New cat & peeing

Kitty1 - my original stray cat, very playful/active, loves people,
hates being pet, bites, can draw blood if too aggressive with petting
or holding, spayed and shots
Kitty2 - new cat, stray, extremely peaceful and loving, spayed & shots

I kept the new cat in a room for about 3 days after getting her
fixed. I introduced them slowly. My original has been pretty
aggressive toward the new cat, but has started to chill out a bit.

Here's what I have done
- Kept the new one separated in a room w/ own litter & food
- Introduced them slowly in terms of amount of time the new cat is
outside of her room.

What has gone wrong
- My cat sniffed and "sprayed" clean laundry on an old couch. I
believe the new cat peed there first. (just a guess)
- Most of the pee was on the laundry, i washed and bleached
the laundry (whites) and cleaned the couch (no pee really) with
a pet stain cleaner.
- New cat peed on my bed spread on my bed. Luckily I had the mattress
wrapped in plastic.
- I washed everything twice and bleached it as well.

Why I think the peeing occurred - purely hypothesis
- Both times I took the cat into a new part of the house without
letting her explore it by herself. Also, my original cat was still
pretty aggressive at this point.

Since the things that went wrong, I've made sure to babysit them more
when the new cat is out as well as let the new cat explore, not force
her to go somewhere in the house. I'm fairly confident those are the
only two peeing spots that happened (luckily not on the carpet) since
I scoured the house with a black light and didn't find anything.

My main concern is with the peeing. They're starting to get along
better now - very little hissing. My house is new construction that
I've lived in since April. So, it's not due to a previous owner. I'm
really hoping the two incidents were isolated and caused by my mistake
of forcing the new cat into unexplored areas of the house.

Any input is appreciated, I really don't want to have to get rid of
the new cat or for my old cat to for a bad bathroom habit. I've never
had problems with this in the past.

Thanks,
Paul

On Oct 15, 9:03 pm, wrote:
Kitty1 - my original stray cat, very playful/active, loves people,
hates being pet, bites, can draw blood if too aggressive with petting
or holding, spayed and shots
Kitty2 - new cat, stray, extremely peaceful and loving, spayed & shots

I kept the new cat in a room for about 3 days after getting her
fixed. I introduced them slowly. My original has been pretty
aggressive toward the new cat, but has started to chill out a bit.

Here's what I have done
- Kept the new one separated in a room w/ own litter & food
- Introduced them slowly in terms of amount of time the new cat is
outside of her room.

What has gone wrong
- My cat sniffed and "sprayed" clean laundry on an old couch. I
believe the new cat peed there first. (just a guess)
- Most of the pee was on the laundry, i washed and bleached
the laundry (whites) and cleaned the couch (no pee really) with
a pet stain cleaner.
- New cat peed on my bed spread on my bed. Luckily I had the mattress
wrapped in plastic.
- I washed everything twice and bleached it as well.

Why I think the peeing occurred - purely hypothesis
- Both times I took the cat into a new part of the house without
letting her explore it by herself. Also, my original cat was still
pretty aggressive at this point.

Since the things that went wrong, I've made sure to babysit them more
when the new cat is out as well as let the new cat explore, not force
her to go somewhere in the house. I'm fairly confident those are the
only two peeing spots that happened (luckily not on the carpet) since
I scoured the house with a black light and didn't find anything.

My main concern is with the peeing. They're starting to get along
better now - very little hissing. My house is new construction that
I've lived in since April. So, it's not due to a previous owner. I'm
really hoping the two incidents were isolated and caused by my mistake
of forcing the new cat into unexplored areas of the house.

Any input is appreciated, I really don't want to have to get rid of
the new cat or for my old cat to for a bad bathroom habit. I've never
had problems with this in the past.

Thanks,
Paul

Hi Paul,

I adopted a cat who also peed on my clean laundry. This happened for
the first 2 months I had him. I believe it was due to new surrounding
and being around my other 2 cats. I believe it is a territorial act.
It should stop soon when they get used to each other. I would
recommend buying a product called urine gone. This will help with
covering up the cat scent left behind-otherwise the cat may spray in
the same spot. Just give the cat some time to get adjusted...it is ina
new surrounding.

All the best!
Irene

Cats mark their territory when stressed. Just as a two year old
screaming "Mine! Mine!" thinks this is a magic word that will make the
object theirs, cats will pee on their territory to try to "own" it.

If you think stress is the culprit, do some destressing. See if they
will play together, have a nip party, lie on the floor and let them
explore you together. You are pushing territory on them, so letting
them go about it at their own pace will help stop this defensive
"marking."

Leave the room for the new cat to retreat to so they have a place of
their own. If your old cat bites when stressed, that's a sign she
needs to let things happen slowly and easily, so you probably did make
a mistake pushing things. Let go and trying to impose your own
schedule out of impatience; let them decide and you shouldn't have any
more problems.

It is vital that you get rid of the smell; enzyme products work well,
but I've done fine with 3 parts water to one part vinegar, drench, and
then blot and dry. Vinegar truly is a miracle about neutralizing cat
urine.

This is something the cats have to be in charge of. You are the
bystander. Remember that, and you will be able to relax.

WereBear

--
the way of cats
http://wayofcats.blogspot.com