Single cat spraying in new house

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geocat
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Single cat spraying in new house

Post by geocat »

We adopted our orange tabby, Fred, about 3 years ago. At the time he was estimated to be 2 - 3 years old and unfixed. We promptly had him neutered and he only marked once or twice in the apartment we lived in at the time. He gets along with our dog.

We bought a house 3 months ago, and after two years of no spraying/marking, he has started marking certain areas in the new house almost as soon as we moved in. We had all existing carpet replaced. He is very specific, only marking fabric objects laying on the floor (but not the carpet itself). He does this mainly in the downstairs play area, which is adjacent to a furnace room where his litter box is. He has also marked our dirty laundry in our master bed closet upstairs. Until yesterday it was only in those two areas, but then he peed and pooped on my visiting Father-in-law's suitcase. He has never pooped outside of the litter box until now. What is weird is that my parents had visited a few weeks ago and he didn't bother their luggage.

We have tried Feliway in the play room, moving his feeding dish into there. He still uses the litter box very regularly and acts like his usual self - very affection and laid back. No other signs of stress or a health problem . We keep our dog out of the downstairs area where his litter box is.

I'm starting to think this is more territorial than stress-related because we've been here 3 months. But I don't know what to do because the house is quite open so it is hard to limit his access to specific areas.

Any help or insight is appreciated!
marigold575
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Re: Single cat spraying in new house

Post by marigold575 »

Hello

When he does spray, what type of cleaner are you using? Sometimes the ingredients of cleaners can actually draw them back to the same point, to mark over the new smell. There is some information on the catchat site about inappropriate toileting: https://www.catchat.org/index.php/cat-t ... ay-indoors

I would consider asking for a vet consult, purely to be certain that it is a behaviour issue rather than a pain or urinary issue.

I hope it all settles for you soon.
geocat
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Re: Single cat spraying in new house

Post by geocat »

Hi, we've been using Nature's Miracle enzyme, extensively. We make an effort to thoroughly clean or remove access to the areas he marks, but he seems to just mark in new spots.

We use the same litter box system - Purina Tidy Cats - as we have for years. He still uses it regularly. This makes me think it's not a health or cleanliness issue.
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fjm
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Re: Single cat spraying in new house

Post by fjm »

If he is spraying and middening to mark his territory finding other ways of giving rooms the comforting smell of home might help. Spreading his unwashed bedding around, rubbing clothes against the scent glands on his face and hanging them over chairs, anything that spreads his own scent. In the meantime if he is only marking soft fabrics, and a UTI has definitely been ruled out, puppy pads or incontinence sheets down in his favoured areas may help you retain your sanity - if you can bear to leave them for a while after use they will also help with building up the smells-like-me ambiance...!
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Kay
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Re: Single cat spraying in new house

Post by Kay »

first thing I thought of when reading your first post - did the previous owners of the house have a cat or cats, which he can smell? is he marking because their smell makes him feel he needs to establish his ownership of the house?

thorough cleaning and time may help if this is the cause
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