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My male neutered cat has been an indoor cat almost all of his life (there was a time when I was living with my dad that he was allowed out of doors) since he was about 2, after having had my sister's for a time, he started weeing on the bed. At first because my sister's cat used to wee on the bed, we thought it was her, and at times it probably was, but even though it was infrequent, it was a behaviour that continued after my sister's cat had returned to her. He didn't do it at all for a quite a while and after having to be moved in with my dad while i was in college, he started doing it and doing it ALL the time! My dad started putting a plastic sheet on his bed, and having the cat locked out of his bedroom. This behaviour went on for a few months until i was out of college and into my own flat. While in that flat, he did it twice during a six month period. Both timeson my bedding which were not on my bed at the time. He lived with my father again while i spent a year back packing in australia, and again there was he did it very very frequently, but dad was wise to it, and put the plastic sheeting over his bed right from the start. He assumed the cat was bored and starting letting him outside for a lot of the day. This seemed to help as the cat did not wee on the bed anymore, but my dad didn't take the plastic off because he didn't trust him. My cat didn't wee on the bed at all for the 9 months I was home before moving him to Britain with me in February of this year. Since I have been in Britain, he has weed on my bed on 3 separate occasions, and once on my bedding while it was on the floor in front of the washing machine waiting to be washed. It has been 3 months since last he did it (most recently after we went for a holiday in spain, about 3 days after our return) and now we have moved to London and he's been there with my boyfriend for over a week and been fine. We got him a larger litter tray than he used to have, and its always kept clean and accessable. Last night he weed on the bed (3 duvets, a flat sheet and our mattress pad all need washing or dry cleaning!) and I haven't got any answers as to how to fix this. I know I move around a lot, and that can be stressful, but I get the feeling he's doing it because he's spiteful about being bored. What can Ido without resorting to drugs? And if you can't think of anything, where can I learn about the drugs that are available and their side effects? I've seen mentioned on this page Selegine, but I'm really wary of solving the problem artificially. Please help, I'm at a dead end after having tried so many things to make him stop.
Stephanie |
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Dear Lindsey,
Resorting to drugs is not you giving in or letting your cat down, IF that is
necessary.
Flooding, to give the technical term, is a common problem with cats who are
stressed for one reason or another. they often will urinate on beds/bedding,
often, as you describe, whilst off the bed in front of the washing machine!
the cat has a greater sense of smell than us.........! OK, so putting plastic sheets seemed to help. often that will drive the cat
to using chairs/cushions/linen baskets. we, vets, do use two chemicals at our disposal. First is the cat pheromone,
which can be used as a spray or a plug-in. This is taking the cats territory hormone and packing it in a bottle for you to use to make him feel
at home, less stressed, etc. then, yes, there is seleginine, a serotonin
inhibitor. non-addictive, but often very effective drug for just tjhis
situation, where all else has not worked-permanently! OK, they are both drugs, but I think you all have done well to date, so they
are worth a try. You will need to see your own vet, however.
James Haddow
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