Top 7 Ways on How to Stop Cats From Spraying
Cats can sometimes be erratic despite serving as some of the most wonderful pets one can have at home. For most lovers of these pets, it is easy to admit that cats may once in a while be a let-down especially if they develop a spraying problem (peeing around the house). While this may be somehow unpleasant or even a real nuisance to you, with a little effort, it’s a problem you can do something about.
Here are top seven ways on how to stop cats from spraying:
1. Neuter your Cat
Neuter your cat immediately. This is one of the most effective ways to stop your cat from spraying. The urge to spray is adamant in Un-neutered cats. Both male and female cats can spray; however, the behavior is more common in un-neutered male cats. It is recommended that you should get your cat neutered before it attains the age of six months so as to curb the behavior from developing before it hits puberty.
Neutering has been shown to solve 90% of all marking issues.
2. Eliminate or Reduce Stress
Cats can sometimes be very sensitive to their environment. Changes of any kind in your house may cause anxiety to a cat. They can be upset by any event as re-decorating, new cats in the area, moving into a new house, new people or even conflict outside the house that you might not even be aware of.
It’s vital to do away with any obvious stressors if possible. Feed your cat at the same time every other day and keep its bed and litter box in respective places. If you have some visitors, try and keep your cat in a separate room, particularly if the visitors have cats of their own. Resist any temptations to punish or scold your cat for spraying. This will only make matters even worse.
In a nutshell, some of the things you can do to make your cat relax include:
– Stick to routine
If you have the need to make some changes to the routine, make sure you give your cat an opportunity first to reduce its stress. This will help it through the transition period.
– Keep Your Home Interesting
For a cat, boredom can be an unnecessary source of stress. Leave your cat treat balls and new toys for it to discover or give it a scratching post to keep it busy. Cat furniture gives a cat an excellent way to hide, climb and rest from the hub-hub of a noisy household.
– Play With Your Cat At Least 10 to 15 Minutes a Day
Some cats spray because of lack of attention. Spend some time every day with your cat and engage it in an interactive manner. Physical activities help in reducing stress to a cat. So try and find some toys you can use to play with your cat and interact with. Despite their reputation for being dependent and aloof, your cat does desire contact with you.
– Provide Safe Spaces For Your Kitty
Your Cat needs to have some safe hiding places in your home. Provide it with things like cardboard boxes, a clear bookshelf, cat trees or simply spaces in closets.
3. If You Have More Than One Cat, Nurture a Positive Relationship Among Them
Cats that get along well are less competitive and are therefore not likely to spray. Play with all your cats together and give each one of them equal attention. Allow them to eat and sleep together. Allow them to groom each other by using a damp cloth to wipe them down. Also, make sure that there are enough resources for everyone including things like litter boxes, toys, feeding dishes and cat beds.
When you create a hospitable environment for your cats, they will get along and less likely to spray. However, its cat nature that the more cats you will have, the more likely they are to spray. Mainly this is because of pressure for prime spots within the house and resources. It is said that, in a household of five cats, one is more likely to spray.
4. Buy a Commercial Spray That Will Discourage Your Cat From Marking The Same Territory
Visit a pet store and purchase liquid sprays that will repel your cat with some unpleasant smell that only cats can detect. Your cat will avoid areas that you have treated or your houseplants. You can also use such sprays on selected areas in your home such as drapes and furniture which may help to disrupt the undesirable pattern of behavior.
5. Restrict Its View of The Outdoor
If a cat sees another cat outside, its natural response will be to mark its territory and that territory happens to be your home. Pull your curtains, move furniture away from the windows or cover the lower portion of your window. You may also choose to provide an alternative to a well-located place for your cat, maybe a cat house or play area to refocus attention.
6. Keep Strays Away
Since spraying is an activity cats do to make their online battle arena territory, you will want to keep non-adopted cats away. Avoid putting water or food outside for neighborhood cats or strays; this will only attract them. Scare them away when they come about. This will enable you to keep other cats out of your cat’s territory.
7. Diagnose Any Medical Issues
It is vital that you take your cat to a veterinarian for a checkup. Research show that up to 30% of cats that do urinate in the house have an underlying medical problem. If your cat stops using the litter box suddenly, a urinary tract infection may be the culprit. Other signs of an infection could be licking their genitals while trying to urinate or even crying. Urinary tract infections are more common in male cats than it is in female cats.
A feline infection can advance in a much quicker way, so it’s important to get your cat to a veterinary as soon as you notice something might be wrong.
Spraying is definitely a problem that you don’t have to live with, So i hope my article will help you on How to stop cats from spraying. Whenever you spot spraying or identify its signs, the sooner you take action, the better.
