Spray Marking vs Normal Peeing

[eagleeye]

My cat Lusa (spayed female, about a year old) is my first indoor only cat. She urinated on my bed and the dog's bed, but I'm not sure if it's spray marking or peeing.

On my bed, she peed little droplets a vinyl picnic table cover cloth that I use to protect the mattress because my dog is old and on diuretics and sleeps in the bed with us. Our dog had either peed or drooled excessively earlier in the week in the bed.

This morning, she'd peed in droplets on the dog's bed and a few on the wall and heat register. In the middle of the night, a picture had fallen off the wall and broke with a loud bang and it scared all of us, including Lusa

Her tail was all fluffed out. So, could the pee be spray marking out of fear/stress?

Does cat spray usually end up in droplets or spots on a surface, and regular pee in a puddle? Sorry if this is a stupid question...

Thanks in advance!

 

[kitytize]

It does sound like your cat is spraying but I would take her to the vet just incase anyway. She might be doing this because she smells the dog's pee.

 

[catsarebetter]

Well, I know that female cats can spray, but I haven't actually seen any of ours do it.. when my male cat sprays, it's just like he's peeing, only it comes out in a forceful stream and it's every bit as much as his regular potty.. and he pees a lot. Fortunately, thus far, he only does it in the litter box. I don't really think he knows what he's doing.

It might be stress related and spraying some No Mark (the generic brand of Feliway) might help some.. you're supposed to spray it every 12 hours. It does sound like she's actually marking/spraying which is effectively the same thing, especially if she's doing it on vertical surfaces. You might try taking a hand towel and rubbing it all over her face particularly, so as to get her "good" scent on it, and then try putting that in the dog bed. I'd spray the no mark on the register, and if you can manage it, try putting her on the bed (after everything is cleaned), and rolling her around and playing with her on it to get her scent all over it before she has a chance to mark it. It probably also wouldn't hurt to spray no mark on it.

I don't know if those will work for you, but it certainly won't hurt to try them. No Mark is about $10 for a bottle (Feliway is *much* more expensive). I wouldn't rule out a vet visit, as a medical issue might explain the suddeness of it all, but given where she's doing it and how, I think she's probably marking/spraying.

Does she normally also sleep on the bed?

 

[cheylink]

She could be smelling the urine scent from the dog.........

 

[barbb]

It sounds like marking, but just to be sure, if I were you I would watch her in the litter box to see if she is having any discomfort. I would follow her to the box and see what she does.

It is abnormal for a cat to mark outside the box, so yes it would have to be from stress or covering the dog smell. Even with the dog smell, most cats would just make that goofy face they make when they catch another animal's scent.

 

[rockyzeus]

i really don't think this cat is spraying i think this cat has a medical problem i would seek a vet to have kitty checked

 

[missymotus]

Originally Posted by rockyzeus

i really don't think this cat is spraying i think this cat has a medical problem i would seek a vet to have kitty checked

I would take her to the vet to rule out a UTI, then go from there if she doesn't have one.

 

[larke]

I agree with Rocky and Missy.

 

[catsarebetter]

I don't think anyone has said that it was definitely not medical, but given that the cat is eliminating *vertically* and not just horizontally... it does sound like spraying behavior to me. As I said before, I'm definitely not an expert in that area, but I haven't ever personally heard of a cat eliminating inappropriatly due to health reasons in a vertical position.

If it were my cat, I'd take them to the vet, but then I have all of mine on a plan and my visits are free, and then depending on what they do may cost me extra. If you rule out any urinary problem, then you know for sure. If that's a little financially binding to you, then call your vet... often they'll discuss it with you without making you bring the cat in (and give you a better idea of whether they think it *may* be health related and if a visit is necessary).