indoor cat...being bothered by neighborhood cat

Question
I have two (indoor cats...one male one female both have been neutered) just recently(the cats are 12years old) we have had a neighborhood cat that comes up to our home and our neutered male goes crazy...he pisses in places that are usually his safe zones...even on the bed that he uses...this is driving me nuts....we have closed the door to four rooms in our house....last night I noticed he had pissed on the toilet roll in the guest bathroom...what can we do...he is a great cat (or was a great cat).. The neighborhood cat that is allowed free range comes up to our home and pisses where he chooses which ticks Samsom off and he starts peeing wherever..for example ..on the bed he likes to use...in the bathroom....on the speaker in the living room...in the closet where he really likes to sleep...and all of this makes no sense to me...      I don't know what to do...I can not let Sam loose outside...he has been declawed and neutered...but I can not allow him to keep pissing wherever he wants...his sister has not picked up on this bad habit yet...should I expect her to follow suit...Can you help??? Thanks Linda

Answer
Hi
Ummmmm tricky one.

Your male cat is doing this because he feels unsettled and perhaps a little worried about the presence of this other cat. his behaviour is normal as he is trying to mark his territory to let the other cat know to stay away and he is also trying to make his home smell more like him which is a comforter for cats.

the problem is while the presence of the other cat or at least his smell is around your male cat will continue to feel unsettled and the behaviour will continue.

all I can suggest is that you thoroughly wash down the outside areas around windows and doors where the other cat may have urinated etc and spray with a strong citrus scent or lemon juice and water mixed together, this may deter the other cat from these areas as well as covering up his smell. you may have to do this every day for a while until either the other cat stops coming to your doors or your own cat settles down.

I know this is a difficult problem but your cat is just displaying a normal reaction to something which has made him feel worried etc. Once he no longer feels threatened etc the behaviour should stop. You could also try a period of litter training again to reinforce the whole process. I have a web page about this here
/cat-litter-box.html

best wishes Kate