Hi, I’ve just joined this forum and am in need of advice. Our 5-year old Bengal tom, Murphy, has wrecked four flat-screen TV’s by peeing (or spraying?) on them. With the first three, it was evident because there was residue on the screen, which, although I cleaned it off, caused slow and irreversible damage to the screen (spreading black patches).

Our new-this-year Samsung mysteriously packed up last week – the repairer found traces of cat urine inside the rear of the set which blew out circuit boards – strike TV #4!

Murphy is good natured, loving and well-trained in all other respects. He has never messed in the house. He sleeps on our bed most nights, with absolutely no issues (apart from being very long and heavy). He has had regular check-ups at the vet and is in fine health.

The TV (no #5) is positioned in a bay window, and he loves to spend his day on the window sill (behind the tv) watching the street, but he does get quite agitated when he sees other cats out there; stuttering, stretching up and paddling at the window panes – so I wonder, could he be seeing the TV as a ‘window’ or ‘portal’ that he has to protect?

We ditched the old TV stand, which was wood and probably had a faint scent on it, and have a new one.

At the moment, we are banning him from the room during the day when we are not there, but I don’t like doing this as it’s his house too.

There are no other options for positioning the TV due to the configuration of the room – ie it’s not possible to wall-mount it.

I would be really grateful for any suggestions regarding this behaviour…..I can’t afford another TV!

Can you hang your tv on the wall, away from an area which will evoke such territorial behaviours in your cat?

_________________
~ Kyenta

I had problems with cats trying to scratch the screen so I put it fairly high up on Wall no more problems.

_________________
Clare
Magic (brown spotted boy born 31 March 2012)
Pearl (seal Lynx Point girl born 1 October 2015)
Bristol, UK

The only thing I can think of is to order some sort of clear plastic barrier if you can't wall mount. I work in a grade 2 listed building with sash Windows and we are getting plastic sheeting made to order to Velcro to the window surround to provide a sort of secondary glazing effect to keep the office warm. Perhaps you could attach to the back of the TV stand to provide some protection to the back of the TV?

_________________
Clare
Hendrix and Jagger, Brown Marble Boys (born 18 August 2013)
Hampshire, UK

If he can see other kitties invading his territory, then this is the issue! I can't believe it has taken four broken TVs before actually doing something. Hang the TV on a wall and away from a window that allows him to see invaders. I realize the price of TVs has dropped, but it is still money out of pocket and cat urine will damage just about anything. Stopping a male cat from spraying, even if neutered, is a chore and a half. Feliway spray or diffusers might help, but the key is being able to see other cats, so sight blockers may be in order and even then, your kitty can smell the cat. It's possible the other cats are spraying your home from the outside and cats continue to mark over each other. What your baby is doing is just normal behavior. To save your TV's, get it up in the air where your kitty can't get to it. Know that windows are a natural attraction to an indoor cat as it opens their world to the outdoors. You may want to consider a cat enclosure or catio (mine prefers to do his spraying out in his). If your TV is on a "stand," your kitty is going to be able to get up there. Let's hope #5 lasts a while.

This might sound silly, but can he see his reflection in the screen ? It could be that he thinks that there is another cat around each time he pees on the TV.

Or it could be that as he sits behind it, the TV seems to him to be the centre point of his threatened territory whenever he sees another cat around...

From the outside looking in, you have:

External cat/threat
<window>
Murphy
<TV>

That's a TV that needs to be pissed on so other cats know that it belongs to him alone. In that case anything of decent size in the same place as the TV would be getting an occasional soaking, it is just unfortunate that his humans have put something big and delicate there.

Possible solutions - stop him going on the windowsill/seeing other cats or move the TV.

I take it Murphy has had his plums done ?

I have never in my life heard them referred to as "plums."

_________________
Dallas, TX USA
Diesel - snow Bengal born 09/01/2013 adopted Feb 2014
Tuck, Chloe, Buddy, Lewis & Tia - rescue kitties
Clyde, Bleu & Coal - Great Danes

Two thoughts:

1. Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. After the first couple of times, it ceases to be the fault of the cat. You simply need to prevent it from happening. Mount it on a wall or get it up high another way, and/or find a way to cover it so that the cat can't possibly do it again. If this requires getting a different sort of tv, then do it. Using a spray like "Bitter Yuck" will also keep a cat away from an object.

2. It sounds like you suspect it is a territorially thing between him and the invader cats he sees outside the window, and him wanting to mark (lay claim to) what is clearly a socially significant object in the household. Could very well be. If that's the case, then you need to do two things:

1. Make him feel more territorially secure in the house (through catification).
2. Encourage him to sleep in such a place that he isn't so fixated on the outdoor cats.
So, perhaps blocking off the window sill or making it an unattractive place to sleep, while at the same time, giving him a nice, high, extremely desirable perch at the other side of the room, away from the window. Nice big tall cat tree, with a plush cat bed and dangling toys near the top perch, and some catnip to encourage him to go up there.

I'm pretty sure the most common thing cat behaviorists deal with are these kinds of urinating outside the box/spraying problems, so contacting a cat behaviorist as a last resort would also make a lot of sense.

_________________
The little monsters 3

Hi all, thanks you very much for giving your thoughts to this. I haven't been able to access for a while hence the delay.

Due to the configuration of our room, re-siting the TV on a wall is impossible. Your suggestion(s) of a covering barrier seem the most practical and I will look at something fairly substantial too. I'm also thinking of an extending wall bracket to keep the TV away from the wall and sill.

I would hate to 'ban' Murphy from the window-sill. He spends hours just staring out,craning his head around and being nosey. It's as soon as other cats get close that he gets really animated. (Yes, he is neutered).

Thank you very much, I really appreciate the info. Here's a photo of the little tike-ster too :)

Aww, come on now. That face could not damage four TV's. Never in a million years. What a cutie pie!

Bengals love windows and to look out. There has to be another spot for your TV! If not, you're going to get the same result over and over again. Murphy is protecting is territory in the only way he knows how. So, this is not his fault! If Murphy's window is blocked by the TV, he is going to get up there any way that he can. I've honestly never heard of a TV in a window -- but if you can block Murphy's access to the front and back of the TV, you may be able to save #5.

Butter wouldn't melt!

_________________
Clare
Hendrix and Jagger, Brown Marble Boys (born 18 August 2013)
Hampshire, UK

Yep, I don't believe that little angel could ever do anything wrong. Someone else must be peeing on the TV!

_________________
Melissa

UK
Oscar - Rescue (Rascal!!!) Bengal

_________________
The little monsters 3

With a face like that I'd forgive him a TV or three.