Help, my cats are suddenly fighting and urinating everywhere (kitten, male, kidney)

[williamr]

Here is the story, we don't know what to do.
We have two cats. One is a female, the other a male. Both neutered when they were very young. They have been together for a little over 3 years. The female is the dominant cat and she lets us pet her when she wants and only as long as she wants. Always have been very skittish. The other is soooo laid back, you can roll him over, rub his belly, do anything you want. We have never heard him hiss or anything. They have always gotten along and the female even licks him once in awhile and cleans his face.
No bad fights that we know of. Until today.
The male got wrapped up in a plastic bag that wrapped itself around his mid section. He went under our bed and into the box spring. It was hard to get him out, but we managed to get the bag off of him by ripping it. The whole time the female watched and looked under the bed and hissed the whole time. The male finally got out of the bed and he looked a little out of it. He had urinated and defecated under the bed during the ordeal. He seemed to shake it off, we cleaned everything up and he was back to normal cleaning himself. Then all of a sudden he started chasing the female and was very aggressive. He cornered her and she started urinating everywhere as she was cornered in the bathroom. We separated them and put them in separate rooms for the whole day while we continued to clean. They both ate their dinner and seemed to be okay, but as soon as the female sees the male she starts doing a low almost growl like sound I've never heard from a cat. Then if he gets closer she hisses, tail puffy, etc. The male is back to normal and when he sees this he backs away and cries out with his little sounds he makes when he is upset (like he always does). Well we let them be together but the male approached her again, he didn't hiss or act aggressive but she started hissing and actually a sound like she was crying in distress and started urinating everywhere again and wouldn't move or run away he just stared at her and she cried and hissed. So we separated them again.
We are so stressed out now. I don't know what to do or how to fix this or even why it happened. Anyone have any suggestions or advice?

[Garden of Eden]

Oh, boy. Sounds like your male got a really bad scare with the plastic bag and on top of it all, your female freaked out as well. Now she is in a terror cycle and your male is scared with her growling and aggressive noises she is making.

Until things settle down, I think it would be a good idea to separate the two cats and give them Bach Flowers Rescue Remedy. This can be found usually in your local super market, in the organic section, and or in the vitamin section. You can either rub a few drops on one of their ears, forehead, or even the pad of one of their feet. It can also be given internally by putting it in their food, or directly into their mouths.

This will pass. The noise and the clutching action of the plastic bag really scared your two cats. Just give them lots of love in separate rooms, wait a few days, and then slowly reintroduce them. Hopefully by then, they both will have settled down.

Oh, yes, by the way, you yourself can take Rescue Remedy to help you calm down as well. I swear by this stuff. It really does work!

[williamr]

Thank you, do you think they will eventually go back to being normal again and being able to be together?

Oh, and the urine from the female smells soooo strong and different then regular urine, not sure if that means anything.

[Garden of Eden]

Yes, I do think they will get back to being normal again. They really experienced quite the trauma.

As for the urine, I'm not sure why it is smelling strong to you, unless you are just not used to smelling urine outside of the litter box. Smelling cat urine outside of the box and smelling it in the box, are too different scenarios. I wouldn't worry about that right now for you have enough on your hands as it is.

Just focus on getting this "speed bump" under control for now. IF you still notice your female's urine as being unusually strong even in the kitty box, you may want to bring her in to your Vet to rule out a UTI (bladder infection).

Good luck! I'm dealing with a cat right now terrified out of his mind because of the thunderstorm we are having right now. It can be downright challenging to help our babies when they become so scared!!

