Cat won’t stop spraying

[jessteroni]

I want to start this off by saying he is already neutered, I also can’t exactly afford a vet visit at the moment so any help y’all can provide me without going to vet would be great.

He has zero symptoms of a UTI apart from spraying/peeing in places he shouldn’t. He only sprays after I leave for work, never when I’m home. And he only pees on my brothers things. When he sprays it’s usually the same 3 places but occasionally there’s a random spot.

I recently got him a Feliway Collar hoping that might help but no such luck just yet. We have 4 litter boxes for 2 cats. I was thinking about getting the Feliway plug ins to put in the areas he sprays most. Also he uses his litter box just fine, zero issues there.

Does anyone have any advice or experience with this?

-This has been going on for almost a year but seems like it’s been getting a little worse in these last few months.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. Is he actually spraying or just peeing inappropriately? Spraying is more indicative of a territorial behavior and could have to do with your absence and/or something about your brother. I would ensure you can keep your brother's things in his room and close the door, at least when you are not at home.

Otherwise, peeing can sometimes be the only sign of a UTI, so you don't always have to see other typical symptoms. However, the fact that this has been going on for almost a year suggests he might have a form of cystitis, which when there is no known cause, it is considered stressed induced. See article link below about it, along with other urinary tract issues.

Thoroughly cleaning those common areas with enzyme cleaners might help a bit, because if he can smell his scent there it is like an invitation to go there again and again. Feliway is not the only calming product on the market, so you may have to experiment with some others. Not all work on all cats. Just do an internet search on 'cat calming products' to see some other options.

Lastly, as you will see in the article, this could become problematic, especially with males. Oftentimes, this type of cystitis ends up causing bladder/urethra spasms or an unusual amount of inflammation in the urinary tract that can mean partial, and even total, obstruction over time.

FLUTD (Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease) | PetMD

 

[jessteroni]

Hi. Is he actually spraying or just peeing inappropriately? Spraying is more indicative of a territorial behavior and could have to do with your absence and/or something about your brother. I would ensure you can keep your brother's things in his room and close the door, at least when you are not at home.

Otherwise, peeing can sometimes be the only sign of a UTI, so you don't always have to see other typical symptoms. However, the fact that this has been going on for almost a year suggests he might have a form of cystitis, which when there is no known cause, it is considered stressed induced. See article link below about it, along with other urinary tract issues.

Thoroughly cleaning those common areas with enzyme cleaners might help a bit, because if he can smell his scent there it is like an invitation to go there again and again. Feliway is not the only calming product on the market, so you may have to experiment with some others. Not all work on all cats. Just do an internet search on 'cat calming products' to see some other options.

Lastly, as you will see in the article, this could become problematic, especially with males. Oftentimes, this type of cystitis ends up causing bladder/urethra spasms or an unusual amount of inflammation in the urinary tract that can mean partial, and even total, obstruction over time.

FLUTD (Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease) | PetMD

It’s definitely spraying, he backs up to the areas, has the whole tag wiggle thing going on and it’s spotty, not a puddle.

Now he pees on my brothers things, typically shoes he leaves by the door, or dirty laundry on the floor of the laundry room. If he leaves his bedroom door open, Nugget will rush in to pee on anything he can in there and then rush out.

The only reason I’m not super concerned is he has no issue going to the bathroom, it’s normal amount of urine, the color is great, he never looks in distress when urinating or makes any noises. He’s been drinking the same amount of water he always has. And he uses all the litter boxes pretty evenly throughout the day.

 

[FeebysOwner]

So, is there a correlation between when your brother came to live with you and the spraying? If not that, perhaps your brother changed jobs and brings in new smells, or is using new soaps/colognes/etc.? Or maybe your brother has just gotten on some new medications? It seems everything you are saying is pointing to your brother's existence as possibly being the cause, so investigate that aspect.

 

[A.w]

I want to start this off by saying he is already neutered, I also can’t exactly afford a vet visit at the moment so any help y’all can provide me without going to vet would be great.

He has zero symptoms of a UTI apart from spraying/peeing in places he shouldn’t. He only sprays after I leave for work, never when I’m home. And he only pees on my brothers things. When he sprays it’s usually the same 3 places but occasionally there’s a random spot.

I recently got him a Feliway Collar hoping that might help but no such luck just yet. We have 4 litter boxes for 2 cats. I was thinking about getting the Feliway plug ins to put in the areas he sprays most. Also he uses his litter box just fine, zero issues there.

Does anyone have any advice or experience with this?

-This has been going on for almost a year but seems like it’s been getting a little worse in these last few months.

I had a male cat that did the exact same for years. He would spray and pee everywhere. Ruined my flooring among other things. We ended up putting him on anxiety medication and using a baby gate to separate him from the others. He was a social boy so I felt that putting him in a room by himself was too extreme (we did this with my female that peed everywhere and it's worked wonders for her though). This way, if he wanted to be social, he would sit at the gate and we would let him out. When he was over it, he would go back to the gate and wait to be let in. It was an immediate change once he got his own space and his anxiety was taken care of.