Male cat peeing on everything DS related, any advice?

[TotallyKerplunked]

I've got 4 cats and the male cat (a 2 year old persian) has been odd since DS was born. He wasn't remotely interested in my pregnancy (unlike the girls) but was obsessed with all of the baby stuff and is now obsessed with DS and wants to be where ever he is and will cry if not allowed and lets DS maul him like a rag doll (obviously we try and prevent this as much as possible but its difficult when the cat goes and lies right next to DS on the floor).

The the day we brought DS home from the hospital he pooed and pee'd on our bed (on DH), he pee's on the bed, on the spare bed in DS's room, in DS cot, he has been shut out of the bedrooms but if he sneaks in he pee's. Each time we stop the behaviour in 1 area it transfers somewhere else, he's pee'd in the moses basket, in the basket under the pushchair, on the mat under the high chair, on DS cuddly toys and yesterday in the playpen in the garden.

Its not all the time, perhaps once a week, I've been to the vet several times, there is nothing medically wrong with him, i've also seen the behaviourist at the surgery who just recommended shutting him out of the bedrooms as he pee's where he is comfortable (and recommended against a feliway as this would relax him more and most likely make him pee more).

We have cleaned/replaced lots of stuff to get rid of the smell so he doesn't think these things are his toilets. He has plenty of toilets to chose from, the cats have there own room with a squishy bed and a giant climbing thing and oodles of toys. Once DS is in bed I make sure that all the cats get there own special time, i'm usually to be found carrying him around during the day and sharing my food with him, I understand he found the arrival of DS upsetting and have tried to ensure he still gets the same attention. The 3 girls are not bothered by DS at all and DS "cuddles" (harrasses) them all the time.

DH wants to rehome him now, I cant face doing that, he is still my baby, we had to rehome a cat when DS was 2 months old after she jumped up and scratched his face (and if you saw the 2in scar on DS now you would have done the same) but it broke my heart. Any advice, help, anything appreciated.

It does sound as if you have a very close relatioship with your cats, and they are your babies. The arrival of ds has obviously put the male cats nose seriously out of joint.
No suggestions really, is he neutered? I'm afraid I am a bit of the opinion that cats need to have access to the outside. My gorgeous cuddly bundle of a cat would get horrendously bored inside, and probably trash the house. He runs, climbs, plays outside in a way that I could never facilitate indoors, because as well as being a cuddle bundle he is also a fit young energetic cat that needs to be physical. (bit like boys really as you might discover as ds gets bigger Am I right in thinking yours are indoor cats? Maybe the time has come to open the door and then he will be so interested in all the things on offer he will stop being a pain.
Your ds really needs to come first. You can't keep a cat who is peeing all over his stuff and lying on top of him.

Hi, yes generally they are all indoor cats but have access to the garden when the weather permits, they are all neutered. I'm at a loss, I dont make an issue of it (smack/rub nose in it/shout - except when I caught him peeing in DS cot) as I was hopping it would die out, its puzzling as he seems to love DS and wont hurt him even when DS is rough and he and DS nap together on the floor . He is dedicated though, he has just pee'd in DS paddling pool!

You might find this page by Sophia Yin helpful.

I think you will have to shut the bedroom doors. Not forever, just for long enough to break the habit. What probably started as anxiety is perhaps habit now as much as anything.

It sounds like you are doing lots of things right, but I would be looking to see what else you can do to make him happy. How many litter trays do you have? It should be one per cat and one extra. Is he bigger than the other cats, and does he need a bigger tray? Or would he prefer a different litter? Can you make some extra time for playtime with him a few times a day (it doesn't have to be long each time), to give him some activities that distract him from your DS? How does he get on with the other cats, does he need some extra space to make him feel happier? Also if he is anxious you might find a feliway diffuser helpful.

Good luck with it, it seems like an annoying problem. I think you have to try and think like he does (i.e. like the cat) to try and work out what would fix it for him.

It seems to be the boys who have trouble accepting new babies into families!

Our neutered burmese boy had an issue with DD when she started crawling and we didn't cotton on straight away what the issue was (we thought he was being terrorised by a cat sitting on our flat roof staring through the kitchen window).

Feliway helped a bit (zylkene did sweet FA) when he'd pace but we had to almost re-train him to use the litter trays. We were advised to go right back to basics and put him in a room with a litter tray, food/water, toys etc for periods of time until he got back in the habit of only going in the tray. He would howl for a bit when he went in the spare room but he felt safe in there and tbh we were able to relax not been on constant alert for the quivering tail.

He's so much better now, we have the odd blip but we know the warning signs and cart him off to a tray.