Cat Chat Feline Forum

A friend of mine has a cat who was found outside. He was front declawed but appeared to be homeless. She took him in. A few days after, he began spraying everywhere. He did it on anything left on the floor, clothes - towels - shoes, ect. Mind you, he is fixed. This went on for about 9 months.

What was interesting is that her boyfriend moved in with her a few months ago. He works from home so he is there all the time with him. The spraying stopped with in a week of him moving in. So I think that in some cats, loneliness can lead to spraying. She was always at work and he was by himself, no other pets. Just wanted to share that. Thought it was interesting.

Cats are reputedly solitary creatures, but many do seem to get lonely. My first cat, Giddy, started to destroy carpets and wallpaper, but stopped all that as soon as she had feline company.

Some of mine have got destructive when left alone, but well done your friend for sticking with him for so long while he was liberally spraying her house. I also wonder whether he was slightly afraid of women (perhaps his last owner was female and mean to him - not least the declawing, which is terribly cruel and illegal in the UK). The arrival of a male in the house may have made him feel safer. Glad this story has a happy ending.