Cat Spraying?

meto

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Hi everyone ^^
There's been a really bad smell in my condo. It's mostly in one room, where my cat Caine spends a lot of time. That room is also where the litter box is, but I scoop it very often and this is definitely not that smell. Either something has been dying in the walls once a month, or Caine is getting a little territorial.

It's just me and him in here, but there are lots of stray cats he can see out the window. Maybe that's where and why he sprayed? He's neutered, does that make it less likely that he's been spraying? The smell is like... i guess... mildewy towel mixed with distilled vinegar. Not exactly, but it's hard to pin down.

Let's just assume that hes been spraying, since I havent found the stinkiest spot but I've checked every other potential source I can think of and this seems most likely. How can I make him more comfortable and confident so that he doesn't do this? I can't think of anything, best i've got is to find out where exactly he marked and clean it up, only to inevitably have it happen again, and hope that its in the same spot because once its dry its impossible to find...

Any advice is greatly appreciated, thank you so much!
Ian
 

rubysmama

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The stray cats outside your window could be making him territorial. And, yes, neutered male cats can spray. I think because he's neutered the smell would be less strong than un-neutered cat's spraying.

To check to see if there is urine in the room, try getting a black light:
https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_...ds=blacklight+for+cat+pee&tag=&tag=thecatsite

Then if you find he is peeing/spraying outside the box, you will need an enzyme cleaner to thoroughly get rid the the urine scent, and have to get him to only use the litter box. But first you need to determine if the bad smell is cat pee.
 
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meto

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The stray cats outside your window could be making him territorial. And, yes, neutered male cats can spray. I think because he's neutered the smell would be less strong than un-neutered cat's spraying.

To check to see if there is urine in the room, try getting a black light:

Then if you find he is peeing/spraying outside the box, you will need an enzyme cleaner to thoroughly get rid the the urine scent, and have to get him to only use the litter box. But first you need to determine if the bad smell is cat pee.
Oh yeah, a blacklight! Totally forgot I could do that. I think I have one so I'll try it out now
 
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meto

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The stray cats outside your window could be making him territorial. And, yes, neutered male cats can spray. I think because he's neutered the smell would be less strong than un-neutered cat's spraying.

To check to see if there is urine in the room, try getting a black light:
https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2/132-8232047-9973033?url=search-alias=aps&field-keywords=blacklight+for+cat+pee

Then if you find he is peeing/spraying outside the box, you will need an enzyme cleaner to thoroughly get rid the the urine scent, and have to get him to only use the litter box. But first you need to determine if the bad smell is cat pee.
Well, that answers that! There's a big bright spot right on the floor by the window. It's an artificial hardwood floor so it should be easy enough to clean, thank god. I went ahead and scanned around the litterbox too, but it looks like he's doing a great job keeping it all inside, except when he's making a point.

Do you have any suggestions about making him feel less territorial around that window? Thanks so much!
 
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meto

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Thanks! I cleaned it up with an enzyme cleaner, hopefully I got all of it.

Caine exhibits a lot of signs of stress, so his spraying could be a result of that as well as the stray cats outside. I can't think of any particular stressors he's experienced since his last vet visit early this year (no medical issues), maybe its just traumatic memories or something. I got him from a shelter less than a year ago so i have no idea what his life was like before. His other stress behaviors have been slowly decreasing in frequency since I got him, so hopefully this will too
 
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