For a little while now, Spike had unfortunately been spraying in the house. I caught him one night spraying the outside of the cat box, and then he kept spraying at the bottom of the stairs.
Ian and I were at a complete loss and had no clue what to do.
So we asked experts, tried Feliway, got rid of odor, tried baking soda, the lot...and it still wouldn't stop. But on top of the spraying, Spike eventually became very bitter, swiping at Angel whenever he walked by. If Angel wanted some attention, Spike revolted with a swish of his tail, his back to us, and his ears back. Our living situation wasn't fair on any of us.
This past Saturday I phoned the shelter where we adopted Spike and Angel from and asked for advice. They basically said we had tried everything we could, but maybe it would be better if Spike and Angel were separated after 8 years of living together. Unfortunately, the shelter had no history on Spike and Angel, so they probably just "tolerated" each other those years. It got the to the point where we had an upstairs cat (Angel) and a downstairs cat (Spike).
Sunday came, and Ian and I woke up and packed up Spike's things. We sent him back with his food bowl, bowl mat, scratching post, food, and his toy mouse he played with the most. It was tough taking him back, and I cried so much it looked like I had been punched in the face, but it's for the best. Hopefully, he will be adopted out to another home real soon. His coat had grown back beautifully, and it felt so much better because we actually took CARE of him and Angel.
I do miss Spike, I won't lie. I don't miss his spraying, the awful smell, and his constant meowing when I got in from work just to feed him (that's another thing too, he was pushing poor Angel out of the way and eating HIS food as well). But I miss how silly Spike was, and him laying on my lap, or watching TV with Ian and I.
We just hope he finds a great home that he deserves.
