Dear Dr. F: My friend has two cats and one of them is behaving rather badly of late. They are both Persians, a boy, Guido, and a girl, Cossette. Cossette was the first to join the family about a year ago. Guido followed a few months after that. The kitties have always gotten along really well but lately, Cossette seems to be jealous of Guido and has taken to peeing on things to show her displeasure. Many times she chooses to pee on my friend’s bed which results in a lot of work to launder the linens and put the bed back together. More recently, she peed in my friend’s shoes – both of them. Generally, as a punishment, my friend will make Cossette spend the night in the bathroom. This doesn’t seem to have much effect, however, as she will still eventually act naughty again. This has been going on for a few months and, it should be pointed out, started when Cossette had and was treated for a urinary infection. The infection has completely cleared up. Both cats get the same amount of attention each day so the situation is quite puzzling. I’m hoping you can shed some light as well as give some advice about how to get Cossette to stop acting this way. Thanks. – Tired of cleaning up cat pee.
Dear Tired: I don’t blame you! Cat pee is the last thing anyone wants in their bed or in their shoes. You said that Cossette peed on your friend’s shoes, but didn’t say which pair. If I know cats, (and I think I do) I can safely say it was the most expensive pair in the closet. Which brings me to a whole OTHER topic – how does an angry, scorned pussy cat know to piss on your pink Monolo pumps or your Chanel wedges when there is a perfectly good pair of Keds sitting right next to them??? But I digress.
Not to make light of this matter, but you did say that the urinary tract infection was “all cleared up,” didn’t you? However, we are talking about a Persian cat, aren’t we? On the list of cat breeds, they can be pretty tough little “nuts to crack” urinarily speaking!! They often get recurring urinary tract infections, and it is often E. coli bacteria (from their litter box or/and their own rectal area). The “upside” of owning a Persian cat is too long to list in this limited column. But the “downside” is that with all that fur “down under” they can often get infections in what many of my clients and I refer to as their “nary nary land.” Knowing this, I would repeat a urinalysis and have your veterinarian recheck a urine culture to be absolutely sure the previous infection is truly gone. Another way to prevent additional infections would be to have Cossette groomed and have her private area clipped to prevent the spread of infection from her rectal area to her vaginal area. This “playboy” groom can work wonders for long-haired cats to keep them cleaner, fresher and free from frequent urinary tract infections. After following this advice, if Cossette is still peeing outside the litter box, I would suspect a behavioral problem.
Since hell hath no fury like a kitty cat scorned, I would begin addressing the behavioral problem by increasing the amount of interaction your friend has with her and playing with her more each day. Have her show her lots of affection, and use play toys to rekindle her personal relationship with her. Spoil her with belly rubs and her favorite brush. In addition, use very dilute pine-sol in a spritzer bottle in the areas where she has urinated (i.e. the shoe rack, around the bedding). There is also a product called “Feliway” spray, a cat pheromone which is helpful in preventing unwanted feline urinating and marking. This product is available in both a spray pump form as well as a wall plug-in and has a calming effect on cats.
Hopefully if your friend makes sure the infection is gone, spends a little extra time with Cossette, and gets this spray on board, the pee problem will be a thing of the past. Please keep me informed, I always like to know how the long-haired, flat faced diva cats do with my advice! – Dr. F.
Dear Dr. Forsythe: My wife and I have three Birman cats, “Isadora” (age 4) “Robin” (age 3) and “My Lady” (age 2). The male cat, Robin, is neutered, and Isadora, the oldest female, is spayed. Only My Lady is intact and she has recently begun doing something new that I wanted to ask you about. For the last six months, she has started patrolling inside the house several times every night. This behavior began shortly after we had Robin neutered. My wife and I were wondering if My Lady was beginning to have mental problems or was this normal behavior for some cats? We don’t want her to be unhappy like some big cats at the zoo seem to be. All three of our cats are indoor only, but only My Lady has started this patrolling the outer perimeter of the rooms in our house over and over many times in the morning, afternoon, and evening. Other than that, she is very normal and has had her normal season(s). We even had her bred recently and are wondering if she is pregnant which we will find out in a couple more weeks. Do you think we have anything to worry about, or should we just let her be? – C. Runnas, Jursla, Sweden
Dear C. Runnas: This patrolling of the perimeter of the rooms is very normal behavior for any cat, especially a female cat that is intact. In fact, the timing could not be more normal since she is now the head of her “pride.” Since Isadora is spayed and Robin is neutered, she is the only cat left with a set of reproductive plumbing that is raging with hormones, and this contributes to a season full of repeated hormonal swings until she mates. Since cats are forced ovulators (they become pregnant if they mate) they tend to stay in heat for the entire spring once they begin a heat cycle, meowing and rolling around, arching their back and lifting up their back ends and this usually goes on until they mate. No doubt her hormones are raging and her instincts are at the height of their intensity. She is showing a protectiveness and territoriality and this is evidenced in her repeatedly walking the boundaries of her the house. I’m sure it is fascinating to see and fun to watch but I doubt she is losing her mind or suffering from horrible boredom or unhappiness. I hope you enjoy your wonderful Lady and have a beautiful litter. The world will be a more beautiful place with that litter of Birmans in Sweden. Good luck!! – Dr. F
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