Cat experts please.

I start by saying that in my opinion the best cat is a dead cat.

I have no use for them, think they are dirty and people who keep their dogs confined do not keep their killing, creeping, garden pooping cats confined. So..I will not own a cat. Until Horse Daughter saved a sick and doomed one from the mill.

He is an unaltered male. All of a sudden there is cat spray on my front door! Okay kitty...I am loading my gun and planning to take pot shots at you, you filthy, stinking, moster!

Here's the question...is it OUR cat doing this or is it some other tom from somewhere else? What is territorial cat behaviour like? This cat has been home every night all winter (he is an outdoor cat) but now that spring is in the air, he is NOT home at feed time, which is very not like him. And a few nights back there was a late night, shrieking altercation on our lawn which was either two toms fighting OR our cat tried to get close and personal with that bunny rabbit that's been hanging around. Either way there was fur all over the placeand screaming and twice now our front door has been defiled by cat juice.

I do not want to condemn our cat if he's not the culprit. He also does not hang around the house very often, but sometimes he is sitting on the porch. Yowling. Clawing the siding. Tempting death.

That smell...it is in the brick, the wood siding, my boots!
I am VERY UNHAPPY! Should I suspect out kitty or some other? What gets that stench out of wood and paint? You can SEE it for Gordon's sake! Even if it IS someone else's cat coming to spray here, I can assume that our cat is going somehwere else to do the same and why should anyone else put up with this kind of behaviour? Ugh!

If you intend to keep him why dont you just have him neautered? It woudl keep him from wandering, and keep other Toms from coming and marking "his" door. I cant say whether its him or not as Ive never dealt with Toms. I fix all of my animals long before it becomes a problem. But I love cats. If I could have only 1 animal, it would be a cat. A fixed cat
Good luck on your unwanted cat adventures haha.

Jaclyn

Why is he still unaltered Uno?
I can say pretty surely that the fight you heard was another neighbourhood male. It's pretty eery to hear sometimes.

Get your kid to fix that cat! It will solve all sorts of problems for all of you. Frankly I'm surprised to hear it hasn't already been taken care of. I wonder how many litters of kittens he's sired already, poor things. The world does not need more cats!

And I love cats. I have 3. My house cat and two shed cats, all fixed, fed and well cared-for.

It could be your cat or every other cat in the neighbourhood or any combination. Like dogs, cats mark their territory. Sadly, Uno, once they start marking a spot it is almost impossible to stop them.

I would chain a dog to your front door.

Get yours fixed. If you had done it earlier, he wouldn't be spraying and encourageing others to come and spray. Young fellow we have here did our last barn cat, and hubby can do them to if need be. I do take my personal cats to the vet, but I have to say it doesn't stress them much and they bounce right back, just like the calves do.
Some cats are really good cats and some are not. I happen to have a great one right now, so nice not to have any mice in the house or chicken coop. Good kitty.

Who could resist the old dog's best mate and a BBQ cat?
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WHy is the cat not fixed? Damn good question! I am a huge supporter of spay/neuter. Did you know we even had a spayed horse? (we didn't do it, it was like that when we got her).

This cat was very, very sick for a long, long time. Diagnosed with Feline Herpes. Cat will never be cured (as I understand it) all we can hope is to keep the symptoms to a dull roar with a lifetime of intermitent antibiotic treatment.

One of the main problems is constant respiratory distress. This cat is always congested, to lesser or greater degrees. Has trouble breathing. And thus, vet is reluctant to put him under for neutering due to the fact that he doesn't breathe very well at the best of times. Don't know if neutering can be done under local anesthetic? Cats are pretty wiggly.

The cat is living a more cat-like life (to my horror) now that he has been antibiotic-ed. BUt we must always monitor his symptoms and when he takes a turn for the worse, we give him a few doses. I think he stayed home for a long, long time as he was simply too ill to travel any distance. He was rail thin, weak, staggering, gasping and snotting for a long time. So to answer the question why he's not neutered, our vet figured it might kill him to undergo the procedure.

Something called Diaper Pure might help remove the odour. I've never tried it but we were looking at a house once where cats had free run of the house and research suggested this product as a remedy.

I actually love cats. However, if he has started spraying, even having him fixed now may not solve the problem. This is jut my personal opinion, but I would have it put down. If the cat is going to be an outside cat, he needs to be a healthy cat or he will just be eaten by a wild animal - a much more horrific death than being put down. I have had cats that I had to medicate daily, I won't do it again. I have "saved" a good deal of creatures in my time...I am a sucker....I rarely works out well in the end.

