siamese cat marking

Question
Dear Jessica, I originally had 2 simamese neutered girls who lived in and out. My mother became very ill and I had to look after her two siamese boys which was a nightmare they were very aggessive and marked everywhere and I rehomed them. The girls were fine after this and seemed to settle down.Then 9 months later (I have 3 daughters) my youngest daughter also wanted her own siamese - I was nervous but was reassured by the breeder that introducing a girl kitten should be fine. I was very careful and did it slowly and they settled down together but since then they have marked the room they sleep in on and off. I have now had the kitten for 14 months and still not sorted out the problem. It has got better as in less marked areas but they are still marking the room they sleep in. I am too nervous for them to have access to the whole house as if they do they will mark different areas. I have used the feliway spray but not the diffuser. Amongst themeselves they seen quite happy,no problems. They have access to outside the whole time. The only thing that I am now doing is because of what is occuring is excluding them from us more and more which may be not helping. The other thing I do is to put then out in the morning and shut the flap, they do meow a lot and want to come in and then wait patiently till  about 12 - 1pm  It is because of the marking that I am excluding them more.  

Answer
Hi Sarah.

One, is the newest one spayed, yet?  I find Siamese females to be terrible markers when they aren't spayed.  And if she's marking because of this, the others may simply be following suit just because of the scent.  So if she's not spayed, I would definitely have that done immediately.

I think that locking them out of the house may actually be contributing to the problem.  Siamese are prone to anxiety, especially separation anxiety, which occurs when they are not able to be near their humans.  This is because of the especially close bonds Siamese tend to form with people.  Cats who are suffering anxiety will often urinate inappropriately and sometimes defecate inappropriately, as well.  I would recommend not forcing them outside.

I have had cats need to go on antidepressants for this problem.  Fluoxetine is the most effective.  Most cats can be weaned off it after 4-6 months without the behavior returning.  Clomipramine is the second most effective in recent studies.  There are also choices like buspirone and amitriptyline that may help.  I have used fluoxetine and amitriptyline in my cats and have seen an amazing improvement using both.

Since Feliway spray isn't working, you may want to try using an enzymatic cleaner to get stains out.  Nature's Miracle is a good one you can find at pet stores.  I like Greased Lightning Orange Blast, which is available in the auto section at most stores.  These cleaners help break down fat molecules in cat urine, to make full removal of the stain possible.