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Spraying - The Message Your Cat Uses To Tell You Something Is |
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Written by Celia Haddon
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 We humans have poor noses compared with cats, but nevertheless there is one moment when cats get through to us using scent. It is when they start spraying. That sweet little darling moggie, who purrs and rubs itself round our legs, suddenly decides to mark its territory in a new way with urine. And, boy, does it mark. The pungent smell seems to last forever.
Cats spray from an upright position, tail held high and quivering. It is a way of marking territory so that the e urine will be against a wall or object. Upright spraying is always marking behaviour. Squatting urination can sometimes be marking behaviour particularly if the cat is marking either new objects or in places smelling of the owner (like the bed). Squatting urine marking territory is usually small amounts that are extra smelly. A cat usually has a vacant expression on its face and a twitching tail when it is doing marking urination, whether upright or squatting. In addition to this, marking urination is often done at entry exit points like doorways and windows, on new items, on objects that are on a cat walkway ie the normal path it takes round the house.
If your cat is squatting and urinating large amounts, it may just be relieving itself rather than marking its territory. Always check that the cat is in good health with a vet just in case of cystitis etc. Ordinary urination usually occurs in secluded places like behind furniture or in rooms that are rarely used.
So I shall talk about spraying but I also mean squatting urination when this appears to be territory marking. Spraying is not always easy to eradicate. If you can afford it, I strongly advise getting help from a cat behaviour counsellor.
Get help fast
The longer you leave this, the more difficult it will be to change. If you decide to try and treat this yourself, do not go in for half measures or try to save time or money! Half measures will not get you anywhere! Put in the effort NOW. If your cat has been spraying for some time, ask for my long term spraying sheet.
Never punish or even scold the cat. Anxious or frightened cats spray more rather than less.
Which cats spray?
Unneutered toms spray most. But castrated males and females (spayed or not spayed) will also sometimes spray. Spraying can be set off because of competition with other cats -- outdoor strays, neighbour's mogs, an intruding fox, or even cats within the same household. Sometimes cats spray in the breeding season only. Sometimes they spray because of a change in household routine. Spend time working out where the marks are and what they might mean. Ask yourself what might have triggered this behaviour.
If you have more than one cat in the household do not assume you know which cat is spraying unless you have seen it happen. If necessary confine each cat separately to a room, in order to find out which is doing the business. Sometimes one cat spraying will set off the other and both or all are doing it.
Check with the vet that there is no physical reason for a change in behaviour. In the case of territory marking from a squatting position, for instance, cystitis etc might be involved. And if you have more than one cat, don¹t assume you know which is doing it. If you haven¹t seen it happening with your own eyes, you might be wrong.
Treatment
There is a new product called Feliway, by Sanofi, which vets can prescribe, which claims to help stop spraying. You will need to use Feliway for 30 days or more, sprayed daily on all the urination areas. In severe cases or if the cats are indoor cats use it twice daily. The aim is to use Feliway as often as the cat is patrolling and marking its territory. If the cat is marking three times a day, then use it three times a day. Be lavish. If you don¹t use enough, it will not work.
The alternative treatment (much more work but no cost) is to use the scent off the cat¹s own facial glands. This may be more effective, but it is only possible if your cat will not be spooked by it. Take a soft clean cotton cloth (hankie?) and gently pet the cat under the chin, round its eyes and cheeks. Then wipe this cloth on all the urination areas. Do this daily. If you have a nervous cat, anxious about petting, this may not be possible so use Feliway. Do not persist, in this case, as the cat will become stressed and spray more..
Clean Up First
If you plan to use Feliway, you must clean previous sprayed areas with biological washing liquid, very thoroughly rinsed off with hot water, and, after it has dried or been dried with a hair dryer, rubbed throughly with ethanol, pure alcohol available from chemists. (Meths won¹t do; surgical spirit might be OK if you can¹t get enthanol). You must rinse thoroughly after the biological washing liquid and you must rub thoroughly with ethanol. Any other kind of cleaning product like disinfectants or bleaches will stop Feliway working. As well as cleaning sprayed areas, place the waterbowl, feeding tray perhaps with dried food, or cat bed there. Cats don't like to urinate near their bedding or their food.
Be thorough
Cats are programmed to urinate where they have urinated before, so you have to get rid of as much of the smell as possible.
If you don't want to use Feliway and will use your own cat's facial gland, scrub everywhere there has been urine with biological washing liquid, then rinse thoroughly. Send soft furnishings and curtains off to be dry cleaned. Throw away soiled rugs or send off for thorough cleaning. Never use disinfectant or any kind of household cleaning product with scent in it. The scent of pine, for instance, smells like urine to cats. Dry with hair dryer if necessary. The vets also sell odour products that block the odour to cats (not always humans). These are also worth trying.
After Cleaning, Treat The Site
Spray with Feliway or use the cotton cloth technique daily for 30 days (twice daily if necessary) on the site used for spraying. Add a bit of Feliway at cat chin height round the rest of cat¹s walkways in the house to make it feel relaxed this need not be quite so lavishly or so frequently used. As well as the Feliway or the chin scent, place food bowls with dried food and cat beds on or near the spraying site. Cats do not spray where they dine or sleep.
So far so good
After lavish amounts of Feliway the cat has stopped marking its territory, but will this last? Cats spray for a reason usually stress of some kind. If you don't get rid of the stress, it will happen again. Next issue, I will deal with the underlying stresses which lead to spraying, and what you can do about them.
Celia Haddon, Daily Telegraph. Visit my website at www.celiahaddon.co.uk
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