The Lee County Humane Society receives almost 3000 cats each year at our facility. Most are brought to us as strays or from families who can no longer care for them for various reasons. One of the more common behavior reasons for relinquishment is urine spraying.
Urine spraying is a very unattractive (at best) activity that mostly male cats do. While female cats can and do spray most often it is a male marking his territory. Dealing with urine spraying behavior is difficult and with the right strategy can be overcome.
The American Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) offers some insight into how best to deal with urine spraying-
- Neuter or spay the spraying cat.
- Identify the reasons why your cat may be spraying. For instance, if your cat is reacting to the sight of cats outside, block your cat’s view. If your cat is reacting to the scent of cats outside, possibly through a screen door or from odors on your shoes, prevent your cat from coming into contact with these scents. Keep the door closed and remove shoes outside, before entering the home.
- Discourage cats from hanging around outside your house. Motion-activated devices, such as the Critter Gitter™, the Scarecrow™, or the Scraminal™, all function to frighten outdoor cats away. The Scat Mat™ and the Sofa Saver™ can be used to keep outdoor cats away from doors and windows.
- If your cat is spraying in one or a few locations, you can make these areas less appealing, using some type of booby trap, such as Ssscat™. Ssscat™ is a motion-activated device that sprays the cat with a harmless but unpleasant aerosol. Alternatively, you can put out an “unwelcome mat” for the cat by placing foil, plastic wrap, or upside-down vinyl carpet runner where your cat sprays. Be aware that cats often just choose a new spot to spray.
- You can also try eliciting a different behavior in the sprayed locations. Place items that stimulate behaviors incompatible with spraying, such as the food dish or toys, in the spots.
- You can try placing a litter box in each location. If the cat is spraying on the wall beside the litter box, try attaching a liner on the wall and drape it down into the box. Should the cat spray there, the urine at least will drip down into the box.
- Spray Feliway™ in the areas where your cat is spraying. Feliway™ is a synthetic pheromone designed to elicit calm, friendly behavior in cats. Research supports the claim that Feliway™ reduces indoor urine spraying.
- If the spraying is due to conflict among resident cats, you should seek counsel on resolving the conflict. You may need to separate the cats or at least isolate the spraying cat until you are able to restore harmony. If this is not possible, re-homing to reduce your numbers may be the only viable solution. A spraying cat might not spray at all in a new home with fewer cats.
- If you can do so safely, allowing the cat to spend time outside sometimes results in the cat spraying outside the home rather than inside. Building a large wire enclosure for the cat outside may be sufficient to stimulate him to spray outdoors.
- WHAT NOT TO DO: Do not punish the cat by hitting, spanking, or slapping for spraying. Similarly, do not take the cat to the area and admonish him. This might well teach the cat to be afraid of you. The cat may actually spray more if he is stressed by the punishment.
If you have a cat that urine sprays hopefully one of these ideas will help you. Too often owners give up on their cats without exhausting their options. That is when they end up passed around from home to home, abandoned to care for themselves or brought to the local humane society. A little patience and persistence will go a long way.
The Humane Society Weekly Wish: We always need cat litter, bleach and towels.
Jack Fisher
Lee County Humane
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