Spaying & Scent Marking in Cats

There are several things you can do to try and solve the problem:

• I would recommend that a vet examine your cat, as a change in urinating habits could indicate a potential medical problem that may need veterinary attention. Your vet will then determine any problems or give your cat a clean bill of health.
• If the cat is unaltered, I would recommend that you get it neutered as soon as possible, you will find that in many cases, this will solve the problem completely.
• If you are certain the reason for spraying is some perceived threat from another animal, then I would recommend analyzing the problem and try to accommodate your cat with the privacy and space it needs, a room of its own may be a suggestion. If the problem is to do with animals that are outside the home, you should try to reduce your cat's exposure to those cats.
• A cat can get stressed not only through territorial disputes. Try to lower the cat's stress by maintaining a routine, thus keeping the cat relaxed and calm.
• As mentioned in previous articles, don't punish your cat, they cannot comprehend what punishment means and will probably retaliate with scratching, biting and even worse behavior.

The smell of its own urine could encourage a cat to spray again on its same spot. Clean the stain thoroughly by using special cleaning products that completely eradicate any odors rather than covering them up. Avoid products that contain ammonia as these could actually remind the cat of the smell of urine. During my research I have found a special product called 'Feliway' which can be very effective when dealing with problem spraying (don't worry I am not on commission), you can check information on several sites, or just type 'Feliway' in any search engine.

Finally if the problem persists, I would recommend consulting an animal behaviorist. Your vet should be able to refer you to a local cat behaviorist. In most cases it probably will not get as far as this stage, but it is an option to consider.