By Steve Kettle
One of the most common Cats Bad Urine Behavior problems is really not a house training issue. The problem I'm speaking of is urine marking, or spraying. Urine marking is when your cat simply deposits a small amount of urine on the furniture legs or walls of a room, virtually any vertical surface or structure in an effort to "mark" his territory. Before we can fix the problem we have to understand why he does it.
Why Do Cats Mark?
There really are quite a few reasons why cats mark:
-Territoriality: in other words, the cat is letting other cats in the house know when they are in "his"
territory.
-To announce his sexual availability
-It could be because of stress or anxiety
-A new pet or even a new baby or in-law is introduced to the home
-A change of location: some cats mark if the owners have moved into a new house
-Overcrowding: too many cats in the house may change the amount of attention he gets!
-A change in our own lifestyle...a new job or a change in the hours we work and are away from home
Which Cats Are Most Likely To Mark?
All cats mark! And, unfortunately, it's not likely that we can predict which ones are going to become "sprayers". But, thank goodness, there are some cats which are more likely to mark than others.
From the most likely to the least likely they are:
-Unneutered male cats(tom cats)
-Neutered male cats
-Female cats that have NOT been "fixed"
-Spayed or"fixed" female cats
If you have an unneutered male cat you can almost 100% expect him to spray everything in sight. That awful unmistakable smell of cat urine will soon infiltrate your home! By having Old Tom neutered, the bad odor will be eliminated and most of the spraying will stop. I say "most" because it is estimated that approximately 10% of neutered male cats and about 5% of neutered females will still mark.
There really is no hard, fast and guaranteed method to stop cat marking, there are a few steps that should be taken that will at the very least, reduce the problem.
-Take your cat for a complete checkup. You need to be certain it is not a physical problem that is causing your cat to pee outside of the litter box. Have your vet do a complete urinalysis to eliminate any medical reasons for his behavior.
-Have your cat neutered. This is the single most effective way to stop your cat from spraying.
Statistics show that over 85% will stop marking once they are neutered and over 75% stop at once.
-Behavior modification. This will require much time and effort on your part, but will be well worth the effort. A tin can with a few pennies inside, which, when shaken makes a loud noise, will be a good start. When you catch him in the act, shake the can near him and maybe even shoot him with a good squirt of water from a water pistol. You may want to redesign the area of your home where most of marking takes place. Cats are instinctively clean animals. They don't like to use the bathroom near where they eat or sleep. Move his food dish and sleeping area into the area where he marks.
-Make things easy for your cat. The main reason they mark is territorial. Try eliminating this need by reducing the number of cats you keep in the house. Make sure there are plenty of litter boxes ... At least one more than the number of cats in the home.
Just use common sense when dealing with this problem behavior. If you notice your cat has a conflict with another cat or pet in the home, you will need to keep them separated. Eliminating stress for your cats will eliminate stress for you FROM your cats! If you need professional help, start with the library or check online for a good book or manual on cat health and behavior training. There are several to choose from and some are quite effective.
Stopping bad cat urine behavior can be quite a chore. I hope this tid-bit of knowledge has been a help.
Steve Kettle is a freelance writer and publisher of a pet website. You can visit it at |
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