Male tabby is marking and defecating

The problem started with my 10 1/2 yr old male tabby - we have several stray cats and my cat started marking and urinating on and in front of my out side cellar door. That is where the strays mark.

I've tried everything imaginable to get him to stop but so far nothing has worked. Yesterday I bought a spray called SScat - it is a motion detector that emits a harmless spray to deter unwanted behavior.

I'm not sure if he went by the door today and got sprayed - but when I came home from work I found that he had pooped on my rug in my hall way. Up until this problem with these stray cats, I never had a problem with him not using his litter box.

His litter is changed every week. I am at my wit's end - my nerves are totally shot. I'm not sure if I am going to have to take him to a shelter or what is going to happen.

I can't continue to put up with this negative behavior. If anyone has any tried and true solutions to this problem please let me know.

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My Thoughts:

I'm sorry to hear that your cat is having problems. It sounds like his territory is being invaded by the stray cats, and he is doing what cats do.

Assuming he has no health issues, and the reason for pooping on the rug is that he was disturbed by the SScat spray, the most reliable and simplest solution is to get rid of the stray cats.

Marking is his way of asserting himself. My concern is that if you take that away from him, this will stress him.

The better solution is to remove the source of the problem, the strays.

Are these strays that you feed or take care of in some way? If so, I would lure them away from the area by feeding them far from the cellar and house.

If not, then is there an animal control service in your area that you can call? Or, you could humanely trap them yourself.

If he were my cat, I'd do everything I could to make his life easier and I'd choose him over the strays.

To my way of thinking, I've had this cat for 10 plus years (I'm assuming since you know exactly how old he is and his history). He's been a great cat with no problems (even if he had problems I'd work with him to fix them).

And now, some stray cats, which are a public health risk and need to be dealt with in some way anyway, have disturbed his short little life. I'd fight for him.

Please let us know how this works out. If you decide to give him up to a shelter, it's likely a death sentence unless you find a true no-kill facility. Please try to re-home him first if that's what you decide, then go with a true no-kill shelter.
-Kurt