[Lolipopbubbles]

Wow that is so strange and at the same time I understand what you are going through. My male at about 1-2 yrs old went to the hospital for a few days. When he came back he smelled horrible just horrible. I swear it was a test of my love for him to hold him when it was time for his medicine, which was no easy task even then. The smell was what I think made his sister hiss and spitl like crazy at him. It was like she didn't recognize him yet she seemed to think maybe she knew him from a distance. I agree with Garden of Eden it does sound like they are stressed out and keeping them apart for a few days couldn't hurt just to get their minds off the memory when they see each other. Though I don't know for sure. I never heard of behavior like this before. This might sound silly to guess but maybe the male blames her the female for the bag getting stuck on him and urinated to tell her this is mine you go away. So now she does the same saying no it's my territory. Again I don't know for sure. They are so much like little kids only animal style LOL. It could also be that they don't understand where the bag came from and if it's the first time something like this ever happened, with the bag, it's considered an enemy or predator in the home so they are urinating and making sounds to ward off any possible predators they can't pick up a scent on.

When my male came home from the hospital he stunk something horrible. Don't you know his sister hissed and spit at him b/c she didn't recognize his scent. Well of course he got even as soon as he got better and has dominated her all the more since. To him he was himself to her he was a stranger. So there could any number of reasons. I'd give them a few days to a week and then reintroduce them again.

EDIT: Uh Oh I must have missed it before. I just read about the urine being strong smelling and different. Well I noticed with mine at about 3 yrs or maybe slightly younger their urine smell changed from their little kitten smell. I had a kitty cat years ago who's urine changed in smell. It was a really bad smell. I thought for the longest time that it was the litter or the liquid soap or all of them mixed with the scent of the litter. What I went through to get rid of that smell. Turned out her kidneys were going on her. What got me to take her to the vet was the awful sounds she made like she was in pain.... a low almost meow but more like a low groan. Finally I heard scratching at the litter box and the low groan sounds she made stopped. That's when I knew something was wrong. I should have known sooner when clumps of her fur was falling out but it was summer and I just didn't know any better then. Poor baby was in so much horrible pain. I still miss her even as I have these two adorable knuckle heads now After reading about the urine smell I must say I recommend get to the vet immediately.

[williamr]

Well a good thing just happened, we went back upstairs with the two cats and the female is in one room and the male in the other room, separated by a double door they can see under. The female was very relaxed and hanging out in her condo. When we went in she was purring a lot. She let me pet her and scratch her head and face as much as I wanted and she purred the whole time. She ate all her food and laid down on the floor and stretched out and yawned. No signs of abnormal behaviour. The male has always been lovey dovey so no change there.

We played with the male cat under the door with toys while the female watched and she sat there watching for awhile, yawned and laid down.

She seems to act really welll around us and normal.

Any thoughts on how long it may take to have her warm back up to him?

Any links to a really good introduction program for re-introducing two cats that already had been hanging out for years.

[Lola4]

Garden Of Eden hit the nail on the head. Poor kitties are MAJORLY stressed out.

[Garden of Eden]

Sorry, I don't have any links on hand.

And for the length of time it will take for these two to be friends again depends on their relationship that has already been established.

Sounds to me as though the situation is beginning to take care of itself. Try not to worry, love your babies, and just let their frazzled nerves take a time out. If they have had a really stable and strong relationship before this scare, they should be nose to nose again in no time.

Keep doing what you are doing! It's working!!! There is no set equation whereby you can say, this is going to happen in X amount of time, and then this, and then that. In all XYZ time will pass.

You'll see. Normal will be back. (smile) Relax those tense shoulders and just allow your babies to unwind with a lot of love from you.

[williamr]

Thanks everyone (especially you Garden). This is so stressful for my wife and I. I am all worked up inside. Our routine is now shattered and we are so worried about them. I appreciate all the help.

[Garden of Eden]

Originally Posted by williamr

Thanks everyone (especially you Garden). This is so stressful for my wife and I. I am all worked up inside. Our routine is now shattered and we are so worried about them. I appreciate all the help.

You are so very welcome! I understand totally what it is like when the routine is way off the wall!!

Take some Rescue Remedy yourself. As I said, it really works. Or have a drink or two to wind down.....or whatever. Maybe snuggling with your wife will get the nerves to settle down. LOL LOL LOL Our babies can seriously put a kink in our lives, now can't they???

And oh yes! Welcome to the forum!!!