Home | Contact Us | FAQ | Search & Site Map | Link to Us
Sign In | Join | Other 45 Sites in Network
Home
Discussion GroupsGeneral TopicsCat AnecdotesHealth and BehaviorRescue
CatKB.com
Contact UsLink To UsSearch & Site Map

Cat Forum / Health and Behavior / September 2004

Tip: Looking for answers? Try searching our database.

Urine on Leather Chair

Thread view: 
Enable EMail Alerts  Start New Thread
Thread rating: 
rinn - 31 Aug 2004 17:12 GMT
Any advice on cleaning urine from a leather chair? My cat did this sometime
yesterday, and it sat all day. Luckily, I bought the extra 'stain safe'
coverage, but I don't know how long it will take to get a technician out.
Would really like to try getting some of it out myself.

Some backgroud:. This cat is under a vets care, there are no medical
problems, is on prescription food, have tried Feliway, have plenty of litter
boxes (with different types of litter), we see cat using all litter boxes.
We are going to the vets Thursday to see if some medicine will help. I don't
have any throw pillows out anymore, as this seemed to be his favorite thing
to pee on. The leather chair in question was covered with a thick towel,
blanket and newspapers. Cat moved all out of the way to pee. Sigh.....my
husband and I are beside ourselves with this problem.  This cat has been an
indoor only cat for 2+ years, we actually let him outside yesterday
(supervised & with his brother) to see if that would help (and to keep us
from wringing his neck!!) . Besides him and his brother, there are 3 other
indoor/outdoor cats in the house. The cats only go outside between 5pm and
10pm.  All the cats  get along beautifully.

Signature

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Janet T. Rinn, CIS-AIM Data Analyst
Phone:  206.598.6196  Fax: 206.598.5792
CIS Department
Box 354700, UWMC Roosevelt Clinic
4245 Roosevelt Way NE
Seattle, WA  98105
UWMC email: rinn@u.washington.edu
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
IMPORTANT NOTE: The information contained in this message may be privileged
and confidential and protected from disclosure. If the reader of this
message is not the intended recipient, or an employee or agent responsible
for delivering this message to the intended recipient, you are hereby
notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this
communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this
communication in error, please notify me immediately by replying to the
message and deleting it from your computer.

Mary - 01 Sep 2004 05:26 GMT
>All the cats  get along beautifully.

He is spraying/peeing marking his territory. My cat did this to my leather
couch right where my husband sits. I first soaked with the urine enzyme
cleaner. Then cleaned with leather cleaner. Then sprayed "no mark" on it. Clean
the entire chair, not jsut the mark so it blends the color better.

In multi-cat houesholds, spraying is somewhat common. My cat had this problem.
I took him to a behavioral psychologist. Below is what they told me to do. It
seems that your cat feels inferior in some way and must leave his mark to let
other kitties know he is there too. I'd try the multiple litter boxes, give him
his own area.

I just spent $395 to go to a cat behavioral psychologist. Patches spraying was
driving me nuts. Last week he peed on the bed and sprayed the side of it. He
does not have a urinary tract infection. He only sprays near where Mimi likes
to sit and sleep so I knew it had something to do with her. They don't hate
each other but they're not good friends either.

The doctor spent two hours counseling me about Patches and Mimi so he could
understand why Patches was spraying. Patches was spraying because he's upset by
outdoor cats spraying the outside of the house. He's also not that comfortable
with Mimi. I thought I'd share this counseling session so that it might help
others (and they could save the $395!) So far I've done everything the doctor
said to do and Patches hasn't sprayed. It's only been a week. I'll keep you
updated in another few weeks to see if he really stops spraying for good. I
transcribed the below from the big behavioral prescription he gave me.

Dr. Polsky http://www.drpolsky.com 

Behavioral therapy interview

Problem: Cat is spraying to communicate. He is upset by other cats spraying the
outside of the house. He is upset by other inside cat. He is basically not very
confident psychologically so he sprays.

