Feline Behaviour Clinic Q&A | Cat Health and Care

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Feline Behaviour Clinic Q&A

Written by Neil

Saturday, 27 September 2008

Problem with spraying / weeing:

Almost 2.5 years ago, I brought home a choccie point Siamese kitten to join my elderly blue point Siamese boy and my beautiful almost 2 year old lilac girl

The lilac girl hated the addition on sight – hissed, huffed and became very remote for a while, eventually condescending to sit with the others, provided the male was between her and the new addition. They reached a kind of peaceful coexistence until the kitten came into her first season and started spraying. As soon as this was over, she was spayed but the spraying simply never stopped

It started with the ends of the sofa – the older girl would spray and the younger looked like she was attempting to spray but completely emptying her bladder. I then kept finding puddles of wee on the kitchen counter in the mornings. Despite my best efforts to keep on top of the situation and keep everything clean, using products that were supposed to remove the scent, the problem escalated – any clothes left on the floor, or hanging off a chair / bed and close to the floor were sprayed on. They moved on to the dado rails above the sofa, the TV, the skirting board behind the TV, the stairwell, boxes of files in the loft study, on plastic bags if they are left on the bed or the sofa, under the dining table and in any cardboard boxes that I try to leave out for them to play with

All through this period, the older cat would hiss and spit if the younger one came too close, and they’d have the odd chase round the house and bite each others ankles. The kitten would often pick a fight though – just launch herself at the older one. She is very self assured, noisy and attention seeking and could even be a bit manic at times but purrs like a steam engine and seems so loving and happy all the time

I always assumed this problem was behavioural and had worked on offering different types of litter, different types of litter trays on multiple levels of a 3 story house and put another scratching post and bed in the loft and introducing Feliway (which has a dramatic effect on the sociability of the older girl, so much so that I notice when the vial has run out by spotting her becoming withdrawn again) – all this helped but the messing continued, so in the end, thinking it might be kinder to consider rehoming one of the cats in case they were really unhappy (although my heart was breaking at the thought), we went to the vets in a last ditch attempt to find a treatable reason for the issues.

The vet found evidence of elevated white cells in a urine sample (or something like that) from the younger girl) and advised that her bladder felt as if she had an infection. This was treated with one steroid injection and a course of antibiotics – the puddles of wee stopped, the younger girl became less manic and I was over the moon – could cope with the spraying ! The vet concluded that the kitten was weeing everywhere because of a painful bladder and the older girl was seeing this as a challenge and responding by spraying – a vicious circle ! The “infection” came back quite quickly, so we had another long course of antibiotics and then remained relatively pee-free for quite a while but the problem keeps coming back.

Then my elderly Siamese boy passed away last November and the result was quite a nasty battle for the top-cat position – they never hurt each other but were constantly vying for my attention and scrapping over the position on top of the TV / occupation of the radiator bed etc and spraying to mark their territory. I think I am only now discovering the extent of the spraying and weeing that went on during this time and the damage it has caused. Over an 8 week period, things calmed down to the point that the girls would snooze the day away in separate rooms and, at night, one would sit next to me and one on my lap. There would be occasional outbreaks of hissing when the younger girl picked a fight, but it wasn’t too bad and the older girl was becoming gradually more cuddly and talkative, seeking me out whereas before she was very solitary – even used to play on her own. From time to time, the youngster would end up on antibiotics for a week when what we think is Idiopathic Cystitis seemed to flare up again and I’ve even caught them sleeping – almost touching – on my bed once or twice.

Recently, the spraying moved into my bedroom – a couple of times the younger one weed on the duvet whilst I was in bed, and the duvet was hanging down, almost touching the floor at the end of the bed and was sprayed on multiple times. They then moved on to the under-bed drawers containing lots of clothes – resulted in a lot of washing !! I used to wake up at 4am to the sound of the little one “digging” as if trying to scrape litter over clothes or carpet. I seem to have fixed this by throwing out the drawers and temporarily storing the clothes elsewhere, plus buying a new duvet and cover and deep-cleaning the carpet – touch wood there have been no more episodes for the past month.

For approximately the past 8 weeks, I have been using a new product – Zylkene – that is supposed to work on stressed cats. This seemed to work minor miracles at first – I had two far happier cats that were playing more and the little one is much less clingy than before. Sometimes, they almost look as if the games of chase are real games and not arguments now.

We still have growls and hisses from the older one, and the little one is still far too exuberant and picks fights by pouncing on the older girl. We have a lot more disagreements over the territory of my lap and there is still a level of spraying, but vastly reduced.

This has gone on for so long, it feels that habits are ingrained and I’ll be lucky to eradicate the problem altogether. However, I’d really appreciate having a fresh eye cast over what I have tried, in case there is anything else I can try to maintain harmony. It seems to me as if the trigger is the younger one’s recurrent cystitis. She has glucosamine every day which I am sure helps but doesn’t prevent it altogether. Her need for attention could also be a trigger – I’ve seen her wee inappropriately when she is shouting at me to play and I haven’t reacted quickly enough – she stands and stares at me whilst doing it, so I make a point of trying to pretend I haven’t noticed.

