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Looks like I am going to have to give it a try. Has anyone here used it? Did it work?

Several years ago, the male Maine Coon we agreed to foster while my niece found new living quarters (since has become a permanent adoption ) started urinating inappropriately - peeing outside the box - not spraying.

Thinking it might be stress related, I finally ordered Feliway plug-ins with several refills. Bottom line, didn't help a bit. Hope it works better for you....

Dang it- thats what we are dealing with with our big male ever since he spent a couple weeks in the hospital.

Did you ever find a solution?

Becky, I wish I could say, yes, that we have found a solution but, sadly, the truth is no, we have not. Of all the many cats I have ever had, I have never had one that wasn't litter-box trained and Tango, the culprit here, was definately litter-box trained (6 years old with never a miss) but something happened that caused him to regress or whatever...

As best as we can figure it, it happened when we took a 3 week trip to Canada a year or so after he came here to live. Came home to the problem - vet check said no UTI - but the problem has continued ever since. The care-giver (a private individual in her 70's) we used while we were gone is the same one we have used for over 20 years but something stressed him to the point of this behavior - what that something was? We have no idea...

The good news is that he restricts his inappropriate behavior to a very small area we have designated as "his" in the guest bedroom - and that is where I literally flooded the area with Feliway. I don't know, maybe it worked since he hasn't expanded his area, but, maybe not, since he hasn't stopped it either.

I wish I had a better answer for you - let me know if you find one....

I'm buying the feliway spray today. I feel as if i at least have to give it a try.

That is the same problem we're having with Judah. Only his seems to have been set off from when last Dec and Jan he was in and out of the hospital with a stubborn UTI. when he finally got over it, we had this problem.

I have never had a problem like this- and he KNOWS he isn't supposed to be doing it- when we catch him and shout-"Judah- no!" he looks at us and takes off to the bathroom.

Glad you are giving it a try, Becky, and I really hope that it works. Let us know....

Weeellll..........I'm at a loss and open to suggestions, etc. Pet Smart was out of feliway spray. They did have a knock off brand so desperate, I bought it.

Came home and sprayed it in his areas, let it dry as directed and turned him loose...he sniffed all 3 areas with great interest and proceeded into my bedroom where he left a large puddle on the carpet which he has never done before..... needless to say he is back in the bathroom and i am at my wits end with him!

Becky, It might be that the "knock off" was just that - a knock-off and not very effective. I bought mine from Doctors Foster and Smith and it wasn't a spray. Instead it was a diffuser that you plug into an electrical outlet in the wall. Bought several of them with additional refills and it said that it takes some time to build up. Might try them - they have fast shipping! Good luck!

http://DrsFosterSmith.com

Hey Becky56 meow! Hi IR meow meow!

I've been reading up about Feliway as I've not used it.......I'm very confused about the product - quote from their website "Feliway is a synthetic copy of the feline facial pheromone, used by cats to mark their territory as safe and secure." What confuses me is why would this been sprayed on an area where kitty should NOT be peeing??? Those places should not be safe & secure but should be off-limits as far as peeing & pooping!

Have your tried different litter? More than one litter box? There's also the problem that a UTI has not completely cleared up. Normal cat pee has small traces of ammonia - have you tried putting a small drop of clear ammonia in a fresh litter box to attract kitties to use the box? Inappropriate peeing could also be a sign of diabetes - lots of pee and the smell of ammonia will choke you while cleaning the box.

Hope you find a solution and your kitties aren't sick.

Mue, Excellent questions and I thank you for responding. I'll try to answer some of them but, then, anyone else who has ideas, please feel free to jump in!

You are right about the Feliway attributes - at least as far as they go with the company stance - it is supposed to be a copy of pheromones (sp?) which are supposed to allow cats to relax and feel safe and I already posted that it didn't work with Tango but hoped that it might work with Judah.

I used diffusers and, apparently, Becky used a "knock-off spray" but we both used it in an area where it was "acceptable" for them to urinate - the area where we WANTED them to pee - so that was not the problem. I am as baffled by this problem as Becky is...

One, it's not a UTI - both she and I have had numerous Vet checks that have ruled that out. And, it's not a problem re the litter boxes, their size, location or type of litter - myself, I have seven different boxes located in four different areas but the main thing is that Tango (the culprit) uses his litter box faithfully when he needs to "poop." It's just when he needs to pee that he does his thing...

And this litter box is kept immaculate - he likes it - uses it to poop with no problems, then takes his time deciding where to pee - makes no sense except for marking his territory but even that makes no sense.

I know that he knows he is being "bad" just as Becky posted about Judah; somewhere, somehow, he has decided that he needs to "mark" his territory but, I, like Becky, am at a loss as to why and what can turn this around?

ETA: Tango was neutered as a small kitten when he was adopted by my niece and has always been well-cared for - first in her home, then ours. He was litter box trained from a young age - for nearly 7 years, never a miss and he doesn't spray even now.

It was only after we took an extended 3 week vacation with a trusted care-taker (for over 20 years) that he began to exhibit this behavior but it hasn't let up since. Bottom line, we don't know what else to do but would appreciate any suggestions. He is still a valuable member of our family - he has a small area in a walk-in closet in the guest bedroom where he does his "thing" - but, other than that, he is as normal as normal can be! Any ideas?

