Go Back   Pet forum for dogs cats and humans - Pets.ca > Discussion Groups - mainly cats and dogs > General Forum for cats and dogs

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old January 28th, 2015, 02:03 AM
Kittyfostermom's Avatar
Kittyfostermom Kittyfostermom is offline
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: Calgary, Alberta
Posts: 2
Neutered male still spraying?

I brought home my new foster kitty today (#43 in my roster!), he's here to gain some weight. He was found as a stray at approx 5 months old. He's my first male foster since I adopted my 2 girls Pepper & Indy- 5 and 7 months old. I've seen him use the litter box, and when he has to go I've watched him stop playing and run to their box in my laundry room but I can smell a strong urine odour in my bedroom and by my front door. There's no sign of accidents, I've gotten down on hands & knees to check. is it possible he's spraying even though he's neutered? Both of my girls are spayed as well. If this is a normal occurrence I may have to stick with female fosters, my landlord won't be too happy if I return a literal pee pad to him! If it's an uncommon behavioural thing specific to this kitty I'd like to work on it so he doesn't end up back at the shelter.
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old January 28th, 2015, 03:00 PM
sugarcatmom's Avatar
sugarcatmom sugarcatmom is offline
Senior Contributor
 
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Calgary, AB
Posts: 5,357
How long ago was he neutered? Sometimes it can take a few months for the hormones to work their way out of their system, especially if they've already reached sexual maturity.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Kittyfostermom View Post
There's no sign of accidents, I've gotten down on hands & knees to check. is it possible he's spraying even though he's neutered?
One way to check for urine marking is with a portable UV light, like this one:

You can find them at some pet supply stores (I know The Cat House on 16th Ave. N.W. has some). Make sure it's dark out and you turn off all your lights when you use it. Urine glows bright yellowish/green under UV.

So, once you've determined if there is some sprayin going on, the next thing you'll want to do is eliminate its existence so kitty doesn't keep getting reminded that he needs to re-spray those spots. I personally am a big fan of Zero Odor Pet (also found at The Cat House and at Fairplay), and although it isn't cheap, I think it works better than any of the other products I've tried (including Nature's Miracle). Multiple applications are sometimes required in heavily sprayed areas. Don't be stingy with it!

As for why your foster boy might be marking, again, could be residual hormones, could also be from stress (I have a stress sprayer myself), or it might not actually be "marking" but more to do with elimination (as in, perhaps he didn't like the cat litter at first, or the boxes weren't clean enough for his liking at the time, or he was confused and forgot where they were, etc.).

Another product that can help if this is related to stress is Feliway, either in a plug-in diffuser or as a spray. It mimics the "happy pheromones" that cats rub on stuff with their cheeks and chin. It's cheapest if you get it online (Amazon has it), but Petsmart carries it for not the worst price in the world.

Make sure you have at least one box per cat, plus one extra, and that they're scooped twice a day minimum, just in case his issue is related to cleanliness (appologies if you already do that - but I thought it worth mentioning). If he was outside for a while, he may not be used to sharing his bathroom with other kitties. Some cats are just really fussy like that.

The other thing is that it may not actually be him that's peeing around the house, it could possibly be one of your resident kitties. Maybe one of them was feeling a bit put out by having a new roomate. Feliway could help if that's the case.
__________________
"To close your eyes will not ease another's pain." ~ Chinese Proverb

“We must not refuse to see with our eyes what they must endure with their bodies.” ~ Gretchen Wyler
Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off


Forum Terms of Use

  • All Bulletin Board Posts are for personal/non-commercial use only.
  • Self-promotion and/or promotion in general is prohibited.
  • Debate is healthy but profane and deliberately rude posts will be deleted.
  • Posters not following the rules will be banned at the Admins' discretion.
  • Read the Full Forum Rules

Forum Details

  • Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8
    Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
    vBulletin Optimisation by vB Optimise (Reduced on this page: MySQL 0%).
  • All times are GMT -5. The time now is 03:22 AM.