Neutered Male Spraying

Melsyboo

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I am at my wits end...Any suggestions welcome! Here is the story..I have 2 cats, both male, both neutered. They have been together for 5 years..no issues. The 5 year old male is the one who is spraying. His room of choice is a small room at the bottom of the stairs. I assume it is this room because the older cat used to ALWAYS come upstairs to sleep with me..then when we added the second cat that stopped..so I assume this cat is making it clear that no other cat can go upstairs. He has only started spraying in the past year I would say..No litter changes, no movement of boxes..They are always clean and fresh. No change in food, furniture, etc. I can't get him to stop. I have tried covering the area (against baseboard and wall) with cardboard..He sprays on that..I put a small folded up table against the wall, he sprayed that...I clean it as best I can with different products..Not bleach related, but the ones for cat spraying...I tried My Pet Peed, natures Miracle..you name it..He won't stop..I did try 1 plug in feliway...but that was only 1 plug in...and only in that room..Do I need them for ALL rooms? Is there something else I am missing? Has anyone tried medications? I hate to have to resort to that, but if that will stop it, then it may be my next step. I would never ever consider getting rid of the cat. I never yell or reprimand him either...It's just ruining the baseboard and wall!
 

rubysmama

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Hello and welcome to TCS. Sorry though for the circumstances that brought you here.

I know this has been going on for a year, but has he been to the vet to ensure it's not an UTI. If not, that would be my first suggestion. To to rule out something medical.

Do you recall if anything at all happened around the time the spraying started? Any strange cats outside your home? How does he get along with the other cat? Any aggression between them?
 
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Melsyboo

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I do need to make an appointment with the vet. I am sure we can rule out some things there. I can't even pinpoint the time he started.. I just started noticing the smell, then finally saw the staining. There is a back door he does sit and look out in the yard. I am sure there are animals and cats that he must see. I can try closing those blinds. He gets along with the other cat, but he does NOT let him come upstairs. The other cat doesn't even try anymore. He doesn't enter that room at the bottom of the stairs. Other than the territory thing, they are fine together.
 

rubysmama

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Definitely sounds like some territorial issue with him. And the vet might be able to suggest a medication to try.

Litter box issues is a common topic, and TCS has several articles on the subject. Here's the links, in case there might be something helpful:

How To Solve Litterbox Problems In Cats: The Ultimate Guide
Litterbox Problems? Here’s Why You Should Call Your Vet

Inappropriate Peeing, Spraying, Toy Obsession And Leg And Hand Nipping
Spraying: When Your Cat Uses Urine To Mark Territory

How to Successfully Combat Cat Urine
How To Remove Cat Urine
 

Jem

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I would for sure start with a vet visit. Be sure they do a culture and an analysis. I had a male cat who started spraying, and we were positive it was behavioral and it went on for several months. We had him checked and it turned out he had crystals. He never blocked, and personality wise seemed fine, but there was obviously pain anyway. He also still used the litter box as well as spray so it doesn't have to be a total litter avoidance to indicate a medical issue.
 
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Melsyboo

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I will mention that to vet, thank you. He does use the litter box daily, so that seems to be normal at least.
 

BlackCatOp

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Besides a vet visit which is definitely

Where are your litter boxes located? Do have have at least one on each level of your home? It’s common for one cat to guard access to resources such as litter boxes.

Also, have you tried adding a box in the room he is spraying? While it may not be an ideal location for a litter box, it’s better than him spraying.

Finally, the best product I have found to eliminate cat pee odor is Rocco and Roxie. I just completely saturate the area with spray & water and then vacuum it up with a wet/dry vac. I repeat a lot then give a final spray. Allow to dry then do a sniff test (repeat entire process until no odor.) Unfortunately, my mother’s senior cat decided to forget where to use the litter box when my mother moved. We were able to save the new carpet with this cleaning method.

Vest of luck and sorry you are experiencing this.
 
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Melsyboo

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Besides a vet visit which is definitely

Where are your litter boxes located? Do have have at least one on each level of your home? It’s common for one cat to guard access to resources such as litter boxes.

Also, have you tried adding a box in the room he is spraying? While it may not be an ideal location for a litter box, it’s better than him spraying.

