Here is the story....
Tiger was found in my parents back yeard about 6 years ago. He is a very loving and active kitty. My parents gave him to me and we were good buddies. Then I started travelling for work. My parents watched him all week and I would get him o the weekends. No issues.
My parents became attached to Tiger and decided they were going to keep him. No big deal, I felt bad about all the travel anyway.
Years go by. He is a good Kitty.
One of my parents other cats recently died. This caused Tiger to start spraying in their house. My parents freaked out and wanted rid of Tiger.
I said I would take him!
We bring him to our house (different place than where he lived before) and we have 2 cats already. we also have 2 dogs.
Tiger is used to our dogs becuase they stayed at my parents house a few times. They always got along.
Now, Tiger is hissing at our existing cats and spraying on the floor and baseboards near "his room".
I realize that this behavior is due to Tiger being stressed with the loss of his buddy and the move to the new house with other cats.
Questions:
1)Any ideas on how to solve his stress?
2)Any ideas on how to clean cat urine?
3)Any ideas on how to get him to stop spraying?
Sometimes that's also an indication of a urinary tract problem.
One of our cats needs a bit of alone time. We close the door downstairs every night with her on one side and the other cats on the other. It's made a big difference to her behavior, even if she has to deal with the others during the rest of the day.
Sounds like too much stress in a short amount of time to me.
+1 on the alone time Keith mentioned, one of our cats also needs that and gets really hissy if he doesn't get it.
Talk to vet regarding health issues, they might also present the option of medications. (kitty prozac or whatever)
As far as cleaning, go enzyme cleaner or go home.
something like this http://www.petsmart.com/cat/stain-odor-removers/nature-s-miracle-trade-just-for-cats-urine-destroyer-zid36-13567/cat-36-catid-200013;pgid=3hFGO_h1k7dSRpHGnf6sMhx70000HUodx-pF;sid=xu9ySZoTwcVxSc-sd8k0TaoZg5MlW3kYmkkP0OmM?var_id=36-13567&_t=pfm%3Dcategory
As long as it is an enzyme cleaner it stands a good chance of working. If its not an enzyme cleaner, it wont really get the job done (as I am sure you have discovered)
Hopefully a stupid question, but is the cat fixed? If not, thats step one. Unfixed males WILL spray.
You just have to find a way to make kitty chill.
Try putting down more boxes too. Usually you should have at least as many boxes as cats and not all in the same location.
Hal
SuperDork
8/3/15 7:43 p.m.
Every time we get a new cat it goes in the spare bedroom with its own bed and litter box. I remove the regular door and replace it with a screen door I set up for that purpose.
When we inherited my MIL's cat it took 2 months before we could let it out with our other 2 cats. The latest cat took one day! The second morning we woke up to find him and one of the other cats rubbing noses thru the screen. That night both of them slept with us.
The kitty is worth a trip to the vet. You never know what is really leading to the problem. Maybe it's the stress, maybe it's a physical problem.
Kitties who are stressed may develop urinary tract infections. See if you can collect a urine sample from Tiger (disposable pie tin works well, you just need good timing) and have the vet analyze it. If the vet suspects a UTI and you don't bring a sample they will extract a urine sample, and their way is more stressful than having a pie pan show up out of nowhere while peeing. Definately worth taking Tiger in for a checkup.
