Question About Spraying

[photogirl843]

I'm still dealing with issues with my youngest cat spraying. I had a question because of something that a behaviorist told me once.

She said that they will sometimes spray when they cannot get somewhere, like in frustration or something. He does spray the doors that are closed where he wants to be - the closet, room where my geckos are, etc. And then today I took him for a walk and when we got back inside, he was crying his head off because he wanted to go back outside. Sitting here, I watched him throwing a fit and dig at the door. Then he sprayed it.

I truly do not think it was him smelling another cat outside. He showed no signs of noticing anything while we were outside. So I'm just wondering if anyone else has noticed this behavior tied to frustration?

 

[lalagimp]

It can be, but if he's your youngest cat then I have to ask the first question that's always asked: Has he been neutered yet?

 

[photogirl843]

Yes, he was neutered before I adopted him at around 3 months.

I know that he needs more than I give him. He needs more stimulation. I wish I could adopt him a friend that could keep him entertained, but I just cannot afford 4 cats. He and my oldest cat butt heads a lot - Calvin is a bit of a bully and feeds off of Bowie's nerves and can attack him.

I'm working on building them an outdoor enclosure. They have a screened porch, but I think he would prefer having a space he can chase bugs and be in the grass safely. (Wish I had the money to fence in my yard and put up a cat-safe fence to keep him AND keep other cats out.)

All that aside, though, I wasn't sure if the frustration might trigger spraying. I know he gets bored, I just admit that it is tough to keep up with him sometimes!

 

[lalagimp]

My boys were both going nuts spraying. Started when they were 3-4 years old. Cats in the yard, I guess. Ever since, Stewart always feels the need to ward the house. We exhausted all options and had a full work up done at the vet. He's totally healthy, just a bit off. He's on 2.5 mg of Prozac every day. Tommy was on it, too. I took Tom off after a year and a half, and he'll still spray from time to time over food anxiety. He's even sprayed my leg while I'm trousers down, trying to pee before I go handle his food disbursement.
Make sure you're using an enzymatic cleaner like Nature's Miracle. We did scccat cans, scat mats, blocked the windows out, used motion detecting sprayers out on the garden hose, calming collars, Feliway, Bach's Rescue Remedy Pet, more litter boxes...
There is one thing that I hadn't tried that the vet mentioned after we started Prozac was the Zylkene off Amazon.

 

[maggiedemi]

Does he eat a lot of dry food?

 

[photogirl843]

Very little. They get canned food twice a day and occasionally dry food and dry treats.