Stop Cat From Spraying

There are a number of reasons why cats mark:

- Territoriality: the cat is letting other cats know that the marked area is "his" territory

- To communicate sexual availability

- Out of stress or anxiety

- A change of location: some cats will begin to mark when their owners move house

- If a new animal or human is introduced to the house

- Because of overcrowding (too many other cats in the house)

- The cat is receiving less attention than normal

- A significant change in lifestyle or routine (for example, the owner gets a full-time job; someone moves out of home; the house is renovated)

Steps you can take which are likely to either significantly reduce, or stop entirely, your cat's marking:

- Take him for a checkup

There are a huge number of reasons why your cat is choosing to urinate outside the litter box. He may be marking, or there may be a medical cause for the behavior. Before you can decide on appropriate treatment, you need to rule out health-related causes for the inappropriate elimination. Take him to the vet for a urinalysis and an overall checkup, to make sure that there are no medical reasons for his behavior.

- Neuter your cat

Neuter your cat immediately. This is the single most effective thing you can do to stop your cat's spraying, and if you hope to get any control at all over the issue, it's pretty much mandatory.

- Behavioral modification

Behavior modification is a method of controlling your cat's spraying, although it will require a considerable investment of time and effort on your behalf. You'll need to supervise your cat closely, paying attention to where and when he marks. The use of tools like water pistols and shake cans (a tin can with ten pennies or a handful of pebbles inside - when shaken, it makes a loud, scary noise) speed the process up when you startle him out of continuing by either spraying him with the water pistol or shaking the can vigorously.

'Redesignate' the areas which he tends to mark in can also help: cats don't like to spray in areas where they eat, sleep, and play. If he marks in particular places around the home (as opposed to indiscriminately), put his food bowls next to the spot, play with him there, and put his bed there.

- Make things easy for your cat

Treatment for marking is based around removing your cat's motivation to mark in the first place. The most common reasons for marking is territoriality: he could be feeling threatened by the presence of strange cats around the house, or he could be experiencing some conflict with another cat(s) in the house. So, to control his marking behavior, you need to minimize his need to act in a defensive, territorial way.

If the problem's based around a situation in the home, you'll need to pay attention to how your cats are interacting, and then separate the cats that have issues with each other. Keep them in separate rooms, with separate litter boxes and food bowls. This doesn't have to be a permanent thing - once the spraying has stopped, give them at least another week of separation and then you can gradually reintroduce them.

Make sure that there are enough litter boxes in the house: there should be at least one more than the total number of cats. If you have a multi-level house, make sure there's at least one box per floor, and see that they're all cleaned regularly.

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