Male cat spraying out of spite - HELP!

[horsemum]

Hello,

I’ve been having issues with my Male cat since November.
When it started I couldn’t pin point anything that triggered it, though something may have happened outside to stress him.

In that time we have since moved house, so a big change in his life came after the spraying started.

Basically if he doesn’t get his own way he will piss on the nearest surface!

If he paws at the door wanting out and he is not immediately let out - he sprays on the chair next to the window.
If he goes to his food bowl and it’s empty - he sprays on the fridge.
If he gets shouted at for pinning the smaller cat (owned since Male cat was a kitten - now 6) - he sprays on the nearest surface.
If there is anything new placed on the floor - handbag put down, cardboard box delivery etc - he sprays on it.

Honestly at my wits end. He’s had calming stuff from the vet, a check up etc. It does not appear to be through change as this happened before the house move - it’s only when he doesn’t get his own way or gets into trouble!! Spiteful wee s***.

A plant spray bottle works to an extent but I can’t follow him around 24/7 to spray him in the act.
New sofas being delivered in the next few weeks and looking into protective plastic sheeting to wrap round the bottom of them!!

Apart from this his behaviour doesn’t seem to have changed at all, it’s only the spraying!

Can anyone help?!

 

[AmyMay]

Not very helpful, but after experiencing the same with a male cat, never again. Females all the way.

 

[Sandstone1]

Is he castrated? Don't think animals do anything out of spite.
I'm guessing he must not be happy. Do you have a cat flap?

 

[Blackwijet]

Has he had a urine test - and I mean a proper urine analysis, quite often hear that this type of behaviour is down to an undiagnosed UTI and that it needs a full urine analysis. Animals don't do things out of spite but pain, frustration, lack of control can be indicators. Also is he neutered, doesn't always stop them if it's become a habit but can have some effect

 

[BeckyFlowers]

Yes as Sandstone said, animals don't do things out of spite so please don't treat him in that way as this will make the behaviour worse, especially if you are constantly telling him off and he's now getting mimimal positive interactions with you. You say he may have been stressed outside - has he stopped going out, or has his outside behaviour changed? Are there other cats coming into your garden? Does he have good access to litter tray and food and water bowls? Cat behaviourists advise in multi-cat households that there should be n+1 litter trays (n being the number of cats).

Hope you manage to sort this out, not a pleasant situation all round.

 

[Meowy Catkin]

I echo the others - it will not be spite. There will be a reason that started it all off and that makes sense to a cat, you just haven't identified it yet.

I strongly suggest that you watch some episodes of 'my cat from hell' with Jackson Galaxy. He often has to deal with cats that spray and he is very good at getting inside a cat's mind and helping the owner to help the cat. He is very good, the programme is very American and repeats things a lot, but it really is worth watching.

 

[horsemum]

Oh I know it’s not really spite - I’m just annoyed!!
I can assure you he’s not getting any less positive attention from me, he’s a wild hunter by night and by day he’s a very cuddly big boy - he spends a lot of time suffocating me with cuddles!

Should have mentioned he is neutered and has gone through two rounds of UTI treatment since it started, just to rule that out.
Been trying to get a urine sample but not managed yet.

When I say something may have happened outside it’s because I just don’t know, he may have had a fight or similar. He’s always been a scrapper though so this is nothing new.
Even if this was the case and he was beaten up by another cat, we have since moved so any potential bully cat would no longer be an issue. Plus, it’s my cat that’s the bully!!

Nothing else has changed, he doesn’t use the litter box, only the other cat does as she’s not very outdoorsy.

It’s just when he doesn’t get his own way like I mentioned that he does it!!

 

[fiwen30]

He’s clearly unhappy and/or stressed; animals don’t have a concept of ‘spite’.

It sounds like your cat is used to being top of the pecking order -this is a large responsibility, and part of that is maintaining the boundaries of his territory. He’s spraying to mark, as he doesn’t feel secure that the house is his.

You can try Feliway plug ins, and use the spray on walls and furniture around the house at cat-face height - these provide an artificial ‘scent mark’, where the cat might rub his cheeks or spray to mark. You can also take his own scent by rubbing a soft cloth around his cheeks and mouth, and then rubbing the cloth around the house.

It’s also possible that the house move means there’s more cats in the area and/or in the garden which are upsetting him. If he’s used to fighting and having a large territory, then interlopers could cause him to feel unsettled and trigger the urge to spray.

He needs to feel that the house smells like him; blankets, cat beds, towels, ‘soft’ things that will trap scent if he lies on them are good for this too.

I’d also stop with the water bottle - if he’s unsettled then he already feels like the house in unsafe, and adding to that won’t help.

Another recommendation to watch Jackson Galaxy’s ‘my cat from hell’ - even just look up parts of episodes on YouTube which cover cats spraying.

 

[JillA]

Make DOUBLY sure that there is no residual smell he is overmarking, (Lidl sell a biological spray endorsed by RSPCA) and then that there isn't anything he finds threatening, like a visiting cat etc (does he have a cat flap? Some find open access difficult to defend). Give him a quiet out of the way space like a box he can go to if he feels stressed, and yes, something like Feliway.

 

[MiJodsR2BlinkinTite]

Echoing the above comments basically.

