my cat is spraying my chair in the livingroom? Any suggestions?

Question

My cat continues to spray a chair that I have in the living room. I have cleaned it numerous times. I have also sprayed it with this stuff that is suppose to keep her from spraying. It doesn't work! I'm at my wits end with her and ready to get rid of her. My kids love her and will be devasted! She is fixed and her declawed in the front. Putting her outside is not an option. Does anyone have any suggestions for me. She also sometimes uses the restroom in the bathroom floor. I have thought about just keeping her in the office all the time (that is where her litter box is) but I feel like I am being cruel to her. I thought we could just get her out when we are in the living room. What should I do?

Answer 1

There are several reasons why the cat may continue spraying the chair and the restroom, and the problem is twofold: the cleanliness and the cat. Depending on what you've been using to clean the items, the items may look and smell clean to you, but not necessarily to the cat. You can buy a small blacklight at PetCo or a similar pet company and look at the chair and/or the restroom (with all the other lights out) to see if the areas mentioned are still 'marked'.

The best way to clean both items is to use an enzymatic cleaner (like Nature's Miracle) that works to break down the biological material (like foods, blood, vomit, feces, grease, dirt, grass, smoke, perspiration and all other organic stains and odors) and follow the the directions that leave the object wet (I know this is hard to do in an active household, but worth it -- you have to lay down tin foil or plastic wrap over the item after getting it saturated with the Nature's Miracle and let the stuff work for several days -- you may want to move the chair somewhere if that's an option but if you can't, you can't).

Also, you can move the cat's food right over to where the chair is, or to where the restroom is, because the cat will not urinate where her food is.

Also, you have to be sure to scoop the litter every day (if you are using scoopable litter) or clean/change the litter box frequently, maybe twice/three times a week (if you are using clay litter), because your cat may be protesting about the condition of her litter box.

Also, you have to monitor the kids to see if they're upsetting the cat, because they may simply be playing with her too much, or too often, and she may be acting out because she needs more 'downtime' or because you have a new baby, or some other environmental factor. Cats don't adjust well to a lot of conflict, noise, or change, sometimes. Children can sometimes bring of lot of that. So can moving, construction, or even entertaining.

Or the cat may be doing this because she has a urinary tract infection or some other gastrointestinal problem. You may want to call your vet or take the cat in for an appointment. If it's a UTI, the vet can put the cat on antibiotics and clear this up in a matter of days. If it's some other related GI issue, again, the vet can help. If it's behavioral, the vet can give you Feliways, which is a plug-in (like Glade) that seems to help act as a calming artificial cat pheremone. This sometimes helps destress animals. If it's more complex, the vet can give you psychotropics, such as Ativan or Prozac, because even cats can have problems with anxiety and depression.

I hope this helps.

Answer 2

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Answer 3

You can buy scratchguard tape that is two sided and sticks to your furniture, it is sticky so they dont want to scratch it and they will soon learn that it is not pleasant to try scratch, when they have stopped you can take the tape off, at the same time encourage your cat away to a cardboard scratcher, the larger ones work better, also make sure you put some catnip onto the scratcher . Your other option is to put pepper on or around the area.

Answer 4

Once a cat starts spraying in a certain spot it will continue to do so, no matter how well you clean it.

You may need to get rid of the chair and get a different one.

Not quite sure what you mean about "uses the restroom in the bathroom floor." If you mean she doesn't use her litter pan, then perhaps it's not clean enough for her. Or perhaps she can't get to it in time or it's in too visible/high traffic spot.

Answer 5

go to petco and buy a can of simple solution. it is a indoor/outdoor repellent to keep them from going to the bathroom inside and it helps with the spraying too. i have 2 male cats and a male dog and it worked on all 3 i sprayed it on my couch and floors and it housebroke my dog and stopped the cats from spraying. if your kids are small i would do it when they are outside because it does have a slight odor but it is not that bad it is better than cat spray and urine. try it i hope it works!

Answer 6

Stop Cat Peeing Outside LitterBox : http://tinyurl.com/g2lf36TTO4

Answer 7

Sounds like she might have a urinary tract infection. I had two that would do the same thing when they got sick. One would urinate on the couch, the floor, the rug - everywhere. The other was nice enough to do it in the bathtub. My advice is to take her to the vet and see what he/she has to say.

Answer 8

hmmm well females cats do not usually spray, it sounds like she may have something wrong with her urinary tract.
my reccomendation: take her to the vets to make sure shes okay - just because her litter box has stuff in it doesnt mean somtehing isnt wrong.
if shes healthy, then im not sure what to tell you :\

Answer 9

Take her to the vet. She may have a urinary tract issue that can be easily fixed. This is a common issue with some kitties, and can usually be cured.

Answer 10

at certain pet places, they sell these sprays that cats think are absolutly vulgar, and you spray it on whatever they were spraying and it usually works. I know someone who had the same problem and it worked for her.