Conference misery::feline_v1

                OUCH!
    
    Yah..sounds like he needs to be fixed right away.  when (male) cats
    start spraying...the ones I've seen...back into a corner..or up
    against something (couch...wall...bed...tree stump ect...) and spray..
    almost like what a skunk would do...they shake their tail when they
    are spraying.  You would definetly have a lingering odor
    My parents once had a male cat.,who sprayed in a corner
    For months after it smelled of cat urine.  My Mom tried for a long
    time to get that smell to go away...but had no luck. Maybe it just
    takes time to go away.
    
    As far as Cocoa riding your "spayed female"...  I think even after
    he is neutered,...he'll still do it.  He won't get anywhere...but
    he'll try like crazy. I've seen neutered cats try to ride other
    neutered cats before...its embarassing when you have company.  
    
    your best bet,.would be to have him fixed A.S.A.P.  I know you said
    next week..thats fine. best to do it early that way they keep their
    kitten disposition (good, cool temper)  and also,..they don't start
    spraying..to mark their territory...before they get to know the
    meaning of the word...."territory".
    
    chow!  D.H.
    
    
        

    
    I agree with .1 that it's definitely time. You would know if the
    spraying had started cause the odor is VERY strong from a male cat.
    It does linger and is hard to remove, even with these commercial
    stain and odor removers that are sold everywhere.
    
    One bit of encouraging news though - I have a brother/sister team
    and as soon as Tiggr was neutered his behavior changed also. Though
    on occasion he'll still chase his sister, he doesn't ride her or
    bite her like he used to. When they tackle now its more for a game
    of tag.
    
    Though I've never tested the theory, I understand that if the male
    starts to spray and you have him neutered afterwards he may still
    continue to spray.  If he hasn't started though I think you've got
    nothing to worry about.
    
    Good luck.

    Smokey drove Bandit nuts with constant attention along those lines.
    He is a large kitten (as big as Bandit at 6 months).  The behavior
    took about a months to dwindle, but dwindle it did.  Now as earlier
    notes remark, they wrestle etc., but rarely does smokey ride Bandit
    and when he does it is for brief periods as if he cannot remember
    why ....
    
    He was also starting to shake his tail without backing into corners
    etc, but he was not able to do anything - so he was caught in time.
    Sounds like you will be all set and I am sure the object of his
    attentions will also be relieved if he is as constant as Smokey
    was!
    
    Cathy (Smokey & Bandit)

    Thanks for all the comments!  Hopefully next Monday will tame
    him down.  I keep threatening him that I'll do it without the
    vet.  He's so-o-o-o-o-o unbearable right now.
    
    Has anyone ever had a furface that cries while he's licking
    his chops?  It sounds so adorable.  He even talks/cries
    while washing his paws.
    
    Will let you know how he acts after surgery.
    
    Thanks again
    
    BJ
    

    Niniane used to cry while she was eating.  It was quite amusing.
    It made her sound like a food processor!!!
                    
    Mary-Michael 

    Right, Mary-Michael!  That's just how Cocoa sounds.  KInd of a
    whir-r-ring sound.  He's been strange from the first day we
    got him.  It's like he's not in sync .... his mouth opens and
    his lips form a meow but the sound doesn't come out till his
    mouth begins to close.  We laugh and laugh and the more we
    laugh the more he does it .... kinda like his attention getter.
    

    My six year old spayed female Pandora sprays, and has done for several
    years.  Fortunately, it doesn't smell.
    
    However, lately it is getting worse - she does it absolutely
    everywhere, inside and out - and I am at my wits end as to how to
    stop her.  There is nothing physically wrong with her, she had hormone
    treatment a couple of years ago and it made no difference (to the
    spraying - her coat grew longer), and we have tried spraying her
    with water (trained her not to do it when anyone's looking), washing
    the area with vinegar, washing the area with bleach, washing the
    area with disinfectant, and so on ad infinitum.  Nothing seems to
    make much difference.  She even sprayed me once!! (not recently).
    
    Does anyone have any suggestions?  Or do I have to carry on cleaning
    up wet sticky patches??
    
    Please help!
    
    Helen.
    

    I have had cats all my life and none of my females ever sprayed.
    I have never heard of a female spraying! Are you sure there is nothing
    wrong with her, kidney infection, undersized bladder??? I would
    say if she has been doing this for a number of years now if there
    is nothing physically wrong then you are not going to get her to
    stop. Sorry, I don't mean to discourage you, maybe someone can offer
    some help, I just had to comment because I have never heard of this.
    
    Jan
    

    I always thought that females didn't spray.  I wish someone would
    tell that to my KoKo (7 year old siamese).  In the last year or
    so I have seen her myself, back up to a wall and wiggle and let
    it go!  I couldn't believe it! But, I saw her do it with me-own-eyes!!!
    
    E.T.

    Does she feel threatened?  Is a neighbor cat visiting at th door,
    or some such?
    

    Yes, a neighbouring cat is coming through our cat door, and we are
    considering getting an (expensive) magnetic cat door which will
    only let our own cats in.  This could well be why she has got worse
    recently.
    
    However, having said that, she has also sprayed inside when no other
    cats have been around.
    
    Helen.

    Please explain this magnetic cat door.
    
    How would it recognize only Portia Oscar and Elmo?
    
    	-Nancy

    The cat wears a magnet on its collar.  Cat door admits only the
    cat (or cats) wearing the correct magnet.  I must admit, as I write,
    it sounds more and more tempting (never mind the expense!).   No
    more kitchen bins pulled over, fights in the middle of the night
    ...
    
    I'm going to investigate further!
    
    Helen.

    That sounds great.  I haven't gotten a cat door since there are
    many, many cats in our neighborhood.  And many cats that like to
    hang out on our porch and in our yard.  I am afraid that some strange
    cat may come walking into our house.
    
    How expensive?
    
    	-Nancy
    

    I've seen ads for these doors in Cats and Cat Fancy.  They look
    like a worthwhile investment for those with indoor/outdoor cats.
    

    You also might want to check out Sharper Image... they have a couple
    of stores in Boston (one at Quincy Market) and also sell through
    the catalog mail order (or telephone).  I saw one of those magnetic
    cat doors in their catalog once...
    
    

    Do these doors actually work?