Feliway and spraying/fighting cats? (long)

Hi - new to the group! My name is Laurie and I have 3 cats - a 4 year old
neutered male (Calvin) we've had for 3 years and a 2 year old spayed female
(Twitch) who has been with us for about a year. In late November we rescued
a 13 year old neutered male, Jazzy, (along with his 12 year old Maltese
companion) from the shelter. I should note the two younger cats are not
declawed and Jazzy is.

Jazzy is a big boy and very loving to us humans. He and Twitch have never
gotten along -- she is very skittish and pretty much strikes in a preemptive
move and then runs - he runs after her and tries to tackle her. The fur
flies, but it seems to have calmed down as Twitch moved to counter top level
and does her best to avoid him.

Calvin has become increasingly more aggressive toward Jazzy, to the point
where he has been pinning him and really going after him. Jazzy is much
larger but Calvin is more agile and I guess downright mean. Jazzy has bite
marks on his neck and we've had to separate them with Calvin on top and
Jazzy screaming.

I recently discovered that Jazzy has been spraying (duh - I didn't know
neutered cats really sprayed anything with that up tail shaking movement)
and Calvin has been peeing in the dining room. The drapes are now history
and the couch corners smell to high heaven. *sigh*

I have separated Jazzy from the other two, but then Calvin and Jazzy sit on
opposite sides of the door and play under the door. I've been letting him
out when we are home to supervise and avert a fight before it starts and
then separating them again at night when we go to bed.

My vet suggested a natural product with Feliway, which I bought this evening
and will try in the dining room, but it is awfully expensive and
prohibitively so for the whole house...

Does anyone have experience Feliway based product or any other suggestions
on something else I could try?

TIA and sorry for the long post - I've had cats all my life but have never
run into this kind of situation!

Laurie

"Laurie" wrote in message
news:cP5Dh.1769$4J4.1551@trnddc01...
Hi - new to the group! My name is Laurie and I have 3 cats - a 4 year old
neutered male (Calvin) we've had for 3 years and a 2 year old spayed
female (Twitch) who has been with us for about a year. In late November we
rescued a 13 year old neutered male, Jazzy, (along with his 12 year old
Maltese companion) from the shelter. I should note the two younger cats
are not declawed and Jazzy is.

Jazzy is a big boy and very loving to us humans. He and Twitch have never
gotten along -- she is very skittish and pretty much strikes in a
preemptive move and then runs - he runs after her and tries to tackle her.
The fur flies, but it seems to have calmed down as Twitch moved to counter
top level and does her best to avoid him.

Calvin has become increasingly more aggressive toward Jazzy, to the point
where he has been pinning him and really going after him. Jazzy is much
larger but Calvin is more agile and I guess downright mean. Jazzy has bite
marks on his neck and we've had to separate them with Calvin on top and
Jazzy screaming.

I recently discovered that Jazzy has been spraying (duh - I didn't know
neutered cats really sprayed anything with that up tail shaking movement)
and Calvin has been peeing in the dining room. The drapes are now history
and the couch corners smell to high heaven. *sigh*

I have separated Jazzy from the other two, but then Calvin and Jazzy sit
on opposite sides of the door and play under the door. I've been letting
him out when we are home to supervise and avert a fight before it starts
and then separating them again at night when we go to bed.

My vet suggested a natural product with Feliway, which I bought this
evening and will try in the dining room, but it is awfully expensive and
prohibitively so for the whole house...

Does anyone have experience Feliway based product or any other suggestions
on something else I could try?

TIA and sorry for the long post - I've had cats all my life but have never
run into this kind of situation!

Laurie



Feliway is an excellent product. It's not a cure-all but has been very
effective for many people. I suggest that you use a couple of the plug-in
dispensers instead of the Feliway spray. The dispensers will be cheaper and
more effective because they release a continuous pre-measured amount. They
are also refillable, and one refill should last a little more than a month.
It is likely that you can find more reasonable rates on the Internet than
from your vet (although "it ain't cheap," as you already know). I think the
spray is very good for temporary purposes -- for example, spray it in a
carrier about 20 minutes before you put your cat in the carrier for a trip
to the vet.

I used Feliway when I adopted Duffy, and I found it very helpful in
producing a "calmer" atmosphere during the introduction process with Holly.
I ordered mine from ValleyVet (http://www.valleyvet.com). They have better
prices than most others. Shipping is $6.00, or no charge if you order more
than $60.00. The last time I checked, they had Feliway on special for
$24.95 for a diffuser with one bottle of Feliway. It is also available as a
spray for $15.95 (or $13.95 if 3 are ordered). Do *not* order the
formulation with D.A.P. because that version is for dogs. Plug-in diffuser
and 1 bottle can be seen he http://tinyurl.com/8n0y Refills he
http://tinyurl.com/y3x3pk

Here are a couple of other sources for Feliway:
www.petguys.com - Feliway plug-in dispenser and one bottle = $23.99 at my
most recent check www.petfooddirect.com - currently $29.99 for the plug-in
and one bottle Feliway is used for behavior modification and can be very
useful in reducing stress.

***Be sure to verify the prices I listed before ordering because they may
have changed since I last checked.***

Here is a link to a study by Ohio State University:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases...1129074611.htm

MaryL

Photos of Duffy and Holly: 'o'
Duffy: http://tinyurl.com/cslwf
Holly: http://tinyurl.com/9t68o
Duffy and Holly together: http://tinyurl.com/8b47e

I agree with everything MaryL has said. I too have used Feliway and it
does help, though (of course) it's not a cure-all. You can also try an
herbal remedy called Rescue Remedy, which you can purchase at health-
food stores. All you do is add a few drops to their water. I've found
this article helpful, and it also discusses other ways to dispense the
RR:
http://www.allourpets.com/holistic/bach-essences.shtml

Also, make sure to completely clean the sprayed areas with a product
such as Nature's Miracle to remove all odors.

