Hi Diana. It’s actually good news that he’s not seen to be drinking so much on the wet food, as it suggests he’s getting enough water from his diet (which is to be expected). You are right that the problem could be caused by stress. Has a urine sample been tested to prove that it is actually cystitis? The signs of urine marking from cats roaming around and cystitis are very similar, though of course of course cystitis can be secondary to stress too. It’s very important to give your cat some relief by reducing his sight of the other cat, regardless of the cause.

My vet said my cat has cysitis gave him pain medication and capsules for inflammation. It went away and came back, then I started giving him only wet food, now he has it again. The neighbours cat comes in our garden and my cat watches her from the window. My cat is an indoor cat, could this be stressing him out. He’s peeing everywhere around the house I am forever cleaning behind him. He used to drink plenty of water while on hes dry food but he won’t touch it now since he’s been on wet food. Instead he keeps wanting to pee in hes water bowl. HELP

Hi Stephanie. A situation like yours would probably combine two causes, being stress and urinary retention, since the cats are likely to hang on a bit too long in order to avoid running the gauntlet. Therefore, anything you can do to get them to be able to feel freer to make their way outside or come down for attention would be beneficial. I’m sure you’ve already thought of this, so I’m not expecting any easy answers other than anxiety medication.

Hi Emma. The link at the top of the article, reproduced here) covers other causes such as stress and anxiety. Good luck.

Hi Jesse. CD is a suitable food for cystitis in cats, and will even work well in many in the dry form. Although wet food is better, if you’re getting a good response to biscuits there’s no need to change.

Hi Sue. Our page on why cats urinate inside is probably more useful for you. In particular, the fact that your cat only does it at one house suggests a behavioural cause such as the presence of the stray cat (they don’t need to be marking to cause stress to the resident).