Reptile & Amphibian Forums

We used to be the happy owners of three well behaved indoor cats, and suddenly something went horribly wrong. Our oldest is 3 and the other two siblings are 18 months. The oldest is spayed, the younger boy is neutered, but his sister is not fixed at all. This being due to some financial issues we have faced in recent times. Anyhow getting to the point... Everytime the unspayed female goes into a heat cycle (appx. once every 2 weeks) we discover she has urinated on our dirty and clean clothes, our blankets, and the couch. We have scrubbed and tried many masking products to no avail. Constantly washing clothes over again is killing our water bill, not to mention driving us crazy. In fact we just caught her peeing on some clean clothes that were about to be folded and put away. We think that our oldest has also picked up the bad habit, as we caught her urinating on our dirty clothes. The only one we haven't caught yet is the male. We figured it was the litterboxes, and started keeping them extra clean. Still no change. Is it normal for an unspayed female to have this behavior? Will spaying her solve the problem? We are taking the oldest to the vet tomorrow to check for a UTI or bladder infection, because it is very unlike her to urinate outside of the litterbox. If the vet does not find anything wrong, why might our oldest cat also be picking up this behavior? If there is nothing wrong, then how might I be able to correct the problem? Obviously it is hard enough living with one behavioral cat much less 2 or possibly 3. I love them yes, but am not willing to live under those unecessary conditions. As a last resort if the problem is not resolved I will have no choice but to either find a new home for the females and keep the male or find a new home for all 3 of them as I would hate to seperate the brother and sister. Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thank you very much.
1 Black Lab/Dingo, 1 Domestic Tuxedo, 1 Blue Tabby, 1 Domestic Black

Marking and spraying is VERY normal behavior for an unspayed female in heat, and it is also very common for other cats to follow suit. I suggest you get her spayed ASAP, some vets offer payment plans, and some shelters/ASPCAs have spay/neuter assistance programs that can help you. Finally, you will need to do a good, thorough cleaning of all the areas that have been soiled, clothes included using an enzyme remover. Natures Miracle is one, your vet or local pet store may be able to suggest others. Additionally, there is a product called Feliway which may help and is available online as well as in some stores, it is a pheremone atomizer that lends a feeling of calmness to the household. Good luck.

Terri
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Mia Liger Fluffy Banzai Smudge Hazy
& Midas ~ Golden Retriever and honorary cat