Why Does My Neutured Cat Keep Spraying Outside?

Spraying urine is a natural way for cats to communicate, but a behavior that cat owners overwhelmingly consider unpleasant. Pet owners often assume that a welcome side effect of neutering will be the cessation of spraying. But for at least 10 percent of male cats, neutering will not be a sufficient deterrent. This is especially true if the cat has already reached sexual maturity at the time of his operation.

  1. Difference between Urination and Spraying

    • When cats need to urinate, usually they do it on a horizontal surface, such as in a litter box or on the ground. But when a cat backs up to a vertical surface, lifts his tail, quivers his hindquarters and sprays urine backwards, his behavior has little to do with a need for elimination. He is leaving a message at roughly the height of another cat's nose.

    Territory

    • Indoor/outdoor cats have complicated lives. Often they are involved in turf wars with other cats in the neighborhood. The more cats in the area, the greater the need to draw boundaries--in this case, with urine. Cats in multi-cat households are also much more likely to continue to spray post-neutering.

    Expressing Emotions

    • Cats sometimes express their feelings through spraying, and these feelings are not good. Stress, anger and frustration might be behind this behavior. These emotions could be directed at a person in the household or a cat in the neighborhood. Perhaps a decrease in human attention has frustrated or saddened the cat. Or maybe a new rival cat has moved into the area.

    Unsavory Litter Box

    • The spraying cat might also be suggesting to the owner that the litter box leaves a lot to be desired. Maybe it is dirty or in an inconvenient place. Or there might be too many cats using it. Multi-cat households get the best results if each cat has a litter box of his own.

    Stopping the Spray

    • If a cat is spraying due to anxiety, some vets prescribe anti-anxiety drugs such as Clomicalm or valium. But just like for people, sometimes medication will alter a cat's personality. A less mind altering solution is to spray pheromones such as Feliway in places where the cat sprays. This pheromone cocktail is designed to soothe anxious spraying cats.