spray-fest

We have 4 indoor/outdoor cats that started spraying about a year ago. It has been on and off but seems to be more "on" lately. They don't usually spray in the same spot and don't nessisiarly go up agains anything, sometimes it on the floor/carpet. We dont' know which one is doing it or if it is more than one. They don't seem to be stressed out and it's not a UTI.

It's just so fustrating b/c it seems like they ruin so many good things. We are going to have the carpet (in 1 of the 2 roomw in the house replaced b/c of it). My dad is about to ban all the cats outside and i really don't want that, my female can't hadle that 24/7. She is the most "anxious" of the 4 but still she seems pretty relaxed.

Now that I say that, Do you think she is jelous of my male cat? He likes to be handled and loved on where as she shys away 1/2 the time. could this be her way of getting back at me for handling him? I try to make the love they each get fair especally b/c she was there first.

If one of the cats stared it would that then make the others spray too?
What do we do to stop it are there any products that really help?
Can the oder really be eliminated by changing their diet?

Open to sugetion,
boldyetshy

Are they all fixed??

Katie

yes all of them

They all need to be fixed..

Originally Posted by BoldYetShy

yes all of them

Click to expand...

Well...my parents had a cat that was neutered and he was an indoor/outdoor cat that continued to spray after neutering...but I would keep checking back as there are quite a few people on this board who may have advice for you.

Katie

yes all 4 of them are fixed.

Once you have ruled out health issues, spraying is typically marking behavior. It can occur in cats (both male and female) for many reasons, but chief among them is a perceived threat to their environment. Have any new cats showed up outside? What about changes inside? Any new people, pets, furniture? Has anyone/thing moved out recently?

There are no new cats that i have seen, no one has moved in or out, my cousin (who doesn't live w/us) has a baby thats about a year old they come over maybe once a week. I know that 2 of them are afraid of him but they usually just stay in another room or go outside, it's not like they are trapped in an anxious situation.
My male did chase away my brothers cat though we only see her once and a while a neighbor has been feeding her. My brother is the only on who can get her to come back her but Simmon promptly chases her away (he comes to look for her about once a month) and we keeep simmon inside and distraced so he doesn't know what is going on. Could his hatered for Nikki be spuring it. I don't know. I realy do think though that one of them started it an now it's just a compititon.

-Annie-

Clean the area really well and then spray it with Feliway. Do you have enough litter boxes for your kitties? There should be n+1 litter boxes so around 5 is good. I have 3 for my 3 cats but its one of the first things to look into with inappropraite peeing.

we'll do that for sure, hopefully it will help but we can tell they are spraying too (we have a black light).

Annie

Originally Posted by BoldYetShy

we'll do that for sure, hopefully it will help but we can tell they are spraying too (we have a black light).

Annie

Click to expand...

If the problem is spraying then there are some territorial issues going on. Someone feels threatened by the others. Feliway is supposed to help this. I'm in the process of testing this out right now, as is my boss who has a spraying neutered male who feels threatened about a cat that adopted this residence. Many people sware by it but I'll have to see if it fixes my problems.

I don't know if this will help but you may want to consider a pair of Stud Pants for your problem moggie(s). You can make these or you can buy them online. Just go to Google.com and use the key words Cat Stud Pants. There is a lot of information on this subject and your dad wont have to boot your Kitties out.