Is this cat beyond help?

November 13, 2008 11:07 AM

Is this cat beyond help?

We adopted two cats, a male and a female (both have been neutered/spayed) from the Humane Society about 15 months ago. We’d had them about 6 months when the male started spraying around the house. After a few spraying sessions, we took him to the vet for a check up. No physical problems and we were given numerous behavior modification techniques to try: Feliway, aluminum foil on the floor where he’s sprayed, carpet runners with nubby side up, new litter box, squirting him with water when we catch him, putting his food in the areas he’s sprayed, kitty diapers and isolating him, just to name a few. We've been trying all the behavior modifications, clean religiously with enzyme cleaner, but he just sprays somewhere else. The vet put him on amitriptyline and said to keep trying the behavior modification techniques. After more spraying incidents and tweaking the medication a couple of times, the vet put him on kitty Prozac. He is still spraying at least once a day. He is currently being isolated on a screened in porch, away from us and his sister. Putting him outside just isn’t an option as we live in a suburban wildland fringe area where mountain lions and coyotes roam, not to mention dangers from dogs, cars, etc. We also don’t think it’s fair to neighbors to let him roam and use their yards as litter boxes.

The vet thinks he has a severe anxiety disorder. He has always been high-strung but now just seems almost frantic at times, pacing around, compulsively rubbing his face on us and anything else he can find, unable to completely relax and calm down. He seems like a very unhappy kitty even though there haven’t been any changes to his environment since we brought him home. We’ve talked with a few people involved in animal rescue and all have said basically the same…rescue groups and no-kill shelters are filled beyond capacity, and likely won’t take him since his behavior problems make him unadoptable. My friend’s mom was involved in cat rescue for many years and had a really honest talk with us about options, including euthanasia. She feels the cat’s quality of life is pretty poor, given his obvious anguish and anxiety, the fact that if he stays with us he will be confined, mostly by himself, to the screened porch and reiterated that he is unadoptable with these severe behavior problems.

We want to do what is best for him and give him the best life possible. We’ve read all the MeFi posts about cat behavior and honestly have tried everything. We would appreciate hearing other’s experience with a similar issue. We would not appreciate judgment and criticism from cat fanatics insisting we just have to learn to live with this because we made a commitment and that we aren’t trying hard enough to help him. We know we made a commitment to this cat and feel that we are doing way more than most others would do.

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posted by anonymous to pets & animals (13 comments total)

Just an idea, but maybe the isolation is contributing to his anxiety? Does he seem to have gotten worse, anxiety-wise, since you started the behaviour modification? I don't know if it might be worth it to reintegrate him into the household for a week or so, and to offer no reaction (other than clean-up) when he does spray. I know it's a pain to clean up (one of my cats started to spray before I had him fixed--the neutering stopped it, but it was hell for awhile), but maybe the medications combined with inclusion and extra affection would reduce the spraying or even eradicate it.
As a multiple-cat owner, of course it pains me to think of putting down a cat, but you do have to do what's best for the cat. He's lucky to have such caring owners who are doing everything they can for him.
posted by catwoman429 at 11:25 AM on November 13, 2008

try to find a vet who works with Flower Essence Therapy (possibly can find local vet practitioners through F.E.S. or Bach Flower Essence site). A lot of people swear by treating animal behavioral problems this way. I think your biggest problem is the other cat might start following suit (thus, the expression "pissing contest")
posted by Lylo at 11:31 AM on November 13, 2008

Is there any way you could build him a safe cat enclosure and let him be an outdoor kitty for a while? I don't know if it'd be much better than the screened porch, but my first thought was to let him live outdoors for a while, and you obviously can't. Some of those enclosures are almost as big as the whole backyard. If he got used to peeing outside, like in some corner of the yard especially for that purpose, his association with spraying inside might fade, and he might just become calmer, too, if he can interact more with nature.

Maybe it sounds funny, but I think some cats are just meant to be outside. Maybe this is his way of telling you. Do you know what kind of life he lived before the shelter?
posted by peggynature at 12:11 PM on November 13, 2008 [1 favorite]

Can you crate him? I have crated indoor cats for up to 2 months. I have friend show do feral rescue who have crated ferals for 6 months. We are talking Great Dane crates, here, not tiny boxes.

Our cat was eliminating in inappropriate areas (although not spraying). She learned in the crate that the box is the space to do business, that no other cats can get in, she got to hear our voices (as we put our crates in the most public area of the house), we pet her through the holes in the crate and sometimes got into the crate with her so she got affection, and eventually her anxiety about being on the bottom of the kitty totem pole eased.

We then moved to crating only when we were not home, and then leaving the crate open for her to go into when she felt threatened. If there was a fight she would shoot into it and if we were there to help, we would close over the door for her. We took it down after a fashion, and things seem to be working ok for us now.

