Please help before I throttle my piss-spraying ruddy cats!!!

[peggotty]

I have 3 neutered cats, 2 male, 1 female. There has been a young unneutered tom hanging around and coming into our house for the last 6 weeks or so and it is making my cats stressed out. One of them, who is prone to spraying occasionally anyway has started to spray in every bloody room in the house. I've bought one of those diffuser things but it's not made a bit of difference, in fact, in the last few days the spraying has seemed to got worse, and the other male cat has started to do it too! Has anyone used the magnetic cat flaps that are supposed to keep other cats out of your house? Any tips for getting rid of the smell of cat piss!?

You need to get rid of that cat. If its got a collar then put a note in it asking the owners to do something.

I think once you do that they'll stop spraying.

I don't know the best way to get rid of the smell - all I know is don't use bleach.

We had a magnetic cat flap which worked well till one of the cats took to sitting next to it all day looking out and it went haywire as it was constantly clicking open and shut as her collar was close to the lock.

I had a magnetic flap which lasted about a month ... then every tom dick or harry could come and go as they pleased. We then got a stray cat (I say stray as he was in awful condition and clearly no one looked after him as he was in my house coming and going spraying everywhere, even on the kettle ... urgh) for months. Eventually we trapped him (by locking the flap so he could come in but not out) and took him to the cat rescue centre (they advised this, if we couldn't catch him ourselves they would have arranged a "trap"). He was obv a stray but either way he was a nuisance and if anyone loved him they'd find a way of finding him. I have seen no adverts.... couldn't stand the stench any longer and my cats were getting v upset.

Combine one part distilled white vinegar to two parts warm water to create a spray. Remove as much urine/spray as you can using a paper towels. Mist vinegar spray over areas of cat urine and rub with a paper towel. An alternative method is to mix the solution in a bucket and dip a clean cloth into the liquid. Rub the stain with the vinegar solution.

no idea if it works but it sounds good! I have a Bissel carpet cleaner which is much easier!

Lucky Salem - the cat looks pretty obviously stray - thin, unneutered, scraggy looking. I feel sorry for it, but don't know what to do - sadly, most animal charities don't want to know about strays really, do they? My house stiiiinnnkkks

you could hand it in at the nearest RSPCA or Blue Cross as far as I know they won't turn you away. I worked at an animal rescue for 2 years don't ever remeber turning a cat away. In fact we used to get regular batches of feral cats from the RSPCA which we neutered/spayed and then they were released back to where they came from.

you can get microchip reading cat flaps now so only allows specific cats in that you pre-programme into it. Google pet-porte.

Have had a v similar problem recently...i have shut my cat flap and just let my two in and out as and when, they seem to have adapted fine.

I also have started a litter tray at night but this was more because i have an old cat (17) who had started pooing on my kitchen floor (grim!).

peggoty - ring your local cats protection. They'll find him a brilliant house.

if you want to help him you could catch him (borrow a cat trap from an SPCA etc if he's isn't that tame) get him neutered and either release him in a safe area, keep him, or find him a home if he is tame enough. if everybody did their bit to help animals they would be much better off.