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Idaho Resident,

Admit defeat. Put another large cat box on top of his favorite mistake spot. Thats what I had to do when my diabetic cat and my kidney failure cat were having pee wars. It worked.

There is more going on with Judah than I told in my first brief post. I'll try to condense it and be clear.LOL.

Judah is 6, he was neutered as a kitten and has never sprayed to mark or had any litterbox issues until a few months ago.

He lives in our home with 5 other indoor cats and he is the alpha male here. But he is also one of the most laidback cats I have ever known.

Late last Nov he came down with a stubborn UTI that took several hospitalizations, different meds, and many vet trips to finally clear up. During his first hospitalization he was diagnosed with diabetes too.

His sister was diagnosed earlier last year. We home test both of them and their diabetes stays under control by keeping them a low carb diet. He has only recieved insulin shots twice- both during the first hospitalization.

Finally in Jan the UTI cleared up. We noticed he would sometimes stand in a certain area with his tail up like he was marking but he would actually urinate instead. Make a big puddle. It was sporadic- no pattern to him doing it.

Early spring we had the windows raised. A neighborhood feral began to come up on the front porch and spray. This really set Judah off. So we closed the windows..and blinds...and curtains!! and he calmed down again to only doing it sporadically.

A week or so ago, a mama cat(neighborhood feral)brought her 5 kittens to the porch(she knows an easy mark!) Even with the windows closed- he knows! He just went nuts- Doing this marking/urinating multiple times per day- all near the front windows and door. And shows great interest in the windows and door too.

So he is banished to our master bath where he has never gone anywhere but in his litterbox. I let him out long enough to see what happened when i used the knock off feliway(I read the labels and the ingredients are the same).

This is why I believe this is a behavioral thing, not something medical.

The instructions were to spray the stuff everywhere he goes innapropiately, let it dry and it is supposed to make the area smell in a way to deter him from using it. Well, it did, he just found a new place!

I always use enzyme cleaner to clean up after him.

His urine looks and smells normal. It just smells like urine and not with that strong catpee odor. It is pale yellow no blood.

I hat eleaving him in the batroom, but I can't have him ruining my house, either!

JoW I might have to, but I don't want a litterbox(es) in my living room!

Ahhhh, so other kitties are spraying outside and Judah is making sure it's his territory!

Saw the same problem on My Cat from **** - they had to wash down the porch, door and windows and spray a kitty repellent too keep the feral gang away!

Time to get out the power washer

Never thought of that. We might need to look into it...sigh....I know Judah can smell it even thought the male hasn't been around in several months...mama cat isn't spraying but he can smell her out there. As soon as the babies are weaned the capture cage is coming and she is off to the vet to be fixed and then relocated to our shed away from the house, and the kittens will be fixed when they are old enough and moved out there too.

Love your avi Becky ~ hungry kitty?

The male may be on patrol in his neighborhood, he may still be spraying - his spray & stink has calmed down after mating but still messing with indoor kitties. Mama's hormones are raging after giving birth and looking after a kindle of kittens....so she smells too! Nothing we can smell but other kitties are totally aware!!!

On the bright side - cobwebs & spidies washed away, clean windows & screens

I totally admit I am so clueless on "cat deterrents " I do also know at the clinic we sell more refills on Feliway then even cat food When I asked clients why they liked it all 26 of thewm said it was the only thiung they have used that has ever worked for them in many years. We also use it a lot for cats that board with us. Until the vet started to use it in the cat room the smell was horrible, I have a super sensitive nose and they usually ask me at work if I can smell anything....not in the cat room

We put out the covered litterbox this morning. So far he has behaved himself, but one of us is always watching him. He was soooo miserable in the bathroom. So far he has checked everything out, played soccer till he lost his ball under the couch, napped on his back on the floor and is currently dozing on the couch. He hasn't used the new box, he actually went back to the bathroom and used the one in there(eyeroll). He'll have to stay in the bathroom in a bit because DH will be gone and I will be too busy to watch him. Don't trust him yet, but at least we have a start at something positive!

Becky, I do agree Judah needs to be released from the confined area (at least under supervision) so glad you were able to make it happen. Not sure on the "covered" litter box - I've had many, many cats and NOT ONE OF THEM would voluntarily go into one and actually use it! Let us know if he ever does take to it!

In the meantime, hang in there....

Day 1 was a success! He was out all day till mid evening when he went in to the bathroom. It was close to time for him to eat(he eats in there-that goes back our feeding the diabetics seperate from the others-different food). So he was in for the night(don't trust him out at night).

He just had his breakfast so he'll be let out in a few minutes.

Funny thing about the covered litterbox- We removed it when we adopted Sadie the blind cat. I had read that you should never use one with a blind cat. Well...guess who took to it first and is using it? sadie the blind cat! That boy is the smartest cat ever! He has no clue he is handicapped!

Okay, I haven't read all the replies but I have a question. What is Feliway?

Feliway is a product that is supposed to calm cats down if they are stressed. It has pheromes(sp) they can smell. You can buy it in a liquis diffuser that looks like a glade plug in or in spray form.


Well, he caught DH and I not watching him and now I have a nice puddle to clean.....but Sadie loves having the litterbox in the living room! If this continues the literbox will not be staying in there.

I suppose the next option is to get him to the vet and get something in RX to calm him unless the vet knows something better to try.