Hi there,
The first thing you need to consider is if your cat is indeed ';spraying'; by raising his tail and backing up to objects in your home, and then urinating on them. If he is doing this, then he he spraying. Spraying is verticle urination on objects. If he is sitting down and peeing around the house on horizontal objects, such as top of the bed, or on the floor, he is urinating outside the box, and this is called ';inappropriate elimination';
Spraying is a marking behavior, and inappropriate elimination can be the sign of a urinary tract infection, or blockage, which is painful to the cat, so he associates using the box with pain, and often he cannot get to the box in time, either due to a felt urgency, but only small amounts trickle out.
We had a similar situation with two of our cats. One cat was peeing around our bedroom and top of the bed, as she had a bladder infection caused by crystals in her bladder. The other cat had been upset by an outdoor intact tom cat that he could see and smell through the window. He was spraying. It was a nightmare to get to the bottom of what was going on.
The spraying cat was treated with a mild tranquilizer called Elavil, and the results were fantastic. The other cat was treated with medication and change in diet to an all grainless moist cat food, and she recovered with no complications.
We tried all the vet-supplied remedies before our vet medicated the cat, closed the window, closed the shutters but that didn't work. Since marking behavior is leaving ';calling cards'; to tell other cats that the territory is ';his';, removing the scent just made him crazy and he started re-marking those areas. It was a lose-lose situation until he was medicated. We then did a clean up job which proved to be successful. We used a product called Simple Solutions, and a black light to highlight all the areas on which he had sprayed.
But we had to replace our mattress.
http://www.amazon.com/Simple-Solution-Sp鈥?/a>
My suggestion to you, whether this is spraying or inappropriate elimination is to have your vet examine him and do a blood and urine test to ascertain whether there is any underlying medical condition and then, if all is clear, then talk to your vet about medication.
If there were any changes in your household,or routines, your cat may also be anxious. Once you get to the bottom of your cat's issue, then a clean up can be done effectively.
Good luck with your cat. I completely understand your frustration and concern.
Hope this helps and good luck with your kitty. Hope he is soon on the mend.
Troublesniffer
Owned by cats for over 40 years
Member: Cat Writer's AssociationMy indoor male fixed cat sprays throughout the house. He's not going to animal control. How can I stop this?
Take him to the vet and get a urinalysis done because he could have a urinary tract infection. This type of infection causes an irritation to the bladder and causes a cat to spray. Also have your vet to make sure he's fixed... if the urine smells really bad he may not be, the vet will know.
If it IS a behavior problem the vet might have recommendations on medications that the cat can take to help.
Most people realise, as vets do that you have to fix a cat before they reach sexual maturity to have any chance of them not spraying - and even if you do that, sometimes they still do.
There may be something causing it like a new person or animal in the house, a stray unfixed male cat hanging around, stress, some change will have brought this about.
Neutered cats will sometimes spray if they have a urinary or bladder infection, so it's worth getting him checked at the vets.
If the vet rules out medical problems, then he's probably spraying to mark territory because he feels anxious for some reason. Do you have any other pets, or are there cats hanging around outside (even if he only sees them through a window) that he might feel intimidated by? Have there been any recent changes in your home or in your daily routine which might have made him feel a little insecure?
The web site below has an excellent article on territorial marking and how to stop the behaviour. It also has a helpful check list of 18 possible reasons why a cat might feel anxious enough to begin spraying.
http://www.celiahaddon.co.uk/pet%20probl鈥?/a>
Has he been checked for UTI (urinary infection)? Many times that will cause a male cat to spray or have problems peeing in the litter pan. Get him checked out first.
Second, if there are other cats (whole males) around your house or neighborhood, that can trigger him to spray too.
I agree with some of the above Answerers that it may be a UTI. There are lots of reasons a cat may spray. Go to the vet and ask about Feliway cat pheremone. Some people like it. I have considered it after hearing from a shelter worker that the dog pheremone collar helped her rescue dog. Here is a link to it.: http://vetmedicine.about.com/cs/obedcat/鈥?/a>
I would reiterate that you should clean with enzyme cleaner
as much as needed.
Also try this site for behavior information:
http://www.ddfl.org/tips_cats.htm
Um, I'm sorry, but if he's fixed, he shouldn't spray. Obviously he wasn't fixed.
I don't understand. If he's fixed, how can he possibly be spraying????
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