My 5-year-old cat is fighting, peeing, and scratching. Is it anxiety?

In order to protect your cat from thee big feline viral diseases (FeLV, FIV, etc) that are transmitted through body fluids and bites, you should have him castrated ASAP. He will then also fight less, come home with less injuries, will not mark everywhere and his urine will not stink anymore.

Cats can have very complex behavior and many things can cause stress or anxiety which can alter this behavior. If he is not neutered yet, this can also contribute to Poos’ stress. I recommend to have him neutered as this may help significantly. Otherwise many things can cause stress such as a change in the living environment, work schedule or being able to see other cats outside. Things you can do to help relieve stress in general are to set up a 30 minute play sessions for vigorous exercise and providing a climbing area such as cat shelves or a tall cat tree. There is a food called Calm made by Royal Canin which can help and a Feliway diffuser may also be beneficial. You will likely need to institute several of these methods. If he seems to be in distress or uncomfortable, have Poos examined by the veterinarian for a urinary tract infection or other causes of illness. There are also medications available that can help cats to deal with stress. Best of luck and please feel free to post any additional questions.

I'm sorry to hear this! I know how frustrating behavioral issues can be! This sounds like Tatty is behaving this way out of stress. Stress can result from a underlying medical issue among other things. Inappropriate elimination (peeing or pooping outside the litter box) in cats can be frustrating and difficult to treat. The first step you should take is scheduling an appointment for your cat to see a veterinarian. A lot of times a cat will start going outside of the litter box due to health problems like urinating tract infections, pain, urinary tract inflammation and digestive problems. Once you have established that there aren't any medical reasons for inappropriate elimination the following may be helpful: 1. Cats will urinate or defecate outside of the litter box for stress related reasons. Therefore it is best to keep the litter boxes in several different, quiet areas of the household. This may also help reduce Tatty's stress level. 2. A pheromone diffuser like Feliway can be quite helpful. This can be very useful when a cat is showing agression like Tatty. 3. Ensure you have at least one litter box in the household per cat plus one. For example, if you have 3 cats, then 4 litter boxes are recommended. 4. Feeding an all canned food diet can help if there is inflammation in the bladder. There are also prescription diets available to help with bladder inflammation or digestive issues. Your veterinarian can help you choose the best one for your cat. 5. The litter boxes should be cleaned once to twice daily and completely emptied and washed weekly. Most cats prefer litter to be the clumping type that is kept a few inches deep. Certain litter types like Dr. Elsey's Cat Attract litter may be helpful. 6. If you are still having problems after taking the above steps you may want to talk to your veterinarian about behavioral medication. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach and good luck to you and Tatty!

Hi there. Cases like this can be very challenging, because of the need to sort out how much of a role continued medical issues might be playing vs. behavioral issues like stress and anxiety. In general, urinary marking issues in cats are very treatable, but it's hard to give much more than basic advice (keep litter boxes clean, make sure they're in convenient locations, reduce stress in the household, etc.) without a more in-depth behavioral history and in-person evaluation. Because of this, I would recommend getting in touch with a veterinary behaviorist who can evaluate your kitty in person and help you put together a detailed plan to work on this issue. There's a good chance this can be dramatically improved with professional help. You can search for a board-certified veterinary behaviorist in your area here: www.dacvb.org , or ask for a referral from your regular veterinarian.

Yes, you are correct that this behavior is likely related to the stress of having guests in the house. There are a few things you can do to get Myloe to stop this behavior. You can get Feliway, which is a pheromone diffuser that helps cats with anxiety. There are calming collars you can have him wear that will also help with anxiety via pheromones. Finally, you can take Myloe into the vet. The vet may prescribe him anti-anxiety medication you can give him before guests come over to calm him down and prevent the spraying.

Hello, thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. A cat can be "healthy" and still have urination issues as you have described because the problem is behavioral and not medical. If it has been ruled out that she does not have any underlying medical conditions (kidney issues, bladder problems, UTI, etc) then you should try the behavioral modification medication. The medications work well and cats rarely have any side effects with their use. Please talk to your vet about this. This problem is not only stressful for you but also for Prune. And typically what happens is, if you rehome her, she will do the same behavior at the new person's house. Inevitably they get frustrated and they will rehome her and the cycle continues as she is passed from home to home. She may even end up at a shelter as unadaptable which in some shelters means euthanasia. Please don't do that to her and speak to your vet about medication. I can tell you love her very much and someone else may not feel the same about her. The medication is not expensive and typically is easy to administer. The medication does not usually change their attitude towards you or change their personality in any drastic way. It is an easy solution. Hope this helps. Best wishes.

Have Sophie examined by your veterinarian. A sterile urine sample should be collected and submitted for urinalysis and culture. Blood work can assess major organ function, especially kidney function. Provide an additional litter box where she is urinating. Use a litterbox attractant to entice her back into the boxes. A pheromone product such as Feliway spray or plug in diffuser may decrease any anxiety.