Cats which spray urine

What can you do?

•  Castrate or sterilize your cat.

•  Try to find out why your cat sprays. If it appears that your cat sprays as a reaction on the cats outside, you can block the cat’s view. If your cat reacts on the smell of other cats outside, possibly by an open door or by smells on your soles, you can close the door and leave your shoes outside, before you come in.

•  Try to keep other cats away from your house.

•  If your cat sprays on one or more fixed spots in the house, you can try to make these spots less attractive by means of placing aluminium foil or an inside out vinyl carpet on these spots. Keep in mind that cats often choose new spots in such cases. •  You can also try to provoke other behavior on the spots which the cat sprays. For example you can place his trough there or place toys.

•  There are several sprays available with smells which calm the cats. There are cats which react positively on this.

•  If spraying is the consequence of conflicts between your cats, you can try to solve this possibly with the help of an expert who is specialized in the cat’s behavior. You might separate the cats for a while or at least give the spraying cat a quiet spot for himself.

• Medicines can also help. There are several kinds of medicines available which are effective. Should you consider this option, you better do this with the help of your veterinarian instead of practicing yourself.

• Make and keep the sprayed spots clean with a cleansing agent which contains enzymes (for example Biotex). This is the best way to eliminate the smells.

•  Cats which go outside, spray less inside the house than cats which only live inside the house. In case your cat cannot go outside safely, you might consider purchasing an outside run so that the cat can go outside.

•  Should the cat be very persistent concerning his spraying behavior and you have tried everything, you can try to restrict the damage as much as possible. For example by placing plastic bins on places where the cats spray, and/or hanging up old cloths which you can easily wash and replace.

What you shouldn’t do:

•  Don’t punish your cat by hitting him or making him wet. Don’t push the cat with his nose in the sprayed spot. These kinds of measures only teach your cat to be afraid of you. The cat’s spraying behavior might even increase because of the stress due to the punishment.