long time sprayer - NOTHING WORKS!

[pawspadding]

I have a 5-year old neutered male who has been spraying for over two years. So far, I've tried: Feliway, Amitriptyline, Clomicalm and Prozac. Prozac was the most recent - for a few months it calmed him down - now he's back at it again. Skyler and his litter were born in the desert and found as newborns (VERY lucky) beside a deceased momma cat. I also have his brother, Sylver. Skyler was spoiled rotten his first six weeks at the vet's - being the runt of the litter. We treat both these cats with much love and affection and even this spraying, as hard as it is to deal with and having NOTHING work, would never cause us to have him PTS. Also have a female indoors and yes, outside cats too - including ferals who drift through this rural areas. I have been to two different vets, had him checked for UTI (whatever it's called now) and am about to do that again. I am just about to give up (not giving HIM up, but giving up on ever stopping this behavior). I'm not going to shut him in a room so he's not stimulated or feeling threatened by the other cats. He is agitated a lot now - pacing and crying. So yes, I am going to take him back to the vet - AGAIN - for a check-up. One vet tried to give me Ovaban - NO WAY! Anyway, any suggestions would be appreciated. The anti-depressants aren't working so maybe I need to go where I didn't want to go - buspar or valium. HELP!
p.s. Am thinking now that the anti-D's might be ramping him UP - that's why I'm considering a benzo instead. Skyler is happy most of the time, but when he gets anxious he's a spraying TERRORIST.

[Mags]

Sorry to hear you are having these problems with your cat.......... hopefully someone here with a cat who has experienced these traits will be along shortly to offer you some advice...

[Leesy]

Sorry there is not really much advice I can offer you except what you have been doing all ready, I have not encounterd this problem myself.
There will probably be someone on this forum who will beable to give you some more advice along later.

[Elaine]

Not a pleasant situation for any of you, all these medications etc are all well and good to try to help puss feel less stressed, but the hardest task is to try to find out the cause of the stress, maybe even keep a little diary of events. This may take some time to establish but you may see a pattern of behaviours that you hadnt really noticed before.
When the spraying started 2 years ago, was there any changes to the house or house hold, i.e., new pets arrived, new baby, new furnature into the house, anything at all that may have triggered the spraying?

[yola]

Is there some kind of food link maybe? Is he reacting badly to something in his diet? Does he have allergies that may be causing stress that you're not aware of? Have you considered alternative therapy at all?

Other than that I can't really think of anything else but I'll have a ponder during the day.

[angieh]

I am sorry - what a problem, especially as you say you love the cat. I would guess that the cause could be the ferals that you say are about. If there's a tom around - your cat is trying to protect his territory by scent marking as much as he can. It's not working - he's neutered - so he keeps doing it in the vain hope that it will. No wonder he gets stressed.

Any way you could exclude the ferals from your house/grounds (big ask I expect)???

[pawspadding]

I'm going to ask the vet about food allergies. But Skyler doesn't like most cat foods - only the ultra expensive Sheba that has no preservatives. Funny though, he CRAVES deli turkey (no preservatives), so... that could mean he needs that L-triptyline (is that what it is?) that's in turkey that is known to have a semi-sedating effect.

For the poster who asked what might have started all this (over 3 years ago)... yes, I know what started it. I went to Florida for about 10 days. The spraying started right after I got back. Skyler felt abandoned, pure and simple. I certainly have tried to make it up to him; I mean this cat gets SO much attention, and I even walk around with him a lot, rocking him like a human baby when he gets really agitated (I am sure that takes him back to his baby days at the vet's when they did that with him and he felt safe). Problem now is that the behavior is deeply ingrained after so long.

As for the ferals - can't stop that. We have one outside cat, so there's water out there and always some dry food. We are out in a very rural environment - 1.5 acres with utility fencing so the ferals easily slip in at night. I could cover all the windows, ha, but he'd still smell them. I don't even care about the spraying because I just clean it up. I DO care that it's a symptom of an unhappy, stressed out cat. Behavior mod. is not going to work as long as the stressors (the other cats, inside and out) are there. I may just have to go with Valium - assuming THAT even works - but I feel SO BAD for this beautiful boy. Will post a photo. He and his brother are stunningly gorgeous. Sylver, the brother, is a sweet big teddybear cat - and he gets Skyler's wrath when Sky goes on the warpath. Breaks my heart. Guess I'll call and get him into the vet to once again exclude any physical problems, but I KNOW that's not what causes this - it's been going on too long now. Six months ago we gave him a round of antibiotics just in case. Now it's time for a full battery of brutal tests, but I have to do it. He's my CHILD. Here is my little prince:

http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg31/SylverSky47/my%20kids/005.jpg

