Cat Spray Problems

Identification

• Cat spray refers to a cat's marking behavior. It's not the same as urinating. You can recognize a cat spraying by the way he approaches it. He will back up to the object he's going to spray, raise his tail and squirt a short burst of urine without crouching. The object he's spraying will be a vertical surface, like the leg of a chair or a corner of a wall. If you're finding puddles on the floor, that's urinating, not spraying.

Function

• Cats spray to mark their territory. Your cat is leaving his scent to warn other cats that this area belongs to him. Unaltered cats begin this behavior when they reach sexual maturity, at about seven months. This is normal behavior, not something to be punished.

  Even a neutered cat may begin to spray if he feels a need to mark his territory. This can be seen in multi-cat households, especially in a relatively small space. A cat may also spray if there's a stressor in his life that makes him feel threatened, such as a new cat or a new family member. A move to a new house can trigger this behavior, too.

Misconceptions

• Many people see their cat's spray problem as a litter box issue. This is an easy assumption to make, since your cat is spraying urine, but it's not helpful. Your cat knows how to use his box, and working on litter box training won't solve the spray problem.

  Another common misconception is that getting your cat neutered will stop his spraying behavior. It's true this will stop around 80 percent of spraying problems, but you might still have trouble and may need to look into other solutions.

Prevention/Solution

• The first line of defense in preventing cat spray problems is to have your cat spayed or neutered. This is a good idea regardless of spraying behavior. You should also have your cat checked by his veterinarian. It's possible a medical problem is causing his spraying behavior.

  When that doesn't take care of the issue, there are other avenues to try. Your cat is probably spraying because of stress, so reducing or eliminating the stress in his life should remove his need to spray. If you suspect he feels too crowded by other cats in a small space, you can try to enlarge his living area, maybe by adding a cat enclosure outside. If a new family member is causing stress, give your cat plenty of opportunity to get used to the new person at his comfort level.

  You can also try an over-the-counter product called Feliway. This is an artificial version of cat facial pheromones. Applying this product to areas your cat sprays should encourage him to mark by rubbing his face against the surface, leaving his pheromones that way rather than by spraying.

Considerations

• If you want your cat to stop spraying, you need to remove the smell of his old spray from your house. You'll need to use an enzyme cleaner for this, such as Nature's Miracle. A regular carpet or upholstery cleaner may remove enough of the scent that you don't smell it anymore, but your cat will still pick up on a trace scent and want to re-mark the object.