IF and I say if, you feel you can no longer deal with the situation, then there is no shame at admitting that, and Cats Protection would be able to rehome him in a situation perhaps where he is outdoors more where the spraying/marking wouldn't be such a problem, such as a farm or somewhere out in the countryside where he wouldn't necessarily be coming into the home quite so much.

Hope OP you don't mind me saying this, as the whole thing is beginning to sound like a real struggle for you and it is affecting your relationship with Puss so that both of you are getting all the more stressed, which won't be helping with the situation.

Like a horse which doesn't work out, sometimes you just gotta cut-and-run, and start anew.

Anyway, just a suggestion.

 

[Beezer]

Hello,

I’ve been having issues with my Male cat since November.
When it started I couldn’t pin point anything that triggered it, though something may have happened outside to stress him.

In that time we have since moved house, so a big change in his life came after the spraying started.

Basically if he doesn’t get his own way he will piss on the nearest surface!

If he paws at the door wanting out and he is not immediately let out - he sprays on the chair next to the window.
If he goes to his food bowl and it’s empty - he sprays on the fridge.
If he gets shouted at for pinning the smaller cat (owned since Male cat was a kitten - now 6) - he sprays on the nearest surface.
If there is anything new placed on the floor - handbag put down, cardboard box delivery etc - he sprays on it.

Honestly at my wits end. He’s had calming stuff from the vet, a check up etc. It does not appear to be through change as this happened before the house move - it’s only when he doesn’t get his own way or gets into trouble!! Spiteful wee s***.

A plant spray bottle works to an extent but I can’t follow him around 24/7 to spray him in the act.
New sofas being delivered in the next few weeks and looking into protective plastic sheeting to wrap round the bottom of them!!

Apart from this his behaviour doesn’t seem to have changed at all, it’s only the spraying!

Can anyone help?!

This sounds like the behaviour one of our chaps exhibited when he was around 14yo. Absolutely no change in his cat-mosphere although we wracked our brains trying to think what might have changed that could have triggered such a change. He just suddenly took to shouting and spraying indoors.

He was clearly unhappy and it was so out of character for him. Our lap-loving House Leopard was now too stressed to do anything but wander round looking anxious, shouting and spraying whilst we and the vets tried to find out what was going on.

We tried all sorts until a new vet at the practice said "has he been neutered?" and obviously we said yes, bang on 6mths. New Vet went "hmmmm" and suggested a check. They excised a "third potato" and the minute he'd recovered from his surgery our Ozymandias went straight back to being the wonderful loving opinionated little chap he was.

It took us a lot of time, luck and money to get to the "possible third potato" diagnosis so it might be worth asking about to save on those?

 

[KittenInTheTree]

Bin the spray bottle and replace it with cuddles. Likewise the telling off for pinning the other cat: don't shout, instead scoop him up immediately and cuddle him. There is no use whatsoever in punishing a cat - all it does is escalate the issue. Snuggling them however, is surprisingly effective, and has the added bonus of making the human feel happy.

 

[Blanche]

I feel very sorry that your cat is having to go through this. He is trying to tell you things aren't right but you haven't been able to decipher it yet. Please stop spraying him, you are just stressing him more. Animals don't do spite but humans do.

https://www.viovet.co.uk/Katkor-Uri...IEkdRznscW8PmTBzX01_jN-DKClQ5dvRoC_-8QAvD_BwE
There are various cat litters that can be used to collect a sample, this is just one type.

Have you just one litter tray between the two? Cat don't like sharing if they can help it. Put more litter trays around the place. Have you changed the type of litter or has he got sore feet? Some cats don't like hard pellets, clear crystals or gravel type litter as it hurts.

I use http://petremedy.co.uk/ rather than the one you use as I find it works better.

 

[Chianti]

Hello,

I’ve been having issues with my Male cat since November.
When it started I couldn’t pin point anything that triggered it, though something may have happened outside to stress him.

In that time we have since moved house, so a big change in his life came after the spraying started.

Basically if he doesn’t get his own way he will piss on the nearest surface!

If he paws at the door wanting out and he is not immediately let out - he sprays on the chair next to the window.
If he goes to his food bowl and it’s empty - he sprays on the fridge.
If he gets shouted at for pinning the smaller cat (owned since Male cat was a kitten - now 6) - he sprays on the nearest surface.
If there is anything new placed on the floor - handbag put down, cardboard box delivery etc - he sprays on it.

Honestly at my wits end. He’s had calming stuff from the vet, a check up etc. It does not appear to be through change as this happened before the house move - it’s only when he doesn’t get his own way or gets into trouble!! Spiteful wee s***.

A plant spray bottle works to an extent but I can’t follow him around 24/7 to spray him in the act.
New sofas being delivered in the next few weeks and looking into protective plastic sheeting to wrap round the bottom of them!!

Apart from this his behaviour doesn’t seem to have changed at all, it’s only the spraying!

Can anyone help?!

I second Pet Remedy. Your cat sounds very stressed - for whatever reason. Try Zylkene. Mine had stress induced cystitis and it really helped. Also as hard as it is try to stay relaxed yourself or they feed off of your stress. Mine's cystitis improved when I stopped following around to see how and when he was weeing!