cats urinating on everything.

Question
My Sis has 2 female cats [both spayed] that were left behind when her daughter moved out of State.  Recently, her other daughter & 2 brats [8&9- boys]moved in with her.  The cats started hiding & then started urinating on everything.  My niece says it is not due to her & her brats moving in.  I say it has everything to do with them.  She wants my Sis to get rid of them even though this is my Sis house.  The other niece wants them shipped to her, but her live-in boyfriend would hurt or maybe even kill the cats if they peed on his stuff.  So, I say No to that.  Any suggestions?  The niece is saving money to find her own place to live, but who knows how long that will be.  I have a male cat & he would not go for them living with me[us].  This is HIS house.

Answer

Give the cats lots of attention. If you can't remove the stress, provide a secure place for the cats to go to be away from the causes the stress. They will appreciate a room where kids aren't allowed. OR

I would take them home with you and put them in room away from your cat. Eventually they would learn to co-exist (after some hisses, spits, growls, and slaps). It may surprise you that possibly your cat would enjoy the company and playmates. OR

Maybe you can find someone who, if you paid for catfood, would take them temporarily to get them away from that situation. Yes, they are urinating on things because of the stress. Over time, stress increases the risk for health problems in cats.  Vomiting, digestive problems, depression, loss of appetite, and infections can develop. Living with long-term stress is also a significant factor in developing feline idiopathic cystitis (FIC), which is an inflammation of the bladder.

Feliway Feline Stress Relief Spray mimics naturally occurring pheromones that help calm and reassure cats, and/or easily stressed cats may be more relaxed on regular medication, like antidepressants, while others may benefit from short-time use of medication to help them get through stressful situations.

Here is a link to an aricle about cat stress, just for some more information: (copy and paste, or type, the whole link in your address bar)

http://www.thecatco.com/catknows/catknows_stress.html

I hope all this helps. It's a tough and miserable situation for the kittys. I hope you can work something out that will work for everyone.

Carol