DR BRUCE CHARD

contact@northharbourvet.co.nz LOUIE, my 6-month-old maltese cross dog, is due to be neutered. Recently he started to urinate in the house despite being fine when he was younger. Is he just marking his territory and will he settle down once he is neutered?

Although Louie is old enough to be neutered it is unlikely he is urinating inside due to territory marking. This would usually only occur on reaching sexual maturity around 9 to 12 months of age. It is more likely that there has been a break in house training and you will need to go back to basics to retrain him. Use a crate to confine him at night and insist he urinates every time you take him outside. Reward the appropriate behaviour with praise and treats. Clean up any places where he has urinated and do not leave down paper or training pads inside as he should be able to last several hours before having to urinate again.

Our 12-year-old cat, Monty, is finding it difficult to jump up lately. We do not have a cat door and normally he jumps up on a wall to get in a window we leave open. During the big wet he was trapped outside. How can we help him?

As cats get older they do lose some of their ability to easily jump up to benches and walls. He may have jumped and missed so will have lost confidence. Have your vet check Monty. Palpation of his joints would reveal any pain caused by arthritis which could be confirmed with X-rays. Treatment includes anti-inflammatory meds or a special diet high in essential fatty acids. Often older cats are overweight and reducing Monty’s weight to a healthy level would help. Now may be the time to install a cat door to enable Monty to have easier access. You can use a door which reads a microchip under Monty’s skin so stray cats are kept out.