I would say it is him Marking
as for the Yowling out side the other night it could have been him fighting a male or him breeding a female. The male cats penis has barb on it like little fish hooks
when they breed the females on withdraw the barbs tear into the Lining of the Female parts That is why the females scream when bred
it is also why the males need a place to get away as the Females will attack the males if possible after withdrawl I know to much info right.
Also beings your cat has been diagnosed with Feline Herpes it is very contagious
To other cats and is spread by contact
If he is going to be around other cats they will get it
It is why alot of farm cats die alot when there starts to be alot of them.

He will always spray I would get a orange oil spray and try that
also maybe peroxide like for skunk?

As much as I love animals and don't believe in putting down a healthy one, I would think very carefully about keeping this cat. I have never had a cat with Feline Herpes. If it is as contagious as others have said, and my vet confirmed this, I'm not sure I would want to keep and an unaltered, potentially carrier of disease cat. Females also mark territory too by spraying. Found that out with my Ebony when I found her as a kitten. She started marking her terriotry by peeing on my bed's comforter. She was too young to get fixed so we had to make sure all doors were closed until she got old enough to get spayed. Believe me, as much as I love animals, I couldn't stand her marking my home. Outside, fine. Inside no way!

Unless you are prepared to give this cat a special home, I suggest finding someone who can. Just my nickles worth.

I have to be the bad guy as well and say put it down, seeing how its not healthy enuff to get neutered, is carrying a highly contagious disease I say put it down all I will say is cats are gross....no more in my house either, the spraying (females/males) the pissing on dog beds, the crapping the howling....nope I am done. They need to be fixed to live on my farm.

Yeah the thing is, now that he (presumably) is spraying, even neutering won't stop the problem as it's behavioral but brought on by hormone. Once they have learned the habit or behavior it doesn't end with the removal of the hormones (testicles). Damn cat! And I actually do enjoy cats, I just think there are far too many homeless healthy cats without issues to hang onto the sick/bad kitties.

Taking the advice to post a dog at the door, I have placed large, not-so-bright dog at the door. Every few minutes I open the door, give him a small morsel of a treat and say, EAT ALL CATS. It's too soon to tell if this is working.

Googled some videos on home cat castration. Googled more videos of emergency room visits by people who attempted home cat castration. Hmmm, go to next plan.

Insist that Horse Daughter move out and take her stinking cat (and horses and trucks) with her! This plan is also not showing very much promise.

As per Rosewood (?) sprayed peroxide on the offending stink. Not sure if it removed any smell but sure fizzed up in an amazing way!

I feel bad thinking it's bye bye time for kitty. BUt he lived a longer and better life than would have happened at the mill (where Daughter rescued him from). People dump cats in droves because they know they will be killed. And they are. Usually by machinery.

This cat is no longer actively snotting and staggering and weak and rail thin. Now he looks like a real cat. But his symptoms come and go (never as bad as first time!) and will require life long treatment. He is not wildly contagious. Only if he was actively snotty and wheezy and living in tight quarters with many other cats who were immune stressed. THat is not the case. Casual contact with a neighbour cat is not going to spread any disease.

I know he will likely continue to spray after fixing, but I would hope not. Hope. A fool's game.

It is nice to know he has a good caring home

Here is a good page on it
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Its most likely every cat within proximity of your house, including him. Cats have a huge territory, and the spray battle is on as long as he's intact.

Well if you believe you can give this special needs kitty the care it needs, then I say do so. There are other options such as taking the cat to another vet to get a second opinion for the neuturing.

To keep the cat away from other cats you could always build a cattery outside. This way when kitty wants to be out, he has a safe contained place to go.

I don't have a huge amount of experience with cats. Have only had a few. I would still go through with neuturing and hope that it might curtail the spraying. Then maybe with behaviour modification you might be able to get kitty to stop altogether. This is if you want to put in the time and effort to do it.

Personally I think he should not be going outside at all if he is an unaltered male. He will breed and that alone is enough to keep him in until neutered, period. Spraying most likel won`t stop if he is fixed anyways. We have a at that was spayed when young and started spraying when he was a couple years old. Argh! Wait until summer and the sun shines on your door and heats it up....oh the smell

He is going to need to be monitored and kept inside every single time he is showing symptoms or he is going to infect others and that is so not good.

I LOVE cats but would seriously consider putting him down when he shows symptoms next. Then you may not feel so bad about putting down a ~healthy~ cat.

Just my opinion.

As I said earlier, have posted dog on porch to ward off stranger cats.

Have sprayed front door several times with apple cider vinegar which seems to have knocked back the worst of the smell by replacing it with obnoxious ACV smell. Hoped the vinegar smell would deter cat.

While dog was laying on porch our cat came along and SPRAYED! I caught him redhanded. Opened door and he darted away, big wet stink running down the door. So much for hoping it was some other cat.

Red.....handed?

SoSarcasticSue...I see the spring spirit has made you lippy and wreckless. I am going to be the bigger person and let it slide. Just this once.

I have heard windex can work wonders on the smell.

Good luck!