In the crate were blankets and a litter pan, a cat condo and a place to hide, as well as toys. A human could fit in there with her, crouched, so it was roomy.
posted by oflinkey at 12:32 PM on November 13, 2008 [1 favorite]

Spraying the house to the extent you describe is a serious quality of life issue (stress, damage, social issues with guests, urine fumes, etc) that I don't think should be trivialized merely on grounds of a moral obligation. I hate to say it, but if you can't provide an alternate homing situation I think the burden may be on you to provide a dignified euthanasia.
posted by crapmatic at 12:37 PM on November 13, 2008

Has he ever been an outdoor cat? My attempts at converting my feral-as-a-kitten cat to an indoor-only cat only resulted in misery for both of us (no spraying, but it made him completely hyperactive and generally anxious). Although I agree with the philosophy of keeping cats inside intellectually, it's not always possible or best for individual cats. I would at least consider buying a cat walking harness and try walking him and see if the "exercise" (more like a very slow stroll around the block, usually) and contact with the outside world help any.
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 12:54 PM on November 13, 2008

No physical problems and we were given numerous behavior modification techniques to try: Feliway, aluminum foil on the floor where he’s sprayed, carpet runners with nubby side up, new litter box, squirting him with water when we catch him, putting his food in the areas he’s sprayed, kitty diapers and isolating him, just to name a few.

Also, this sounds extremely stressful to me. I wonder if you wouldn't be able to find an individual to adopt him in an area where he could have outdoor access. I also wonder if he gets along okay with his "sister"--perhaps he'd do better in an environment where he was an only cat?
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 12:58 PM on November 13, 2008 [1 favorite]

Maybe he's uncomfortable with the other cat and wants to be in an environment where he's the only one?
posted by lemuria at 1:16 PM on November 13, 2008

A lot of good ideas here, but I'd suggest finding a vet with a good feline specialty practice, and have him checked to see if there was an undescended testicle that got missed during the first neutering. It isn't common, but it's not unheard of at all, either...
posted by nonliteral at 2:23 PM on November 13, 2008

seconding nonliteral, we had a problem male cat that turned out to have an undescended ball. problem solved!
posted by Soulbee at 2:27 PM on November 13, 2008

Props to you for trying so hard to sort out this cat's behaviour. You must be at your wits end trying to do right by this cat.

I'm going to suggest that as you and your vet have worked hard to resolve this and the behaviour still remains, that you ask your vet for a referral to a qualified Companion Animal Behaviourist - if possible, one specialising in cats. Good ones tend not to take on work without a proper veterinary referral. They will come to your home, observe your cats, you and your environment and take a detailed history of this cat's history with you and the behaviour problem. After the assessment they should be able to work with you and the vet to help resolve the problem behaviour whilst giving you close support too.

Some cats need a home of their own. Where they can learn to relax and not associate everything that happens in their world with anxiety about territory and abandonment. He may well thrive in a one cat home. It may be a long, long job to get this one feeling more secure.

Best of luck to you and your cat.
posted by Arqa at 2:33 PM on November 13, 2008

Exercise? I know, it's hard with a cat, but laser pointers, mechanical mice, interactive or treat-rewarding toys (I don't know if they make these for cats, but a Buster Cube did wonders for our high-energy puppy when he was little), or something else so he can get tired and fully exercise his catness. Many years ago, I lifted an old fishing rod from my dad and put a rubber weight on it, and "fished for cats" all evening with my young energetic cats, but they make similar toys now. It's what Cesar Millan would do, keep him highly exercised so he would be calmer and more balanced.

I would suggest medical tests for a hidden testicle, but even without nuts they can spray habitually. I had a female tortie who was an imaginary sprayer - nothing came out, but she would pose and do the quiver - so it's sometimes so ingrained that there's very little to stop it.
posted by Lyn Never at 3:35 PM on November 13, 2008

I took care of a cat that had similar behavioral problems while its owner was away.

What I noticed helped the cat behave better was, some kind of structure. Really! The owner left food for kitty out all day long, was gone on an unpredictable schedule, tried Feliway and all that stuff. I would purposely get up around the same time, pet him a bit, then give the cat a set amount of food (not too much), and then leave for the day. He would eat all the food by the time I got back so would probably be hungry.. and I would get back about the same time in the evening, and pet him a bit, give him a set amount of food, and then a while after dinner, let him chase around a cat toy or the light from one of those laser pointers, til he was kind of tired out. Then I would go to bed, or even if I didn't, at least go in the other room and shut the door. If he meowed a lot or ran around like crazy I just didn't pay attention, and kept the same routine every day.

That really seemed to help.

Maybe you can try something like that, if he's going to be confined on the porch, at least do these things at the same time every single day. Worth a try?
posted by citron at 8:44 PM on November 13, 2008