Serious cat dilemma

That is unbelievably cruel. Another cat is brought into the home and he is showing how unhappy he is about that. The new cat is ‘really loved’ by everyone and they are ‘fed up with’ the old one. Poor old boy. If the second cat hadn’t been acquired this wouldn’t have happened.

I've had that same problem and animal-lover that I am I did consider euthanasia, when my baby came along and the home was unsanitary. The cat belonged to my husband before we got together, he had three in all, but only one sprayed - furniture, floor, bed, fireplace, baby's soft toys - nowhere was safe and it was HORRIBLE, and extremely smelly. We talked to the Cat Protection League, but no-one had an answer that worked. We did not try getting rid of the other cats because my husband loved them all, and there was no guarantee that would work anyway. I was constantly on the alert, putting things out of his way, closing doors and crying. It actually gave me nightmares, in my hormonal state. We tried everything and nothing worked. We did try Feliway, sometimes you would think something had worked only to smell the stench once more, track down and try to disinfect. The thing is, animals are supposed to be our pets and enhance our lives, not bedevil them. In the end all we could do was have a cat shed outside, that we kept clean and dry and if I remember rightly we put a little garden heater in it. I do feel for you, there is no easy answer and in cold blood I could not take a healthy cat down to the vets to be put down, however much I felt like wringing his neck when he offended! It's a very sad situation. Now I've got dogs and they are much easier to train and communicate with! Good luck!

A friend wanted to rehome a beautiful Persian which was peeing everywhere in the house. Her first attempt failed - the cat was brought back the next morning even though my friend had explained the problem. The second succeeded because the cat was rehomed with someone who had a number of cats which lived in outside accommodation and who was delighted to give this one a new home.

Cat 1 was there first. It is it's home. He will see cat 2 as an interloper. If any of the cats are rehomed it should be cat 2. Could you take cat 2 for a few weeks to see if cat 1 settles down. Full deep clean needed included all carpets with a pet cleaner that destroys the enzymes in cat urine. If cat 1 settles and cat 2 is accepted by your 2 Maine Coons then perhaps she could live with you permanently. Your DD could see the cat when she visited. It would be very cruel to try to re-home a cat that is very loyal towards your DD. It's not his fault another cat was put in his territory. No vat should be murdered.

Have you tried catnip?

As a proud ragdoll owner myself, I would suggest perhaps Ragdoll-Rescue.co.uk They may be able to offer advice or gneral assistance particularly if rehoming does come into play

Aveline - I won't be popular but it looks as though you and your daughter have opted for pedigree cats that are all in-bred at the end of the day and come with temperament issues so it's hardly surprising that the male cat feels ousted. To consider euthanising the cat for what is after all perfectly normal behaviour in a distressed animal is really quite brutal and doesn't quite fit with the claim of loving him. The lovely uncomplicated cat should be the one to be re-homed at least for a while to see whether the male cat can revert to more stable behaviour. The other thing to consider is whether he has he been checked for a bladder infection? Lots of cats get such infections and pee all over the place until the infection is cleared up.

As Toddleo said

We really can't take poor cat 1 in. As previously stated we live in a fourth floor flat and he's an out door cat. He's a fraction of the size of our boys. My fear would be that they would all start peeing.
I've passed on the contact details of Ragdoll rescue and local Cat protection league to DD and will suggest a bladder scan for him.
Everyone - I know it's not fair and not right but that's the situation in real life.

This is not that uncommon

OP

Why the resistance to try felineway?
Posters are giving lots of good suggestions and you are stuck on poor me mode

Aveline

We really can't take poor cat 1 in. As previously stated we live in a fourth floor flat and he's an out door cat. He's a fraction of the size of our boys. My fear would be that they would all start peeing.
I've passed on the contact details of Ragdoll rescue and local Cat protection league to DD and will suggest a bladder scan for him.
Everyone - I know it's not fair and not right but that's the situation in real life.

How about taking cat 2 in just for a short while to allow for deep cleaning and then see if poor old cat 1 stops peeing everywhere?

I won’t be popular but I don’t think it’s a given that Cat 1 should be the one who stays. He is clearly desperately stressed and might be only too happy to leave and be an only cat in a household that loves him. I had the exact same situation on two occasions after adopting older cats over the years (albeit the same breed) and each settled as an only cat in another home very happily and never sprayed again.

Why the resistance to try felineway?
Posters are giving lots of good suggestions and you are stuck on poor me mode

What a nasty comment. Aveline has responded to all the advice on here.

