Cat spraying in the house. I am so fucking sick of it it's unbelivable.

[HettyKett]

We have two cats, one male one female, both neutered as soon as they were old enough. Both have full access to outside and appear to be totally happy and healthy. Their relationship with one another seems fine. They are 5, one is a siamese and one an oriental short hair (should that be relevant).

Anyway, one or both of the bastards them is spraying in the house . I'm cleaning each place as soon as I find it and using Feliway (as advised by the vet and the breeder). It seemed to be getting better but I've just found yet another sticky, orange splatter of stink

I feel like re-homing them TBH, but I couldn't / wouldn't ever do that. I love them, the DC love them and apart from this issue they are fab. I suffer from depression and keeping on top of the housework costs most of my energy as it is, without having to spend half the day crawling round sniffing for piss places. Whatever I do down stairs just stinks and I hate it.

Anyone care to suggest anything or sympathise at all?

Are you sure it isn't another cat coming in and doing it?

Don't think so, I've seen BoyCat assume the position on occasion.

Maybe I think wrong. Goodness only knows.

Yesterday I found sprayage inside my pan cupboard FFS, I don't think it's ever been open at night.

we did end up rehoming our boy cat after being unable to resolve this issue . he was doing it 3x daily, and on the children's beds. he was getting bullied by next door's cat, and so was relieved to be in a lovely new home.

before rehoming we got a full MOT at the vet's, to check for any physical causes. if he has "favourite" places, tape tinfoil over them, so he can't get at them. adn try him on Zylkene - it's a natural anti-anxiety remedy.

I often used to have (pre-dog) feline intruders in (usually ferals) and they are a bugger for spraying.

Also, unneutered males (if it's a ferrelly getting in) stink!

Our lady cat is 13 and she does this only when stressed, like when it's snowing outside and she's scared to use the flap, or when a naughty male cat is on the prowl. Sometimes I think he comes in and does it actually.

She doesn't spray as such, it normally means she has cystitis as there are drops of blood in it, so I guess that's different. She gets it about once/twice a year.

There used to be a liquid you could buy from pets at home called Simple Solution which removed odours of piss. I'm sure they still sell something similar. May be worth a try? And lock them into one room/shed etc at night if that's a possible answer, obv somewhere safe etc etc. I shut the kitchen door when ours does it, so she is in with her food and water but nowhere there are soft furnishings!

And I give her Metacam sometimes which helps.

Ferrally

Thanks for all the advice.

WRT keeping the cat flap shut (to exclude intruders) or locking them in one room - I'd LOVE to try be they are siamese. The shout, really SHOUT if they aren't happy, the neighbours would be in uproar and we wouldn't get any sleep.

My sister got a pair of rescue cats brother and sister and ended up getting her male rehomed after 2 years as somehow the dynamic between the two of them changed and he got stressed. The cpl woman and the vet said it happens and he was rehomed as an only cat and was fine.
One of our males sprayed and it was only when another of our cats died it stopped. We didn't realise there was much of a problem between them the odd cuff around the chops here and there but it was enough to make him spray. never sprayed once the 8 years after that.
Itmaybe that your two aren't doing too well together or as someone else said he could being bullied outside.

I've heard you can deter cats by squirting them whilst in the act with a handheld water sprayer (the ones you use in greenhouse).

I think in this scenario many people overlook the option of consulting a behaviourist.

www.apbc.org.uk/ :)

And FGS don't start attacking him with a water squirter - he's doing it because he's stressed, so you're only going to make things worse by frightening him.

Don't worry, I wouldn't squirt them!

I'm not in the UK but I'll have a look at behaviorists, not sure if they have them over here TBH. When I spoke to the breeder of the male (she's very, very good and cat friendly, one litter per cat per two years max, kittens raised in her sitting room and is also head of the national breed club) she could only suggest Feliway (calming cat hormone) which I'm using or, as a last resort 'katerbroekjes' to find out which of them it is. I'm sure she'd have mentioned contacting a behaviorist if it were a know thing here.

Aaargh

Oh, meant to say, I really don't think it's their relationship. Both get very distressed if they can't find the other. They spend most of the day curled up in a ball together and much of the evening washing one another.

They aren't siblings but have been together since GirlCat was 18 weeks and BoyCat 13 weeks, he's never known a home without her and she's only ever been without him for 5 weeks between leaving the nest and him arriving.

Spraying can often be a sign of stress. Have you tried feliway ( think that's what it's called) it's a plug in that releases pheremones and helps cats feel calmer and that it's their home. Ur local vet should stock it

Oh and you can't smell it but the cats can

Yes, we've been using Feliway for a week or so. I though there was some improvement but now I'm not so sure. They say to give it a minimum of a month though. We have the spray (to be applies where they have sprayed) rather than the plug in because I have the windows open a lot of the time to deal try and let the stink out.

ohbugrit - have found a behaviorist online. Shall give her a call.

Do you have litter trays? If yes, how many? If no, it might be worth trying introducing a couple.

No, no litter trays. They hate them and avoid if at all possible.

When we moved we had litter trays whilst they had to be kept in, obviously. I left the trays out for a while once the cats could go outside again but they ignored them as soon as they had access to outside.

If your boycat has started being bullied outside though, he may appreciate not having to go outside to pee. I hate litter trays too but think they are preferable to random peeing/spraying around the house.
It can't hurt to try anyway.

Well, I suppose it's worth a try. I'll be amazed if they'll use one but it is indeed worth a crack.

Aaarrgh. Clean as I may I just can't keep on top of this spraying. Spent half the morning on cleaning one side of the on sofa, just to discover there was another stink spot somewhere else on it too

Do you think putting them both in a cattery for a week while I get the house clean of spray smell and then bringing them back would help at all? I can't help wondering if the simple fact that I can't get on top of the smell it is encouraging him / her / them to spray.

I still can't get hold of the cat behaviorist, have given up phoning her and sent an email. The litter tray I put out yesterday evening remains unused...

I can recommend this cleaning product, I have used it with good results.
www.petsathome.com/shop/simple-solution-stain-and-odour-remover-by-pets-at-home-58674

I have heard that biological washing liquid is also good for cleaning cat pee, but I haven't tried it. Apparently the smell bleach/ disinfectant can encourage repeat peeing in cats.

Thanks! I think I'm getting it off well enough, several habitual spray points eradicate. New places keep getting sprayed.

I'll see if I can get some (or similar), willing to try anything. I've been using cleaning with whatever is appropriate to the sprayed surface and then cleaning again with white vinegar as that's supposed to neutralize odors and discourage spraying.

What about sending them to the cattery for a bit? Is that a Spectacularly Bad Idea?