Hello, I’m Dr. Karyn! Learn my introduction to study extra about me and meet my 5 hilarious cats: Clutch, Cyril, Alex, Zelda, and Zazzles.
I grew up in Queensland, Australia, then lived in Alice Springs within the Northern Territory for a few years earlier than transferring to the UK. And earlier than I had the 5 felines I share my dwelling with in the present day, there was Gilbert and Sullivan; two lovable feminine tabbies.
Gilbert was first on the scene, and Sully joined us two years later. They have been by no means the very best buddies I had hoped they’d be, however they appeared to get alongside with out battle, glad to share area on my mattress and totally different perches on the cat tree. After a couple of yr, nevertheless, we started to suspect that each one was not nicely when Sully began peeing all over the place that weren’t a litter field.
Sully’s Problematic Peeing
Purchasing luggage, purses, and sneakers have been her favorites – notably embarrassing once they belonged to friends. There was the occasional incident on my mattress, however by far the worst was when she piddled on the steam mop – steaming cat urine is an unforgettable expertise. My Dad would argue that probably the most regrettable urination scenario was the one within the fruit bowl, which was solely found after he’d sliced a banana on his breakfast cereal. No less than it was a fruit from which the pores and skin was fully eliminated earlier than consuming!
If you happen to’ve ever needed to cope with inappropriate feline urination, you is perhaps conversant in a number of the suggestions, methods, and strategies we would have employed to deal with our wee downside:
- Urinalysis to rule out irritation, an infection, or crystals
- Pheromone diffusers and sprays to assist her really feel settled
- Including an additional litter field to the three we already had, in a brand new location with a unique sort of litter
- Cleansing any dirty floor with an enzymatic cleaner designed particularly for this function
A few of these strategies helped for a time, however ultimately, the urination would return. The locations she was piddling instructed that this was territorial habits, selecting vertical surfaces, my mattress, and gadgets that usually entered and exited the home. The issue was clear: regardless of appearances, Sully felt threatened by Gilbert, and was using passive-aggressive techniques to attempt to enhance her place within the dwelling.
Sully’s Persistent Problematic Urination
Sadly, realizing this was the issue did nothing to assist me discover a resolution, nevertheless it did reveal that there will be fairly intense friction between cats that seem like getting alongside simply nice.
This was an ongoing downside for my household and I proper up till the time after I moved to Alice Springs, bringing Gilbert and Sully with me. I had prepped the brand new home with pheromone diffusers and sprays, and positioned litter containers in a number of totally different places to offer them loads of choices. After I first allow them to out of their journey crates, they spent the primary 48 hours huddled collectively behind the bathroom, barely transferring an inch. Afterwards, they started to bravely discover their new dwelling, together with their newly erected outside catio.
And guess what? All the time we lived within the pink heart, there was by no means a single territorial pee. Each urination was contained inside the field, and I by no means had to purchase one other bottle of urine cleaner.
Classes from Sully’s Problematic Urination
So what modified?
Properly, I’ve a concept.
When Sully got here into the Queensland home, Gilbert had been there for a few years, snug and settled in her well-established territory, so Sully employed her pheromonal protection system. After we moved to Alice Springs, they entered the home as equals, sharing within the trauma of relocation and new territory.
So does that imply that you’ll want to transfer home to cease your cat from marking their territory? Hopefully not! It’s not a very economical resolution! However, I had a buddy make use of a model of this technique when she was having the identical downside along with her cats. Like Sully, considered one of her cats had joined the home later than the others and had taken to urinating on numerous gadgets and areas. Having tried all the things else, she took my recommendation and despatched her three cats to remain at a cattery for per week. Whereas they have been gone, she did a radical clear of the home, furnishings, bedding, and garments, even utilizing a UV lamp to verify for traces of pee.
Lo and behold; when the three felines returned dwelling collectively, the territorial urination stayed away.
It could appear to be an excessive technique to method this downside, however if you’re coping with inappropriate urination in a multi-cat family, and you’ve got explored all potential causes and options, per week away may very well be simply what you’ll want to maintain the cat pee scent away! No less than it’s value a strive.
This text is part of Dr. Karyn’s sequence along with her 5 hilarious cats.