I have 5 rescued cats. All came at different times. In this case she can train them to get along and to eliminate the cat urine problem. #1 Cats spray because they either have a urinary issue in which case need to be seen and treated by a veterinarian. Or they are stressed and marking territory. Did he pee all over before the new cat came? If not then it is time to train Cat 1 and 2 to get along. I did this with spending 15 minutes twice a day with both cats playing with them both at the same time so that they were actually thinking they were playing with each other. I would take a cat toy fishing type toy and stream it back and forth for them both to play alternately, and other toys similar. I would also take a wash rag and pet one cat and then take that wash rag and pet the other cat so that they both had each other's smell. I got Calming Collars for them both. There are numerous calming products that work well for cats. When you adopt a second or third etc. cat, the cat owner needs to take responsibility to acclimate them together. Even though it has been 2 years it can be done. Also making sure there are adequate cat boxes that are cleaned regularly. Cats do not like dirty boxes. I agree it is not fair to euthanize a pet when it is not their fault they are in this predicament, but to find solutions that can and will work.

But Katie poster says cat 1 is devoted to her daughter cat 2 seems a ‘happy to know you’ type so would probably be better able to settle with someone new
Once again I agree with GSM s post (which is getting worrying 😂)

We can’t have that BlueBelle. We will be accused of being a clique! 😁

In 1972 I had a young baby and, as was the norm in those days, left the pram with sleeping baby in a high pram on the front doorstep in the fresh air in a safe, enclosed garden., complete with fly net to keep her safe. When I next looked at her a cat had jumped on the pram and peed over her head and pillow.
I washed her and the pram was disinfected.
I phoned a vet and an animal society and was told it would probably happen again as the unknown cat had marked it's territory and they could offer no advice or help other than to sell the pram !

Seriously, I don’t think the first cat should be the one to go. He was happy on his own and should be given the chance to be so again. I have had many cats over the years and at one time there were seven. Mostly strays. All ‘moggies’. I agree with LouLou, they sometimes need a little help to accept each other at first.

GoldenAge

Aveline - I won't be popular but it looks as though you and your daughter have opted for pedigree cats that are all in-bred at the end of the day and come with temperament issues so it's hardly surprising that the male cat feels ousted. To consider euthanising the cat for what is after all perfectly normal behaviour in a distressed animal is really quite brutal and doesn't quite fit with the claim of loving him. The lovely uncomplicated cat should be the one to be re-homed at least for a while to see whether the male cat can revert to more stable behaviour. The other thing to consider is whether he has he been checked for a bladder infection? Lots of cats get such infections and pee all over the place until the infection is cleared up.

I am sorry to return to the fray here, but I don't believe that the OP was ever brutal enough to be "considering" euthanasia. She said in the opening post that it was one of the courses that were open - the is not at all the same thing as "considering" it. I might say that divorce would have been one of the options open to me if my spouse snored all night, but that doesn't mean that I have seriously considered it! After all I really loved him! (He didn't snore, by the way)

If you were reading the posts, you would know that the vet has checked the cat out and ruled out any physical problems or infections. As for not buying pedigree cats, that is irrelevant.

Cats are essentially solitary animals and never keen on invaders. Why on earth did she get a second one? Have a look on the Ragdoll breed site and rehome the newer one. It shouldn't be difficult.

.. And in case of a spot of cystitis, which is highly possible, a daily dose of Cystaid has proved amazing for my aged Burmese cat.

Sounds an awful situation but don't euthanize a healthy cat. Find a cat rescue place who will rehome.

Not a cat but a dog, years ago when I had my dog as she had being in quarantine for 6months she was used to dogs around her so now ex hubby got brain wave of getting a puppy she hated this puppy after few months we give puppy to his sister and all was well in the house. Few years later I met a guy who had a dog she loved his dog and she loved her after we split up I kept his dog and my own lol both lived happily for 10yrs until she passed. If they don’t get on I think it’s cruel for to make older cat live in the same house as her enemy. You can’t make someone like someone no matter if it’s human or animal

Have u tried Feliway? Not done myself but they say it helps Has he got a urine problem what does the vet say. If it were me I would rehome number 2 because if he goes to a good home not a problem but number 1 will be even more stressed

Bluesmum

In my somewhat considerable experience, once a cat develops the habit of peeing indoors, whatever the cause,you will never,ever, break the habit! Getting rid of the second cat will not change a thing now, and rehoming the first cat will just pass the problem on to his new owner, especially with him having to cope with losing his “mum” and settling in new territory. Sorry to sound so negative but any honest vet or animal behaviourist will tell you, the first person to find a solution to this habit would become a billionaire overnight!!!

Beg to differ on that one Bluesmum. We have a 10 year old Siamese who, after living with her half sister, ( same age Siamese X Bengal) for a year, they started not getting on....hence Lily the Siamese started spraying (both neutered). We moved house (and country) 3 years ago and sadly our Siamese X Bengal ran away (she found her way 'home' 4 months later and decided to happily reside at her old home with new owners (of the house not her)! .....we felt it best for her welfare to leave her there). Lily has never sprayed in our home since and we acquired 2 rescue kittens two years ago......Lily was a bit miffed at first, but now accepts them and never sprays.