@Cats

Why is There a Strange Stray Cat Power Peeing on My Patio?

He was marking my house as part of his territory

Image by Szabolcs Molnar from Pixabay

Cats will be cats.

One of my favorite cats was Big Boy. He was marked for death when he stuck his paw out of his prison cage and tapped me on the shoulder. The cat was filthy, with matted fur. The shelter employee said that he must have been outside a long time to be in such bad condition.

He hissed and attacked anyone who approached him until I was standing in front of his cage. The shelter attendant said he had been on the streets for a long time and had become feral. My spouse said, ”Really?” Of course, I took him home.

It turned out that adopting this beautiful outside cat was just the warm-up for another feral cat.

He peed on my wall

We installed a motion light in the ceiling in front of our house. It would illuminate the area whenever someone stepped on the porch.

About 9 pm, the motion light turned on, notifying me that someone was on the front porch. I looked but only saw a cat, which I ignored. The cat was a big orange tom with a torn-up blue collar.

A few minutes later, that same cat triggered the light to come on again. Same orange cat — this time, though, the cat is busy. He is power peeing on my front wall.

When I say power peeing, I mean exactly that. I have owned mainly male cats, which I neuter. I learned not to be slow when neutering male cats. They all seem to believe it is their duty to spray your things with urine to mark their territory.

Stop spraying my wall

The next day, I used my strongest urine-removal detergent and sprayed the spot on the wall. Big Boy watched me with curiosity. The visitor cat came back that night and pissed on the freshly cleaned wall again, in the same spot he had christened the night before.

The next day, I washed the wall, then sprayed a supposedly fantastic cat repellent on the spot. Big Boy walked over to the spot, sniffed it, then walked away. He was not happy.

The same cat came back yet again that evening. Now I am wondering why this cat is spraying my wall. Big Boy shoots out the cat door. Big Boy launches into the air, and the orange tom retreats. They do the familiar cat dance of cats that have no intention of fighting. Both of them were walking in a small circle, but no one was actually moving to strike.

This continues until, for some unknown reason, Big Boy returned to his spot on the porch, and the tom left. This time, I noticed how thin the orange cat looked when he puffed up. I wondered how I had missed that earlier.

Next time, I will try a different tactic. I wash the wall, then spray the preventive on the entire wall, and I place multiple treat piles along the path to the wall.

He came, he sprayed, he conquered

It worked. The treats distracted the feral cat as he ate his way back down the street. I locked Big Boy in the house, or the other cat would not have gotten the treats. Boy Boy was a treat addict.

The orange tom whom I now called Crush because he was the color of Orange Crush soda, ate those treats so hungrily that I decided to put out cat food and fresh water for him daily.

He always scarfed the food and drank the water, stopping to look up suspiciously at me the entire time. He did not pee on my wall.

My husband laughed at me, “How could you go from being so angry at that cat to feeding him every day? You are tempting the cat distribution system.”

First, mark the house, then move into the house

I knew I was in trouble when I came outside, and Crush was sitting on the step right below Big Boy. They were not fighting or growling at each other, just sitting together in the sun. I was doomed.

Crush moved in one stormy day. I came from work to find Crush lying on my living room sofa. He did not run when I came in the door. When I put down the food for Big Boy in the kitchen, I put down a bowl for Crush, who did the cat slow walk to the bowl to eat. Big Boy ignored him.

Over time, Crush became my husband’s cat, following him around and sitting near him. He did not love me, even though I was the one putting out food and drink. I was just a side piece.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how we got yet another crazy cat at our house. All I can say is the Crush had a clever plan, and it worked. It worked because I am a sucker for cats. Still.

More Cats from Toni

[embed]My Favorite Cat Was Big Boy He picked me to save himmedium.com

*Multiple cats have owned Toni Crowe, all of them clever creatures. Read humorous stories about her cats in her book, Hey Hue-Man Where Is Our Food. You will laugh out loud. Available on Amazon.*

[embed]Toni Crowe — Medium Read writing from Toni Crowe on Medium. Sharing the hard lessons I’ve learned in life. Adding truth in a time of lies…tonicrowewriter.medium.com

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