MaryL wrote:
"Laurie" wrote in message
snip
My vet suggested a natural product with Feliway, which I bought this
evening and will try in the dining room, but it is awfully expensive
and prohibitively so for the whole house...

Does anyone have experience Feliway based product or any other
suggestions on something else I could try?

Feliway is an excellent product. It's not a cure-all but has been
very effective for many people. I suggest that you use a couple of
the plug-in dispensers instead of the Feliway spray. The dispensers
will be cheaper and more effective because they release a continuous
pre-measured amount. They are also refillable, and one refill should
last a little more than a month. It is likely that you can find more
reasonable rates on the Internet than from your vet (although "it
ain't cheap," as you already know). I think the spray is very good
for temporary purposes -- for example, spray it in a carrier about 20
minutes before you put your cat in the carrier for a trip to the vet.

I used Feliway when I adopted Duffy, and I found it very helpful in
producing a "calmer" atmosphere during the introduction process with
Holly. I ordered mine from ValleyVet (http://www.valleyvet.com). They have
better prices than most others. Shipping is $6.00, or no
charge if you order more than $60.00. The last time I checked, they
had Feliway on special for $24.95 for a diffuser with one bottle of
Feliway. It is also available as a spray for $15.95 (or $13.95 if 3
are ordered). Do *not* order the formulation with D.A.P. because
that version is for dogs. Plug-in diffuser and 1 bottle can be seen
he http://tinyurl.com/8n0y Refills he http://tinyurl.com/y3x3pk

Here are a couple of other sources for Feliway:
www.petguys.com - Feliway plug-in dispenser and one bottle = $23.99
at my most recent check www.petfooddirect.com - currently $29.99 for
the plug-in and one bottle Feliway is used for behavior modification
and can be very useful in reducing stress.

***Be sure to verify the prices I listed before ordering because they
may have changed since I last checked.***

Here is a link to a study by Ohio State University:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases...1129074611.htm

Excellent MaryL. I appreciate the links and advice! I ordered from
ValleyVet and will give the diffusers a try. Keeping my fingers crossed it
does the job - but it seems to certainly be a miracle solution - and we
could sure use a miracle!!

Many thanks,
Laurie and the furries

Rene S. wrote:
I agree with everything MaryL has said. I too have used Feliway and it
does help, though (of course) it's not a cure-all. You can also try an
herbal remedy called Rescue Remedy, which you can purchase at health-
food stores. All you do is add a few drops to their water. I've found
this article helpful, and it also discusses other ways to dispense the
RR:
http://www.allourpets.com/holistic/bach-essences.shtml

Also, make sure to completely clean the sprayed areas with a product
such as Nature's Miracle to remove all odors.

Thanks Rene - we've used Rescue Remedy with our buns, so I'm familiar with
it, just forgot about it!

And yep, we're major Nature's Miracle fans around here...we buy it by the
gallon! Love it!

Laurie and the furries

Hi Laurie, good to see you hear! Hope something works for your angels.

If the Feliway doesn't work, there's another thing I just thought of
that you might check.

We had a female cat years ago that started spraying in her later years,
complete with tail wiggle. We had a vet check her and she had arthritis
in her spine, making it uncomfortable for her to squat. It was found on
an x-ray.

I hope all of your guys settle down and get along. Sounds like you're
doing everything right!

When you separate them, do you ever alternate their living space? That
might get them more used to each other's smell too.

Good luck with the zoo, Laurie.

Rhonda

Laurie wrote:

Excellent MaryL. I appreciate the links and advice! I ordered from
ValleyVet and will give the diffusers a try. Keeping my fingers crossed it
does the job - but it seems to certainly be a miracle solution - and we
could sure use a miracle!!

Many thanks,
Laurie and the furries

Rhonda wrote:
Hi Laurie, good to see you hear! Hope something works for your angels.

Angels. Ha!

If the Feliway doesn't work, there's another thing I just thought of
that you might check.

We had a female cat years ago that started spraying in her later
years, complete with tail wiggle. We had a vet check her and she had
arthritis in her spine, making it uncomfortable for her to squat. It
was found on an x-ray.

He doesn't seem to have a problem in the litterbox *sigh* - he just sprays
wherever I am and on Jon's clothes. Love...*rolling eyes*

I hope all of your guys settle down and get along. Sounds like you're
doing everything right!

When you separate them, do you ever alternate their living space? That
might get them more used to each other's smell too.

At this point, they've all been out together for 4 months, so everything
pretty much smells like everykitty. I just keep them separated so that all
heck doesn't break loose during the night and when we're not home. They seem
to do okay during their short breaks out, although Jazzy was spraying again
lst night (my good briefcase this time...).

Good luck with the zoo, Laurie.

Thanks gf - Feliway diffusers are due here Monday and maybe, if we're lucky,
tomorrow. Keep your fingers crossed! And thanks for the reference to this
ng - it's been really helpful!

Laurie

Glad you got some help, Laurie. And good luck getting diffused!

Remember, don't inhale...

Rhonda

Laurie wrote:

Thanks gf - Feliway diffusers are due here Monday and maybe, if we're lucky,
tomorrow. Keep your fingers crossed! And thanks for the reference to this
ng - it's been really helpful!