Ways To Stop Spraying - Without Litter Boxes??

[sandmanndreams]

Not certain if this is the right subforum/topic for this. I know why the cats are spraying, just need alternative ways to fix it. Mainly need to increase cat territory for my mom's cats without buying things we can't afford.

Our house is currently a 5 cat home, that was a 3 cat home only two months ago. The original 3 consist of a fixed adult male (Jack), a soon-to-be-fixed adult female (Mama Kitty), and an unfixed adult male (Mort, Mama Kitty's son). The 3 original cats are outside cats or fair weather cats- they're out when the weather's good, and they're in come winter and at night. Then Mama Kitty got pregnant and had a kitten in May- Yoda, who is my cat now. My sister came home to visit and brought her cat, Logi, who is also a kitten. She's thinking of moving back home for work so she and Logi would be staying here year round.

The issue is, before Yoda and Logi, there were zero litter boxes in the house and only one piece of cat furniture- a hammock. There was never any spraying problems (to my knowledge) and only rarely any peeing in the house issues. Now, there are two litter boxes (one in my room, one in my sister's), a large cat tree, a cat tunnel, and a kitty playpen. Both kittens are inside cats and neither kitten has had any issues peeing outside of their litter box.

After Yoda was born, Jack and Mort sprayed whenever they were in the house, so they got sent out a lot. This didn't get worse or better when Logi came. Now, they spend most of their time in the adjoined garage, where they have cat beds and a bunch of tall bins to climb and chill out on and there are a number of litter boxes (which they tend to only use in winter). But, they don't come in the house, and when they do, they pee and spray and get sent out again.

We want to be able to bring them inside the house because we live in the country and it isn't always safe outside for cats, though they are safe in the garage. We don't currently have plans to make them inside cats, for one because they're my mother's cats and she doesn't want that right now.

The issue is, my mother isn't interested in purchasing litter boxes or putting anymore in the house and can't afford more cat trees or other cat furniture. The hammock was cleaned after one spraying session so it doesn't smell like the boys so they don't have anything in the house that really smells like them anymore. Hence more spraying, so more time outside, which means less of their scent in the house, and the cycle continues.

Are there any other solutions outside litter boxes and things you have to buy to increase cat territory so the boys will not feel so territorial? We're hoping that there is some alternative, but I realize the chances of that are slim.

Sorry if this was too long or the wrong place to post.

 

[Willowy]

The mama cat is likely pregnant again by now :/. Probably by her son. I'd recommend having them both fixed ASAP. Spraying is to be expected from intact cats so no improvement is likely until that's taken care of.

How old is the intact male? The spraying may be because he's just now coming of age, and the older male sprays because he feels the need to cover up the young tom's smell.

 

[sandmanndreams]

Should clarify- it's Jack who's doing most of the spraying. With Mort, who is roughly 1 year old, it's about 50/50 if he pees and/or sprays while inside. Mort is also inside far less frequently than Jack. Jack had similar problems when Mort was born, but Mort was born somewhere else and brought by Mama Kitty to live in the garage with her and the spraying wasn't as frequent. (Mama Kitty used to be a stray that lived in our garage- now she's a sometimes-a-housecat).

Jack also rarely sprays anywhere near where Mort sprays. Mort has 'regular' spots that he sprays- a shelf, a specific section of the hallway wall, and so on. But Jack never really sniffs those areas, sniffing only the cat tree and the hammock and other areas the kittens frequent. Then he goes and sprays on any bit of wall or furniture that he seems to fancy at the time.

Mama cat stays in my room most of the time, only going outside to go to the bathroom (litter boxes are an issue- even uncovered ones). Prior to kitten being born, she was a fair weather cat. She is also still nursing the kitten, which I think at least decreases pregnancy chances a little bit??

Yes, I know she can get pregnant again. But as much as that bothers me and how horrible this sounds, it's not my problem. Mama Kitty, Jack, and Mort are my mother's cats and I only live at home during the summer. My mother has been saying she would get Mama Kitty fixed for the last year, and before Mama had Mort (while she was still a stray in our garage), she kept saying she would get her fixed and take her to a shelter. As much as I love Mort and Yoda, neither of some should even be here right now.

And yes, we do now have (fairly concrete) plans to get both Mort and Mama (and Logi and Yoda) fixed. I usually include that information in posts on forums like this to avoid the responses that focus on advice to get cats fixed.

 

[MoochNNoodles]

I usually include that information in posts on forums like this to avoid the responses that focus on advice to get cats fixed.

The thing is; spraying and un-neutered cats go hand in hand. Especially in multi-cat households. I know a local shelter in my area has had a few extra low-cost spay/neuter clinics recently because it's been kitten season. I know it can seem like people are a broken record regarding spaying and neutering; but it's because it's true and the younger it's done, the better your chances of avoiding this kind of territorial/behavior issue.

To me this sounds very territorial. Do you/your mother/sister use an enzyme cleaner on the places and things they've sprayed? Some cleaners will remove things to our noses detection; but not the cats. And that will draw them back again. I purchased a black light flashlight on Amazon for about $10 that did a good job helping me ensure I'd thoroughly cleaned an area my cat had an accident in.

I think your best bet is to focus on getting the cats fixed first and then allowing them inside again after they've healed. It can take a month or so for their hormones to decrease; so I wouldn't rush to bring them inside again if they are comfortable and safe in the garage.

If things go well after that I would keep the litter boxes both inside and in the garage. My mother has had a similar set up for her crew of 3. They sometimes prefer the inside boxes and sometimes the ones in the garage. Or the outside. It took a lot of trial and error to figure out what worked for her cats. One came with "bathroom" issues. I understand how unpleasant it is to live with!