Solution: Keep outside cats away from the house so they can't spray the
exterior doors and upset him. Make spraying cat feel more comfortable with
other cat. Make it so he doesn't have to compete for resources, has his own cat
tree, extra litter boxes. Make it so he eventually will like the other cat more
by associating closeness to the other cat with positive things such as food,
brushing, play time. Make previously sprayed areas unattractive by cleaning and
making it impossible for him to spray there again.

A. Increase number of litter boxes from one to four so cat won't feel
competition for resources. Switch to sand litter which they both prefer. Keep
very clean. Two boxes in the living room, one in the office, one in the dining
room. Try "cat attract" litter. It has herbs which will attract the cat to the
box and they will enjoy using it.

B. Keep music room closed. Cat was spraying in there and it's easy to block off
that room for the time being.

C. Feed both cats at very close distance, bowls touching. You may have to
slowly move the bowls together. This will make the sprayer associate the other
cat with good things such as food.

D. Brush cat at close distance to other cat so he will associate good things
with the other cat. He likes being brushed.

E. Teach cats to come in command for food treat together so they associate each
others presence with good things.

F. Mutual play sessions in each others presence. Include both of them playing
with a toy.

G. Mutual grooming. Hold finger with petromalt or other yummy food on finger.
Put finger near other cat. Let spraying cat lick food off finger very close to
other cat. Eventually put finger on other cat then put food on other cat so he
can lick off. This should encourage mutual grooming.

H. Provide ample marking locations for spraying cat so he can rub his face and
scratch on posts or brushes to mark using his scent glands instead of spraying.

I. Add a cat tree for spraying cat in location that doesn't have view of
street. View of street may upset him if he sees other cats or dogs. He needs
his own cat tree to sit on because other cat is on other tree.

J. Abut previously marked areas with upside down carpet runners with the sharp
plastic points up so he can't back up and spray areas again.

K. Keep outside cats away from exterior of house with ultrasonice devices,
upside down carpet runners so they can't spray exterior doors and mousetraps
(won't hurt cats, just scare them.)

L. Use Feliway where he has sprayed before. Clean sprayed areas with
anti-icky-poo enzymatic cleaner. Spray "No Mark" by Nala Barry Laboratories in
California over the areas to keep him from respraying.

M. Drug administration. buspirone (Buspar Rx)
5-10 mg. BID (2.5 x day).

http://www.petalia.com.au/templates/StoryTemplate_Process.cfm?Story_No=305
http://www.hssv.org/behavior/cat/cat_spray.htm
http://www.ivis.org/advances/Behavior_Houpt/seksel/chapter_frm.asp?LA=1
rinn - 01 Sep 2004 18:04 GMT
Mary, thanks for the report. We have done all these steps except K:  because
we have cats that go outside and M: the medication. I'm going to ask to see
if a prescription of buspar will help. We've tried amiltryptiline with no
results.
I'm also hoping that letting him outside for a couple hours a day will help
him become more confident and part of the 'group'.  He hasn't peed for the
past two days he's been allowed outside, so maybe it is working.
He really has no problems with the other four cats in the house. They do all
eat together at the same time in the kitchen, I brush them all together
(they kind of stand in line - its kind of cute!) and they all sleep together
and on top of each other and will clean each other.  I never see any
aggression between our cats.  We do have two neighbor cats that come around
and cause a ruckus. Maybe he gets upset with them. Hopefully with him being
outside now, he will be able to see what is causing the problems out there
and not be upset when they come around.

thanks again, I'll let you know what the vet says tomorrow.

> >All the cats  get along beautifully.
>
[quoted text clipped - 91 lines]
> http://www.hssv.org/behavior/cat/cat_spray.htm
> http://www.ivis.org/advances/Behavior_Houpt/seksel/chapter_frm.asp?LA=1
 
Sign In
Join
My Latest Posts
My Monitored Threads
My Blog
My Photo Gallery
My Profile
My Homepage

Start New Thread
Enable EMail Alerts
Rate this Thread



©2008 Advenet LLC   Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
This website includes both content owned or controlled by Advenet as well as content owned or controlled by third parties.