How to Stop Cats from Spraying

Take your cat to the veterinarian. Before jumping to any conclusions, the most important thing is that your cat gets checked out by the veterinarian. A cat peeing outside of its litter box is the first sign of a urinary tract infection which can be painful for your kitty. Before trying to prevent spraying, it is imperative to rule out any medical conditions.

Assess if your cat is urinating or spraying. After you get the medical clear, it is important to find out what behavior your cat is engaging in, because the cause of the behavior (and therefore the solutions) are radically different. To assess the behavior, you will need to look at the posture of the cat and the location he/she is marking. Most cats, while marking, will hold their rear legs very straight so that his/her hindquarters are slightly higher than the rest of its body. His/her tail will be either straight up or directed forward at a 45 degree angle. A marking cat will quiver its tail, and makes treading movements with its feet. If a cat is in this posture, you know he/she is marking. Some cats, however, will squat when marking, so it is important to use other indicators such as location. A cat that is spraying will typically urinate on vertical locations. When the urine is found on horizontal surfaces, it is usually on objects such as shoes, clothes or new and unfamiliar objects.

Understand the cause of the behavior. Once you have determined that your cat is spraying, it is important to understand the cause of the behavior (in order to find an effective solution). Spraying is natural in domestic cats and most often comes about when a cat feels "competition." While most humans understand a cat is marking his territory, we often fail to realize that it is not done in malice for other cats or even as a warning. Spraying most often occurs in mating as an identifier or advertisement. A cat's urine contains information about the cat's identity, age and mating status and can be a signal to other cats for mating. The more "competition" the more ad space a cat may want. Disciplinary techniques will not be effective in stopping spraying, but changing the physiological and environmental factors will.

Get your cat fixed. If your cat is not already fixed, you should get him/her spayed/neutered immediately. This step is vital in stopping spraying. Getting a male cat neutered stops spraying in 87 percent of cases. Most cats will show a decrease or halt in spraying behavior just two weeks after the procedure, although in some cats, results are not seen until after six months' time. Most cities have low cost/no cost clinics to get your cats fixed depending on your income/location.

Use an enzymatic cleaner to remove residual cat odor. Once a cat has sprayed at a location, the residual odor will often create a "marking post." To prevent this, an enzymatic cleaner needs to be applied to all known marked areas. Choose a cleaner specifically designed to remove cat urine odor.

Change marking posts to rubbing posts. When the odor is removed from the marking post, the marking post needs to be either removed (sold, put in storage) or changed in significance to the cat. A synthetic facial pheromone behavior modification product called Feliway is now available which can change a "marking post" into a "rubbing post." Feliway contains the same hormone which the cat deposits when rubbing his/her face against something and will change the significance of the object to the cat.

Remove arousing stimuli. The presence of stray or neighboring cats may trigger spraying in your pet. To reduce your pet's exposure to this potential cause, block your cat's viewing of neighboring animals or consider using repelling devices around your house to keep them away.

Make more space. Spraying is much more likely to occur in multi-cat households and while it is not always plausible or ethical to decrease the number of cats in the household, it is possible to provide more vertical space in a small area. One way to do this is the addition of kitty condos, access to perches and added hiding areas for a cat to claim as his/her own.

Lessen competition. By spacing out and providing more food and water bowls, there will be an allusion of less competition and therefore less motivation for spraying. Consider providing 1 litter/food/water area for each cat you have in the household.

Reduce the hostility. Watch your cats' interactions with one another to see if there is a need to reduce hostility. If you notice a hostile cat household, you may want to begin giving each cat a daily wipedown. This simulates grooming from a mother figure and will relax and comfort your cats. Also be aware of preferential treatment given among the cats and make sure to give equal treatment to every kitty. Other methods to reduce hostility can take place by behavior modification, spacing techniques or medication.

Consider pharmacological treatment. If none of the above treatments have an effect, you may want to consider getting a pharmacological treatment. This should be considered seriously as there may be side effects to medication. Talk to a trusted veterinarian about drugs that have proved helpful such as benzodiazepines, tricyclics and selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors.