Spraying male cat

[huggles]

Hello all,

I have a 13yr old neutered male cat who for the past 18 months has been spraying inside the house.
He is an indoor/outdoor cat and has forever sprayed outside ('marking his territory' I guess) but 18 months a go he started doing it inside. He then stopped about 6 months a go but has started again the past month.
I am at my wits end.
It's every day and while its sometimes in the same spots it's more than often not. I can usually smell it the moment I walk into the room and therefore can isolate where it is and clean it up quite quickly but there are times when I haven't been in a room for days and it's dried up and the smell, while there is not as strong and it takes a long time to find where it is.
He had sprayed over the girls boxes of games and over books, on furniture, it's just random.

I have taken him to the vet but they don't have much advise unfortunately other that at first suspecting a UTI but it's not that, so my question is in 2 parts.

The most important question - Any ideas on what I can do too stop this?
And
Black lights... I have one but it doesn't show me it. Am using the wrong thing? Is there a light I could use that would help me find the location easy?

 

[boellp]

well I have a issue with my cat doing something similar but not spraying, but my advise for trying to stop it is keep things you don't want sprayed isolated and doors shut that he doesn't need to be in or near that is the way I am controlling my situation and keeping damage to a min.

and for the blacklight it might not bright enough or a higher end black light you can also use UV lights to find spots. here is an article about how to use them.

 

[Columbine]

When using a blacklight, it's vital to make sure the room is dark enough - the darker the room, the better the blacklight will show the urine spots.

Has anything changed recently to trigger this spraying? Things like a change in the home, a new cat in the area, or anything else that could be a cause of stress. Really have a think and see if you can pinpoint anything that might be at the root of this [article="30307"][/article][article="30274"][/article][article="30316"][/article]

As stress is likely to be at the root of this,Feliway diffusers are well worth a try - they don't help all cats, but they make a big difference for those who do respond to them. Composure is worth a shot too - it's a food based calmer that can make a huge difference.

Given your boy's age, I'd be wanting a thorough vet check. It's important to be sure that there's nothing physical going on. I know you've taken him to the vet, but it really is worth at least talking to them again about this. Spraying isn't the usual presentation of a UTI, so I'd want to be certain that there's nothing else at work here. If all else fails, he might benefit from anti-anxiety medication - but I'd want to be sure I'd tried everything else first.[article="29684"][/article][article="30323"][/article]

In the meantime, do your best to keep all your girls' games in lidded plastic containers, and maybe consider covering the books and furniture to protect them too. I know it's far from ideal, but it's better than everything getting ruined!