Is Your Cat Marking Your Home?

The smell of ordinary cat urine is strong enough, but when a cat spray marks, the odor will be even more overpowering and unpleasant. Unlike urination, which does leave a message for other cats to an extent, spray marking is more like a billboard with lights. The whole reason for marking is to inform other cats of a particular cat’s presence. And, while urine is simply the waste that has been filtered out by the kidneys, marking includes other bodily chemicals with information about sex, health, and undoubtedly other important cat messages.

Unlike normal urination, which is made by the cat squatting down, spray marking is done when the cat is standing and the deposit will be made on a vertical surface such as a door frame or the front of a sofa or chair. The cat will back up to the chosen area, and wiggle its tail as it delivers the spray behind it. The volume of the spray is much less than is produced when the cat urinates.

Stopping Spray Marking

While some female cats will spray mark, the main culprits are intact males. Spray marking is used not only to deliver some information about the sprayer, but also to mark territory, which is especially important in the wild where hunting grounds must be protected. This behavior is also much more common in homes where there are several cats, and an order of dominance constantly needs to be established. However, there are steps you can take to minimize the chances of spray marking.

• If you have a multi-cat household, provide several litter boxes, rather than just one, there should be a box for each cat, and a spare.
• All litter boxes should be kept completely clean. Feces and clumps of urine-soaked litter should be removed daily and the litter changed completely once a week.
• Block off the area being spray marked. The cat will usually return to the same spot periodically to ‘renew’ the fragrance, so denying access can help to eliminate the problem.
• Use an enzyme cleaner to remove the spray. You may have to apply it several times to remove all the smell.
• Neutering both toms and tabbies can help to stop spraying behavior.

Stress can also trigger spray marking, so address any issues that may be making your cat, or cats, nervous.

Finding the Best Spot for the Litter Box

Although some cats will use the litter box regardless of where you place it, just so that they can somehow reach it, other cats will balk at using an inappropriately positioned box. Choosing a good place for the litter box means that there will be less chance that you will find wet spots on the rug or ‘worse’ behind the sofa. Cats are clean animals and will use their box if it is convenient and accessible.

Think Like a Cat

Cats not only need a litter box filled with dry, clean, loose litter to dig in, they also need a place where they feel comfortable. The placement of the litter box should be for your cat’s convenience, not necessarily yours. And, ultimately, a litter box that is used consistently by your cat will be the most convenient for you, regardless of where it’s located.

• Do not position your cat’s litter box next to his or her food and water dishes. Nobody enjoys eating in a toilet.
• Cats, like people, enjoy a bit of privacy when going to the bathroom. Don’t place the litter box so far from the center of activities that it will be difficult to use, but do put it a bit off the beaten path.
• The litter box should be in a lighted area so that the cat feels safer using it. Don’t put the box in a dark basement filled with clutter; the cat will be afraid that it might be attacked when using the box.
• Make sure that use of the litter box doesn’t require you to open a door for the cat – there should be free access to the box at all times.
• Once you and your cat have found the right place for the litter box, leave it there. If you find that it must be moved, do this gradually by shifting the position of the box a little each day.
• Multi-cat households should also provide multiple litter boxes. It’s also a good idea to keep the boxes separated from one another. There should also be an extra box in case one of the regular ones is soiled or otherwise inaccessible.
• If you have a house with several stories, it’s a good idea to have a litter box available on each floor. There will be less chance of an accident if your cat doesn’t have to travel a long distance to use the box.

Cats Are Cleanly – This Can Help Stop Litter Box Problems

The most common reason why cats wind up sitting in a cage at an animal shelter is because they refuse to use the litter box. Cat urine has a very strong odor, and getting it out of fabric or even removing the smell entirely from hard surfaces can be difficult. And, cats have been known not only to defecate behind furniture to hide the deed, but also often on the worst places possible, such as your bed.

If you’ve been frustrated in trying to get your cat to use the litter box, you may be surprised to learn that the answer to the problem could be very easy to solve. Please note that any cat who is not using the litter box should be checked out by a veterinarian, just to rule out hidden illness.

Keeping It Clean

Rather than getting angry at your wayward cat, it may be time to examine a critical element in the problem – the litter box itself. Cats are very clean animals, and one thing that can drive a cat from his or her litter box is a box that is filthy. Put yourself in your pet’s place and imagine how you would like to use an overflowing toilet; you wouldn’t, so why should your cat. Today’s busy world often leaves us trying to do too much in too little time, but the litter box cannot be neglected.

• Clumping litter is probably the best choice for the litter box. Not only does this kind of material make it easier to remove feces, but it also makes it simple to remove urine. You should use a scoop to take out the clumps at least twice a day, and if you are home most of the time, scoop the box as soon as your cat is finished. Remember to add a bit of new litter to compensate for what was removed.
• The entire box should be changed once a week if you have only one cat using it and at least twice if you have several cats all using the same box. It’s best to provide a box for each cat, however, to prevent one cat from dominating.

Cleaning Up After Accidents

Although you may have read that soap and water or baking soda will remove cat urine odor, they will not. Some of the compounds in cat urine are not water soluble and require an enzyme cleaner to remove the smell completely. You may need to repeat the process several times until all the odor is gone. Your nose will tell you when the job is done.

Cat Urine Odor Removal Tips

There is no mistaking the heavy, ammonia smell of cat urine. Whether your cat is simply urinating wherever he or she wishes, or is spraying urine to mark territory, the result will be the same. This is a strong odor that will affect a surprisingly large area of the home, even if the problem area is relatively small. You should actually account yourself lucky if you are able to spot a puddle or a wet area on the rug or upholstery and begin treating it immediately. However, once the urine has dried, in most cases you will have to locate it by smell or by using a black light.

Odor Removal Once the Urine Is Found
Once you find out the problem area, it’s important to take some care to remove the urine as completely as possible; not only for the sake of your nose, but to discourage your cat of thinking of that particular spot as a bathroom.

The organic compounds found in cat urine can pose some problems in removing the odor – some of the compounds are water soluble, but the uric acid not only is capable of binding to adjacent surfaces, but is not soluble by water. When you find fresh urine you should:

• Wipe up the urine from hard surfaces with a paper towel and use the same to blot urine in furniture or rugs. Don’t use cloth unless you are prepared to throw it away afterwards.
• An enzyme cleaner is your best choice for removing cat urine. These cleaners are specifically designed to break down the uric acid into ammonia and carbon dioxide, which will simply off gas naturally afterwards.
• Do not try to hasten the drying process after using an enzyme cleaner since it interrupts the normal dissipation of the ammonia and carbon dioxide.
• Use the best enzyme cleaner possible – inexpensive cleaners often require multiple uses before they remove the odor of cat urine.
• Be generous when applying the cleaner; you should soak the target area to allow the enzymes to really do their job.
• After leaving the cleaner on for approximately a quarter of an hour, blot it up, then let the spot dry naturally.

Although rugs are the usual areas where your cat may urinate, beds, sofas, and clothing can also be sullied. Use the same procedure on these as you did on your rug. Slipcovers and clothing should be washed separately after they have been treated with the enzyme cleaner. Spray marking will be found on a vertical surface such as a door frame or chair leg.

My Best Product To Permanently Stop Cat Spraying

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The Cat Spraying No More System carefully outlines various scenarios of unwanted spraying and targets possible causes in an easy to understand and well-laid out format. The system eases the reader into the topic and playfully chides with owners about the author’s own unfortunate experiences, how the author was able to overcome them, and how you can, too.

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In Conclusion
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