Male Cats And Spraying

[Ciel and Alios]

i have 2 cats, both make. Ciel, is 3 years old and Alios is roughly 3/4 months old. Neither on is neutered, Alios simply because we haven’t had him very long and it’s been pretty hectic recently to schedule an appointment with the vet (but it will happen soon).

Ciel doesn’t spray, never has ever. I don’t know if this is normal behavior, I’ve read online about reasons why cats do spray and ways to stop them. He’s a mostly indoor cat but he does go outside during the winter (we live in Arizona so our winters aren’t very cold and he likes the winter weather). He’s a very sweet cat, the sweetest cat I’ve ever met. He’s very patient and gentle with kids and other male cats. He hates female cats though and we previously fostered a female kitten and he hated her and would attack her on a daily basis and yet he’s never sprayed still. We’ve fostered one other kitten besides her and it was a male cat from the same litter, Ciel for along well with him (not in the trying to mount him way). When we got Alios, he was not a foster kitten and we introduced him to Ciel quite fast because we didn’t have anywhere to separate them. About a week or two ago Alios started spray like crazy.

Ciel and Alios get along great, they don’t fight or hiss or scratch at each other and are actually quit attached to each other, they won’t eat without the other one, they sleep together and they do lots of things in sync and we don’t have any outside cats around us during the summer (most of the neighborhood cats are girls and Ciel fights with them all winter). Does anyone have any answers as to why my 3 year old male has never sprayed but my 3 month old male spray? We keep the cats stress free, get them toys all the time, there constantly eating, no other cats around really except for each other. (Also Alios is not allowed outside because he is a pure black kitten and black cats are twice as likely to be killed than other cats)

 

[Willowy]

Are you sure he's 3 months old? Are you sure it's spraying? I don't think I've ever heard of a 3-month-old spraying. You may want to have him checked for a urinary tract infection.

Anyway, they should be neutered before the younger one matures, or it's very likely they'll develop a rivalry and hate each other.

 

[Ciel and Alios]

I don’t know for sure. I think he’s closer to 4 months, the girl I got him from didn’t tell me his exact age but I got him at what was supposed to be exactly 6 weeks.

Thank you for the advice I’ll make sure they check him for it! But do you have any advice about my 3 year old who has never sprayed and only fights with female cats? He’s so sweet but I don’t know if I should be concerned or not about him not spraying.

 

[Timmer]

It's not about toys or anything like that. I'm sure your home is great and all that. I wouldn't question why your other male doesn't spray. Just thank God LOL.

Three or four months old is pretty young to be doing that but hey, who knows. I think it's pretty common when someone is feeling insecure or trying to mark territory to do that and it might be a good idea as mentioned above, to get him checked for a urinary infection.

My female started spraying when I brought a male cat home. Talk about a male not liking females -- he couldn't stand her and beat the daylights out of her whenever he could. He probably would have beat up a male cat too if he had had a chance. I had to build a door at the top of my second floor to keep them separated. She sprayed up my entire house til eventually I put her on a very low dose of prozac for about six months.

Use a good enzyme cleaner to clean that all up, something like Anti icky Poo (you can get it off Amazon). That's good stuff. Maybe getting him neutered would help.

 

[Kieka]

Have you seen Alios spray? It would make more sense if the spray was your older cat. I wouldn't be surprised if your older cat does spray outside but hasnt inside before because he is secure in his territory.

I am more concerned that Ciel goes outside without being neutered. Even though you don't have to deal with the kittens, there is a very good chance he has fathered litters. If anything, IMO, letting and unneutered male outside is worse then an unspayed female. He could have fathered dozens of litters and hundreds of kittens by this point. Please do not allow him outside until he is neutered.

 

[maggiedemi]

Is he eating a lot of dry food? When my boy cat got blocked up by too much dry food, the pee kinda spritz out like spraying. Try increasing his canned food, decrease the dry food.

 

[Ciel and Alios]

Have you seen Alios spray? It would make more sense if the spray was your older cat. I wouldn't be surprised if your older cat does spray outside but hasnt inside before because he is secure in his territory.

I am more concerned that Ciel goes outside without being neutered. Even though you don't have to deal with the kittens, there is a very good chance he has fathered litters. If anything, IMO, letting and unneutered male outside is worse then an unspayed female. He could have fathered dozens of litters and hundreds of kittens by this point. Please do not allow him outside until he is neutered.

