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Expert: - 2/13/2010


Question
I have 4 cats- ages 12-6 yrs, 3 males & 1 female- & introduced 2 female kittens,now aged 1.5yrs. All are fixed & healthy. My cats always have sprayed some, but it is now unbearable. I have tried everything I can think of: feliway, separating them (didn't really work), setting food dishes around where they spray, have cleaned with products supposed to neutralize urine, have 7 litter boxes in various places, and STILL they spray.  HELP! They are ruining furniture and doors/walls & carpet!  I don't know what to do anymore!!!

Answer
Virginia,

Maybe there are just too many cats!!!!!.  Even the pet stain and pet odor neutralization products can only do so much.  If that odor is in wood or carpets or drywall, nothing will get it out. Even if you cannot smell it, they can.  Cats will mark territory and cover over anyone elses markings and on and on.

For drywall, you can try KILZ and repaint.  For wood and carpet, it just must be replaced.  I know of nothing else you can really do.

Once the house is really cleaned up, you can try using "Cat Attract" litter to see if they use the litter pans with the cat attract.

There is a species of boxwood that smells just like male cat spray, and cats have been known to have this trigger spraying behaviors. So, check your landscapping around the house.  Also, if male cats are spraying your house from the outside, you need to clean that up as well.

I wish I could be of more help, but once these habits get ingrained, they are tough to stop.

Best regards... Norm.  

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Norman Auspitz

Expertise

I can answer most non-veterinary questions about cats. My particular expertise is pedigree cats, breeding and showing. However, I am versed in feline behavior, cat breeds and their characteristics, general feline husbandry, and the like.

Experience

I judged for the Canadian Cat Association from 1975 until 1982. I am currently an approved allbreed judge for the Cat Fanciers'' Association (the world''s largets cat registry), and have been judging for them since 1991. I have been breeding pedigreed cats since 1971 and have been exhibiting pedigreed cats in shows since 1970. I obtained my first pedigreed cat in 1970 and have never looked back. In 1971, I obtained my first Abyssinian which has become my primary breed. In addition, I have bred Manx and Persians. Currently, besides the Abyssinians, I am also breeding Maine Coons.


Organizations
Cat Fanciers'' Association, inc. (CFA) and the Manx, Maine Coon, and Abyssinian breed councils. I am currently Abyssinian breed council secretary.

Publications
Cat Fancy Magazine, The Abyssinian Chapter in The Cat Fanciers'' Association Complete Cat Book, and Articles for various editions of The Cat Fanciers'' Association Yearbook

Education/Credentials
I received a B.S. from Drexel University in 1968, a M.Math from University of Waterloo, in 1970, a Ph.D. from University of Waterloo in 1975, and a MBA from McMaster University in 1980. I received my approved allbreed judging status in the Cat Fanciers'' Association in 1999.

Awards and Honors
We have produced a number of Cat Fanciers'' Association (CFA) National winning Abyssinian and Maine Coons. We have produced a number of Abyssinian and Maine Coon Distinguished Merit females (an award for a top producing cat), including the first Distinguished Merit Abyssinian in the red (sorrel) color. I am the CFA Abyssinian breed council secretary and belong and/or hold office in a number of cat clubs. I am also a member of the CFA Judges Association.

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