[SarahJC]

We have five cats. Two ours and three that my elderly mum had living with her (she now lives with my sister). Anyway....we've had mums cats here a year now and our Siamese still scent marks up the walls, doors, radiators etc. We've tried Feliway plug ins and spray to no avail. Thank heaven for Simple Solution which gets rid of the smell almost 100%. The paint has started to come away on the areas he sprays, either his wee is doing it or the solution or both. After having the house re-wired we are now embarking on redecorating, starting with the living room, which have three areas he wees up.

He's as bright as a button, especially when he's heading for the front door to wee up and I spot him and call "Allllllfieeee", he grumbles, turns round and abandons it.

We are at a loss as what to do. They are all into double figures and loved dearly, although we despair at times with all their issues  

ANY advice gratefully received  

[Aunt Sally]

Is he an "intact" male ?

[madcat]

We had the same problem with our old lady and an old boy before her.  And ditto thank heaven for simple solution, but the wee corrodes everything ....    Anyway, my theories  with the benefit of hindsight,  and solutions such as they are ...

I'm assuming he is a neuter if he has been living inside with you and another cat...  if he is a full male and in double figures then you aren't going to win ...  he is going to have to go into a run.

Q1 Is Alfie your boss cat  - or was he the boss cat until your mum's cats arrived?  Is he dealing with a challenger?  Because that would be a major reason for spraying.  In which case you are going to have to assert a pecking order with your smell - I found washing down all the spraying places with a very smelly (not horrible but a bit wow!)disinfectant, and using the same smelly disinfectant on the people loos helped when we had a boy challenge situation.  On that occasion the male cat was challenging my husband for top cat!! But we had just introduced a girl cat to the household ....  

With our spraying old girl, I think she was getting frightened long before I realised   ...  and she was marking to assert herself but also to give herself confidence. She was the oldest and the dominant cat (to the end of her days) and all had 24/7 access to outside.  We were also decorating and doing up the house so things kept moving around.  

Q2 - how many litter trays do you have for 5 cats?  I think one of the reasons she was spraying because she wasn't confident with the one she shared with the two others - and wasn't confident outside.  Adding an extra covered tray elsewhere that was easy for her to get into helped.  I think it was less threatening cos there were options and she was safe from all directions so she felt it was okay and less need to be assertive.

Her eyesight also failed ...  and I think I didn't realise early enough when the problems first started.  Scent marking meant she knew where she was in a confusing world that kept changing (we were decorating) and it was hers.  So it might be worth checking out his eyes.

The big thing I did right was protecting a warm space that she choose as hers.  It was my desk and over a heater ...  so I was there - so she owned the person -  and it was warm, and I removed any of the others that thought about intruding.  It reinforced a safe space that she didnt have to defend that belonged to the dominant cat ....  (still does two dominant cats later!)

Hope that helps!

[SarahJC]

Thanks Madcat  . He was neutered at the usual age. Mums cats are incredibly laid back and have never challenged him. One male, two females. One of the females he will chase, the other is 15 and passed caring about him trying to dominate her and just sees him as an annoyance. He's an indoor cat and the others aren't. We have two litter trays for the five, which are cleaned out three times a day. He's never really been boss cat. He does pace the rooms at some point in the day now and again and will be checking out where all the other cats are. He's 10. He gets lots of fuss and knows when it's Saturday and gets to snuggle up under the duvet next to my stomach and have a nap  :happy: All I can think is that he's worried he's going to be usurped, but a years passed with it not happening. I think I need a cat therapist 

[chickenlady]

Ah! bless him  my Mollie started doing it for  a short time when there was a large male cat was seen in our garden! it was almost as if she was really scared of him! then 1 day she came home with a torn ear so we kept a look out for him. the first time we saw him again we were ready, he got a full on blast from the hose and we never saw him again! Mollie also stopped sparying soon after!
Your puddy may be able to see other cats around outside (if he doesnt go out) so may be panicking and so spraying

[Foxy]

Have you had a thyroid functon test done recently? Even slighty elevated can change behaviour. Although it does sound behavioural might be worth checking