I’ve seem Alios spray, and in the entire three years of having Ciel he's never sprayed. He wasn’t originally allowed outside until we moved and he started getting antsy being inside and our vet advised us to let him out every now and again so we do because he comes back every time and doesn’t come home with any marks or anything, and he isn’t a very sweet cat so we weren’t worried about him attacking anyone. It is possible he could be spraying around the neighborhood but I haven’t seen him do it ever and it’s only been about a year since we’ve moved here so he wasn’t spraying outside during his first two years alive. We have had Alios since the day he was born one of our previous female cats gave birth to him in our house but she didn’t want the kittens and left pretty soon after he was born. I don’t know if it’s because he was never Really around cats and was raised with five dogs. It just confuses me that he has never sprayed and that the youngest one does

 

[Ciel and Alios]

Is he eating a lot of dry food? When my boy cat got blocked up by too much dry food, the pee kinda spritz out like spraying. Try increasing his canned food, decrease the dry food.

He does eat a lot of dry food but that’s only been a recent change. We used to mix his dry and wet food but he never really ate the wet food but would sneak into the bag of dry food when we were away or late at night (I’ve come home and caught him in the act) so we switched him to only dry food (which he is much more happier with) but I can try to add some tuna into his dry food and see if there is a difference.

 

[Ciel and Alios]

It's not about toys or anything like that. I'm sure your home is great and all that. I wouldn't question why your other male doesn't spray. Just thank God LOL.

Three or four months old is pretty young to be doing that but hey, who knows. I think it's pretty common when someone is feeling insecure or trying to mark territory to do that and it might be a good idea as mentioned above, to get him checked for a urinary infection.

My female started spraying when I brought a male cat home. Talk about a male not liking females -- he couldn't stand her and beat the daylights out of her whenever he could. He probably would have beat up a male cat too if he had had a chance. I had to build a door at the top of my second floor to keep them separated. She sprayed up my entire house til eventually I put her on a very low dose of prozac for about six months.

Use a good enzyme cleaner to clean that all up, something like Anti icky Poo (you can get it off Amazon). That's good stuff. Maybe getting him neutered would help.

Thanks so much! I’ll definitly try out the stuff, I don’t know if he’s doing it because he feels the stress of the move. I don’t think it’s from feeling insecure, him and Ciel get along so well and are so attached to each other, and he has proven to the dogs that he is in charge (our dogs are pretty much terrified of cats and know our cats are Alpha to them), and no cats have been around as of late. I’ll definitly check with the vet about it and everything.

 

[danteshuman]

A few things. One you need to neuter both your boys ASAP.... but I think you already knew that. Is it the cost? There are many low cost spay/neuter clinics where you can get it done for cheap (here in Southern California my local animal rescue does it for 40$!!!!!!!)

So my question is, knowing this why haven't you neutered him?

Your boys will not get along if they are not neutered. Add to that, that both cats are likely to spray. Plus unwanted kittens.

 

[Ciel and Alios]

A few things. One you need to neuter both your boys ASAP.... but I think you already knew that. Is it the cost? There are many low cost spay/neuter clinics where you can get it done for cheap (here in Southern California my local animal rescue does it for 40$!!!!!!!)

So my question is, knowing this why haven't you neutered him?

Your boys will not get along if they are not neutered. Add to that, that both cats are likely to spray. Plus unwanted kittens.

I don’t think you read my thing at all. My cats absolutely love each other have not faught since day one and are attached to each other, my oldest cat has never faught with a male cat a day in his life he just doesn’t like female cats. My oldest one has no need to be neutered and our vet even said it was fine if we did not neuter him (it is our choice and we all felt he didn’t need to be neutered as we weren’t worried about kittens since he was a strictly inside cat for 2 years and he didn’t spray) , and we are getting our youngest neutered we just haven’t been able to find the time to schedule him in as we all work full time jobs with minimal days off.

 

[Kieka]

As to your direct question about something being wrong with him. Different cats have different personalities, the standard is not the always and there are outliers. Your older cat is probably one of the outliers who isn't prone to as many aggressive traits.

As to the neuter, as stated in our forum rules:

3. This is a pro-spay-and-neuter website. Please make sure to spay and neuter your cats. Unless you are a professional breeder and your cat is part of a professional breeding program, please educate yourself to the importance of spaying and neutering by the time your cat is 4-6 months old. If you take care of a feral colony, please make sure to do so responsibly by practicing TNR (Trap, Neuter, Release) protocols within the colony. Read More Here.

As such all members are encouraged to spay and neuter their cats. There is a severe over population of cats out there. Millions die every year and those are only the ones we count who make it into shelters. Millions more die before they've even had a chance on the streets and in horrible conditions. People are reading what you've written and we are greatly concerned about you male not being neutered and being allowed outside.

Your male is potentially mating everytime he goes outside. It's always kitten season in warm climates and females are constantly in heat. Just because you don't see the kittens being born, and dying, doesn't mean they don't exist.

While you have every right to not neuter please understand the harm that is caused by him going outside unneutered. Go to your local animal shelter and ask how many kittens they've put down this year alone. Ask a foster mom about the condition of kittens they've rescued off the street. Any one of those kittens who have suffered and died could be your cats kittens. He, and by extension, you have responsibility for every kitten he father's when he goes outside. I know every shelter in a 50 miles radius around me is full. Completely and utterly full, there are too many cats and dogs without enough homes.

Please do not allow him outside again unless he is neutered. I am not saying you must neuter him if that is the choice you want to make. But please don't let him outside if you won't.

 

[danteshuman]

No I meant 2 adult intact male cats living together = fighting over territory/more aggression (plus maybe spraying.)

We have semi-feral that was intact until he was 7 years old. He is an inside/outside cat. He is WAY less aggressive now that he is neutered. He used to get in fights with the neighborhood cats every single day. He used to tolerate the inside cats but still beat up one of them every once in awhile. Now he gets along with my 2 boys so well he hangs out in my (their) room. He rarely fights. I wish they had neutered him before he got his nose permeantly messed up.

 

[Ciel and Alios]

As to your direct question about something being wrong with him. Different cats have different personalities, the standard is not the always and there are outliers. Your older cat is probably one of the outliers who isn't prone to as many aggressive traits.

As to the neuter, as stated in our forum rules:

3. This is a pro-spay-and-neuter website. Please make sure to spay and neuter your cats. Unless you are a professional breeder and your cat is part of a professional breeding program, please educate yourself to the importance of spaying and neutering by the time your cat is 4-6 months old. If you take care of a feral colony, please make sure to do so responsibly by practicing TNR (Trap, Neuter, Release) protocols within the colony. Read More Here.

As such all members are encouraged to spay and neuter their cats. There is a severe over population of cats out there. Millions die every year and those are only the ones we count who make it into shelters. Millions more die before they've even had a chance on the streets and in horrible conditions. People are reading what you've written and we are greatly concerned about you male not being neutered and being allowed outside.

Your male is potentially mating everytime he goes outside. It's always kitten season in warm climates and females are constantly in heat. Just because you don't see the kittens being born, and dying, doesn't mean they don't exist.

While you have every right to not neuter please understand the harm that is caused by him going outside unneutered. Go to your local animal shelter and ask how many kittens they've put down this year alone. Ask a foster mom about the condition of kittens they've rescued off the street. Any one of those kittens who have suffered and died could be your cats kittens. He, and by extension, you have responsibility for every kitten he father's when he goes outside. I know every shelter in a 50 miles radius around me is full. Completely and utterly full, there are too many cats and dogs without enough homes.

Please do not allow him outside again unless he is neutered. I am not saying you must neuter him if that is the choice you want to make. But please don't let him outside if you won't.

I’m not saying not neutering him is bad or not. He just doesn’t like female cats at all and avoids them at all cost (I’ve sat outside with him and watched him run from female cats) but he is only allowed outside during this past winter. Our neighborhood doesn’t have a bad cat population and is usually the same four cats (they’re all mostly owned and I’ve talked with their owners).

I’ve read on neutering and talked with our vet about it, she said most people neuter their cats if they spray or are aggressive and that she didn’t see a reason for me to neuter him if he wasn’t spraying or being aggressive (and as stated before he wasn’t allowed outside for the first two years and is only allowed outside during the past winter. So him impregnating another cat wasn’t something we had to worry about) he hasn’t gone out since February (which is when it starts becoming hot in my state) he’s allowed out for four months of the year and with our move coming up he wont be allowed out at all due to us living in the city (we currently live in a farm area) (he loves hanging out with our neighbors goats and sheeps and chasing their chickens) (he’s not vicious with any of them and doesn’t use his claws on them at all and doesn’t try to bite them and the neighbors have invited him over to play with the chickens)

 

[Ciel and Alios]

No I meant 2 adult intact male cats living together = fighting over territory/more aggression (plus maybe spraying.)

