Expert: Dear Tabbi - 5/6/2008

Question
QUESTION: I have a two year old female cat who is spraying all over my house.  There are also 5 other cats in the house.  Two of them are her siblings.  She has seen a vet and is healthy, but keeps spraying in different areas.  Have you ever had experience with anything like this?  Do you have any suggestions to get her to stop?

ANSWER: Lori,

Naturally my first question would be is the cat spayed? If not, then she probably is in heat. But I am guessing that she is fixed.

Did the vet check her for a kidney or urinary tract infection, or urinary crystals? UTIs and urinary crystals are very painful and the cats associate that pain with the litterbox and go elsewhere.

One of the most common feline responses to stress is inappropriate elimination. The bladder is the cat’s stress target. Her behavior  could be caused by any number of things. Sometimes you have to be a detective to ferret out why she is behaving like that.

If the cat is experiencing territorial anxiety over the sight of cats, dogs, or wildlife outside, then the cat may spray windows, doors, drapes or prominent objects in the room where the windows are located. Blocking the cat’s view of the outside may help to eliminate these marking problems..

She may be upset at you or in general and that is how she is telling you about it. Did someone move in or out of the house? Did you get a new pet? Did you leave her by herself for a day or two? Have you been paying less attention to her than before? Not playing with her as much? These are common reasons that provoke his type of behavior.

You can use Feliway, or Comfort Zone with Feliway, spray and/or plug-ins. Feliway helps reduce territorial aggression and inappropriate urination. It copies relaxing pheromones that cats produce from their cheek glands. Spraying doorways and furniture with Feliway can help deter the the cat from urinating in those areas. The plug-in diffuser creates a constant release of Feliway, and the spray is best for an immediate but short-term effect. Use the spray to apply to any spots your cat has sprayed - but only apply the Feliway after you have cleaned the urine. It is not detectable by humans (the spray smells like rubbing alcohol when you first use it, but that quickly evaporates). It is sold in most pet stores and online.

Start adding a few drops of Bach's Rescue Remedy, an herbal essance that is sold in health food stores or on line. It will help reduce her anxiety about defending her territory.

Here are some links with helpful articles having to do with improper elimination: (copy and paste, or type the whole links into your address bar)

http://www.geocities.com/heartland/pointe/9352/litterboxhelp.html

http://www.apbc.org.uk/article10.htm

http://cats.about.com/cs/behavioralissues/a/outsidebox_two.htm


And here is some helpful (I hope!) information on cleaning cat urine:

HOMEMADE CAT URINE REMOVER

1 quart of 3% hydrogen peroxide
1/4 cup baking soda
1 teaspoon of liquid soap

Gently mix all ingredients in a non-metal container. Do not mix or shake vigorously! The mixture is best used when fresh but can be stored. DO NOT keep mixture in an airtight container as baking soda and hydrogen peroxide when mixed together release a lot of oxygen and can cause an explosion.

The recipe is effective because the reaction from mixing hydrogen peroxide and baking soda produces large amount of oxygen. The oxygen molecules bond to the thiols, breaking them up into carbon dioxide and ammonia which evaporates quickly thereby effectively neutralizing the thoils and their foul-smelling odor.
Always check for color fastness as hydrogen peroxide can be a bleaching agent. If you don't know where an odor is coming from you might need to use a small battery operated blacklight called a 'Stink Finder' (PetSmart, Petco, etc.) at night to find the soiled areas.


HOW TO REMOVE CAT URINE ODOR FROM CARPETS

FOR INDIVIDUAL URINE SPOTS ON CARPET:
If fresh, sop up as much cat urine as you can with a paper towel first. Use a spray bottle to saturate the spot completely with the recipe - do not blot. The recipe must penerate the padding and possibly the floor boards underneath, where the urine has penerated for it to work. Wait 24-48 hours until dry then vacuum. If the urine odor is still present - repeat the procedure. It usually takes 2-3 applications to completely neutralize the cat urine odor.

FOR LARGE AREAS OF CARPET:

You can use a carpet cleaning machine  using the recipe instead of the shampoo. You will need to make several gallons of the recipe depending on the size of the carpet. Don't use the vacuum part of the machine - you will want to let the solution soak and dry for 24-48 hours before vacuuming. Most carpet cleaning machines are not made for this use and baking soda can clog the nozzles of the machine.

A 1 gallon garden bug sprayer (Home Dept., etc.)  works great too.  Rinse the nozzle out frequently by filling the tank with hot water and spraying it in the  bathtub. If using the sprayer, saturate the entire carpet with the recipe, let dry for about 24-48 hours, and vacuum. You will have to probably repeat the procedure again. Areas heavily saturated with old urine may take 3 applications over a week.

If the cat urine is old and dried, the smell will probably be worse a day or two later. This is because you are rehydrating the uric acid crystals in the urine to neutralize them. The smell will get better with each application!

MATTRESSES:

You must saturate the spot throughly to get deep down into the padding and springs to neutralize the urine. If the cat has urinated alot in one spot, the mattress can be soiled all the way to the other side! Let the area dry for 24-48 hours without bedding then reapply if necessary.

SOFAS:

The same directions as above  but always check for color-fastness in a hidden area before using. Cotton is used in alot of upholstery fabrics and is easily bleached. If your sofa pillow cushion covers can be unzipped and taken off (must be color-fast and washable) you can put them in the washing machine using the instructions for clothing and bedding.

CLOTHING, COMFORTERS, AND BEDDING:

Put the items in the washing machine and pour in enough of the recipe to cover throughly. This might take a few gallons depending on the size of the load. Soak for at least 24 hours. Rinse and rewash using normal washing detergent. If any of the odor is still present, soak again for 24 hours, rinse and rewash.

A small area on a comforter can be spot treated by saturating the area throughly, letting it dry for 24 hours, then washing the comforter normally in the washer with detergent. Always check for color-fastness before using.

AREA RUGS:

They can be spot treated with a sprayer or put in the washer. Test for color-fastness before treatment.

HARDWOOD FLOORS:

When cat urine seeps into wood flooring it causes the fibrous cells in wood to swell and warp ruining the flooring planks. The only way to fix this is by replacing the wood. You can treat the wood with the cat urine remover recipe but wood is preamable and it could make the wood swell further, causing further damage.

HARD SURFACES:

Spray or mop the area soiled with the cat urine. Saturate it completely and let the area dry for 2-3 days.

I hope this helps.

Tabbi




---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: She is spayed.  The vet took urine from her and said she was okay.  I was feeding stray cats over the winter, but they have been out of sight.  I also rescued a cat in the fall.  To help them bond, I isolated them together in a bedroom.  I'll try the diffuser and pills to calm her.

Answer
Lori,

I hope that helps, but you need to find out what is upsetting her so much. Sometimes you have to be a detective to figure it out. I hope you can because that's a weird one. Sometimes there is not a logical explanation and only the cat knows why they do what they do.

Tabbi