at my wits end - cat spraying!

[Maveta]

i´ve posted about this before, yonks ago, but my cat has started spraying again and I cannot go through this again!! I am so fed up. He is a neutered male but since ds was toddling has gone through sporadic spraying bouts. He has a strong character, not at all timid or shy, and it happens when he´s pissed off, basically. Last time it was because we decided not to let them sleep in our rooms or the livingroom at night so when we go to bed we´d shut the livingroom door. this leaves them a room with their cat beds/blankets, the hallway, kitchen and door open onto a small back terrace (food, water, toilet). And he HATES it. So he started spraying. Eventually we gave in and let them back on our bed because we just couldn´t deal with it. Fast forward a good few months and we are back here. Had enough and don´t want them in our room. One cat is an angel but the other one sits on the dresser and miaows through the night, comes to lie on our chests etc. So we´ve started shutting them out again.

Hey presto, he´s spraying. Caught him spraying in the bathtub, then today found he´d done it on the shoe basket by the front door which has ruined all our slippers AND the basket. He was just making a nuisance of himself trying to get into our bedroom and miaowing etc I kept shushing him (he can and will wake ds) and then chucked a sock at him to get him to cut it out. He went straight to the corner and sprayed. Miracle I didn´t wake ds with the racket I made as I tore over to him. Chucked him on the back terrace while I cleaned up, he´s now back in.

Am so over it and, to be quite honest, him. So fed up and don´t know what to do now. I think someone mentioned hormones, I think the vet even said this was a possibility, does anyone know anything about this? If I could rehome him I would, I genuinely think he´d be happier without a toddler bothering him, but its not a viable option. Coming home to an overwhelming smell of cat pee is HIDEOUS and I can´t do it!!

does he have free access to the outside all the time?
our neutered tom sprays when his access to the outside is restricted in any way, so we have to keep the catflap unlocked despite neighbourhood moggies treating this place like some sort of feline centreparcs.

Also getting some Feliway pheremone spray stuff might help - it did with ours.
Pets at home sell it.

I second the Feliway, and also try Zylkene. It's a capsule but you can open it and mix the powder with his food. It mimicks their 'happy hormones' and helps in times of stress (or pissed off-ness!). Bella pointed me in the direction of it for my dog and it's worked wonders.

One of ours sprays whenever something is upsetting him - new cat arriving, change in routine or big change in weather, even a change of food sets him off.

Have various strategies that seem to help:
A Feliway diffuser from the vet
Spraying the areas where he has sprayed with a strong lemony cleaning spray seems to act as a deterrent as he HATES the smell and won't spray near it
Letting him out more than usual as then he's so tired when he comes in he falls asleep rather than wandering round the house looking for corners to spray in...

All of this breaks the cycle usually and he forgets he's been spraying...till the next time something changes of course!

MrsL I second the zylkene recommendation - we did that as well when ours was upset over a new cat in the house and it really helped calm things down

For the smell, PAH do a pet odour remover spray which is really good. Febreeze are also doing a pet version now, which is also good, but is mainly for fabrics (PAH one can be used on walls etc). Soaking things like slippers in a solution of biological washing powder also gets rid of the smell so you don't have to throw them out.

thanks for the suggestions, I will try feliway and the lemony cleaner and go from there. the door to the terrace is always open but they don´t go out-out beyond that. They used to but then we moved and although they could jump from our balcony onto a close roof and wander off from there, they just don´t.

Having said that, he started spraying in the old flat when they did have outdoor access on tap.

Sadly the slippers were kind of suedey outside/wool inside so not sure we should soak them?? Hopefully your tricks will work for the rest of it though, thanks

Sounds like the slippers are a gonner! If you can, use the odour remover / bio washing powder solution to clean the areas he's sprayed before using the lemon on them - cat's have such a sensitive sense of smell you need the enzymes to break down the urine, otherwise it'll keep tempting him back even if it smells clean (also try to get a lemon spray without ammonia in it, as this can attract them in the same way as the urine). You can also try putting foil in the areas he normally stands, as they don't like the feel of it. And keep a water bottle handy to give him a squirt whenever you see him about to, erm, have a squirt!

I second everything said here, have also had this problem. I also find putting bowls of food in the places they spray puts them of - they are clean animals despite their actions to the contrary sometimes! This really worked for me combined with feliway and special ammonia free spray from vets. Good Luck!

the foil idea made me laugh! I've heard so many people recommend this and I tried it once in ds' cot before he was born to try and put the cat off sleeping in it... only to find him happily sleeping under it!! gaaah!

looking into feliway and ammonia free spray now. fingers crossed

wow the diffuser isn't cheap - how often do you need to change it? And is one enough or do you have to have several around the house?

Biological washing powder is good too esp ariel as it breaks down the enzymes.Make a strong solution and spray anywhere he does.I sympathise I had a cat that did this and it was a nightmare

ok scratch those last questions, I used my noggin and checked the faq on the feliway site [so clever]

I think the idea of the Feliway is to use it for a set period (i.e. a month) to de-stress him and break the habit of the spraying, and then once it runs out the stress should hopefully have passed and the habit will have been broken and you won't need to use it continually. Well that's the theory anyway