I'm so torn....

[kycanonist]

I'm very torn about a situation in our home...

We have had two cats for the past 7 years, and they are both siamese mixes. They get along well and have had no problems.

We had our baby 3 years ago and the cats pretty much have nothing to do with her.

So, we were offered a pure bread siamese kitten around the time of DD's 3rd birthday. We thought "Hey! This is great! A kitten that will be DD's!" And the kitten absolutely adores DD and DD adores the kitten. He's gorgeous and really high energy.

However, he's becoming more than a small handful! To say that he attacks the other two cats would be a minor understatement. We thought they would outgrow it and learn to all get along. It's been since July, and he's still attacking the other cats, leaving them very uncomfortable... And now he's begun urinating on stuff when he's in a bad mood. For example, we had to lock him in the back room one day when he was attacking the other cats, and he pee'd all over the towels in the guest bathroom. We went out for dinner one night and came home to find that he had pee'd in my closet all over the floor! Now, my living room smells like cat pee and we can't figure out where he did it!

I'm seriously thinking I want him gone. I can't take this anymore!

And yet, it would totally break DD's heart... I'm just not sure what to do... should I call the vet and ask his opinion???

Jacqui

[Amber]

I have a couple of questions...How old is the kitten? And also have you gotten him neutered?

The kitten is probably testing his boundries with your other cats and finding out what his status is. He may feel the need to prove himself and declare his territory. It may still take some time for him to figure out where he fits in. I generally reccomend letting the cats work out their dominance issues on their own. If you step in and try to make your older cats the dominant ones it may prolong the conflict. Of course if it is esclating to a fight where one of the cats might get hurt then trying to break them up (don't reach into a cat fight, try distracting them, loud noises etc) is a good idea. And if your older cats are being harrassed to a point where it is causing anxiety problems or other issues then medication may be needed. If he is not neutered I would highly reccomend doing that. It may not totally fix (hee hee) the problem, but it will help as he would not have all the testostrone flowing through him.

Make sure you have enough littler boxes in different locations. The rule of thumb is to have as many litter boxes as you have cats, plus one extra. So in your case 4 boxes (I know is sounds like a lot). If you live in a multi level house have a box on each level. And if you leave the kitten in a room by himself put a litter box in with him. Are you positive the kitten is the only one doing the urinating? If you have access to a blacklight you can use that to find the spot where the urine is hiding. In a dark room hold the blacklight over the floor, the urine should glow.

There is a product called Feliway that is a cat pheremone, and it helps calm cats who are experiencing mild to moderate stress. This may not change what the kitten is doing, but it might be helpful to your older cats. There are also drugs that your vet may/may not prescribe for any or all of the cats to help make this adjustment time easier for everyone.

Good luck

[Countrymama]

ITA with the pp and yes I would consult your vet. Some are more knowlegable than others in behavioral issues, but he/she may have a workable solution for all of you. Multiple litter boxes helps ALOT! We currently have two older cats and a kitten as well and we have 4 boxes in various locations. Also some kittens will continue to be crazy and generally "kittenish" for quite awhile. My oldest cat didn't calm down noticabley for about 18 months and he was neutered at 6 months! He drove my mom's senior cat up a wall for all 18 months. :hug

[domesticzookeeper]

Amber has some awesome suggestions :rockon

Here are a few articles that may help:

Cat-to-Cat Introductions (http://www.littlebigcat.com/index.php?action=library&act=show&item=cattocatintroductions)

Aggression Between Cats (http://www.vetinfo.com/catcataggr.html)

Inter-Cat Aggression (http://www.petplace.com/articles/artShow.asp?artID=1806)


Urinating Outside the Litterbox: causes and solutions (http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=1&cat=1310&articleid=158)

Litterbox Secrets, Part 1 (http://www.littlebigcat.com/index.php?action=library&act=show&item=006)

Litterbox Secrets, Part 2 (http://www.littlebigcat.com/index.php?action=library&act=show&item=litterboxsecretspartii)

Litterbox Secrets, Part 3 (http://www.littlebigcat.com/index.php?action=library&act=show&item=litterboxsecretspartiii)

Litterbox Secrets, Part 4 (http://www.littlebigcat.com/index.php?action=library&act=show&item=litterboxsecretspartiv)

Things that saved my home! Solving Urine Problems (http://www.catforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=11535)

[kycanonist]

Okay, I think we'll start with another litter box... that might solve the problem.

Yep, I'm sure it's him. In fact, one day, he was peeing in my bed when I was trying to crawl into it. The others have never had pee issues, and we've had them for 7 years.

He'll be a year old in Feb and yes, he is neutered. I put a call into the vet and hopefully we'll hear something back tomorrow. I'll get another litter box tomorrow, though I have no idea where we will put it... We don't really have a place for another one...

I'm seriously on the verge of believing that we just need to move this kitten to another home where he's the only cat and he can get the attention he so clearly craves constantly... He's really aggressive with the other cats and it just doesn't seem to stop. There's major fights with bushy tails, hissing and fur flying. We spray them all with water and make loud noises, but it's all day and all night long.

I'm just tired of it and with the new baby coming, I'm not sure I'm up for this sort of challenge... I've never given away a pet before, but this is really more than I can handle...

[domesticzookeeper]

:hug

[kycanonist]

Well, we found Sam a new home... He is going to be the only cat in this family. They have been searching and looking for a siamese kitten, and this opportunity seems to be the perfect fit for all concerned. The new family sounds sooooo excited! The mom sounded like she was on the verge of tears she was so happy. :) I couldn't ask for anything better for Sam...

He just wasn't getting what he needed here.... We couldn't give him the attention he wanted/craved and he was constantly being squirted with the spray bottle and told "no" and just generally not "enjoyed" for who he is, if that makes any sense... No one in the house was happy.

Our DD is going to be devestated... she really does love this kitten. She's 3 and we're going to explain to her that she has 2 other cats and there was a little boy who desperately wanted a cat to love and he didn't have one. Since we had 3, we decided that the best thing to do was to share what we have with this poor little boy who had nothing. We'll tell her that Sam is being loved and adored and has people who will care deeply for him.

Sigh..... doesn't make it any easier though....

[Countrymama]

:hug That's funny...our kitten is named Sam too! I am glad that it is working out for you. I hope your dd is ok! :hug2

[kycanonist]

She was really upset when we explained it to her last night... she kept saying "But I love Sam!" and "Sam is our family!" It just broke my heart... but for everyone involved, this is for the best...

[Sanveann]

Oh, your poor DD! But I agree that this will be better for everybody, it sounds.

Can she go visit Sam sometimes?

[kycanonist]

I think it's probably best that she not... she's not mentioned him at all today, which is a good sign...

I heard from the family that got Sam, and they adore him! :) That makes me feel so good. :)