Please help - my spraying cat is making my life a misery

[inky1991]

Has anyone got any advice on something by that actually worked for them?

My 6 year old cat has been spraying around the house is whole life. He's ruined furniture, flooring, everything. It's costs us hundreds and hundreds. We've tried literally everything, microchip cat flap, feliway, he's even on anti anxiety meds now. He's a very small cat and gets constantly bullied by neighbouring cats. One in particular who seems to be the neighbourhood bully. We also are at the vets around every 3 months for either a stress induced UTI or a cat fight wound.

We've had one last ditch attempt at fixing a garden gate today to our side entrance, which all the other cats mostly use to access our garden. I really hope it has some affect

I love him so much, and really don't want re-home. However I have a newborn now and I really can't go on like this abs feel like it might be the only answer. 🙁

I couldn't keep a cat like this, sorry op I know that doesn't help but I know my limits and having a cat weeing all over my home is completely over my limit.

He might do better in a quiet home with no other local cats to stress him out?

Don't waste your money on a behaviourist. Our neutered male cat was just like yours and we tried everything we could to stop him. He ruined carpets, curtains, sofas, we had to replaster a wall where he had continually sprayed. Every surface in the house was sprayed on. I could have cheerfully throttled him at times but we loved him and we were heartbroken when he died of cancer aged 11. It has however put me off ever owning another cat. In my experience you will never stop your cat doing this.

Bullied cats tend to want a 'moat of pee' around their territory to feel safe. Utterly miserable for the household.

I think I'd re-home tbh if you can't keep cats away from the house which is tricky. That fencing helps.

Jackson galaxy did a few on this problem. They're all on YouTube if you've got a bit of time to sift through them

You're probably right, but how am I able to make sure he is re-homed in very particular circumstances?

Do you have any idea what caused your cat to do this?

My 6 year old cat has been spraying around the house is whole life.
Reading is a great skill

Frost the windows especially the front ones so he can't "see" enemies outside seal off at least a portion of your garden for safety outside give him plenty of high surfaces in "his" area ultimately your cat is miserable and letting you know they are miserable you need to make him feel safe

4wire Catio/Cat Lean to 8ft x 6ft x 7.5ft tall with ladders and shelves secure run 1" x 1" https://amzn.eu/d/48HynZ8

Like this with shelves maybe block off the bottom section so approaching cats can't see him on the floor area

Do you have a litter tray in the house at all? Maybe the ability to toilet in safety would help?

I am sure it was anxiety caused by other cats in his garden and area.

Definitely not a litter tray problem.

Unfortunately once a cat starts spraying regularly in a home its very rare you will get it to stop. If neutering hasn't stopped the spraying then the cat is not happy in its environment and feels the need to constantly mark his territory. Several of our rescues have acted like this in houses and get rehomed on farms and live happy lives. Just like humans not all cats are the same. Expect it to get even worse once the smell of a baby appears in the home im afraid

We will be moving house within the next year or so. Will that have any affect on his spraying? I don't know whether a completely new environment will help, or whether he'll just continue to spray in a new house

You cannot understand this until you have lived it. We spent lots of time and money on this problem. I genuinely believe that once it starts you won't stop it. Months after he died I was finding dried up stains that I didn't know about. Vet couldn't help. Behaviourist visited house and didn't help. Hours of googling and buying various products. He was lavished with.love and attention. He even sprayed us on occasions. I will never have another cat. Could not go back to that.

If your moving to a quieter area then yes it may but a couple we did rehome to houses returned them as they did not stop spraying in the new places either unfortunately. It becomes a habit and at the age yours is im fairly confident in saying he will probably carry on and I notice comments about a litter tray but you could keep an immaculate tray down in every room and he would still spray. It's mainly a territorial thing and males in particular do like to mark there areas. I know it's upsetting but the best thing for him and you may be to rehome him to someone who has a very quiet house or farm. The cleaner your using is good but there will always be a cat pee smell which you probably don't notice so much living in it and it's not particularly safe for a little one to be breathing in often.

I don't believe a new house will.make any difference.
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I agree that it becomes ingrained behaviour and also that it is territorial. Maybe a cat annexe attached to the house is the best way around this. I do sympathise. I have been in tears with the frustration of it all.

A cat annexe that he would just live in permanently?

A decent rescue will check he's rehomed to an appropriate home. You can suggest he goes somewhere quiet and rural.

Have you tried Cystease?

You can diy cat proofing with mesh and metal brackets.

Would frosted effect window film help him? If he can’t see cats he won’t be bothered by them?

He could still come in for supervised cuddles. You can get some really nice, large ones and put in toys and climbing frames. He can still go outside if he wants, it would just be his own little house. They can be expensive.

Just adding that I had a cat that did this temporarily in a place I lived for a year. He was terrorised by local cats. It settled down when I moved. So your move might help things. If you can't hold out til then maybe try to re home. It's for the best, this is an unhappy cat.

And adding a tip. Biological clothes gel to clean, then wipe the area over with surgical spirit. Does a good job on the smell.

We have a female cat who has done this, when she feels threatened.
There is an absolute terror Tom near us. He suffered a traumatic brain injury, and is an absolute shit bag at times.
She used to spray my bed, when I was in it. Absolutely horrendous situation.

We now have a small dog. That was an interesting situation initially, but she has now stopped! He's a rather vocal chihuahua, and keeps enemy cats at bay.

Have you tried sprinkling human male pee around your garden? Apparently it keeps out unwanted Toms.
I totally understand your frustration. You must absolutely adore him. I hope you find a solution.

That sounds really hard, OP. I don't want to add to your stress because I know you must feel at the end of your tether, but I think you need to be realistic about how 'nose blind' you may have become.

My sister had a problem with a local cat repeatedly breaking in through her cat flap and spraying in her house. It didn't take long before everything she owned smelled of cat wee. It wasn't just that her house smelt - it was really noticeable on her clothes when she was out of the house, even when they were freshly washed, and it also transferred via her clothes to her car. It was awful and she had no idea how bad it was because she had had grown used to it surprisingly quickly.

If it's the walls you're worried about you can get that plastic sheeting that goes on the walls for kids to draw on. Personally I would get rid of the cat because I'd worry about my child crawling in cat pee.
Our old female used to pee inside so she became an outside cat and was much happier but your boy sounds scared.

Our female indoor cat does this - we have literally bought sheets of clear or white Perspex cut to size (sheetplastics.co.uk) and screwed or double-sided-taped them onto everywhere she does it (front of units, side of sofa, bottom of doors etc).
We always stop her and put her in her "room" for a short period (she sleeps in a modified downstairs loo room set up with cat shelves, litter tray etc) if we see her doing it, but the Perspex has turned a constant battle trying to extract scent/wipe furniture before it soaks into wood & fabric etc into a quick spray of our own and wipe with a cloth, and it is a huge improvement to the house!