My orange cat, Zoey, was a kitten that Chris got from a farm in Athens. He got along really well with other cats from the start and despite being a bit of a scaredy-cat of change or new faces, was a pretty well-behaved cat that loved to be around Chris, myself and our other cat as much as possible.
Until we got our Siberian Husky, Kita. Kita, an active playful puppy took away his attention, and Zoey wasn't willing to become friends with him. Instead, he took over our bedroom since Kita wasn't allowed in there. It didn't take long before he started marking his territory. He peed on our bed at least once a week, peed on clothes if they were on the floor and and would go into Kita's cage when he wasn't in it, and pee on his pillow. As much as we love Zoey, our patience was running thin and I started asking around to see if anyone might be interested in taking him. Then a dear friend's mom suggested getting him a large cat cage. I thought this would be traumatic and would cause him to be even more disengaged from us, but I didnt know what else to do.
We ordered a cage online that is 3 stories high with room at the bottom for a litter box, and started putting him in there at night. The first week or so he cried all night every night and I felt like a terrible caregiver, but then he stopped. This was 2 years ago and his attitude has completely changed. We open his cage for him during the day, but sometimes he is so comfy on his cat bed he stays in there for a bit. He doesn't mind going in there at night and doesn't make a peep. Also, he completely stopped marking his territory. I think he just needed a place he could call his own since the dog took up so much of the house, and he feels like he has a safe place to go if Kita is particularly annoying. He's still a scaredy cat, but lately he has been inching closer and closer to Kita when he is laying down and I think they may even become friends at some point.
Point of story is that I could never give up my pets to a shelter, where cats in particular are often euthanized due to overpopulation. We came up with a solution that seemed less than perfect, but no one we knew was willing to take a cat that peed everywhere. I'm so happy that Zoey is around, and I spend time with him every day to show him that the dog didn't take his place. Maybe this isn't the best solution for everyone, but it saved our sanity and our room is now pee-free. Consider other options if you have a cat that you really don,t know what to do with, because sometimes the problem is fixable
Kita loves both of our cats and only wants to shower them with kisses; more about his relationship with our tuxedo cat to come later.
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