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The litter tray

Join our community of cat lovers on the Mumsnet Cat forum for kitten advice and help with cat behaviour.

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Original poster

Cat spraying?

21 replies

Ohdoleavemealone · 21/02/2022 19:39

We are looking at getting a cat and have seen one we really want to rehome. The only issue is she sprays. She hasn't yet been spayed but we have been told that this doesn't guarantee she won't spray anyway.
Is it common for them to spray still? Never met a cat that still sprayed but she is older than most cats are when spayed (we will be doing this even if it doesn't guarantee anything).

OP posts:

thecatneuterer · 21/02/2022 20:26

Female cats don't generally spray at all. Is she in a rescue?

Original poster

Ohdoleavemealone · 21/02/2022 20:31

No someone who bought her to breed and then changed their minds!
The current owner says she sprays every 2 weeks when on heat.

OP posts:

Original poster

Ohdoleavemealone · 21/02/2022 20:32

She also said she didn't know whether it would stop. I don't think she has own cats before. No idea why she thought she would try and breed them!

OP posts:

Fartymcfart · 21/02/2022 20:38

I have a female cat that sprays despite being spayed, hers is stressed related and is the brain of my life, I really wouldn't if I knew beforehand.

thecatneuterer · 21/02/2022 20:43

Oh well cats that keep coming into heat do all sorts of weird shit. So yes, that wouldn't surprise me. I'm sure spaying will sort her out. I hope you take her, someone really needs to get her spayed.

Original poster

Ohdoleavemealone · 21/02/2022 20:44

@Fartymcfart

I have a female cat that sprays despite being spayed, hers is stressed related and is the brain of my life, I really wouldn't if I knew beforehand.

Any idea how common this is? She is a beautiful cat but we have young kids and cannot have wee everywhere!

OP posts:

thecatneuterer · 21/02/2022 20:51

It's very, very, very, very uncommon OP. And I've been working in a rescue for 20 years, and have come across an awful lot of cats. An indoor cat, left unspayed, does become very stressed however, so that will almost certainly explain it.

thecatneuterer · 21/02/2022 20:57

I don't understand why her current owner doesn't just spay her. Maybe she would want to keep her then.

Original poster

Ohdoleavemealone · 21/02/2022 21:08

She was never meant to be her cat. Her and her sister decided to get the cat together and breed it. Sister then decided she wasn't looking after it!

OP posts:

fairylightsandwaxmelts · 21/02/2022 21:20

It's very uncommon for a neutered female to spray.

However I wouldn't take the risk of neutering not fixing the problem. You really, really don't want a cat that pisses on everything.

Original poster

Ohdoleavemealone · 21/02/2022 21:23

@fairylightsandwaxmelts

It's very uncommon for a neutered female to spray.

However I wouldn't take the risk of neutering not fixing the problem. You really, really don't want a cat that pisses on everything.

Thanks, unfortunately 80% of the cats we have seen have not been neutered! We have tried rescue centre and they all say their cats are not suitable to be around children.

OP posts:

Nomoreusernames1244 · 21/02/2022 21:28

Are there any other cats around?

I had a cat that sprayed. Ime it’s always a stress response, whether that’s another cat in close proximity, not enough stimulation/access to the outside, a particularly stressy breed…

What breed is she? Please don’t say Bengal!

If she is going to be an only cat, in an area with low cat population, preferably fairly rural, and obviously spayed, i’d take a punt.

Any other cats or if you live somewhere where every house on the street has 2 cats then no.

I stopped mine spraying but it took moving house to somewhere there are no other cats, outside access to a large territory, and a course of anti anxiety drugs before we cracked it.

Original poster

Ohdoleavemealone · 21/02/2022 21:32

@Nomoreusernames1244

Are there any other cats around?

I had a cat that sprayed. Ime it’s always a stress response, whether that’s another cat in close proximity, not enough stimulation/access to the outside, a particularly stressy breed…

What breed is she? Please don’t say Bengal!

If she is going to be an only cat, in an area with low cat population, preferably fairly rural, and obviously spayed, i’d take a punt.

Any other cats or if you live somewhere where every house on the street has 2 cats then no.

I stopped mine spraying but it took moving house to somewhere there are no other cats, outside access to a large territory, and a course of anti anxiety drugs before we cracked it.

She is an indoor cat, I think they do have other cats or dogs.

She is a sphynx. Stunning cat with papers and everything. Which is why they thought they could breed her.

OP posts:

BreadmanAndCake · 21/02/2022 21:37

Our female cat is spayed and weirdly she still sprays, but only when outside on walks with us (she is a very odd cat, will happily come on family walks etc) and tends to spray on trees a couple of times as she goes. I assume it's due to the scent of unfamiliar cats. She's never done this in the house though

fairylightsandwaxmelts · 21/02/2022 21:40

Why can't you get a kitten from somewhere instead?

Honestly, don't put yourself through it. Once a cat has started peeing and marking in the house, it's really hard to stop them and cat pee utterly reeks.

Nomoreusernames1244 · 21/02/2022 21:41

Why can't you get a kitten from somewhere instead

Why does it have to be a kitten?

fairylightsandwaxmelts · 21/02/2022 21:44

@Nomoreusernames1244

Why can't you get a kitten from somewhere instead

Why does it have to be a kitten?

It doesn't have to be a kitten.

But OP has said she's been rejected from rescues because none of the cats are suitable around children.

So for me, the next logical step would be to get a kitten from a reputable breeder instead.

Theunamedcat · 21/02/2022 21:44

Spay and anti anxiety drugs make sure she is protected by cat proofing your garden

Original poster

Ohdoleavemealone · 22/02/2022 08:38

Not sure about a kitten. We would need to be able to leave the cat for around 6 hours on a Sunday (home all other days) from a week or two of them being home. I'm not sure a kitten would be okay with that so soon.

OP posts:

fairylightsandwaxmelts · 22/02/2022 15:15

@Ohdoleavemealone

My kitten was left 8+ hours a day from the day we brought her home, pretty much. She was fine - we just left her in a small/safe space.

DelCalMun · 27/01/2023 00:56

Don't take her on. We had a neutered female that sprayed. It was a nightmare.

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