Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Just to fill you in a little on the history, I have two male cats. They both just turned one-year-old recently. Dexter is a little older than Stuart and he is spoiled rotten by my husband. I have always used just one litter box and neither of them has been neutered. My problem is that for the last couple of weeks, Dexter has been urinating everywhere and I mean everywhere. The straw that finally broke the camel's back is that he went on my kitchen table on then on my kitchen counter tonight. I can't stand a cat to even get up on the table or counter, much less pee on them. Dexter is now going into a pet taxi until further notice.

My question is, do you think neutering them both will help? They never get outside so I don't have to worry about them getting it done to control the cat population around here, I just want it done if it will keep them from spraying and urinating everywhere. I told my husband maybe one is going and then the other is doing it to remark the territory.

What does anyone else think? I'm open to any suggestions.

Thanks from newbie,

Cindy

Hi Cindy,

I don't know very much, but after reading of similar problems on these boards, it seems that what you are describing is exactly what happens when male cats are not neutered. I have also read that it is important to neuter them as soon as possible so that they don't get used to doing this. Then you can try to retrain them by confining them to a small space with a litter box.

Bottom line: definitely get them neutered! They will be happier and you will be happier.

Good luck and let us know how it all turns out.

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ellen

gracie & voodoo

HI, I heartily agree with Ellen on this. Overpopulation is not the only reason people should neuter their pets. Neutering should help with this problem of urinating and will help prevent marking if they haven't already started that. (Suspect they haven't or you would be even more upset due to the smell and ruining of things that spray can cause.) They will both be healthier and you all should be happier. I hope you'll let us know how things turn out. Glad you found these boards; welcome.
Katc

Cindy..RUN do not walk...to the vet and get those cats neutered asap! Once they are neutered this behavior should stop. You may have to confine them to one room for awhile to retrain them though. But this definitely sounds like a case of territorial urinating and marking. You will also want the vet to run a urine sample in case one of them has a urianry infection which also causes cats to pee inappropriately. But neutering is the most thing right now.
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Dottie
Proudly owned by The Catnip Crew...Munchkin,Casey,Maddie,Harley,Meadow,Ashley,Nicky and Mushka

I concurr with the others. Neuter those cats ASAP. And while they are at the vet's have them both checked for a urinary infections just in case.

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Smile, it will make them wonder what you are up to!

I agree with everyone else that those kitties should be neutered ASAP and that they should both get a urinalysis to make sure there is no urinary tract infection. They will be much happier pets once they are neutered. I just want to add, though, to make sure to use an enzyme cleaner like Nature's Miracle when you clean it up. When you use ordinary household cleaners the cats can still smell it, even though you can't and will keep going back to the same place.

Good luck and keep us posted.
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Sue
The smallest feline is a masterpiece. ~ Leonardo da Vinci

I just wanted to add one more vote to "get them neutered ASAP." Everyone else has covered just about everything, but there are three other points I'd like to add.
First is that neutered cats aren't at risk for testicular cancer the way unneutered cats are. Second, keeping unneutered male cats in your house almost guarantees that you're going to have stray female cats in heat visiting and wailing outside your windows, and/or your cats will escape the house in search of females in heat. Finally, testerone is in your cats' bloodstream already. It can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks after the neutering for their testerone levels to really lower. You may want to keep them confined to one room for a while after the surgery, and clean all areas that they've already marked with an enzymatic cat urine cleaner. The sooner you get the surgery done, the better.

Please let us know how it goes.

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PHCurious
Cat Chat Host