Skittles is spraying (kitten, male, rug, siamese)

[moved]

Skittles has started to spray, and didn't do it in the beginning. He doesn't do it all the time, though. I can't keep a rug on the bathroom floor anymore, because he sprays the plastic container next to it. He's sprayed the side wall on the outside of the bathroom, and by the front door. Yesterday he backed right up to the front door in front of me, and sprayed it.

He's not stressed out about anything, gets along with Snickers, eats like a horse, and uses the litter pan. The only problem that I've seen is tapeworms, and I took care of that. Yesterday I took him to the vet to get dewormed, and he weighed 13.5lbs, and I'm planning on taking him in for a free exam in the next week.

Would Rescue Remedy work for this? I really don't want to try to find a new home for him, I think he's been through enough, and I know how hard it is to find homes for pets these days, but I can't have him spraying.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[Garden of Eden]

Moved, oh boy, there is no easy answer with this. If by all means, if you can, do not bring him to a shelter. That, I'm sorry to say, will be where he will die, for no one will adopt a cat that sprays. No one.

Rescue Remedy will not solve the problem.

Have you looked at or read here any of the threads regarding hormone plug-ins, sprays, or collars? I believe what you would be looking for is called Feliway.

Disciplining will not work. Once a male begins to spray, there is no easy way to stop him.

Has a UTI or lower urinary blockage been ruled out? Many times what you may take for spraying could be a cat trying to get your attention because he is in pain. I have many FLUTD boys here, and one of the ways they tell me they need homeopathy or an adjustment (or both) is they will "spray" right in front of me. That is my sign, and no, I don't scream, yell or hollar. I understand that is their way of communicating to me, "Mommy, I am in pain, help me". Sure, I don't like it. But what is, is.

If there is no UTI, or blockage, and your cat doesn't respond to Feliway, the only other thing I could suggest is to make sure you clean up the urine with a really good cleaner and follow it up with an ezymatic cleaner that takes smell of cat urine out from where the cat sprayed. I use Simple Green as my cleaning solution, and I follow that up with Nature's Miracle.

I hope I have helped. I know, I understand how downright frustrating a problem like this can be. I wish you all the luck!!!!

[katzenfreund]

I agree with GOE. I volunteered at a shelter for many years, do now, too. If you, someone who knows this kitty and has bonded with him, is not willing to put up with spraying... no one that is looking for a cat will get one that sprays... and if they are not told about this and the cat starts spraying, who knows what these people will do to a cat, hit him, throw him out etc??? If he ends up in a kill shelter his chances of getting out alive are practically zero. If everything fails you could try and find him a home where he would be the only cat... but as you know, those homes are very hard to find. I second the Feliway, definitely worth a try. Do you have any cats roaming around outside, that your inside kitties can see? If so, they might perceive them as a threat and spray . Also Skittles might be spraying to establish a piece of territory. Is he the dominant cat or is it Snickers? Try placing the food bowls in the area he is spraying. Also play with him in the same areas to change his association with the area. Do not yell or hit him, or throw something at him.... I know how frustrating spraying is, but as GOE said, this will only be counter productive because he will feel more insecure and spray even more.

I recommend reading "starting from scratch" by Pam Johnson/Bennett. Check it out at the library or buy a used copy on Amazon. She talks in detail about spraying and what you can do about it.

Good luck with Skittles - I will keep my fingers crossed you can get him to stop spraying.

[luvmycat]

Has Skittles been neutered?
Both my male cats were sprayers prior to neutering, so I understand the frustration, believe me! With Hagrid, he had a fractured leg when I rescued him, so I waited (despite the spraying) until he was healed and then some...he was a little over a year old when I finally had it done, so it was pretty much regular behavior for him at that point. For the next month or so he still sprayed here and there (takes about that long for the hormones to leave the body after neutering) but now I'm happy to say he doesn't spray at all. Hope this helps!

