Nothing is sacred when it comes to what Clouseau will consider as a potential litter tray, he pees on everything. “I love him until he pees on something and then I want to kill him” says owner Yvonne who is at the end of her tether with Clouseau’s antics. He’s ruined a new espresso machine, a brand new sofa, and sofa bed – already made up for a guest!
To curb his random weeing habits Yvonne has resorted to dotting around sheets of tin foil at all his favourite wee spots, as he avoids the foil due to the sound it makes when he walks on it. Something has got to give. At the Pet Shame Clinic Yvonne tells Marc she is willing to try anything, and that, as Marc says, is an excellent starting point for any owner wanting to help resolve their pets problem. Marc learns in the Clinic that Clouseau isn’t the only cat in the house and quickly discovers why there could be an issue. Multi cat households need to provide for individuals and ensure separate feeding areas, litter trays and separate hiding/time out spaces. Competition between cats leads to issues such as Yvonne is already experiencing.
Marc also finds out that Clouseau is a house cat and encourages Yvonne to let him out, urinating to claim territorial ownership is normal in cats, and when let outside they are less likely to do it inside. When Yvonne gets Clouseau back home she immediately puts the advice into practice and starts to feed Clouseau and his sister Cato separately. Not entirely able to cut the apron strings, she also lets Clouseau outside in the garden for brief supervised visits but is keen to keep a very close eye on him in case he disappears. “Pee patrol” as Yvonne calls it, is no longer a daily task and it does seem like Clouseau’s problems could be getting better but Marc suggests micro chipping and more freedom to go outdoors to improve things further.
Beth Skillings, Cats Protection’s Clinical Veterinary Officer said: “Cats live in a scent world and their signaling behaviours can seem mysterious to people, who are by their nature more reliant on visual and verbal means of communication. But with a little understanding of the motivation for feline behaviours, owners can take simple steps to ensure the home can meet both cat and owner’s needs and expectations and ensure happy lives together.
When a cat displays toileting behaviours which are not acceptable to its owner, it is important to first seek veterinary advice to ensure there is no physical health issue causing the problem. Bear in mind the reason why one cat toilets or sprays in unwanted areas may be very different to the reason why another cat does and so different approaches may be needed. If deemed healthy and the provision of sufficiently separated resources, such as food bowls, water bowls, resting areas and litter trays all located in different and acceptable locations, do not rectify the issue, then veterinary referral to a suitably qualified behaviourist can be very useful to help tackle feline toileting issues.” A leaflet on spraying can be found at www.cats.org.uk
