6 Yr. old neutered male cat

[sharon_d]

I have a 6 year old male cat who I had neutered at approximately 6months of age. I have never had a problem with him in the past, but just recently I have noticed a strong ammonia smell throughout my house, I also noticed yellow stains on my carpet in my dining room & living room. I just recently purchased a puppy in March of this year. I have 4 floors in my house and my puppies kennel is kept on my lower floor in my family room, I have had to put up a baby gate in order to keep my puppy from having the run of the house so I know the cause of the urine stains is not from the dog. I have to say the culprit would have to be my cat. He has taken to spraying in my house for some unknown reason. My cat's kitty litter is down one floor below my family room. My cat does jump over the gate in order to go to his kitty litter in the basement, so I don't think the reason is because he can't get to his kitty litter. I believe it could be a territorial issue & he is rebelling due to the lack of attention he is now not receiving or it is a way for him to mark his territory now that he feels someone has come in to take over, or maybe it is fear of going through the area where my puppy is. Either way I can not continue with this happening as I have expensive new furniture & white carpet & do not care for my house being destroyed. Could you please possibly give me a better understanding of why all of a sudden this is happening and what actions can be taken in order for it to be corrected, other than me having to put my cat down, as I really cannot afford what it will cost in vet bills in order to find out if it is a medical reason & if it is, then the cost also involved in fixing the medical condition & if it would be worth it all in the long run.

Yours truly,

Confused & Depressed

[chico2]

It sounds to me like you've already made up your mind what to do
To me,the cat is obviously stressed because of the new puppy.
I have a neutered male who sprays on occasion,mostly if he sees another cat outside.
I think your cat is unhappy,while he at one time was the"head"of the household,along comes this cute little puppy and he's ignored,cats are very sensitive to change.
I am a little baffled by you mentioning all new furniture and living in a house with four floors and you cannot afford to take your cat to the vet?
If the cat has to pass by the puppy to his litter-box,also jump a gate,that could be part of the problem or he has something wrong with his kidneys,easly fixed with medication if caught early.

[glasslass]

I was rather amused as I was reading your post, thinking of your cat saying, "This is mine, This is mine, That's mine, so is that, This is mine, . . . . . then when it got to the last part of your post, it totally blew me away! Your cat was there first. Of course he's upset! You knew you had new carpeting and furniture when you got the pup. Is the pup also expected to come housebroken. Seems to me that this situation is not the cat's fault, nor the pups. If you've created a situation, isn't it up to you to take time to work with your pets to get past this? It will be temporarily inconvenient, to be sure, but YOU CREATED THIS PROBLEM! Have you stopped loving your cat because you now have the pup? After 6 years, you owe him something.

[parker57]

If the puppy has been there since March, then she gave it 4 or 5 months. There is nothing worse than cat pee when it comes to smell. I wouldnt be so sure its just because of the puppy. I would take the cat to the vet, and see if it is a urinary tract problem. If not, then at least you know what you are dealing with. It seems like everyone who comes here for help lately is really getting flamed.

[Lucky Rescue]

At least take the cat to the vet to find out if this is a medical problem. If there isn't, then the puppy that you brought home is the cause of this, and you must work with it to try and help your cat.

You refuse to take your cat to the vet? Have you tried anything at all to correct or find out what is causing this? A urine test is not very expensive.

If you can't afford a vet, why did you get another pet?? What will you do if the puppy gets sick?? Puppies, with their shots and neutering and heartworm tests and med are very expensive, plus you CAN afford costly furniture and a very big house. It's just the cat you can't afford to get proper care for?

There are lots of ways to try and solve this, and has been said - after 6 years you certainly owe it to this poor animal. If the problem is the puppy, then rehome HIM.

And Parker57 - yes, people get flamed when they come here and say right off they bat they are going to kill their animal because they can't be bothered or don't want to pay to help it. Pets are not always perfect and they do have problems, but killing them for this is not the answer.

We get cats all the time that are sentenced to death for some problem. Guess what? With a little proper care and attention, they are all doing fantastic in their new homes.

[Donna Marie]

My six year old male did that too, when we brought a kitten home. He urinated on everything. The worse part was when I didn't realized he peed on my skirt and I wore it to work the next day! Honestly, there was not much we could do but ride it out. In time he accepted the fact that she was there to stay, and he was the dominant male. Yes it is inconvenient, but to me it is just like your child going through another stage, and you have to learn to bite the bullet and ride it out. Don't give him up, as others have said, he was there first, he is the boss of the house and it would be a terrible mistake for you to put him down.

And, as Lucky Rescue stated, it may be a urinary problem....our same cat had it (urinary infection). All it took was one visit to the vet and a prescription to get rid of it. We aren't well off, so anything out of the ordinary is a bit of a rough go, but you make do and readjust your budget to make it work.

[justncase]

From what I've read, it could very well be a urinary tract infection. That type of thing can start with the cat urinating outside the kitty litter box and in " inappropriate" places. If it is due to a behavioral problem- such as stress caused by the addition of a new puppy -that is another matter. Either way euthanasia is not the solution. There are Bach Flower Essences for housesoiling by pets, for stress, for conflict between pets, etc., that I could suggest but when all is said and done and you don't wish to have the cat any longer there are rescue organizations, no-kill shelters, and cat sanctuaries- one of which may be in your area. If I knew your State I would be willing to do a search on the Internet for you to see what I can find . Euthanasia is a " fast" answer but it's not the right one, not in this case.

