How to Stop a Stressed Male Cat from Spraying

If you have a male cat who has just started to spray around the house, it could be due to a stressful situation. If you've suddenly moved, added a new member to the household such as a baby or husband or wife, or brought in a new pet, especially another cat, the stress could trigger an assertion of dominance, which is primarily spraying. It's important to give your cat as much attention as possible so that he doesn't feel left out or jealous of the new addition, or upset at new surroundings, but if this doesn't work, there's still a possible solution. Try a pheromone.

Pheromones are natural substances that animals secrete for a variety of reasons. There are sexual pheromones and 'comforting' pheromones. A cat has glands at the base of its whiskers that when rubbed, secrete a pheromone that both marks its territory and gives it a sense of comfort. When a cat rubs its head and face on your leg or furniture, its secreting this pheromone onto you or the couch as a sort of marker that the object belongs to kitty. You don't own the cat, it owns you. If you've noticed your male cat spraying, whether he's neutered or not, because of some stressful situation, and attention giving hasn't calmed him down, try spraying a pheromone around the house.

Spray pheromone is available in pet stores or from the veterinarian and comes in a small spray bottle for spot treatment or a diffuser similar to the air fresheners you plug into a wall outlet. The diffuser kind will slowly disperse throughout a room to give a constant amount of pheromone for up to 30 days. The spot treatment spray is good for spraying directly on the furniture where the cat keeps spraying. Unfortunately, the pheromone is expensive. It runs around $40 for either the spray or the diffuser. It is effective and will generally stop the spraying because it gives the male cat a sense of calm, sort of like a mild tranquilizer. The spray is great for stressful trips to the vet as well. Just spray some in the cat carrier ten or fifteen minutes ahead of time and it should calm the cat down.

I tried both types of the pheromone because I have a male cat who started spraying like crazy on everything when I introduced a new cat to the household. My male has been neutered since 4 months old and used to only spray outside, but when I brought in the new cat, he started spraying on the couch, chairs, closet doors, my desk, my bed, on my pillows and even on the rug in the bathroom. Desperate, I called the vet and they suggested I try the pheromone. I did.

I first got the spray and spritzed it everywhere he'd peed and reapplied it several times a day. It doesn't leave any stains or marks, so I was very happy with that. While it worked, my cat seemed to always find a new place, without the pheromone on it, to spray. So, I went and bought the diffuser. It takes about 24 hours to work, so I continued using the spray as well. Within a day, my cat no longer sprayed! It was like a miracle. I hope that everyone has the same results that I did because it makes life for the humans, and the cats, so much better.