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I need a cat expert!
Posted: Feb 8, 2011
I hope my friends here can give me some expert advice. My cat is 14 and healthy for her age. The dog came into our house 3 years ago. It took her 7 months to come out of hiding in the basement and be in the same room with him. He's not mean to her at all. In fact, he adores her. But, she hates him with every fiber in her being. She's not afraid of him at all (he's about 70 pounds) and she will not move an inch if he is in her way. She stands her ground, but they don't fight. He is always the first to back down. For example, when I fill his bowl with food, she will stand in front of his bowl until she determines it's okay for him to eat and then she will walk away. He will wait for her to move before he eats out of his bowel. I often find them sleeping next to each other on the same couch or in his dog bed.
The problem is that she is spraying and I don't what to do to get her to stop. She has 2 places in the house she sprays daily. One of the spots is by our fireplace and the other spot just mystifies me - she is spraying in a small powder room where she has her food and water.
The research that I've done leads me to believe that she is doing it to show that she is the boss in the house and it's a territorial thing and she's stressed out. Before she was doing this, I didn't even know that female cats would spray! She backs up against the wall, her tail quivers, and then she lets it go against the wall. I've got to find a way to stop this.
By the way, I took her to the vet and she got a clean bill of health -- she just has mental issues. lol
;
See about female hormone, especially if spayed. May - make her more girly, stop spraying. nm
[ In Reply To ..]x
Hmmm - maybe that would stop my spayed female cat - from trying to mount my other female cat....
[ In Reply To ..]She doesn't spray, per se, but she does mark her territory as she is the dominant cat. I wonder about the risk of cancer, though. Females who have been through their 1st heat before being spayed have a higher risk of breast cancer, and I've already been through that before with a former cat.
re: cat help - Ginger's mama
[ In Reply To ..]I am not an expert, but have owned many cats and am very familiar with their behavior. I also volunteer at a no kill animal shelter and work closely with the vets and behaviorists.
When queens spray they are generally telling potential males in the neighborhood that they are ready for action. Fixing cats will stop cats from spraying in the majority of cases. Given the right triggers, ANY cat, including fixed males and females, can spray.
Situations that can cause a cat to spray include: outside (stray) cats in your cat's territory; changes in the household; dirty litterbox situations or not enough litter box privacy; too many cats; not enough vertical territory (tall cat trees. Cats feel more secure being up high); introducing cats too quickly to other household animals; stress; grief; poor urine cleanup; health issues; other whole males/females (unfixed).
Even though it's been several months, it is still stressful and she's just reacting. An introduction period can take a month or longer. The cat/new pet should be separated from each other while you try a series of activities to encourage pleasant feelings and positive associations with each other.
Start the introductions by exchanging pheromones. Gently pet the new dog with a clean sock. Do the same with your cat, using a fresh, clean sock. Exchange socks, putting them in the other pet area. This should be done a couple of times a day, each time with a clean sock.
Crazy but it does help. Also, animals should be about the same age when you're bringing them together. It gets hectic and stressful if you have an adult animal and are introducing a juvenile or baby. Their behaviors can cause confusion, anger, distrust and the result could be the spraying. I wish you luck.
On an ending note; there was ONE time we tried to introduce a dog into our cat home (3 cats). It was even an adult dog that was known to get a long with cats. Even after half a year it was very clear that it was not and would not be a happy home. Even after we found a great home for the dog, one of our cats personalities had forever been changed. He didn't spray, he just acts like he doesn't like us any more, like he simply tolerates us. Its sad. Again, good luck to you.
Just had to mention... - TX MT
[ In Reply To ..]I know nothing about animals, but I was happy to read and notice someone else who types "bowel" instead of "bowl." Anytime I ever try to type "bowl," it always comes out "bowel" with my flying MT fingers, and I have to fix it. :-)
Good luck with your issue!
Aack! I do that all the time! LOL/nm - mindy
[ In Reply To ..]nm
Your cats' reaction of distrust after you got the dog is - how I reacted when presented with a new sister! L
[ In Reply To ..]x
thanks for the great info - desperate
[ In Reply To ..]Dang! Where were you 3 years ago?! Those are some great tips. I've been dealing with this for 2 years now, and I've determined that it is stress/hate related to the dog. She was pregnant when I got her at 10 months old. Surprise - adopt a cat and get 2 kittens free!! LOL She was fixed shortly after she was a year old.
I forgot to mention, and I don't know if it makes a difference, but when we first got the puppy, she licked all the fur off her belly and most of her legs until it was like peach fuzz. When I took her to the vet, she told me it was probably due to stress. At the time we got the puppy, we were also doing some remodeling (a big no-no for my cat). Soon after that, she stopped licking her fur and it grew back. I thought everything was going to be fine - until I noticed she was spraying! I love her to death and I don't want to euthanize her but I can't have my house smelling like this. I'm tired of cleaning it every day.
Tween a rock and a hard place - Old part-timer
[ In Reply To ..]You have a tough decision. You could give away the dog, but it might not stop the cat's behavior anyway. I know a lot of people will act like you have to keep the cat regardless (especially knowing it's going to be hard to give away a spraying stressed-out cat) but most of us understand that you may have to make a really tough decision here. Not many of us would be willing to clean up after a cat day after day.
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