The “problem” is now entirely manageable, provided I keep on top of things. I adore my girls and am convinced that they are both happy but would love to know if I could do anything more for them – thankyou for listening !

Problem with spraying/ weeing : Response

What a complex problem you are having! There are several issues you need to address quickly to make life better for your two cats. They must be pretty miserable. Without the benefit of a home consultation we are missing some vital information. A home visit would tell us....where are the litter trays, what material is in them, are they open are covered etc? We could find out how cat friendly the home environment is...are there cat gymns and play structures ( not just a few scratch posts ), are there escape routes for the older cat to high up refuges, are the cats suitably stimulated and exercised? By taking a full history we could find out how the youngest cat was introduced as a kitten, was it a gradual introduction with the kitten not coming face to face with the resident cats for at least a week ( the correct process ) or was she brought straight in and expected to get on with it? Our advice will be fairly general, but should make a noticeable difference...

Both the cats should have a urine sample taken again for analysis as they are both soiling outside the litter trays. The younger cat has been “what we think is Idiopathic Cystitis “. You need a definitive diagnosis on this rather than a guess. This can also be helped with a veterinary diet which you should ask about.

Cystitis is quite often stress related and can be caused quite unintentionally by stress put on house cats. It causes pain while urinating, and a cat with cystitis will quickly associate the litter tray with that pain. As a result the cat will not want to use the tray in an attempt to avoid what the cat perceives as the cause of that pain. You describe an incident with the young cat “shouting at me to play and I haven't reacted quickly enough – she stands and stares at me while doing it ( urinating ).

The cat is showing classic behaviour of having a bladder infection, crying in pain followed by the inappropriate peeing. Cats are such clean and fastidious animals that they do not pee just to “spite” their owners, or to demand attention. That is how you have interpreted it. It is a sign that something is wrong.

An anxious or stressed cat will spray or deposit urine as a comfort mechanism. As the cat is feeling insecure or unhappy in their own territory, they spray to reinforce their own scent, and to feel happier and more secure. The more stress, the more spraying!

These cats don't appear to like each other very much. The fact that they have only slept on the bed together only once or twice in over 2 years is very telling. Cats in the same “ group” ( in which the owner is included too ) will share very close personal space in order to share the same group scent. It is worth remarking that the group dynamics also had a shift when your blue point boy passed away. Cats can develop strong bonds with each other, and especially Siamese. If your lilac girl grew up with her companion she will definitely have had a period of missing him, even grieving for him. At the same time however she was having to cope with a less socially mature cat than herself, whose attempts at play she seems to reject.

At this point now they are barely tolerating each other. It is curious that the young cat is being treated with Glucosamine at the tender age of 2 and ½. The product is to relieve joint pains and inflammation in stiff and arthritic cats. If it helps cystitis I'm sure a vet will be quick to correct that point!

Continue with the Feliway diffusers, a 3 storey home will need at least 2. It exudes a harmless pheromone into the atmosphere and can be very effective. The Zylkene should be stopped.......medication should never be used in this way to treat a behavioural problem. It claims to be a “natural” product, but how can you be sure exactly what you have been putting into your cats' body.

Research shows: “The active ingredient is a peptide (a simple sort of protein molecule) which is able to bind temporarily to certain receptors in the brain.”

Any form of mind altering treatment is inexcusable and this vallium substitute is no exception. Rather than mask the symptoms, get to the bottom of the problem and use behavioural techniques to try to restore harmony.

The cats need to be separated. Each girl will need access to a litter tray and food and a sleeping area. They should not be able to come face to face at this stage. What you need to achieve is a peaceful reintroduction. Each cat should feel calmer and relaxed with her own safe core area. After a week or so swap the areas round enabling each cat to be exposed to the scent of her companion, while at the same time not having to confront her face to face. When this has been done you are ready for the reintroduction.

Still keep each cat's core area set up, and add a third litter tray. ( The rule of thumb for indoor cats is one tray per cat plus one = 3 trays ).The covered litter trays are best when you have more than one cat, it keeps toilet time private. Make sure the trays are in a quiet place in the house, not beside windows or doors, and well away from food and water. Choose one type of litter and stick to it. Add a few bowls of dried food at random through the house, and also have a few water bowls away from the food too.

Now the cats can interact with each other if they choose, and have their refuge areas they can retreat to. Environmental stimulus is important to all indoor cats, but especially an active and intelligent breed as the Siamese. Make sure you have areas for play, a cat gymn with different levels and platforms to jump up on, toys available, and for the older cat a refuge higher up will be important. Both cats need to be able to burn off some energy ( and Siamese have huge amounts of that! ).

Don't mistake rough play from the younger cat as aggression. The “ picks fights by pouncing” incidents appear to be a young playful Siamese trying to engage her companion in some games.

I hope our solution will help improve the relationship between the 2 cats, and hopefully impact the cystitis problem too. Please keep us updated.

I would also encourage you to contact us directly by email so that we can fill in the gaps left by not having a consultation and taking a full history.

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