Urine marking is pretty easy to notice on your furniture and walls. Your adorable cat will back up, release a little bit of urine, and kick at it a couple of times with their back legs. It seems strange, but look at where they do it. Cats spray in strategic places that are important, telling everyone that they are the true owners of the house.
Why do cats spray?
Most of the time your cat sprays when there are other cats around. That will trigger the territorial instincts that have been dormant. Even if you have multiple cats that seem to get along well, you might find that some urine marking happens because they are naturally insecure. There are plenty of other things that can cause cat spray; stray cats, strange visitors, changes to their routine, new furniture, or even if you smell like a friends pet when you come home.
Marking with feces, on the other hand, isn’t common at all. If this happens, it is usually due to a certain person. If your pillow, clothing, or bed is frequently marked with feces then you might need to rethink your relationship and treatment of your cat. A trip to your veterinarian may be necessary.
How to stop cat spray problems
In order to successfully treat the urine marking problem, you are going to have to figure out the root of the problem. This could be a variety of things, like those mentioned above. Behaviour modification will help greatly with this if you are looking for the best chances of success.
Most commonly cat marking comes from cats that aren’t neutered. If this is the case, having your cat neutered should be the first step in solving the problem. For 90% of all cases, this will stop it quickly and forever.
If you want to stop the problem before it ever comes up you should be having them neutered before they are six months old. Every study that has been done has found that if you perform the procedure early in life there are virtually no downsides.
The final things that you can try for small problems with cat marking are medication, pheromone therapy, and other Cat Training Aids.
