out of the bedroom and keeping the other cat away for a little while (She hated him and actually growled like a dog whenever he came close.) Once my mom started paying more attention to her, the problems stopped. Try a new litter box or place just for her, and lavish lots of attention on her! Good luck!

I use Odo Ban to get rid of the pee smell. It's the only thing that worked on the smell for me! I've been fighting this problem with a female cat for years.

If the vet doesn't find anything you could:

Use Cat Attract cat litter. It's supposed to entice the cat to use the box. It really works! It's not expensive and it clumps really nicely.

You could try feliway or comfort zone to keep him from peeing in that location. Either use the spray or try the plug-in. It emits a calming odor only cats can smell and it reduces marking.

The thing that worked with my cat is Rescue Remedy. I give her 4 drops a day and it calms her and keeps her from peeing. If I stop, she starts peeing again. That combined with 2 litter boxes (we have 2 cats) scooped daily has helped.

Good luck!

A friend recommended giving the older cat more attention and he stopped marking his territory. I think he was jealous of the other animals in the house getting all of the attention or that he was no longer the "king". We keep several bottles of Oxy clean & protect with scotchgard for any accidents. It works the best of all of the products we tried. It is in a white bottle with a green label. It is hard to find but we got it at the Meijer in Plainfield.

I suggest you call your vet. Same thing happened to us when my cat Samantha met my husband's cat Ruby. It was all out war and Samantha was winning. We actually wound up taking them both to the vet and wound up putting Samantha on Buspar (kitty prozac) for a while. It tamed her agression and once we knew we were in the clear, we weaned her off of it. The did manager to cohabitate peacefully with a spat thrown in now and then just like siblings!

I don't know if you can make them get along. You know how cats are, but for the marking of territory you can. Ask your vet about prozac. I know it sounds absolutely absurd, but my girlfriend had a big problem with her cat. She was at her wits end and was on the verge of putting him down. Then her vet suggested she try the prozac and see if it works. It did! And the cats seem to like each other a little bit more (she has a female too, that she got a few years after the first male).