Cat spraying in house

[vfrohloff]

AAAAARGH! I love my pets dearly, but one of the reasons I don't tend to adopt male cats is because they sometimes spray in the house. Well, Benson my new one has taken to doing this. He never does it in front of me, and I think he does it either late at night or when I'm not home. Yesterday I found a cat spray on the kitchen counter, EEEEWWWW! I will put up with a lot from my cats, but spraying on my counter is something I can't handle. Is there anything I can do about this? We've only had him 3 weeks so maybe he is trying to establish his territory, but he is a non-aggressive cat. Will this change when he has been here a while? I have 5 other cats and maybe he isn't comfortable with so many others around? He pees regularly in the kitty litter, but this is spraying which is different. I don't want to have to find him a new home, but seriously, I can't take cat pee on surfaces I put my food on.

[badger]

If he isn't neutered, have it done immediately. This is a problem of integration. He's suddenly on the home turf of five other cats and feels the need to mark out the territory for himself, even if there's no conflict (is there? this would up the ante.)
I have brought quite a few males in from the cold and if they are 'sprayers', it is usually taken care of by neutering and by slowly introducing them to my other cats. You may have to confine him, at least until he is neutered.
Also, although it seems like a purely behavioural problem, when you take him for his neutering, ask the vet to check for any urinary problems.
There are cleaners available to get rid of the smell - regular cleaners, even bleach, are not sufficient.
Don't get mad at him! He's only following his instincts.
My last culprit was a young, freaked-out male, who began by spraying my cutlery drawer. EWWW! But once he was neutered and found his niche in the group, everything was resolved.
You also need to train him not to go on surfaces where he is not welcome (ie counters, tables, etc). Apparently cats hate tinfoil; if you lay out a couple of sheets on places where they insist on going, they learn to avoid them. Haven't tried this yet. A loud NO works for me.
Good luck!

[vfrohloff]

He was neutered by his previous owner at 6 months of age. He is 7 years old now. I only got him a few weeks ago from the vet and he was perfectly healthy. I have watched him in the litter box today and he pees normally, with no sign of discomfort. He is an otherwise happy cat. There are conflicts in the house between 2 of my other cats but they don't involve Benson. I think the stress of integrating into a multi cat household is bothering him. I will try tinfoil on the counter. Has anyone ever tried Feliway? Does it work?

[BMDLuver]

Just out of curiousity, how do you know it's the new cat that is doing this?

I've heard feliway is costly but effective.

[happycats]

It's tough, but if you know for sure it's the new guy (as BMD said) you can get medication to calm him until he adjusts (I hear colmacalm (sp) ) works great, and rescue remedy.
I also heard they sell diapers for spraying cats (I think they are called "stud pants") . This may be able to control it until he finds his place in your house.

[Inverness]

Male cats are not the only ones to develop inappropriate urination patterns when under stress. Females also do it, so this really has nothing to do with the fact that you've adopted a male. There is indeed no reason to think the new cat is the one to blame here, as one of your other cats may be protesting against this new intruder. Introducing a new cat in a household is always a little tricky and it usually works better if you go slowly. Would you happen to have a spare room, even better one separated by a glass door ? If so, this is where the new cat should go for a while, until everyone has settled down. Once your cats and the newcomer all seem relaxed, and if you have a glass door, if they seem to tolerate each other through the door and even be curious about one another, you can start slowly introducing them for small periods, but never leaving them together when you are not there to supervise. Gradually increase the time they spend together until there doesn't seem to be too much fuss anymore. If you find puddles of urine again, go back, since it's a message you've gone too quickly and your cats are stressed out.

I've also heard Feliway works quite well. I would give it a shot. I personnaly would not use Clomicalm before I've tried everything else, especially since you don't know which cat is having a hard time with the situation. However, do put either Rescue Remedy or VC-15 in all your cats' water bowls until the whole situation has resolved. This should ease the transition.

Good luck !

[cpietra16]

completely agree with Iverness....when fosters come into the house my cats will smell under the door for days and growl...Most of my cats are ok with it in a few weeks or a month,then I open the door... but one of my cats, a female will pee in every place that the new arrivals slept on...I never had this problem with any of my males except;only her.Now in my case, and it may not be the same for you, I came to realize that this is her personality and she will always pee no matter how often I say no..

[chico2]

My 10yr old neutered Tabby,Rocky,sprays whenever he feels insecure about something,mostly when he sees another cat outside.
Since I am home most of the time,I can watch him and if he starts turning his butt against something,I say a loud NO and he stops.
He was on calming meds from the vet,but I stopped did not like the side-effects.
Where do you get Feli-Way from?? The vet??
No matter what Rocky does,he will stay with me,but I have almost given up on the spraying problem,I just keep cleaning it up.

[vfrohloff]

Actually Inverness, I DO have reason to think it is the new cat. I am not in the habit of blaming my cats for things if I'm not sure who did it. I know it is Benson because the spray was on the kitchen counter, and Benson was the only cat who was downstairs that day. I had just washed the floor in his room so I put him in the kitchen while I went to the store. 4 of the others were outside, and one was locked in her room because she picks on the dogs when I am not home (yes, 2 of my cats have their own bedroom, is that funny or what?!). We have had a problem with Benson jumping on the counter since we got him, and he sprayed in the exact spot he always jumps on. He has also sprayed in his room when he is in there alone. He sprayed the other day when he got locked in the bathroom for 5 minutes. I thought he was doing fine adjusting, but for now I will keep him in his room and let him out for only a little bit each day when I'm home.

Chico2: I ordered Feliway online (from Ebay actually). You can get the spray which I hear is really good, but I also ordered the diffuser. It is like a glade plug-in, but it's Feliway. We can't smell it, but the cats will and it is supposed to calm them. I should get it next week, I'll let you know how it works.

[Katze]

I agree with all the advice wise and council of the previous posters. I have had alot of experience with innappropriate spraying as well. One more thing which you might try, is to spend a daily 20- 60 minute bonding session with this new kitty away from the others ( lots of cuddles toys catnip, cookies, and brushing). I have had success with using method with a couple of my guys, when I was beginning to give up all hope ( I mean even the coffee machine had been hit a few mornings !! blech!). They really do need lots of reassurance and affection, specially when they are new, or have been through any traumatic life change.

[chico2]

Katze,I agree,but my Rocky does not fit in to that category,I've had him since he was 8 weeks(now 10yrs),I adore him(spraying and all)he came from a barn-cat mom.He has full reign of the house,gets along with my other 2 cats,Vinnie and Chico.He is probably the smartest cat I've ever had.
We are home with them every day,even take them outside for a while every day.
However he has a HUGE problem with strange cats in "his"backyard as if they were a threat to him,even though he would see them from the inside.
We are just in the process of removing the carpet in my livingroom,the only room with carpeting,replacing it with a woodfloor,much because of Rockys spraying:sad: It's usually only a trickle,but enough to smell after a while..and he does not have UTI.
VFrohlof,I am oldfashioned I don't really want to deal with EBay,but I am interested to find out how the Feli-Way works out!