Cat Chat 2

[ChunkyChad]

hey, does anyone have any advice for dealing with a male
cat continuously marking/spraying?
i swear i've tried everything but he's gotten so much worse
recently & i'm not sure why.

for context about the cat in question:
- indoor only
- neutered
- around 5 years old
- lives with 2 other male cats (& has for a few years, no issues
directly with them)
- we have 4 litter boxes around the house
- pheromone diffusers do not help
- prozac didn't help


he also has a track record of urinary issues, but the vet has ran
lab samples recently & said he's perfectly fine, so it's just a
behavior issue

Hi I would recommend maybe trying getting the areas he is spraying deep cleaned since as long as the cat can smell it they will continue to go in that spot. For my cat when he was having issues with spraying so I had to actually tear out the carpet and leave it as exposed cement to stop him from returning to the spots he was spraying. Also if he hasn't been using the litter boxes you might have to reintroduce his scent to the litterbox so he will use it or for my cat I moved his litterbox to one of the spots he was spraying at (however I did that more so cause I was concerned he was having issues reaching the box do to his age(which was not the case) so I'm not sure how much that would actually help).

[darling feathers]

-snip-

Hi I would recommend maybe trying getting the areas he is spraying deep cleaned since as long as the cat can smell it they will continue to go in that spot. For my cat when he was having issues with spraying so I had to actually tear out the carpet and leave it as exposed cement to stop him from returning to the spots he was spraying. Also if he hasn't been using the litter boxes you might have to reintroduce his scent to the litterbox so he will use it or for my cat I moved his litterbox to one of the spots he was spraying at (however I did that more so cause I was concerned he was having issues reaching the box do to his age(which was not the case) so I'm not sure how much that would actually help).

i’ve been trying to deep clean but i’m planning
on trying to use a black light to ensure i’ve got
everything :)
he uses his boxes fine & will even use it before
or after he sprays. thank you for the tips!

[samm.]

We had to take one of my cats to the vet today and the results weren't good. She's been diagnosed with FIV as well as feline leukemia. At the end of the day, the total came to $116, which for us, that is a lot of money. That's an entire bill that would've had to go unpaid if my father had paid for it, luckily I paid for it out of some money I'd been saving up. The vet recommended we test all of our other cats just in case, and besides her we have nine other cats. Keeping it to the absolute basics, it was 47$ just for the initial office exam, and 56$ for the test, which comes out to $103. Adding that up nine times, it comes out to $927. And that doesn't begin to cover the cost of medication for all those who may come back positive, or the preventative shots we're going to need to get for those who're negative. I just feel like complete crap because unless another stimulus check is sent out, it's going to take us months to get them all tested. If we're lucky and we have enough left over at the end of each month, we can get one in every month, but that still would take 9 months. I'm panicking. I absolutely adore my cats, they're my whole world. The thought of them hurting or suffering kills me, it absolutely kills me inside. What can I do in the meantime to help keep them safe? What can I do in the meantime to try and keep it from spreading? There's no way to separate her from the rest of the cats, unless we lock her in one of our bedrooms. But for 9 months? I feel like that wouldn't be fair to her. Besides, if she was born with it, which the vet said was likely, doesn't that mean it's likely already spread to the rest of our cats and they're just not showing symptoms yet? Or are we somehow just really, really lucky, and none of them have gotten it yet, despite her having lived with us for nearly two years?? Any and all help is extremely appreciated, even if it's just well wishes and kind words! 💕

[darling feathers]

-snip-

i’m sorry to hear about your dilemma <3 i was just
wondering if your vets possibly have a payment plan
option for the costs? i know that not all do, but ours
allowed us to pay the costs of our dogs’ surgeries over
a span of a few months because vet costs above just a
couple hundred dollars are hard to just pay up front.

aside from that, i hope that none of your others cats
have it or get it. i’m not very knowledgeable about FIV
or feline leukemia, but sending you and your cats well
wishes <3

[Rainbow Dash]

-snip-

i’m sorry to hear about your dilemma <3 i was just
wondering if your vets possibly have a payment plan
option for the costs? i know that not all do, but ours
allowed us to pay the costs of our dogs’ surgeries over
a span of a few months because vet costs above just a
couple hundred dollars are hard to just pay up front.

aside from that, i hope that none of your others cats
have it or get it. i’m not very knowledgeable about FIV
or feline leukemia, but sending you and your cats well
wishes <3

Vets may offer Care Credit, which is a healthcare credit card. Be warned, the interest rate is crazy high (it was 26% when I was working at vet clinics.) If you can get a payment plan I would take it over Care Credit.

[samm.]

@darling feathers & Rainbow Dash

thank you both! <3 this vet is new to us, so i'm unsure if they allow payment plans or not. our old vet used to, but they stopped, which is why we had to switch, they were just too expensive. i'll contact them later today and ask!

[mawsoleum]

-snip-

first off, i'm terribly sorry for your diagnosis. FIV/FeLV is a terrible thing to have to deal with. as mentioned previously, care credit is one option, though depending on where you live you may be able to apply for scratchpay as well. unfortunately, most vet offices don't take payment plans due to the amount of owners that back out. if absolutely all else fails, and i know this is not ideal in any way, many offices will allow an owner to surrender a sick animal to them if the owner cannot pay - that way the animal will still be treated or humanely euthanized without cost to the owner. again, i know that isn't ideal, but it is a possibility.

in the meantime, try to keep the other cats separated and inside. indoor/outdoor cats have a much higher chance of contracting FIV/FeLV if not vaccinated against it, as it comes from exposure to other infected cats. it's possible your cat was born with it, but it's also possible it came from a stray with the disease.