[chico2]

Parker,I am not sure what you expected us to answer,"kill the cat"!
This is a PET-Forum,we try to help the pet in question.
Pets,all pets,will at one time or the other need vet-care,problems occur,be it medical or like in this case,it might simply be that this poor cat feels neglected.
I am not going to pussy-foot around someone,who right away will even consider destroying an animal for reacting negatively to a puppy.
Or someone who obviously is not poor,but there is no money for a vet-visit.
Yes cat-pee stinks,I know,but I have also succesfully managed to remove it.
But first a vet-visit to exclude a medical problem,maybe she could take out a loan or skip one night at the restaurant for the $100 it might cost to find out.
The last sentence really infuriates me"if it will be worth it in the long run"
Worth it for whom? You or the unfortunate cat who will die for your convenience....you truly do not care about this poor cat,a better loving home is probably the solution,if one can be found

[sammiec]

Chico and Lucky, you guys pretty much covered it! This is so outrageous, I just don't have the energy for this. New furniture, white carpets, 4 floors...lemme guess HUGE china cabinet that the pup's gonna crash in 6 months and then be rehomed anyway!!! Hey - at least this person took the time to come here and ask before they ditched the poor kitty.

[moontamara]

I'm usually one of the ones defending people on this forum and asking that we go lightly, etc., but even I was HORRIFIED by the post. This one might be a troll... White carpets, and two pets? What the???? Who gets white carpets anyway? And can't afford the vet, and is already thinking of having the cat put to sleep? Go ahead, blast her. A lot of the others getting blasted seemed to be too young, or uneducated, or just out of it to know any better and I couldn't help but feel sorry for them. But this person is the most selfish poster I've seen here. I would say I hope that the puppy craps all over the carpets and furniture, but then she might have the puppy put down too.

[sammiec]

LOL,Tamara! When I saw that you responded to this post I was prepared to defend my post!! Now you're starting to get it!!! Not all posts are this bad (as you have seen) but I'm sure many will agree, once you see a few of these they all get responded to like harshly, because of stuff like this!!! It's just so hard to dignify absolutely rediculous posts!!

[Lucky Rescue]

Not all posts are this bad

Right.Some are a lot worse.

I have every belief that this is not a troll. I hear stuff like this - and worse - all the time!

[sammiec]

Originally Posted by LuckyRescue

Right.Some are a lot worse.

True, very true! It's very disturbing how heartless and materialistic people are.

[moontamara]

Sammiec, LOL!!! No, I couldn't have agreed with you more! I guess for me the difference is that this person is obviously well off in many ways, not a child and has absolutely no excuse for such irresponsibility.

And it isn't that I don't think the other people are right, and you "attackers" are wrong. At least 95% of the time, you're totally right. It's just that I don't know if it helps to chastise these people harshly... But the more you see it, the harder it is to be gentle, eh?

Yes, I can definitely see your side much more than before... I still think that we should try to help more than attack when possible. Sometimes is just ain't possible, I guess!!!!

[chico2]

Tamara,this person will go ahead and destroy the cat,we will never hear from her again,at least we had our say
If we bother her conscience just a tiny bit,we've done what we can for the cat.I wish people would see animals for what they are,they are not"things",they have beating hearts,feelings,if asked,they don't want to be killed.This cat,once probably the center of attention,is now ignored and about to be killed,no wonder he pees all over the place,I would too
Some people just do not realize how strongly we feel about our animals be they dogs or cats,we all know there will be some damage done.
The callous way this person is speaking of her cat and killing it,makes me shudder to think what is going to happen to the puppy,puppies without a doubt can cause more damage than any cat.

[moontamara]

Chico, I know!!! Puppies are a nightmare compared to cats when it comes to training and such, especially the chewing!

You're right, you're right, I'm (mostly) converted... and it hurts more when they post and disappear... but when there's the chance to do good, we should take it, right?

Anyway, I've never doubted you've all had your hearts in the right places, and now I understand the rage that goes with that, as I've now officially felt it myself!!!

[Lucky Rescue]

I understand the rage that goes with that, as I've now officially felt it myself!!!

Imagine how you'll feel when you've seen a couple hundred posts like this, and MUCH MUCH worse?

Cats are so often the victims of the "Out with the old, in the with new" thing going on. After all, how can a plain old ordinary cat compete with a cute new puppy? Well, until the puppy starts soiling the carpets and chewing up the expensive furniture that is.

[sammiec]

Moontamara. I'm just glad that you have a better look into why we post the way we do sometimes! I also know that when I started here and saw the cold and ruthless comments posted by many that have been here longer than I, I was COMPLETELY shocked!! (and watched what I posted so I didn't feel the rath of Luba and Lucky!!! ) But after viewing alot of the threads and reading them in their entirty (sp?) I began to see exactly where the are coming from. And Chico is completely right - you gotta get straight to the heart (if they have one that's not shriveled black and cold) before they log off or you'll never hear from them again. Honestly, how can you post something like that in a PET forum and expect an answer like:

"You're right, the cat's getting old, he's hates you for ignoring him because of the adorable new puppy. If he's gonna pee on the WHITE carpet and scratch at the NEW furniture, you have no choice but to get rid of him. By the way his litter should be placed in the coldest darkest part of the house furthest away from anyone. That way the smell won't get to you and your guests. Hope it's not too much hassle to get rid of him. You can always just let him run, someone will find him! Good luck, let us know how it goes!!"


I really have a dislike for people. Someone made a comment to me a long time ago (and to Luba recently) about how our animals must be our only friends because we have such horrible people skills - only in my dreams would I be so lucky!!!