[Elaine]

For the poster who asked what might have started all this (over 3 years ago)... yes, I know what started it. I went to Florida for about 10 days. The spraying started right after I got back. Skyler felt abandoned, pure and simple. I certainly have tried to make it up to him; I mean this cat gets SO much attention, and I even walk around with him a lot, rocking him like a human baby when he gets really agitated (I am sure that takes him back to his baby days at the vet's when they did that with him and he felt safe). Problem now is that the behavior is deeply ingrained after so long.

As for the ferals - can't stop that. We have one outside cat, so there's water out there and always some dry food. We are out in a very rural environment - 1.5 acres with utility fencing so the ferals easily slip in at night. I could cover all the windows, ha, but he'd still smell them. I don't even care about the spraying because I just clean it up. I DO care that it's a symptom of an unhappy, stressed out cat. Behavior mod. is not going to work as long as the stressors (the other cats, inside and out) are there. I may just have to go with Valium - assuming THAT even works - but I feel SO BAD for this beautiful boy. Will post a photo. He and his brother are stunningly gorgeous. Sylver, the brother, is a sweet big teddybear cat - and he gets Skyler's wrath when Sky goes on the warpath. Breaks my heart. Guess I'll call and get him into the vet to once again exclude any physical problems, but I KNOW that's not what causes this - it's been going on too long now. Six months ago we gave him a round of antibiotics just in case. Now it's time for a full battery of brutal tests, but I have to do it. He's my CHILD.

(was going to put a photo here- how do I do it? copying and pasting from photobucket doesn't work)

Maybe thats part of the problem, I dont mean to appear rude or nasty or anything but maybe you are the one who has created this situation by nurturing his anxiety there fore his little mind has got confused and stuck in an anxious state.
I have a cat very prone to stress, she is not nearly so bad now since we under went some reiki therapy. But when she is stressed I always tell people to leave her be and not pet her or try to cuddle her as this only re-inforces that that state of mind is the one to be in.

[pawspadding]

I totally agree with you and hear you. I may have created this monster. Actually, it started at the vet's as a newborn and the one they didn't think would make it, and I reinforced it. I get it. But now what? This has been going on for years. We don't always pick him up and coddle him when he starts the posturing ~ he sprays regardless. IF I had access to a reiki practitioner, believe me, I'd do it. But no one around here practices reiki. I am completely ready to go the "alternative" route. I really cringe about the "head meds" I've been literally experimenting with on this kid. I thought about trying an online "therapist" - but.... the one I found that seemed really good costs $195. If I spend that and it fails, I won't be able to spend any more for a while. Any ideas in this regard? Oh, here is Skyler's brother, Sylver - you can see a huge personality difference just from the photos.

http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg31/SylverSky47/my%20kids/sylverdozing.jpg

[Elaine]

Bless him, he looks gorgeous.
Did anything else happen either while you were away or when you arrived back that may also contribute to his behaviours?
There is a very good cat psychologist in USA who has written some really good books covering alot about cat behaviour and remedying such things. Pam Johnson is her name, I have read several of her books and found her very helpful.
Other than that I am wracking my brains for you here, if I can think of anything, I will post and let you know.

[pawspadding]

No, my husband takes great care of all the "kids" - dogs and cats - so while I was gone he was fine. No trauma other than me, his "mom" leaving him for only a week, but long enough to make him think he was abandoned and start marking his territory. I will check out Pam Johnson. Taking Skyler to the vet Monday for complete physical work up to rule out (again) any physical issues. As far as more meds, I'm tending to not want to go that route anymore - three years is long enough for this child to have his brain chemically altered. So I'll work on alternative methods - whatever I can afford.
Yes, he's gorgeous. So is his brother (the other photo), but he doesn't have these issues and is a mellow cat - who is terrorized by Skyler when Skyler gets anxious - then aggressive and spraying. Thanks for your help.

[scilla]

Hi, everyone,

Following this avidly! My cat Paloma sprayed about a year ago in the lounge, then stopped. I went away for a few days, came back and lo and behold she sprayed in the hall at the front door and over the draught excluder. Is this my punishment for going away?! My other half looked after her but I am the one who feeds her and makes a fuss of her, which I did when I returned but perhaps it was not enough. Any ideas? Again, she is a fussy eater!

Scilla