Problems Mounting- Has she got to leave us again?

[Tiggy's Mum]

Are you trying to say Theo looks like a girl    I love ginger cats, I swore I would never have another one after losing my beloved Tiggy but I find myself coo-ing over pics of gingers   Maybe one day the boys would like a little baby brother 

[pandora]

Gee, your picture sequence of Tiggy is so much like my Theo.  I suppose ginger cats look the same but he has the same expression on his face as Theo and very similar shade and markings...uncanny.

[Tiggy's Mum]

Sounds promising 

[pandora]

Well, good news is:  nothing this week so far and it's Thursday tomorrow.  Today she also allowed my son to stroke her and she was rolling on the floor.  Hve not heard anyone hiss or growl for a while...so fingers crossed...everyone is starting to get used to it.

Adopting her was quite a long process and I did dot all i s  and crossed all t s.  Did all calculations, considered house divison arrangements, sleeping arrangements, even experimented with lennie sleeping in my bedroom- something none of them are normally allowed to do any  more because of uncivil waking hours and simply not being quiet at all -but same old story with Lennie having to make a point of waking everyone up when he arrives.

So not a rushed decision but carefully thought of and sparked by trying to help one more cat in need.  I can see now that with time, things will settle as it has with the others.  She now has free access to the garden and has her regular times outside.

I have also left treats everywhere the wee appeared so that might do the trick.  At least the gaps are getting longer.  Little Theo took a while too but it was a different reaction, a lot of pouncing, probably because he is the youngster in the house.

[madkittyrescue]

As BC said before it may be a case of 1 too many cats.  Whilst we may love to have as many as we can it is not always the case for the cats already in the home as some just don't take well to multiple cat households, although I am presuming you considered this before adopting Malena.

I hope things will improve with time but if not perhaps you should consider professional behaviourist advice.

[pandora]

If I close the door, she is still in the area where it happens.  I think it is not Malena but my other cat Martha, who has done it for years on and off and even with previous owners- that's why she ended up in a rescue with her brother, who does not do it.  I have had occasional markings for years but often with long gaps inbetween.So it is obvious that it is the new arrival that has sparked it again.  I pay a lot of attention to Martha to compensate for it.  playing lots is supposed to help too.

My ultimate aim is to get Malena out of the room where she started three weeks ago- a room generally out of bounds for all of them except under supervision (especially Martha- and she knows, has known for over five years now).  However, it is too early for Malena-she has started to eat downstairs but the room is her refuge when it gets too scary.  So I can't limit her yet.

Have also put food in the downstairs area where the spraying occurs.  It is just the question if it will get better in time.  I have persevered with Lennie and Martha for years and it did get better but it has taken more time.

[madkittyrescue]

have you considered closing some doors to stop her accessing the offending areas??  i think someone mentioned earlier re a behaviourist...  def an option to consider to help identify the cause of the stress.

[pandora]

Spoke too soon because this morning, wee all over the place again!  Have a very clean house now but am exhausted from cleaning- especially with toilet training toddler in the middle of it all....say no more.  the vet said though that it was all still early days.

Am wondering if the cattery stay for the summer holidays will bond them all.  It did with Theo at Christmas.  They have been better since they got back.  Lennie and Theo even shared a bowl happily they said and here they are swapping too and have been nice and civil with each other with only occasional jumping about.

She still only trusts me and has been sitting eith me quite a few evenings.  Would be a shame to see her go.  Want to make it work.  However- no curtains in little boy's room now...

[Tiggy's Mum]

Glad things seem to be settling down 

[pandora]

Oh and to answer some of the other questions:  she is scared of anyone but me at the moment.  She came from a multicat household (a lot more than I have so she must think it is quiet here).  She is never alone with my son because i am around most of the tome.  No OH.  She does have a room but she now also has free access to outside, which she enjoys but does not use too often.  I even did the test to let my sister- looking similar, etc.- see her but she jkust ran.  So she is fixated on me- was since the cattery in fact.  I am sure, looking at it all now, that we will work through it and a year down the line she will be much more confodent.  I remember Martha running away from all visitors and children ( I had none at the time she came to me) and she is totally ok now, even greeting people and allowing my son to stroke her and give her treats .

[pandora]

Took her to the vet.  No problems.  In fact he estimated her to be 8 or 9 years old.  Maybe I should go for 9 which is the middle. Things seem to have settled a bit.  It is most likely my Martha and not her who was naughty.  There is still hissing and all going on between her and Lennie and Martha but Theo and Malena are all chilled.  Looks like it just needs some time.  That's what the vet said too.  He thinks it's early days.

And yes, have Feliway and asked about rescue remedy if it should not get better.  However, for four days now, no problems.  Let's see what will happen.   She has become so friendly with me, even sits next to me on the sofa and last night snuggled up even.

[Hippykitty]

Is there any update? Have you taken her to the vet?

Have you tried using Feliway, it can be useful for de-stressing nervous cats.

Do you have an empty room you could confine her in for a while? She could see this as her territory and feel more secure. Maybe let the other cats visit her one at a time until she slowly gets used to a multicat household. It may not be the cats who are stressing her, if she isn't ill, but your son. Are you always there when she's with your child.

Do you have an OH? Is he helping or hindering you in rehabilitating her?

[pandora]

Two days with nothing.  Let's see what that means.  I hope this is going to settle.  Have not hung up the curtains again.  Will get new ones in the summer without risidual smell.

