Hello, I’m Dr. Karyn! Read 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 house with right now, there was Gilbert and Sullivan; two lovable feminine tabbies.
Gilbert was first on the scene, and Sully joined us two years later. They had 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 couple of 12 months, nonetheless, we started to suspect that each one was not properly when Sully began peeing all over the place that weren’t a litter field.
Sully’s Problematic Peeing
Buying baggage, purses, and footwear had 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 essentially 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. No less than it was a fruit from which the pores and skin was fully eliminated earlier than consuming!
In case you’ve ever needed to deal with inappropriate feline urination, you is likely to be conversant in among the suggestions, methods, and methods we would have employed to sort out our wee drawback:
- 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 distinct kind 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 urged 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 ways to attempt to enhance her place within the house.
Sully’s Persistent Problematic Urination
Sadly, realizing this was the issue did nothing to assist me discover a answer, however it did exhibit that there may be fairly intense friction between cats that seem like getting alongside simply tremendous.
This was an ongoing drawback for my household and I proper up till the time once I moved to Alice Springs, bringing Gilbert and Sully with me. I had prepped the brand new home with pheromone diffusers and sprays, and placed litter boxes in a few different locations to present them loads of choices. Once 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 house, together with their newly erected outdoor catio.
And guess what? All the time we lived within the purple middle, 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 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. 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 want 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 technique when she was having the identical drawback together with her cats. Like Sully, considered one of her cats had joined the home later than the others and had taken to urinating on varied objects and areas. Having tried every little thing else, she took my recommendation and despatched her three cats to remain at a cattery for per week. Whereas they had been gone, she did an intensive 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 house collectively, the territorial urination stayed away.
It could seem to be an excessive strategy to method this drawback, 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 want to preserve the cat pee odor away! No less than it’s price a strive.
This text is part of Dr. Karyn’s collection together with her 5 hilarious cats.