How to Stop a Cat from Spraying! This Works.
Even if your cat is neutered he may still spray!
This is one bad habit that can drive a pet owner crazy. How to stop a cat from spraying! First of all it helps to identify the cause of spraying. The most common cause is due to territoriality. Getting a male cat neutered at a young age is the best prevention. A male cat that is neutered at an older age may have already developed this habit and continue to spray!! I will only refer to the male cats here but females can do it too.
If you have an adult cat that is fixed and they still spray, there are a number of methods to try and deter the behavior and hopefully end it. First of all, cats spray when they feel the need to mark their territory. This may happen when there are multiple cats in the household and they are in competition. Another common reason is the cat seeing, hearing or smelling neighbor cats out the windows or doors of the house. If the cat sees, hears and smells another cat near “his” home, he will likely feel territorial and mark his turf! If you can, keep windows closed and even keep the curtains drawn to prevent the cats inside from seeing cats outside. This may be difficult however and a persistent cat will likely just nudge through the curtains to look anyway!
Fix Territoriality and Anxiety to Stop Spraying
Part of this territorial attitude has to do with feelings of anxiousness. If the cat feels very safe, comfortable and secure in the home, he will be less likely to spray as he will feel less anxious. There are some great products to deal with cat’s anxiety whether from sources inside the house (coming into a new home, having other pets etc.) or outside the house such as seeing the neighbor cats. I use these everyday on my skittish Norwegian Forest Cat and they stopped his peeing and spraying! It was amazing to find something that actually works. Diffusers and medication are the most commonly recommended treatments but in my experience they were hard to use and not very effective. They are also more expensive. See posts here for pheromone collars and diffusers and herbal drops to ease anxiety, cure jumpiness and make your cat happy and calm.
Here is my favorite cat calming product since it works, it is easy to use and it is natural and safe. It is Jackson Galaxy’s Safe Space For Cats Drops.
Try Jackson Galaxy Safe Space For Cats Drops
The other product I use for my boy is Sentry Brand Calming Collars. They are not natural like the drops and not as easy to use since the cat has to wear the collar, but they are effective. I use both of these products together and they actually stopped my rescue boy from peeing and spraying all over the house.
Try a Sentry Calming Collar For Your Cat!
The pheromone collars and calming drops which are applied to the fur work wonders for our kitty. He is now a former peer! These products worked so well he no longer needs them. We were able to stop using one and then the other. It several years to get to this point however.
Before he was cured, when summer was here and the windows and doors are open however, even these products were not enough to guarantee he would not feel the urge to mark his territory. If an aggressive neighbor cat came to the porch and sprayed by the door, it was just too much of an insult for him ignore! We needed even more help! I discovered a spray by Whisker City called ‘No Mark’ that somehow just makes them stop spraying on their favorite targets! I sprayed it on the area he kept going and he stopped! I was afraid he would start going somewhere else but he has not. It has calming scents that make cats feel happy so they don’t feel the need to spray.
I encourage you to check out these products! They are cheap compared to the cost of treating your clothing, furniture, carpets and whole house with enzymatic cleaners, and washing and throwing out clothes and shoes! Those will be your only options after they have been sprayed!
I am overjoyed to find these products that work. It is the greatest stress imaginable to fear your cat spraying on things in your house every time he gets the urge. You jump out of bed in the middle of the night when you hear the dreaded, scratch, scratch, scratch, that means he just sprayed something!
If you have any questions or comments on how to stop a cat from spraying or anything else, please let me know!
Please note: I am not a veterinarian. Nothing in this post constitutes medical advice. Always see a veterinarian before starting a new diet or attempting to diagnose any medical condition.
Jessica
https://thrivingcat.com
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Very interesting read, I am a cat owner. I absolutely love my fur baby, but sometimes she gets just a bit too wild. Do you have any suggestions to calm her down? She is about 7 months old and has been fixed already. She is also biting alot, any tips you might have for us would be appreciated. She is a relatively loving animal for the most part.
Hello Trisha,
Yes, I have to use several products for one of my cats who is skittish and jumpy. Some use scents that mimic pharomones to calm them down. I have used a plug-in diffuser and a collar based on this concept. I also use drops that go on the fur. These work immediately! Please check out my post here on the topic! http://thrivingcat.com/my-cat-is-crazy-what-can-i-do
Let me know if I can answer any more questions.
Thanks for stopping by,
Jessica
Both our cats used to spray when we first rescued them but as you rightly point out above – we did put it down to feelings of anxiousness because we had no real idea how they had been treated in their first home (there are some awful pet owners out there – as you probably know).
They’ve stopped now, as far as I can tell (I don’t follow them around!). Do you think people maybe worry a little too much about this spraying action…they are wild animals at the end of the day and not really supposed to be domestic at first?
Hello Chris,
If there are ways to prevent spraying then we might as well use them and have a better smelling house. Cat “smell” is one of the reasons some people don’t like cats so I want to help dispel the ideas that houses with cats have to smell. It is also better for the cat to deal with the anxiety rather than to let them be stressed and pee everywhere.
Thanks for stopping by,
Jessica
This is exactly what I have been looking for, I will try the collar for certain. My cat has been left in the house alone for way longer than he was used to lately and he started spraying in the basement. Always at the same spot!
From the information in your article, this is likely being caused by anxiety, since he’s been neutered at a young age, and we never had this problem until my wife changed jobs and now he is left all along for long periods.
Thanks for this great advice!
Hello Denis,
I try to promote natural products but when you have a really desperate situation sometimes you need whatever works. The collar is not natural and has a strong smell (of lavender) at first but it works. Just knock off the loose powder in the trash before you put the collar on your cat. The scent is in the collar itself so the powder is not needed.
Thanks for stopping by, and I hope the collar works well for your cat.
Jessica
Hey there. Thanks for creating a clear cut page of information to stop my cat from spraying, those product don’t just look good, they seem to hold a value of common sense. I actually can’t wait for them to arrive, and get my place smelling human again because my boy although fixed, he is so territorial! 🙂
Kind Regards Rob
Hello Rob,
I am so glad this is useful information for you. It is such a relief when your home is calm with happy cats and no bad smells!
Jessica
This was an intriguing read. I have not heard off sprays to stop cats spraying or any other concoction to halt this annoying trait of male cats.
I prefer the neutering option but as you say if that does not work you have to find another way to curb this habit. especially if you are losing sleep over it.
We only have one cat and he was neutered at a young age, also we are on a farm so he has no competition for territory.
Thanks for sharing I am sure it will be useful information for some cat owners.
Hello Judy,
My boy was neutered also but some cats still spray if they feel stressed and territorial. You are lucky you don’t have to deal with that frustration!
Thanks for stopping by,
Jessica
Hey Jessica! ☺
I can see you are a honest cat-lover who wants to help other cat owners with the everyday struggles of owning a cat.
I love the content. Your personality shines through and it’s very engaging.
I love the fact that you have lots of content to go through that covers the need to know about cats. May it be behavioral solutions to cat toys, you cover it all! I am definitely sharing this to my cat- loving 🐱friends. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge. ❤