Moving into apartment with cat that sprays - HELP!

I am looking for some tips on preventing a cat from spraying when
moving into a new apartment.

I'll give you some background....about ten years ago my sister got 2
brother cats and lived in an apartment with them for a couple of
years. They were both neutered and had no spraying incidents at the apartment. Simba is a very nonchalant cat. Likes just
about everybody and is always around. Dragon has a dominant
personality. He is very distant and does not like to be around much.
My sister moved back home to our parents house about 3 years later. My
parents have had cats our entire lives and different bathroom accidents
have taken place throughout their house over the years with various
kitties. We had a male cat that lived there for 22 years and passed
away about a year before they moved back home. Only one older female
cat remained when they moved home. She passed away shortly after their arrival.

Dragon started spraying gradually over the years. The vet said it was
behavioural. I moved home for about 8 months with my male and female
cat and Dragon sprayed constantly. Even though we had them
quarantined from eachother. I moved out about a year and a half ago
and he still sprays (not as often though). My sister and I are
looking for any advice on starting fresh with Dragon in a new
apartment because she will be moving out in the next couple of
months. She is going to purchase some feliway diffusers to put
throughout the apartment. And purchase a collar to spray with feliway
for him to wear.

We are hoping that he will not feel territorial in a new apartment
but can't expect this. Especially if other cats lived in the
apartment before they arrived.

My sister does not really want to give him medication but would
consider going with something more natural.

Thank you in advance for any advice given!
Take care

I wonder if rescue remedy would work?

What is rescue remedy? Where can it be purchased? Have you heard it being used for cats that spray and being successful?

Thanks for responding by the way:thumbs up

Also... your sister could ask the landlord if there have been cats/dogs in the apartment before. If the answer is yes then before the cats are moved (stressful in itself) your sister should go through the apartment with Nature's Miracle or some other enzyme cleaner and thoroughly clean the apartment. Even if the carpets, etc. have been cleaned by the landlord. You may not be able to smell old urine but the cat sure can.

http://www.tisol.ca/content/pet_supplies/natures_miracle.asp

You can also try Feliway. Chico uses it because her cat Rocky was spraying and she says it's really helped him stop.

AG,unfortunately he is at it again:yell:I have to go on pee-patrol every morning,it's really,really frustrating.
The Feli-Ways worked great for a long time,but don't seem to work anymore:sad:

Oh chico that's terrible. Maybe you just have to stop using it for a couple of months so they can sort of start over again.

khari, ok let's see if I understand this correctly...you and your sister are going to be sharing a new apartment with all four cats? Yes, it will be too much for Dragon to expect not to mark his "new territory", given his history of spraying and his personality of not being very social. I haven't had any experience with those Feliway diffusers, so don't know whether they really work or not. Your vet is right that Dragon's behaviour is likely behaviourial. You might ask your vet to put him on some sort of calming medication a couple weeks before you move and keep him on it for a month afterwards and gradually wean him off it. Spraying is about marking terrority, but also can be a reaction to stress. Some cats can tolerate other cats around in a confined area, but some can't.

By the way Bach "Rescue Remedy" is a homeopathic medicine (mostly alcohol), found in health food stores, or homeopathic section of a pharmacy. Some people have found it useful by putting a few drops in the drinking water. I'm not completely convinced it works, but who knows? :fingerscr Good luck!

Just wanted to give an update on the move into the one bedroom apartment on the 3rd floor...

My sister started giving Dragon some of the Bach Pet rescue Remedy and Anaflora flower Essences "Cat Spraying formula" about a week before the move. She also started to transition him to a wet grainfree diet (all his urinalysis came up with was a PH of 7 and a bit of bacteria). So we are more convinced that the spraying is due to territorial/behavior. She did not take anything into the apartment that had been sprayed on (ie. dressers, bookcases, blankets, clothing, rubbermaid containers, boxes, etc.). She has 2 litterboxes. She plugged in 2 feliway diffusers (one in the hallway and one in the living room). She has continued the flower essence and RR. So far - fingers crossed :fingerscr:fingerscr it is now almost 2 weeks in the apartment and no spraying incidents. Also, being on the 3rd floor may be good because no cats around on the balcony in his territory. As of now she keeps her bedroom door closed when she is not home.

We are very optimistic for the future....:):)

As of right now we can't say what is helping with his progress or if anything is really helping but she will definately continue to replace the feliway diffusers and continue the cat spraying formula. In another 2 weeks she will take him off of the RR.

Here are some flower essence websites if anybody is interested (if you do searches on the internet you can sometimes find them cheaper):

http://www.anaflora.com/index.htm

http://www.bachflower.com/Pets.htm

http://www.spiritessence.com/

http://www.essencesonline.com/AusBushmain.htm

Khari, thanks for the update, often people don't bother and we wonder what happened. Glad to hear everything's working out so far. It doesn't really matter what's working to eliminate the spraying, as long as it is working. It's a good idea to decrease one of the remedies gradually as planned. Sounds like your sister is doing everything right. Here's hoping Dragon continues to be a good boy. :fingerscr :cat: