Consistent Marking Issues

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amorrisseywilliams
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Joined: Sun May 17, 2020 5:19 pm

Consistent Marking Issues

Post by amorrisseywilliams »

I’ve had my male cat for about 10 years now. He’s always been a bit...”unique”. Definitely not the brightest cat, loves to be outdoors, kind of a hunter (but a bit of a lazy one), kind of has a love/hate relationship with strangers...rubs against their legs and will hiss in nearly the same breath.

He has moved with me several times in our years together. At the time I adopted him, I had another male (they were both neutered upon adoption) and they bonded quite strongly. We moved to our current house three years ago. Some marking issues started to appear then, which I didn’t feel too surprised at. We went from apartment living to a much larger home, and I imagine that was quite stressful. But those issues did mostly quiet down.

Two years ago, his buddy passed from cancer. It was hard on all of us, especially the other cat. Since then, we have seen an uptick in aggressive behavior towards strangers and inappropriate marking in the home. He will mark ok literally any new furniture or enclosure or anything really we bring inside.

I feel like I have tried everything to help this. He has been taken in a few times to be seen by a vet, who can’t find an issue. We have had a few pets that have cycled in and out of the home since then (which are mostly all rehomed) but I do get some wildlife rehabilitation patients (something I started volunteering to do the last year or so). We also had a baby 8 months ago, but he seems to quite like interacting with him. He’s bizarrely patient with him when he grabs him to tries to touch him, permits things that he doesn’t not allow ANYONE else to do. So I don’t see that as an issue?

Anyway, we have permitted him to be an indoor/outdoor cat at his whim. We have tried pheromone plugins, calming sprays, calming treats, calming collars, enzyme cleaners, different litter, litter attractants, different food, anti-anxiety medication (which I don’t like having to do with him), letting him outside more, keeping him strictly inside. I’m just at a loss. I’m at the point of looking at rehoming but I’ve had him so long and it feels like failing to give up on him. Also, I can’t imagine anyone else wants a cat with all of these issues.

Are there any tips or advice anyone can offer?
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