How to Break Your Cat's Spraying Habit
Stop His or Her Urine Spraying Today!
The first step in this process is to make sure your cat actually has a spraying habit. That is, are you sure your male or female cat is actually spraying? Or, does he or she simply miss the litter box? Are you finding pools of cat urine on the floor? This isn't a sign of spraying either. Normally, cats that have a habit of spraying will back up to doors, windows, walls, and furniture, et cetera. You'll find squirts of urine about a foot or so up from the floor.
The second step to break your cat's spraying habit, is to find the cause of the problem. It's a common fallacy that only male cats "mark their territory" by spraying urine. While it's true that male cats spray urine during the mating season, they do it at other times too. Female cats also spray urine to arouse the interest of a tomcat. And, they spray for other reasons as well.
However, research shows that cats who are spayed or neutered are less likely to spray than cats who aren't. If your house cats aren't "de-sexed", talk to your veterinarian about performing the surgery. Not only can it break their spraying habit, but it will help keep the problem of overpopulation down.
Ideally, all cats should be spayed or neutered by the time they reach six months of age. However, they can still be "fixed" when they are older than that.
If your cat is already "fixed", then their spraying habit must be caused by another reason. It's their way of telling you they are jealous of another living being in the house. This can be another cat, a human, or even another type of animal. Or, maybe you've changed your household environment and your male or female cat doesn't like something about it. Or, maybe you're house cat is spending more time alone, and he or she doesn't like that. These are just a few examples of the reasons why your cat has developed a spraying habit you need to break. The bottom line is, your house cat is unhappy, and spraying urine on the doors, windows, walls, furniture, et cetera, is his or her way of showing it.
Now that you know what the problem is, and you're sure your house cat has it, the third step is to actually break the urine spraying habit. As long as your house cat has been to the veterinarian recently and is in good health, that rules out a medical problem as the cause of their urine spraying habit.
Once you find a place that your house cat is spraying on, you need to clean the urine up completely. If you just spray a nice-smelling commercial product on it, that won't do the trick. It might cover the urine odor for a short period of time, but your cat is no fool. He or she will still be able to smell their own scent and will continue the habit of spraying urine on that same area.
Instead, you'll need to launder the object, such as a curtain, for example. Add a half of cup of baking soda or the same amount of white vinegar to your washing machine to help neutralize the urine odor. Or, if the object your cat is spraying on is a piece of upholstered furniture, you'll need to shampoo and extract the urine from the fabric.
For a door or a wall, use a commercial disinfecting product. (Don't use household bleach! It will just make the problem worse.) Then, clean the area with a strong solution of white vinegar or baking soda mixed with warm water.
Being that I have a household with eight cats in it, sometimes just locating and cleaning the cat's urine from the area has resolved the problem. But, sometimes the urine spraying habit wasn't
broken that easy.
Sometimes, house cats will actually spray on a door or window if there's another cat outside it can see. This is a natural response to mark its territory. To break this habit, close your drapes or curtains, or pull the window blinds shut.
House cats can also become jealous of another feline that's living in the same home. The result is the jealous feline starts a habit of spraying. If this is the case in your home, then maybe your cats don't have their "own space." Provide cat beds, separate blankets, et cetera, so your cats can have their own domain with their own smell on it.
And finally, keep your cat's routine the same. Cats are creatures of habit, and they don't like change. Your cat might develop a urine spraying habit you'll have to break just because it's unhappy about a change you've made in the house.
Published by Kassidy Emmerson
Kassidy Emmerson has studied Journalism, Creative and Non-Fiction Writing and Computer Programming. She has worked as a professional freelance writer for over a decade. Emmerson has 6,000+ articles published... View profile
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35 Comments
Post a CommentMy male cat (Lib) just recently starting spraying everything he can back up to about 4 weeks ago and I'm about to boot him out the door. I rescued him and his sister 9 years ago from a friends barn, had them both spayed and neutered when they were old enough and they have lived in my home with another rescue, who is ten, for their entire life. From time to time , maybe a dozen time, in nine years he has gotten out the door or window but runs back in a few minutes later so there is absolutely nothing new to his living environment that would cause thie recent spraying issue...Any suggestions before I put him outside for good?
I have a male cat, who has been neutered, and he will not stop spraying on all of my daughters things. We have washed everything multiple times to make sure the smell is gone, and as soon as we put whatever it is back up, he sprays on it again (usually it is her book bag or lunch box). He is very spoiled, and gets plenty of attention, anytime he wants it, so I don't know what to do now.
good questions..this site says how to stop this problem. But no one has any ideas how to stop it. How in the world can we figure out just what might be making the cat unhappy? Or if you do there is really nothing we can do about it. At time I have to trvel and i make sure to leav him with people he knows and loves. He is NOT allowed on the counters and table tops even though he would like to be up there where i am. He gets to sit on my lap when I'm on the couch, he gets to snuggle with me in bed ( until he started srapying on the bed and in the bedroom) This is HIS house but I do make the rules, buy his food do everything in my power to make him happy, healthy. He gets to play outside and be inside. I am at my wits end. Life is full of changes that i can not control to keep him happy unless he lives in a dark crate--who would want that? The medical tests that I haven't run are running scopes through his bladder.UAs and blood work show that he is not sick nor has a
Really have no changes in your life?? Close all the curtains so he can't see the neighbor's cat? He goes in and out. He has a routine but I don't. My cat has been spraying since he was about two years old and our dog died. I've spend hundreds on medical bills running tests-there is no infection, but sometimes the spray is red. I bend over backwards to spoil him--he is really a member of the family--maybe that is the problem- he's a bit of a bossy member . He does like a lot of attention that i cannot always give him but we do have our cuddle times. He even sleeps on my bed - until he started spraying on my bedskirt on my $2,000 bed. there is no place in the house that is free from his spray. He is now 6 years old and I'm really, really tired of it. Feliway DOES NOT work with him. For about 6-9 months he was symptom free after i cahnged his food to a grain-free food. I tried all kinds of raw, wet food with him but he wouldn't eat that so he is sti
My female cat sprays,I use a homemade spray of hydrogen peroxide, baking soda, and a drop or 2 of dish detergent, like dawn. It works. You can get the exact recipe by searching online. I wipe up the excess pee if i find it in time and saturate the area with this and let it set for a while and sop up any extra.
Also, a cat will not walk on tin foil. so the areas that I can I put foil down the edge of the hall or wherever she has sprayed and that stop that.
I also purchased a can of ssscat online with a couple of refills. It has a on off switch. When on it is motion activated when the cat walks by it it shoots out a spray of air. My cats wont go near that can now and there is no more peeing in the hallway.
good luck to all
Jason, I feel ya!! Mayby there just is no answers, only ways to deal with living with an animal. kat
I love cats. My female mama has decided to start spraying. when I took mama in I gave it no thought that the lady across the street has 20 cats and that my mama love to look out the windows. I know this is the problem, I close the shades she opens them. lol If I have her spayed will this help the spraying?? She has gone into heat twice now. She has never gone outside, but like I said she loves windows and I know she can see the men across the street in our yard etc. HELP
kat
Why is it that it seems like everyone has these problems but no one is offering a solution?
My male cat has been spraying in my house for a good week now I am getting really at ends with it. I am not one that likes to have an bad smells in my house( I hate cooking bacon cuase it leaves that strange smell behind). I don't know what we have done to upset him or what we can do to make it stop. I was always under the impresion that he couldn't spray if he was fixed. I learned the hard way!
Ive been having the same problem too, but until i realized thatmy cats were mad at me for some odd reason, but when cats get mad at their owners they will spray or pee on stuff such as clothes and furnature.