Hi, can someone please help. I have a 7 year old Bengal and for the last 2 years she has been bullied by this male big black cat. My cat is a typical Bengal in terms of a feisty character but she is quite small. For the last 2 years, she has been urinating inside. I cannot leave the sofa without plastic on it now and she started urinating in the kitchen sink (which looks out onto the garden where the bully cat comes) and today she has urinated on the carpet of my housemates bedroom floor. In the past she was urinated on my duvet and on my bedroom carpet. She has a cat litter inside. I also have the feliway plug in. She has a cat flap but rarely goes out now as she is scared of going out.

Anyone that has any idea how I can stop this behaviour once and for all, I am getting desperate now! Thanks!!

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Anwen

Your cats behavior is normal considering the fact she's being bullied by another cat. You've got to stop the bullying so she gets her confidence back. I don't know where this other cat lives or if he comes up to your residence, but you have to block his access. Cats are territorial and they do not like other cats in their area. Your girl is going through a horrible experience and she doesn't deserve that. I don't think the urinating problem will improve until the other cat situation is solved. If you know who owns this cat, you may need to talk with them. No human or animal should be bullied. It's humiliating and affects one's self esteem. There was a My Cat From Hell episode that dealt with this exact issue. They blocked off the access to this other cat and the bullied cat completely was transformed into a normal cat again.

I would suggest the best deterrent for this enemy cat is you.

Im am extremely anti-cat-social when im around my home (outside) I'm mean and hissy and a stomping loud meanie ... before I even started to let my girl out I got her used to a few unpleasant noises (bonking a pan with wooden spoon) to the point where they didnt make her jump or anything.... and then I took those noises outside to make neighbour cats wary of my garden and that mean human who clatters and bangs around.

My garden is totally open (for a cat anyway) but these days I never see neighbour cats come around .. they are avoiding me and by proxy avoiding my girls territory.

It doesnt feel nice to be mean and loud and chase away other cats but tbh the chances of them ever becoming friendly and a companion to my own cat are SO slim - I decided its better they hate me and stay away from me AND my girl's garden.

Later down the line when I began walking Cleo on streets and around my neighbourhood we would often encounter other cats (still do ofc) and the situation would be -- other cat sees ME and thinks.. ''god not that horrible noisy human, Im staying clear of him'' -- my cat see this reaction and thinks ''gosh that enemy cat is scared of me and keeping distance, so I dont need to worry then''

I have actually met ONE nice cat (possible friend) that Cleo and I have bumped into a few times and she is just SO lovely and keen to be friendly to Cleo - displaying the most respectful cat language to try to make friends with my girl... thats the only cat im nice to... when we see her (not often) I keep Cleo calm and pop treats under her nose from my pocket and let this sweet friendly cat come close upto us .. as yet Cleo hasnt let her sniff or approach close to her yet... but maybe one day

The peeing

sounds like it has gone on for too long already and has maybe developed into a problem in itself... eradicating previous pee stains/scents with enzyme cleaner is important and doing everything possible to make at least one tray VERY accessible and in a safe place for kitty may help... adding a tray often helps just because kitty will investigate and peep in it to own it and all of that can be reinforced and used as a way of remind kitty where she should be peeping.

You can take some comfort from the fact that you KNOW the source of your kitty's stressful peeing and can start to find ways of dealing with it ... often times owners have a long battle identifying the root cause of inappropriate peeing which only prolongs the stress for kitty and inconvenience for owner.

You should ofc rule out any possible urinary infection especially if the peeing continues after the nemesis cat issue has been resolved.

At least for a while you should go outside with/when your cat goes out and guard her... dont allow this other cat to hurt or even scare your girl again.

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