Understanding Cat Spraying and Marking Behavior

From lions, to the tabby next door, cats possess a certain subtlety and unspoken purpose in everything they do.

Marking Behavior in cats is normal behavior and is an important part of “nonverbal” communication between cats, helping to establish and define boundaries and reassure the cat that the area is familiar.

Marking of territory involves the spraying of urine and the deposition of other “pheromones” from glands strategically located on your cat’s body.

Glands are located in the facial area, around the tail region and even in the foot pads.

Researchers have identified more than 17 different substance acting as chemical markers (pheromones) in cats.

The commonly observed behavior of a cat “rubbing” its face/cheek against objects is an instinctual behavior that releases facial pheromones, communicating that the area is familiar and safe.

The presence of facial pheromones has been shown to have a calming effect on cats.

Urine Spraying

If your cat can see or smell a visiting cat outside the house or is confronted with new furniture or a new pet or person in the household…

This could be sufficient stimulus for your cat to “spray” in an attempt to define boundaries and confirm their social standing.

Analogous pheromone sprays, like Feliway, are a great tool for reducing domain boundary angst.

By applying this synthetically imitated facial pheromone, you remove the uncertainty of an unfamiliar environment, or interloper.

It is possible that your cat could be “marking” and breaking its litter training simultaneously, although they happen for different reasons.

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Do Male Cats Spray?

When you are a cat owner, the smell of cat urine anywhere in your house other than the litter box is definitely not a pleasant one.

You may be surprised to find out that male cats, while they are the more common gender of cats do actually spray, and are not the only ones, female cats will also spray as well.

Male cats that have not been neutered will usually start spraying by the time they reach the age of about 5 to 12 months old.

There are may different reasons that can affect the age at which your tom cat starts to spray.

Do Female Cats Spray?

That nasty smell that you feel wandering around your house can’t be from the spray of your female kitty, can it?

You are certain that only male cats are able to spray and in fact, that’s why you got a female in the first place.

Well, the truth is that you’ve been wrong.

Why Do Cats Spray

In the wild, cats use spraying, or urine marking as a way to communicate with one another.

Unlike dogs, which are pack animals and typically travel, hunt and eat in packs with each other, cats will venture out on the their own and claim their own territories.

One way of communicating with other cats to let them know that they have wandered into their territory is to mark their area by spraying.

This form of scent marking is still used in domestic house cats, even though they are no longer in the wild.

To teach them to stop this unwanted behaviour, you will need to figure out why they are scent marking in the first place.

This is important as you will have to know how to properly react to this annoying behaviour.

The first thing that you need to determine is whether or not your cat is actually spraying.

That’s right – it could just be urinating.

The way to tell the difference is to examine your cats behaviour.

If your cat cat stands in an upright position near a horizontal surface and it eliminates a teeny-tiny amount of urine, then it’s definitely spraying.

On the other hand, if your cat has squat and it’s eliminating a substantial quantity of urine then it’s most certainly not spraying – it’s urinating.

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Why is This Important?

Well, cats are creatures of habit and if your cat is peeing outside litter box then there is a reason for this.

Most commonly, it would have something against the substance that the litter box is filled with but on occasion this could be a symptom of a serious health-related issue such as kidney failure, diabetes or arthritis.

That’s why you absolutely have to take it to the vet and have it checked out.

Whether it’s a male or a female, the reason is always going to be the same.

And cats need to mark their territory when there is a sudden change in their environment.

That’s why if you are planning a total remodeling of your home then you might expect to get a few sprays here and there – that’s rather natural.

However, if you want to make sure that this never happens you might want to take a few things into consideration.

You can use specifically designated sprays to go over the area which is targeted and ensure that your cat does not spray on that area again.

Quite frankly, that’s the most effective solution that you should go for.

However, you have to make sure that you get your pet examined by a professional just to make sure that this isn’t related to any complicated medical condition that could pose danger to its health.

How to Tell if Your Cat is Spraying

You will be able to determine if your cat is in fact spraying and not having just a litter box issue if they urinate small amounts onto a vertical surface.

When a cat is actually urinating, you will find they will eliminate much larger amounts of urine onto a horizontal surface.

When cats are spraying this is not just a litter box issue, but an issue with marking their territory to communicate with other cats around them.

This is especially the case if you have other cats in the same household.

If you have noticed any stray cats hanging around your house, this could be another reason that your cat has started spraying.

You may notice that they will mark their territory around the windows and doors in hopes of letting the other cats in the area know they have wandered into their zone.

One way to stop your cat from spraying is to have them spayed or neutered.

This is typically one of the simplest solutions to get them to stop after they have reached six months old.

