Stop the Spraying

A cat’s spraying habits can be one of the worst problems for you and your cat. The smell and stains are terrible and they can be really hard to get rid of.  Most cats spray to mark their territory; they also mark their territory by rubbing against things as well. But fear not! You can try these things to get your cat to stop the spraying.

Cat’s spray when they feel threatened. First off check for stresses to the cat: Have you just moved in to a new place? Is there someone new in your life? Are there other cats lurking around your home?  These could all be the reason why your cat is spraying. Try to remove the stressor first, by keeping stray cats away and introducing your new pet to your home.

It could also be an illness that is causing your cat to use the loo outside its box. If the problem persists after trying the step below, go ahead and schedule a check up at the vet just to be sure there is not a bigger issue afoot.

The ways to stop the unwanted spraying are:

Clean Safely. Make sure that when you are cleaning the area that has been sprayed not to use harsh chemicals or bleaches. These first will hurt your cat’s lungs but also cat’s feel the need to remark the area. So use a mild soap or pet safe cleaner to disinfect the area and do the following suggestions post clean up.

Mark the territory for your cat. Pheromones are the cat’s natural scent that they leave on objects. They can leave this scent by rubbing their body against something or by spraying. You can help stop the spraying by doing this for the cat. This can be done two ways.

1. First you can get your cat’s pheromones by rubbing a towel or cloth between their eye and ear. This will put their pheromones onto the towel. You can then rub the towel against several spots in your home paying particular attention to the spaces that they are marking. This will leave your cat’s scent without the mess and other not so pleasant scents.
2. The second way to leave a scent is to buy artificial pheromones. These are vet tested and said to be side effect free. Simply plug in the small device to the wall and the fan will circulate the pheromones around your home removing the need for your cat to spray.

Place a cat’s toy or objects near where the spraying occurred. Familiar things and scents can deter the cat from spraying. Also check to make sure the cat has an area of its own. Make sure every cat in your home has their own area, that way they do not feel the need to mark their territory and do not feel threatened by the other felines in your home.

Place food in the sprayed area, of course after it is cleaned with a mild soap.  Cats will never go to the bathroom where they eat. So moving their food to the ‘spraying’ spot might help to deter this behaviour.

Cats generally only spray when they are threatened and unhappy. Taking a little extra time with your cat and having some more playtime could put them at ease as well.

If you know any other tricks to keep cats from spraying, please post them below.

Image by ewelandonobel