[lisica,]

hi,
I’ve had my cat Sonny for nearly 4 years now and in December I brought home my border collie puppy after my last died in september. Sonny was fine with my last dog but for the most part they were kept away from each other because my dog was quite old when we got sonny, and although she tolerated him they were never best friends or anything. Anyway my new dog Beau was obviously very curious at first but after Sonny put him in his place with a scratch once he has kept to himself and he now never approaches Sonny. This would be fine with me however Sonny will still try to pounce on Beau now, even when Beau is not bothering him at all or is sleeping. Everyone kept telling me to leave them to it and they’ll find their own bond eventually but it’s been over 5 months now and we’re getting nowhere :/
Sonny can be very good and most of the time he’ll approach beau and sniff him or watch from afar but it usually always ends in him trying to, or actually, pounce on him and it’s not fun for either of them :( Sonny never seems to be in a bad mood either lol like he’ll sit purring before and after so I just ???? we also introduced them outside in neutral territory but same thing.
I just don’t know what I can do with them! I feel very lucky that Beau never tries to defend himself by biting but I’m worried it’s only a matter of time. Am I doing something wrong here!! :( thank you!

Sonny is a ragdoll and is a house cat. Beau stays in the kitchen when he’s in the house because he’s too scared to go anywhere else :(

[samm.]

-snip-

thank you! 💕 i've never heard of scratchpay before, but i'll look into it! that was the reason my previous vet stopped allowing payment plans, too many people didn't end up paying and they were tired of losing money, which sucks for those of us who did pay and really benefited from payment plans 😔 if all else fails, yes, surrendering her is an option, one that we've already considered. as of right now, we're able to care for her and her needs, and she's doing okay. if something were to happen though, say she gets worse or we run into further financial problems, then surrendering her would be what's best for her, and no matter how much it would hurt me to do so, i would never allow her to suffer.

i'm trying my best to keep them separated, but we live in a relatively small, one story house, so it's quite difficult to keep her away from the others. all of my cats are indoor cats except two, and neither of the them have ever shown signs of being sick. so while i don't think it came from them, i've heard of cats being carriers without ever showing symptoms, so i suppose it's a possibility. i live in a neighborhood that's overrun by stray cats, in fact most of the cats that i own now used to be strays that we took in. Kitten, the one who was just diagnosed, came to us as a kitten and was quite sickly, which is why i think she might've been born with it. i've been trying to keep her food and water separate from the others, as well as trying to confine her to one litter box, but i can't watch her at all times. i have to sleep, and i have to leave the house occasionally for errands and such, so it's hard to know if she ever gets into their dishes or if they get into hers. i've been washing their dishes more often than usual though, and cleaning the litter boxes more frequently. hopefully that's doing something to stop the spread.

thanks again for the advice!!

[Rainbow Dash]

-snip-

unfortunately, most vet offices don't take payment plans due to the amount of owners that back out.

I've worked at three clinics and none of them offered payment plans for this reason. Too many people skip out on the bill and sending them to collections doesn't really seem to do much. It's unfortunate since there are owners in dire straits that could benefit from it and don't want to be subject to potential credit ruin defaulting on Care Credit can do.

hi,
I’ve had my cat Sonny for nearly 4 years now and in December I brought home my border collie puppy after my last died in september. Sonny was fine with my last dog but for the most part they were kept away from each other because my dog was quite old when we got sonny, and although she tolerated him they were never best friends or anything. Anyway my new dog Beau was obviously very curious at first but after Sonny put him in his place with a scratch once he has kept to himself and he now never approaches Sonny. This would be fine with me however Sonny will still try to pounce on Beau now, even when Beau is not bothering him at all or is sleeping. Everyone kept telling me to leave them to it and they’ll find their own bond eventually but it’s been over 5 months now and we’re getting nowhere :/
Sonny can be very good and most of the time he’ll approach beau and sniff him or watch from afar but it usually always ends in him trying to, or actually, pounce on him and it’s not fun for either of them :( Sonny never seems to be in a bad mood either lol like he’ll sit purring before and after so I just ???? we also introduced them outside in neutral territory but same thing.
I just don’t know what I can do with them! I feel very lucky that Beau never tries to defend himself by biting but I’m worried it’s only a matter of time. Am I doing something wrong here!! :( thank you!

Sonny is a ragdoll and is a house cat. Beau stays in the kitchen when he’s in the house because he’s too scared to go anywhere else :(

Is Sonny trying to play or is it aggression? Does Sonny give warning to Beau? Hissing, growling, swatting, things like that.

Cats aren't confrontational, typically when a threat presents itself a cat is going to run. If they can't get away they will give plenty of warning you are crossing lines. Failing that then they can attack. Giving your cat safe dog free spaces can make them more comfortable. If there's a space that can be Sonny's place, do it. Also providing vertical escape with cat trees. Cats visually survey their domain and like to get height to do it. They also feel more secure high up. When I have friends over for doggy play dates, I leave a cat-wide crack in my door where Tambora's cat tree is. He knows when he's over the dogs he can go to my room and go under the bed or up his tree and he will have a dog free space.

fwiw my cat and dog were frosty to each other until I moved from a studio to a 3 bedroom unit, now they're best friends because they have space. It can take time for them to get adjusted and learn each other's languages. I highly recommend Jackson Galaxy's Youtube channel and website for tips. I tell all my customers with cat issues to look there since he covers most common cat problems.