# Multiple personality cat urinates whenever he sees me UPDATE



## bluesquared (Feb 6, 2010)

My roomate and I have adopted a cat-in-need from a friend of a friend who was moving and needed to find someone to keep him. I'm a dog person myself (so I have quite a bit of "animal common sense") but I understand how cats are different and have done plenty of reading on them. Zander is a born-tailless, 1 year old average-sized black grey, and white shorthair cat Anyway, the cat has been living with us for about two weeks now, and he has a few psychological problems:

1) This cat has multiple personalities. He spends a lot of his time hiding and sulking. Other times he is very playful and affectionate (i.e. headbutting, rubbing against me, playing with his little ball, ect). He seems to be more playful and affectionate after being alone for a long time. This leads to problem two....

2) He often loses all control of his bodily functions when he sees me... He was sitting under the table this morning, and I bend over to say hello, and he spontaneously urinates and then proceeds to defecate. He is not spraying or anything, he just urinates while laying on his side, sitting, or whatever. He sometimes meows/growls (Weird sounding, but I'm sure you know what I'm talking about.) I'm not sneaking up on him or frightening him, either. He often cowers like he's afraid of me. I've never struck him, and neither has my roomate. We spray him when we catch him doing something bad, but I've stopped punishing him for these incidents because he seems genuinely confused about what's going on.

I don't know what to do with this guy. He his a smart friendly cat, I can tell that from experience with animals, but he is urinating and defecating when he sees me (not every time, but if he hasn't used the litter box in a while and has a full load, I can expect to see him unleash it...).

Help?


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## faithless (Dec 4, 2009)

*Re: Multiple personality cat urinates whenever he sees me*

Wow. Some sort of insecurity issue...


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

*Re: Multiple personality cat urinates whenever he sees me*

Two weeks isn't all that long of a time for a cat to adjust to a new home, so the occasional hiding isn't too much of a concern unless it's related to a medical condition and that may be what you have going on here...tailess cats are known to have issues with incontinence or constipation. The mutated gene that cause them to be born without a tail can also prevent proper nerve development to control their bladder and bowels. 

You might want to ask the previous owners (if you can) if there has been a history of this. And I think a vet visit is needed.


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## bluesquared (Feb 6, 2010)

*Re: Multiple personality cat urinates whenever he sees me*

Thanks for the quick replies! 

In talks with the previous owner, he was said to sometimes not like males (bad for me, though he doesn't exhibit this behavior with my roomate).

No previous issues with his "going problem," though I guess he probably needs more time to adjust. Thanks!


EDIT: Question- due to this behavior directed towards myself, should I try avoiding all intentional contact with Zander? (that is, avoid non-incidental contact) until he calms down a bit.


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## Chrysalis (Oct 10, 2009)

*Re: Multiple personality cat urinates whenever he sees me*



bluesquared said:


> EDIT: Question- due to this behavior directed towards myself, should I try avoiding all intentional contact with Zander? (that is, avoid non-incidental contact) until he calms down a bit.


I don't think that's a good approach. You want him to get used to you, right?  Do you know much about the cat's history? If he's afraid of men, perhaps he was abused by them and doesn't know what to do because he's petrified. So... you'd have to regain his trust. 

Things I do: Get down to his level (sitting or lying on the floor -- remember, you're HUGE comparatively), blink slowly at him (shows trust), tempt him with food he likes so that he comes up to you and then slowly pet him, and figure out where/how he likes to be petted and do that. Over time he'll realize you're okay and won't freak out. This may take months -- we've had a kitten (stray) for 4 months and she still darts around in fear of some people. 

His multiple personality may simply be some form of PTSD (if he was abused). So if he's meowing strangely at you, cowering, etc., back off and let him have space... then try to re-approach at a later time and show him that you're friendly. If your behavior is volatile or changes quickly, he will have a harder time learning to trust you.


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## bluesquared (Feb 6, 2010)

*Re: Multiple personality cat urinates whenever he sees me*

Update on Zander's status: The urinating/defecating has stopped completely (no incidents this whole week!)
He is becoming a little more used to me, but he is still very, very timid. He cannot be in a small room with me (if he's in my bedroom with me and I close the door, he feels trapped, meows rather pitifully, and tries to hide in the shelf near my door). He will let me come up to him and pet him when he's not in one of his very timid moods, and even roll over and purr wanting his belly rubbed.

My roomate, on the other hand, is having a much more fun time with him. Zander does "Cat stuff" when only he is around, playing with his little ball thing, scratching post, running around, ect... Whenever I show up, he stops what he's doing and will go to his "happy place"/perch. Sometimes I will be sitting on the computer (bedroom) and he will walk into the hall between the bedrooms. I hear him stop, and if I look at him, he will scurry off.  

It's getting better, _slowly_. I can see where you're coming from, thanks for the advice. I have found where he loves to be petted  but he still will never _voluntarily_ approach me. Oh well...


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## KittyMonster (Nov 8, 2009)

*Re: Multiple personality cat urinates whenever he sees me*

A sure-fire way to establish yourself as his friend is to take over duties such as feeding and cleaning out the litterbox. Don't just focus on petting - make sure every time he sees you it's _happy fun time_. Sprinkle cat nip and give him treats. Reward outgoing behaviour but don't punish timidness or try to force him to be with you. 

Eventually he'll learn that it's better for him to be nice to you and that you only bring good things!


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## bluesquared (Feb 6, 2010)

PROGRESS!

Zander has been chirping at me all morning and voluntarily coming into my room and talking to me. He's been very playful and energetic lately. He is still a bit timid around me and has his moods, but significant progress has been made!


I know y'all love pictures, so I'll get around to posting a few later.


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## faithless (Dec 4, 2009)

:wink:


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