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Cats/Neutered cat spraying??

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Expert: - 11/22/2011


Question
My mom has an 11 year old cat who has been neutered for 10 of those years.

Recently he has decided to come into my room and spray all over everything.

This is making me mad!

I thought neutered cats couldn't spray?

He pees normal, then he pees horizontally which I assume is spraying. It doesn't smell like cat urine, it smells.. eugh.

:( help

Answer
Desi,

Have you had your cat to the vet for a health check?  If there is a urinary tract issue, you can have spraying behaviors. Given the age, this is a very real possibility!

The other possibility is that something has changed in your household, e.g. a new addition (4 legged or 2 legged), there is a strange cat hanging around the outside spraying the outside of your house, or some other event or change that has disturbed your cat in some way. These can take a bit of detective work to find, and if found and corrected, there is no guarantee the problem will resolve.

I would bet on a health issue as being the problem.  So, a visit to the vet is warranted.

Please let me know what happens.

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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