5 m/o cat urinating on couch and suckling on lambskin.

[WindyCityMom]

One of our cats does fine with the litter box. He uses it for the most part. He was going on the couch at night, and I figured it was because the box was dirty at night since I'm not able to clean it while I'm sleeping So I cleaned the cushions, and I haven't put them back on yet (drying and I'm washing the slipcovers).

If there's anything on the couch- pillows, blankets, etc. he pees on them. If the couch is bare, he won't. Today DD left a few playsilks on the sofa chair (idk what else to call it ) which was also bare. The cat promptly urinated on them.

What gives? Why is he doing this?

They are going to get neutered next week, they're males and about 5 months old. I haven't had them for more than 2 weeks and I don't know who had them previously.

On a side note- I think they were neglected and maybe taken from their mothers too early. They were both quite skinny when I got them and were about 3lbs each, and they are now around 5lbs (and pictures show obvious changes). They are each getting about 3oz of wet food twice daily (so 6oz per cat each day) and have free choice dry food which they pick at occasionally but aren't too fond of. Theodore, the above mentioned cat, takes mealtime very seriously, and growls at his brother during meals. He is also the larger of the two. Should I separate them during feeding? I have also caught him suckling on my DD1s lambskin frequently (mostly in the middle of the night and when I wake up). Should I discourage this behavior? I don't think he's swallowing any of the hair (wool I suppose, lol). It is getting a little felted where he suckles, but other than that is fine. DD doesn't love it any less.

Thanks

[vtechmom]

If the suckling doesn't bother you and he keeps it to objects that won't harm him then I wouldn't worry about it. It is a behaviour usually only seen in cats there were taken to young. My former bottlefed kitten suckles like crazy still and she's 6 months old now.

The urinating sounds like some marking behaviour and will hopefully improve after the neuter but unfortunately sometimes once they start they don't just stop. You could try Feliway, a kitty calming hormone, in the areas that are being marked. They might be marking because of competition between what are, right now, soon-to-be sexually mature toms. The Feliway would help calm them down and might help with that behaviour.

Also, what is the litterbox setup like? You should have three in your house in different spots (litterbox needs = number of cats +1). If you have the correct number of litterboxes you can try changing around the type of litter. I personally love The World's Greatest Cat Litter, but with my kitten she was refusing to litterbox train (got her at 2 weeks, started to train at 5 weeks) and I went through a ton of brands until I found Cat Attract. That is the one litter guaranteed to get her to go in her box without issue. I personally hate it because it reeks of ammonia if you don't clean it constantly but I'd rather deal with that then cat pee all over the house.

As to the eating issues, can you just make sure the bowls are spaced far apart? I've always been one for correcting any human aggression but aggression between themselves I generally let animals work it out on their own with minimal intervention (obviously as long as no risk of bloodshed). That seems to result in better longterm results than when a human applies the rules.

[WindyCityMom]

Thanks! They are generally friendly (social grooming, cuddling, playing) but when they eat, the one cat just growls the entire time. Hopefully it can get better. I don't want them turning eating into a competition though.

I was using the World's greatest cat litter and I loved it, but switched because a) the store was out and b) my DH didn't like the farm-y scent. Now I'm using the corn-based Arm & Hammer one, and it's working quite well. They both use the litter box but again, the one cat only goes on the couch if something's on it. The litter box can be spotless.

I've got three boxes- one in the bathroom, and two in the main living space at opposite ends (we have an open living space, and a small apartment. Moving someplace bigger soon though). I have seen each cat use each box.

I'm glad he's suckling on the lambskin though... When I was in my early teens we adopted a cat (around 8mos old at the time) from a shelter. She chose to suckle on our necks.. my mother, bless her heart, didn't mind it and allowed the cat to use her, I personally wasn't too fond of it though

[weliveintheforest]

We've had similar problems every time we've had kittens. They seem to like peeing on cloth for some reason - laundry, playsilks, blankets. It happened with our cat 6-7 years ago, and then again with our current cat, and with her kittens.
In our last house we were able to keep the cats enclosed during the night and it helped a lot until they grew out of it.

[babygirlie]

If the suckling doesn't bother you then let it go. Most of cats suckle until after a year old and they live with their mommy :P I have a whole male who is 3 and he smacks his lips on my neck too. Personally I love it. Very calming to me and him.

Could be marking and should stop after neutering. Can he see his litterbox at night? Maybe he needs a night light?

If he growls when he eats I would take the food away and give it to his brother to show.. no you don't get priority bub and you will wait your turn. I then let him have a turn and then show him it's whoever is next and hold him back. I was pregnant when he was young so I missed some of his training so to speak. he was the kitten when told he couldn't eat the whole pizza himself learned if you slapped a slice of pizza hard enough it sticks to your paw and you can yank it away from the other cats. So technically he's not growling and interfering but just moving the pizza to him so it's fair... I guess lol. He definatly has food issues. He nursed on any cat that moved until well over a year.