Do neutered cats spray?

Cosmos0107

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Today I came home to find out that my cat had peed all over my bedroom windowsill, the wall, and himself. He is a neutered male and acting completely normal despite the fact that he smells like pee. I'm thinking that maybe he saw another cat come near the window and got territorial? He has gotten very angry in the past when cats outside approach (hissing, growling, meowing loudly with his fur puffed out). Do neutered cats spray, or could there be another cause?
 

cataholic07

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All cats can spray (even females). I'd recommend either putting a litter box in the bedroom near the window (even if it's only while you aren't sleeping), and cat bed/scratching post or cat tree. Just basically scent soakers and a place he can pee in to help really mark his smell. Make sure to clean everything with a pet enzyme cleaner and go out and see if you can use a blacklight when it gets dark to see if the stray cat has been peeing outside your window (or in the garden) cause cats do have a really good sense of smell... and yah he will pee if he smells it lol.
 
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Cosmos0107

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All cats can spray (even females). I'd recommend either putting a litter box in the bedroom near the window (even if it's only while you aren't sleeping), and cat bed/scratching post or cat tree. Just basically scent soakers and a place he can pee in to help really mark his smell. Make sure to clean everything with a pet enzyme cleaner and go out and see if you can use a blacklight when it gets dark to see if the stray cat has been peeing outside your window (or in the garden) cause cats do have a really good sense of smell... and yah he will pee if he smells it lol.
Thank you for replying! I will definitely try adding some things he can put his scent on
 

susanm9006

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All cats are capable of spraying but fortunately most neutered pets don’t do it. Since this is a one time thing and that seems to be a lot of pee, I would want him checked out by a vet fairly quickly just to make sure you aren’t dealing with a partial blockage rather than spraying.
 

syzygycat

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Health problems are the most common cause but it does happen.

The more cats you have, the higher chance that one will start spraying (adding dogs or humans sometimes does it too) it's more common in males but all cats are territorial. Between my g/f moving in then getting a new cat 2 months later, we have to go to a lot of extremes to keep my oldest male from spraying.
 

jen

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I have only ever had spayed females who spray weirdly enough lol. But any cats can. Sounds like a reaction to strays outside.
 

syzygycat

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By any chance is your bedroom window on the first floor? If it is, grab a black light flashlight and, look on the house's outter walls specially near the window. If there is urine there, mystery solved.

When I see a pee stain on the inside of my front door, there will also be pee on the outside of the front door too,
 

RangersMom

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Unfortunately male and female cats can and will sometimes still spray even after being fixed. We had a girl cat who was fixed spray on our walls when we babysat her. Maybe he isnt liking his litter or his box isnt clean enough or its in an area he does not like? We use pine litter and its no dust and NO urine smell. All our cats love it. You can get a 40lb bag of it for $8 at farm/tractor supply stores.
 

grawgro

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Put a litter-box near the window and a sent soaker such as a cat bed, tree, or toy.Your cat might have health problems, so bring this up to the vet when you take him for his annual exam. It's also likely that this was his reaction to roaming cats outside. (Check for pee outside the window with a UV-light).
Also, neutered cats sometimes spray if they are neutered too late.
 
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Cosmos0107

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Unfortunately male and female cats can and will sometimes still spray even after being fixed. We had a girl cat who was fixed spray on our walls when we babysat her. Maybe he isnt liking his litter or his box isnt clean enough or its in an area he does not like? We use pine litter and its no dust and NO urine smell. All our cats love it. You can get a 40lb bag of it for $8 at farm/tractor supply stores.
Thank you! He hasn't had any more issues since then and is using the litter box as normal. We actually do use pine litter and love the fact that there is no smell and it's much cheaper than regular litter.
 
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Cosmos0107

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Thanks for all of the replies! I'm thinking that it was a cat outside because he hasn't peed anywhere but his litter box since and is acting normal. I'll still make sure to get him checked out at his next vet visit though, better safe than sorry!
 

calicosrspecial

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Thanks for all of the replies! I'm thinking that it was a cat outside because he hasn't peed anywhere but his litter box since and is acting normal. I'll still make sure to get him checked out at his next vet visit though, better safe than sorry!
Already a lot of great advice.

Cats will mark/spray out of territorial insecurity. To let other cats/animals know that "THIS TERRITORY IS MINE. STAY AWAY!!!!"

I always suggest a vet visit as medical is easiest to solve and if it is behavioral we can help you.

You may want to play with him in that area and feed treats after play to build his confidence as a confident cat is more territorial secure and can handle other cats/animals coming around better.

Also, grawgro gives great advice - "Put a litter-box near the window and a sent soaker such as a cat bed, tree, or toy." - As that helps increase "ownership" of that territory. Pee is scent and other scents from scratching etc can replace pee to give "ownership".

If you have any issues or questions please let us know. Very solvable is it happens in the future.
 
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Cosmos0107

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Today when I went outside there was a strong urine smell, which confirms that another cat has started peeing in my front yard (my cats are indoor cats and only go into the backyard when supervised). I was wondering if anyone has experienced this and has any advice on how to keep this cat away. I'm pretty sure it's the same cat he had an issue with before (it's an orange tabby who ran somewhere down the street when I came to the window). I am unsure if it is a stray or belongs to someone, though I have seen it hanging around a few houses.
 

calicosrspecial

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Here is a link to Humane Deterrents Humane Deterrents

Some of those are pretty good.

Also, work on building the cats confidence as a confident cat is more likely to accept other cats around their territory. Play with them in that area and feed after play. Also, get a scratching post there, warm and comfy bedding, maybe a litter box. Anything so they can get their scent around their to feel more ownership.

Also, doing a TNR (getting the cat neutered or spayed) can really help. There may be someone in your area doing TNR which could help.

I am a little short on time now but will elaborate more if you have any questions.
 
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