We have semi-feral that was intact until he was 7 years old. He is an inside/outside cat. He is WAY less aggressive now that he is neutered. He used to get in fights with the neighborhood cats every single day. He used to tolerate the inside cats but still beat up one of them every once in awhile. Now he gets along with my 2 boys so well he hangs out in my (their) room. He rarely fights. I wish they had neutered him before he got his nose permeantly messed up.
View attachment 245975

Ciel is a breeded cat. Him, his mom, his grandparents were all from the same breeder (my sisters best friends family breeds cats). He was never a feral cat. He’s a pure bred and we were assured he isn’t bred to be aggressive with other cats. Alios is not but the girl I got him from usually bred the cats but this particular cat had gotten out and impregnant by their neighbors cat, both parents weren’t bred to be agreesive either. I’m not worried about them being aggressive with each other simply because they were both from breeding farms. (My family is close with them their (for both families) breeding is 100% cruelty free).

 

[Timmer]

What breed is Ciel? That might be a clue as to why he sprays, too.
Not all male cats spray. It's just how it is. And neutering doesn't guarantee that they still won't spray but I think the younger you have it done, the better off you are and it will help. You certainly don't want your house peed up! Is it daily? Or occasional?

 

[Ciel and Alios]

What breed is Ciel? That might be a clue as to why he sprays, too.
Not all male cats spray. It's just how it is. And neutering doesn't guarantee that they still won't spray but I think the younger you have it done, the better off you are and it will help. You certainly don't want your house peed up! Is it daily? Or occasional?

Ciel is half Persian and half something (I have to look at his papers I can’t ever remember the other breed that was used to breed his litter) his mom was Persian I remember because up until his moms litter they only bred Persians. Lots of his personality reflects that half of him too.

Alios is half bombay and half calico (she didn’t disclose the breed of cat because they breed several different cats to get the calico pattern) but he definitly got bombay Features (which lucky for me because male calicos do not live as long as the female calicos).

My family has fostered many cats before but never has owned any other cats besides pure bred persians so I don’t exactly know what I should be expecting with Alios.

 

[Willowy]

(she didn’t disclose the breed of cat because they breed several different cats to get the calico pattern)

. . .that's not how calicos work. All it takes is a dark parent and a red parent, who both have some white markings, and bam, all the females will be calico, no matter what breed. If they have purebreds they should be able to tell you what breed it is.

male calicos do not live as long as the female calicos

Male calicos are quite rare (because in cats the color is related to the X chromosome, and normal males only have one X chromosome), but as far as I know it doesn't affect lifespan.

I've never heard a vet say that neutering a cat isn't necessary. Do you live in a country other than the US?

Anyway, on the original subject, I've heard that the longhaired breeds tend to be slow to mature. So Ciel may start spraying later. Or not. The longhaired breeds also tend to be more laid back, so he just might not care enough to mark things. As for the little guy, if he's spraying already I think you'd better get him snipped ASAP!

 

[Ciel and Alios]

. . .that's not how calicos work. All it takes is a dark parent and a red parent, who both have some white markings, and bam, all the females will be calico, no matter what breed. If they have purebreds they should be able to tell you what breed it is.

Male calicos are quite rare (because in cats the color is related to the X chromosome, and normal males only have one X chromosome), but as far as I know it doesn't affect lifespan.

I've never heard a vet say that neutering a cat isn't necessary. Do you live in a country other than the US?

Anyway, on the original subject, I've heard that the longhaired breeds tend to be slow to mature. So Ciel may start spraying later. Or not. The longhaired breeds also tend to be more laid back, so he just might not care enough to mark things. As for the little guy, if he's spraying already I think you'd better get him snipped ASAP!

They’ve been breeding the cats for a while and no offense but I’ll probably stick with their word about the calico breeding

I live in the US maybe it’s just my vet I don’t know she just said it wasn’t necessary. As for Alios he is being neutered! I’ve been mentioned it several times already in almost every single reply I’ve said he is getting neutered as we do not want a spraying cat. I do know that from my experience with Persians they are very calm laid back cats and love physical contact (and my baby Ciel proves that every day) he’s also the runt of his little (several of our foster kittens have double in size compared to him) but he has never let their size bother him. He could possibly be a late bloomer but I also just think he’s a really chilled out cat.

(Also do you think it’s weird that my cat really loves Taylor Swift ? We didn’t know this until my best friend started playing Taylor Swift one day and a Ciel perked up and sat on the phone purring)

 

[Kieka]

Just to let you know, calico is a coat pattern and color. It is not a specific breed. Also, a purebred cat is only one breed in their lineage. Any mixed cat is a moggy not a purebred.