How can I stop my 11 year old cat from spraying in the house?

Question

My cat is an 11 year old Tabby who was nuetered when he was 6 months old. For the last 8 months he has been spraying in and out of the house. I have taken him to the vets and the have found he has a small urinary infection for which he gets Cystaid tablets. It started when I went away for 6 weeks on a course and at times it does seem to be a protest. My wife is getting fed up with it, but he's my boy.We also got one of those plug-ins which we have in our bedroom to make him calm but tonight he sprayed on the bed when he wasn't getting attention. We use non biological washing powder solution when he does sprray and do find it very effective, a citrus smelling powder works best. Can anyone please help me we have no new pets and have lived in our current house for over 4 years.

I've also been in and out of Hospital over the last 5 months which hasn't helped. I do think its because of me, he's my boy and he's very loving and as I've not been around he's got annoyed. I will try stay at home and spend time with him and try to reasure him.

Answer 1

For some reason he's begun to mark his territory. Sometimes that starts when they feel their home is threatened. Does he have access to windows where he can see outside, perhaps he has seen some strays in the area and is acting out because of that?

Unfortunately, once they start, they don't stop. My cat of 16 years marked usually the same things over and over, but he did it his whole life. It was just something that we learned to put up with.
You may want to stock up on Nature's Miracle or some other neutralizer.

Sorry I couldn't give you better news.

Answer 2

Last year my beautiful Manx cat Theodore went out for the evening and never came back. I love cats and the house didn't feel the same without one, so I picked up Lola from a rescue centre. She was very frightened and would pee all over the house. I found Cat Spraying No More� on the internet and the techniques worked almost immediately. I haven't had a problem with Lola since. Amazing!

Can't stop your cat peeing in the house? Then worry no more...

Answer 3

I just got a 9mo f rescue cat after my two boys (cats) started doing the same and we had to rehome them. Guy at the rescue centre said that once they spray on your bed they hate you and rehoming is the only thing you can do. Something you did upset him, probably going away for so long, and started this behaviour, and the kindest thing to do is find him a new home. My two are very happy where they now live - we get regular reports and they haven't sprayed once since they moved. Bite the bullet, put some ads in local vets and papers, then give yourselves a break and rescue a speyed rescue cat like we did - 6-9 month old cats are easy to get as people dump them when they find out how much neutering costs.

Answer 4

As far as I know cats spray in order to mark their territory. If you keep cleaning away the mark the cat feels the need to put the mark back. Why he has developed this need recently I couldn't tell you, perhaps he is feeling insecure about something.

One way I have seen people deal with this in TV shows is to get a damp cloth and rub your cat a few times, not to make the cat wet but to transfer his scent onto the cloth, then to wipe this cloth near the areas where he marks. You wont notice the smell and there wont be any discolouration but your cat will know it's there.

Of course it might be better to find out why your cat has this need rather than taking on his behviour yourself. He must be upset or anxious about something.

Answer 5

I think your cat is doing this because he was upset that you went away and is afraid you are going to go away again and possibly not come back. He is nervous and wants to mark his territory for any changes that may be coming up. he is getting prepared. It was a strange occurrence to him, how to stop him just try to work with him and tell him no over and over, show him the litter box and show him you love him give him plenty of attention.

Answer 6

well: the best effort for ! You & cat there's an solution to stop
his Spraying just keep an eye on him and if he'd still does that
take it over to an Vetnairan right away for a complete check up
ok ?

Answer 7

floral smelling disinfectants or cleaners really do deter a cat as they hate the smell. never use bleach as they like the smell of it so much they will try to lick it !

the best thing to do is wait it out and see if it gets better. give him as much attention as is possible and use the floral disinfectant.

try seeing the vet again for fuirther advice.

Answer 8

I think you need to take him back to the vet and possibly try another remedy for his UTI. It sounds like he IS trying to get your attention, but that its related to him being ill. Also, using strong scents to cover up the urine could cause him to want to spray even more. Try using something more mild. ZERO Odor seems to be a good one.

Answer 9

You are going to love this one........
We had a similar problem with one of our cats - neutered long time then suddenly he started to spray on my husband's stuff - clothes, shoes, books, whatever, always stuff that my husband either used or wore and nothing we tried would stop it. Eventually my husband got fed up and grabbed that cat and peed on it.( yes really!)
Amazing thing is that it worked, don't know if the cat thought he had been marked as belonging or what it was but he stopped spraying everything and suddenly became my husband's best friend and constant companion.
Perhaps the moral of this story is- if you can't beat them join them !

Answer 10

To my understanding. it's not gonna stop. try spraying pet oder stuff that has natural enzymes in it. I can't gurentee it will work but definitly worth a try. At 11 years old chances are it's habit to him now.