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How to Stop Your Cat Spraying Using a Litter Box

In order to try and figure out how to treat the issue of your cat’s elimination problem, you will have to determine if in fact you are experiencing an issue with your cat spraying or if it is just a litter box issue.

To treat a litter box issue, you may want to make sure that the litter box is cleaned a few times a day and fresh.

Additionally, your cat may have an issue with the type of litter you are using.

Try out a few different types of litter boxes to determine the type that your cat likes the best.

For spraying, it may be a good idea to speak with your vet to figure out how to properly treat the issue.

Best Litter Box For Cats That Spray

So what is the best litter box for cats especially for cats that spray.

First of all let us talk a little about why it is your cat may not be using the litter box because the last thing you want is cat pee every where in your house.

There are many reasons why your cat is not using the litter box, one of the first things to consider is the placement of the litter box.

The Right Location for the Litter Box

The location of the box can play a big part in whether or not your cat will use the litter box in the first place, can your cat easily get to the box make sure all doors are open leading to the box.

Try and place the litter box where your cat will be happy to use it and where it is convenient to use,use more than one box in your home ideally one box per floor.

If you have many cats you will need more boxes, let your cat feel safe when peeing and not afraid of being attacked while in a vulnerable situation.

Do not place the litter box near to the cats food and water or sleeping area.

Cats are very clean and fussy animals and do not like to smell their pee odor near their food and so will normally pee some distance away from their den.

Is Your Cat Spraying or is it Peeing?

Is your cat spraying or is it peeing?

If your cat is spraying this might be a reason your cat is not using the litter box.

Cats spray to mark their territory as a warning to other nearby cats that this is their territory and to stay away.

You can tell if a cat is spraying because when they spray they will do so by backing their rear end up to a vertical surface and squirting a small amount of urine onto the surface.

When cats pee they do this by squatting down and peeing much larger amounts onto horizontal surfaces.

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Types of Litter Box

When it come knowing what the best cat litter boxes are it can be a tricky question to answer, as this will depend on your particular cat and what is the best litter box for your cat.

First you need to make sure the litter box is big enough fro your cat, some boxes come with a lid on and are fully enclosed with maybe only an entry point.

Cats are nervous animals and when it comes to covered litter boxes your cat may become more anxious as there is no quick escape route and therefore may not use this type of covered box.

A regular open sided type of litter box or litter tray may be more suitable for a cat that doesn’t like covered litter boxes.

Covered litter boxes can smell a bit more because the urine odor becomes trapped inside longer and this is another reason a cat will avoid using this type of box.

It will come down to trail and error when it comes to finding the best litter box for cats as they are all individuals.

One cat may find it prefers using covered litter boxes as these give the cat some privacy and they feel safe, whereas another cat will be nervous about using a covered box and prefer a regular tray.

Stop Cats Spraying Indoors – The Smart Way

Is your cat periodically urine marking certain spots of your house on the inside?

If so, then it’s highly likely that it is spraying.

However, the first thing that you have to do is to determine whether the cat is actually spraying, or it is simply peeing and why cats spray indoors .

When they are urine spraying they tend to stand in an upright position, and they are only going to eliminate an insignificant amount of urine on a vertical surface.

If your cat is urinating it is usually going to squat, and it’s most certainly going to eliminate a larger quantity of urine on a horizontal surface.

In any case, you should thoroughly understand that if you can’t determine which if these is it you should call an expert and have him check your cat out.

This is because there are numerous conditions that could, in fact, cause your cat to urine outside of the litter box that you have set apart.

Some of them include kidney failure, arthritis or diabetes.

However, if your cat isn’t urinating but it’s only marking with sprays, there are a few things that you can do to get rid of this annoying problem.

If you want to stop the cat spraying indoors, you have to take the following into consideration.

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Determine What Causes the Spraying

You should know that this is one of the most common and normal ways for the cat to communicate with others.

The truth is that they may leave small urine marks on vertical and horizontal surfaces, and they can even occasionally defecate.

The majority of cats that are usually going to spray are male which haven’t yet been neutered as the hormones are playing a major role in this process.

Check With Your Vet

The first thing you should consider is to check in with your vet if your cat doesn’t have any health-related issues.

On the other hand, you might want to see for yourself if there are any environment changes in your home – have you moved furniture or changed upholstery, for instance.

This could be one of the reasons.

However, if you truly want to stop cat spraying indoors, you have to take advantage of certain products that are offered on the market.

There are cat pee deterrent sprays which are going to prevent your cat from spraying on the same location again.

The first thing you need to do is to thoroughly clean the sprayed area and use the spray that you bought on it, and you can be sure that it won’t spray again.

Of course, there are other ways, but this is without a doubt the most potent one.