Hello, I’m Dr. Karyn! Learn my introduction to be taught 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 at the moment, there was Gilbert and Sullivan; two cute feminine tabbies.
Gilbert was first on the scene, and Sully joined us two years later. They have been by no means one of the best buddies I had hoped they might be, however they appeared to get alongside with out battle, glad to share area on my mattress and completely different perches on the cat tree. After a few yr, nevertheless, we started to suspect that every one was not effectively when Sully began peeing everywhere that weren’t a litter field.
Sully’s Problematic Peeing
Buying baggage, purses, and footwear have been her favorites – significantly embarrassing once they belonged to company. 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 state of affairs was the one within the fruit bowl, which was solely found after he’d sliced a banana on his breakfast cereal. Not less than it was a fruit from which the pores and skin was fully eliminated earlier than consuming!
Should you’ve ever needed to take care of inappropriate feline urination, you is likely to be accustomed to among the ideas, tips, and methods 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 goal
A few of these strategies helped for a time, however ultimately, the urination would return. The locations she was piddling recommended that this was territorial conduct, selecting vertical surfaces, my mattress, and objects that often 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 answer, but it surely did exhibit that there may be fairly intense friction between cats that seem like getting alongside simply high quality.
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 just a few completely 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 out of doors catio.
And guess what? Your complete time we lived within the crimson heart, there was by no means a single territorial pee. Each urination was contained throughout 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 principle.
When Sully got here into the Queensland home, Gilbert had been there for a few years, comfy and settled in her well-established territory, so Sully employed her pheromonal protection system. Once 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 it’s good to transfer home to cease your cat from marking their territory? Hopefully not! It’s not a very economical answer! However, I had a buddy make use of a model of this methodology when she was having the identical downside together with her cats. Like Sully, one among her cats had joined the home later than the others and had taken to urinating on varied objects and areas. Having tried every part 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 might appear to be an excessive solution to strategy this downside, however in case you are coping with inappropriate urination in a multi-cat family, and you’ve got explored all doable causes and options, per week away might be simply what it’s good to maintain the cat pee odor away! Not less than it’s price a strive.
This text is part of Dr. Karyn’s sequence together with her 5 hilarious cats.