[foxywench]

i was actually going to ask the same question as luvmycat...if hes not neutered, get that done asap before his spraying becomes habitual (if you let it go on too long itll be neer imposisble to break)

if hes already been neutered...

first get him checked for a uti, this is a common cause of "random" urination

and if all clear, id say its likley a combination of territorial and boredom.
first id suggest removing anything that will "trigger" for some reason plastic seem to attract cats, they either like to chew on it or pee on it, so no plastic where he can reach...

around the doors is another common spraying spot, do you have more guests than usual comming and going? any changes to the home environment? hes marking the door ways as his, and i wouldnt be suprised if an unneutered male has moved into your area.

make sure to clean accidents with natures miracle or other enzamatic cleaner.

i know some people whove had sucess with feliway, and others who havent. i dont think rescue remidy would work unless it is a stress induced spraying (ie new boyfrined, new roomate, new cat ect...)

if you dont already make sure to add plenty of cat towers and scratching posts around the house, cats will also use their claws to mark territory, providing him alternative outlets to his marking behaviour might help.

good luck.

[Lola4]

Has something changed?

Our neutered male sprays when he is unhappy with something...little box location (solved that by adding more boxes to other locations), litter brand, (solved that by staying with the brand he likes), and there is one room that is off limits to him, so ever so often he sprays the door to that room. Solved that by allowing him short visits into that room.

He will still pee on piles of sorted dirty laundry. Solved that by not sorting laundry before washing it. lol

[katzenfreund]

I read in another thread that he is neutered luvmycat....

[jasper12]

Has this started when you got another cat? Our Male Siamese started spraying when we adopted a new kitten. He just never stopped. He ruined furniture. My Mom kept him...I would have not been so tolerant. And yes, he was nuetered.

[moved]

Has Skittles been neutered?
He's already neutered. His former owners took care of that, or he came from an organization/shelter where it was required for adoption.

Is he the dominant cat or is it Snickers?
Neither cat is dominant, in fact Skittle is good for Snickers. He plays more, and Skittles has brought out the kitten in him. From the beginning, they got along with no hissing and spitting.

Litter box location (solved that by adding more boxes to other locations), litter brand
I have nowhere to put a second litter pan, and the brand doesn't seem to matter either of them. I scoop it out as soon as it's used (unless I'm not home, then I check as soon as I get in), so that's not a problem.

Do you have any cats roaming around outside, that your inside kitties can see? If so, they might perceive them as a threat and spray.
This could be the problem with spraying on the front door, but he's only done it once. Unfortunately, there are lots of cats that come around during the night. I'll start spraying the outside of the front door with Simple Green at night to see if it helps.

If you dont already make sure to add plenty of cat towers and scratching posts around the house, cats will also use their claws to mark territory, providing him alternative outlets to his marking behaviour might help.
I don't have any right now, but plan to get one, hopefully, by next month. One of my friends is going to buy me cat tree, since I can't afford to.

I live in a tiny 400sqft one bedroom cottage, and have extremely limited storage space, so I have to use plastic storage containers to store things in. I'm also going to put a hook and eye on the bathroom door to keep it shut.
Feliway is very expensive, and it's not a guarantee. He didn't spray at all yesterday, so that's a good sign.

I have lots of Simple Green, and will be making a trip to Petsmart later this week to get some Nature's Miracle. But which one? Garden, on the Petsmart website, they have several different kinds, so which one would of these you recommend?

Nature's Miracle 3 in 1 Odor Destroyer
Nature's Miracle Just For Cats Urine Destroyer
Nature's Miracle Just For Cats Advanced Stain & Odor Remover
Nature's Miracle Stain & Odor Remover
Nature's Miracle Advanced Stain & Odor Remover
Nature's Miracle Urine Destroyer Stain & Residue Eliminator
Nature's Miracle Orange-Oxy Power Stain and Odor Remover
Nature's Miracle Just for Cats
Nature's Miracle No More Marking Stain & Odor Remover
Nature's Miracle Pet Block Repellent Spray

I don't have any plans to get rid of him, unless I'm forced. I don't want to have to find him another home, that's why I'm going to try to take care of the problem. The only other option would be to make him an indoor/outdoor cat, but I don't like to let my cats outside, and both of them are happy inside.

[foxywench]

if you are having a problem with outdoor cats, go to a hunting store and pick up a bottle of cyote urine...(or bob cat) yes it sounds discusting but a few drops on trees/fenceposts ect around your property line will make most stray cats think twice about comming neer