Finally, the best product I have found to eliminate cat pee odor is Rocco and Roxie. I just completely saturate the area with spray & water and then vacuum it up with a wet/dry vac. I repeat a lot then give a final spray. Allow to dry then do a sniff test (repeat entire process until no odor.) Unfortunately, my mother’s senior cat decided to forget where to use the litter box when my mother moved. We were able to save the new carpet with this cleaning method.

Vest of luck and sorry you are experiencing this.
I can add another box in that room. We have 2 others on the same floor, none upstairs. The carpet is destroyed in this room. I would have to use that cleaning method daily and it’s just not feasible. He sprays daily in that room. I can’t keep up! My goal is to have the carpet removed and put wood or tile, but not until I can solve this problem.
 

rubysmama

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If you can't clean the carpet daily, he can probably still smell his urine scent there, which is probably not helping the problem.

If you can get the carpet cleaned in that area, maybe try putting down a tarp, or puppy pads to protect the carpet. I've even heard of people putting puppy pad against the wall. So something to consider till you can solve the problem.

How To Get Cat Urine Smell Out Of Carpet: Effective, Non-toxic Solutions
 

BlackCatOp

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I can add another box in that room. We have 2 others on the same floor, none upstairs. The carpet is destroyed in this room. I would have to use that cleaning method daily and it’s just not feasible. He sprays daily in that room. I can’t keep up! My goal is to have the carpet removed and put wood or tile, but not until I can solve this problem.

I think it worth a try adding a litter box in there. It will be interesting to see if he chooses to use it.

Good Luck!
 

moxiewild

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I've even heard of people putting puppy pad against the wall. So something to consider till you can solve the problem.

How To Get Cat Urine Smell Out Of Carpet: Effective, Non-toxic Solutions
Yep, we do this for our cats with elevator butt. They even have nifty little things on Amazon that you can attach to the wall to hold them up.

Here are the ones we have -

Amazon.com : Petzy Pee Pad Holder for dogs (Pack of 2) | Potty Training for Leg-Lifting Dogs & Marking in the House | Any Size Puppy Pads (XL-SM) | Magnet: Easy Stick & Release, Better than Pee Pad Tray with Walls : Pet Supplies

I also agree that if you aren’t thoroughly cleaning the carpet daily, it’s only going to make the problem worse no matter what the root cause, and it may eventually prompt your other cat to spray eventually too.

If your cat is potentially reacting to cats outside, it could get to the point where they smell it, start spraying more, then he sprays more in return, and it’s a viscous cycle.

I know how tiring this is. I take care of seniors and cats with health issues, so potty problems are common.

We have one of our most hopeless cases now, too. He’s 20+ years old, blind, arthritic, has dementia or possible brain tumor, and he has kidney disease, so he pees A LOT.

He pretty much just goes wherever he goes now. He’ll pee on a pad and used to do so reliably, but as he’s gotten more and more confused the past year or so, he has difficulty finding them.

Sometimes he does find them, but because he can’t see, he’ll just step on it, realize he’s on a pad, and pee completely off of it at the edge :doh:

Pooping has also become an issue in the past 6 months...

And he is currently not the only one with potty issues in the house right now. There are 2 others + two with elevator butts.

And yes... it’s exhausting. So exhausting. And frustrating.

But it is SO important to clean the pee or mitigate the issue with pee pads or similar, or additional litterboxes.

There have been times we’ve had litterboxes everywhere, like 5 more than we actually need, just to address a problem cat. For our problem guy now, sometimes we just place pads randomly throughout the house just to increase the chances that he finds one so we don’t have to clean up quite as much.

Until you get him cleared by the vet, try to mitigate damage. If you can’t keep up with cleaning daily, do what you can during the week, but then 1-2x a week take an hour or so to treat the whole room/area where he usually does this. Be sure to get down into the pad too.

What happens if you lock him out of that room?

I agree that it might potentially be litterbox bullying, so adding a box where he sprays may help.

I also agree with blocking his visual out of your windows so he can’t see other critters.

If there are unneutered cats around, then you may want to spray the exterior of your house as well with enzyme or CO2 cleaner. You might also want to consider TNR’ing those cats or finding a rescue group who will.

But vet comes first!
 

cataholic07

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Vet for sure, stress alone can cause UTIs. I would also recommend adding a litter box in that room as well. How is his health otherwise? Is he overweight? Does he eat wet food mainly?
 
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