[pandora]

No, she is not known as such to spray, although they did not know much about her at all.  So I don't know if she did that before.  She came from a multicat household anyway but was abandoned after a couple split-not entirly sure.  I know all about the introduction and did the gradual thing although I was told by the cattery to keep them all in together in a confoinded space, which I considered but then decided against.  In the latest cat edition, the gradula introduction has been overthrown by the behaviourist saying that the best way is for the cats to find their own time to introduce themselves.  and that isd waht happened.  She hid under the sofa and over the three weeks she has come further an further afield, then slowly downstairs, then outside and then on the sofa next to me and then playing.  So it seemed like major progress.  She uses the litter tray perfectly well and in the first few weeks I was very pleased with how easy she seemed.  She does not like my son much yet, although I had him feeding her and she took the treat, as lomg as it was in that one room she has been in and with me.  so progress it seemed all around.  She also likes my ginger young boy, whom she has lounged on the bed with.  She is just such a nervous thing.

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

Changed the washing from washing up liquid to biological washing powder then use surgical spirit or Simple solution after. I prefer the latter cos hate smell of surgical spirit.

I cant remember but were you the one who took on a cat with a spraying problem, I know someone has recently.

Does she use the litter tray OK, if not she may not like the litter you are using.

How many trays do you have? It should be one tray for each cat plus one.

How did you do the introductions, really the new cat should be kept in one room and not meet the others and then she should be moved from room to room so that she and the others get used to each others smell and are happy with that before they meet. This is to help to stop territorial battles and to help the cats to get to know each other slowly.

Leanne has just used the services of a cat behaviorist and if your vet finds that she is healthy, then this could be something to try. I think you have to be referred by your vet but your insurance should have a clause that will pay about £250.

[Millys Mum]

Can you recap the story? I havent read all the posts! 

www.wizz-catz.co.uk has a behavioural section.

I would have a behaviourist visit before rehoming but sometimes its the only way with some cats, they are just not happy living with others. Its a hard decision but i believe its selfish to keep a cat permanently unhappy  (not saying you would do this!)

If you get her checked over by the vet (a requirement by any decent behaviourist) make sure you have a urine analysis done and if it were me id have xrays done too as cats can have bladder stones without anything showing up in the urine

[pandora]

First normal washing up liquid.  The curtains i continue washing and wont hang up any more now, although that should not be the answer. I also use water to rinse it off.  Then the odor spray that is especially for cats...or so it says. Also have removed anything that can be thrown away and have taken a table cloth away that has been sp[rayed on.  Will have a bare house at this rate.  I really want her out of the upstairs whilst I am at work but at the moment her food and litter tray are in there.  She also sheds piles and piles of hair, as I said in another thread.  With my other cats, I have always kept the upstairs off limits while I am at work but they can go there when supervised. 

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

How are you cleaning the sprayed areas?

[pandora]

I only used the spray on a couple of areas.  It is not a repellent spray, it is supposed to mask the odor for a cat's nose, thinking it has been there before.  That's what it says.  So does that mean I have to take her back?  Really don't want to because I am a responsible owner and failure is not in my vocabulary at all.  I have never had such a nervous cat before though.  Would Rescue Remedy be an option?  Does it have any long term effects?  Whenever my other female goes through periods of worry, I spent an extra amount of time with her (she is my lap cat) and Malena is atrting to sit next to me on the sofa but them Matha is going away.  I am not sure if this is imagination but I feel the distance they have kept before hissing occurred is getting less....not sure what to do.  Giving her back would seem disastrous...

[blackcat]

definitely have the vet check her out for possible physical causes, but it does sound as if it may have been one too many cats ... All you can do is clean all the affected areas very thoroughly. There is no point using repellent spray if the smell remains. Also, ask yourself if the repellent spray may also be causing problems. I once used it on the tip of a cat's tail to discourage her from chewing it, and it sent her crazy for several days as the smell just chased her around the house (not something I would recommend at all!). So if you have the whole house impregnated with the repellent spray, then that may actually be adding to the problem ... Sorry I can't be more helpful, though you do have my deepest sympathy, as my friend's cat, who stayed with me for 2 years, used to liberally decorate everything and it was 

[pandora]

Ok, here i am almost three weeks down the line with my new family member and since I had to get back to work, I find myself having to check the whole house upon return, finding stinky spray markings all over the place...  Am not impressed.  Pushed to the limits today by my son's high chair being sprayed and crawling on the floor sniffing out offensive places.  Starting to imagine smells even.

At first I tought it was my Martha, the usual occasional culprit (which much improved over the years, keeping her out of places, etc) with this but now I am not so sure.  I suspect that Malena is doing too and it is getting more.  I know it is about territories and I know it was a risk to take with 4 cats in the house.  I also remember that i reached this stage with all the others, thinking they had to go but perseverance made things work.

There were hardly any 'incidents' after I adopted Theo, once he was allowed outside eight months ago (boy was he bad at using his litter tray in the time he had to be confined) but Malena has been outside for a few days now and it is not changing.  I can no longer hang my curtain up- it is lost after 4 washes in three weeks.  The cat food box was sprayed on and I threw it out but the high chair I can't move out of reach or get rid of.  Yet it seems that is the only thing that will help.

I am at that stage that I am thinking: Have I done the right thing?  I am no a quitter but I can't have all my house sprayed and my son's room and high chair sprayed.  There are limits.  What would be best?

I am using some spray that is supposed to help with odors and re-offending areas.  Also have Feliway, seperate food and litter areas, free access to and from the house, etc.  It may be just early days but I am fed up.  Seeing vet for second jabs and will ask too.  However, any ideas?