Cats Spraying On Walls, Destroying My House

[kara701]

Please help! Despite all my experience in cat rescue, I’m clueless on how to stop my cats from peeing on the walls / spraying. They are destroying my house and it stinks so bad I can’t even have friends or family over! I have four cats, not sure if it’s one or all

Have tried using feliway and feline comfort zone not sure if it’s working, still have things showing up under the blacklight on the walls and the smell despite the cleaning

How do I get them to stop? It is not a medical issue, they had urinalysis no UTI

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Since you do rescue, I'm thinking that you know about using a really good enzymatic cleaner? That's the only thing that will get rid of the smell. Having a blacklight to find spots is a HUGE advantage, so you're ahead of the game on that one, at least!

Are all of the cats fixed? If not, that's job one. I don't mean to be insulting, and am probably preaching to the choir with a rescuer, but it bears repeating.

How many litter boxes do you have? With four cats, five boxes is ideal. Sometimes just that can calm things down.

OK...how large is your house? I'm wondering if these guys might be feeling crowded. If so, you can help with that be installing lots of vertical space for them. Wall shelves that "stairstep" up a wall can be very pretty, and allow cats to get some alone time, as well.

Also, do you have strays in the area that might be coming up to the house? If your cats are seeing them, that can cause a very strong territorial reaction, and LOTS of spraying ("BUILD A MOAT! THE BARBARIANS ARE AT THE DOOR!"). If that is the case, then I highly recommend compressed air cans with a motion sensor. When strays come close, they get a strong blast of air in the face. It doesn't usually take more than once or twice before they decide that they should take there business elsewhere. These cans are available on Amazon, and other places as well. They aren't cheap, but not prohibitively expensive, not when they are saving your walls and furniture!

And now, for a few articles to fill in all the blanks that I'm sure I left...

How To Solve Litterbox Problems In Cats: The Ultimate Guide
Is Your Cat Stressed Out?
Six Surefire Strategies To Reduce Stress In Cats
Potential Stressors In Cats - The Ultimate Checklist
Spraying: When Your Cat Uses Urine To Mark Territory
Inappropriate Peeing, Spraying, Toy Obsession And Leg And Hand Nipping
The Dos And Don'ts Of Cat Behavior Modification

It really does look like a lot more than it is. The articles are not overly long, and are clear and concise, and easy reads!

Let us know what does and doesnt' work, so we can go from there!

 

[rubysmama]

Mamanyt1953 covered a lot of things, but I still have a few questions.

- Are the 4 cats all your permanent residents? Or are there new rescues involved?
- Do all the cats get along? How old are they?
- Is this a new behaviour, or been going on a while?

 

[JamesCalifornia]

Dear kara701
~ Welcome to the club. I too am going through the same "experience " People at my local Target think I am an interior decorator I purchase so many curtains !!
We have some good info/advice from Mamanyt195 . Good luck to us both !

 

[rubysmama]

Maybe there'll be something in one of these TCS articles to help with getting rid of the urine smell.

Combat Cat Urine | TheCatSite
How To Remove Cat Urine | TheCatSite
How To Remove Cat Urine Odor From Your Home | TheCatSite
How Get Cat Urine Smell Out Of Carpet: Effective, Non-toxic Solutions | TheCatSite
How To Get Cat Pee Smell Out Of Clothes And Linens | TheCatSite

 

[Kflowers]

use the black light on the outside of your house. You'll find where other - outside - cats have sprayed. Enzyme clean it. You may have to do this every freakin' day, but it will help. You can even use a spray bottle of white vinegar to make your own 'spray claim' marks, but save that for after you've done the find and enzyme. Yes, our neighbor's had a tom they got fixed, but he just had to go outside, so they let him. He sprayed everybody's front and back door in the neighborhood. This was in town, the vets never thought anyone's cat spraying inside the house was territorial, they thought the cat was just crazy. I wonder how many cats were put down because of that one fixed tom, who just couldn't be kept inside?

Good luck. My heart hurts for you and your distressed kits.

 

[Danglos]

Our neighbours cat is fixed. Opened the door 6-7 weeks ago and he backed up and suddenly pee all over my hall and front door. Its what cats do and I wonder if it's what led to the crazy 2 weeks where our cats at the time went to war and we had to rehome 2. I probably should have realised this triggered the problems.

 

[Kflowers]

I'm so sorry this happened to you and your cats. It's so unfair.