Cats are very neat and cute pets in their pee and poop habits. However, sometimes you may observe your kitty spraying urine on vertical surfaces that makes you annoyed.
Many pet owners often ask How often do male cats spray? What are the possible reasons, and how they can stop mark urine behavior in their feline friend?
There are many reasons for spraying behavior in cats; some are considered normal and natural, while some are considered abnormal.
This article is a comprehensive guide about Spraying in Cats. You can use the table of content for quick navigation.
What is Spraying in Cats?
Spraying in cats is generally referred to the excretion of small amounts of urine on vertical surfaces. While adopting the behavior, your kitty will raise their backside with a quivering tail with no crouching.
Cats have several scent glands in certain body parts and their pee. They use these scents for many reasons.
According to pet experts, your feline friend can excrete a smaller amount of urine, known as spraying, for many reasons.
How often do male cats spray?
Cats often start spraying when they reach maturity. According to pet experts, most kitties start shedding, marking urine at 4 to 7 months. They will continue the peeing gesture on the vertical surface for an extended period until nurtured. Both male and female cats can spray, although the behavior is more common in male cats.
Like female kitties, males don’t experience heat cycles, so when you first observe that your pet begins the spray, it will indicate its maturity.
Smart Tip: Always clean the cat urinating area thoroughly with the cat urine odor remover to deter them from returning and peeing to that spot again.
Reasons of Spraying in Cats:
The causes of the pee spray behavior in cats are categorized into two types normal and abnormal. Some of the reasons are considered natural, while some are considered a result of some health issues.
Bellow are all the possible reasons of spraying in cats:
1. Sign of Maturity
The maturity in female cats can be identified when they start bleeding; however, it is challenging to locate in male cats. So experts believe that the early adoption of the decomposing small urine by male cats on the vertical surfaces is considered a sign of maturity.
2. Marking Territory
Cats has several scent glands in their bodies, such as paws, face, tail and pee also. Felines often use these scents for several reasons, but the most common is to mark their territory.
Your pet can spray on the areas or objects that they want to be their territory so that no humans, animals, cats or dogs invade into this.
3. Way of communication
Pets can not speak. They can communicate with other pets by adopting specific behavior or by scent glands, and pee odor. For example, cats pee spray communicates or advertises sexual receptivity and availability with other cats.
4. Stress and Anxiety
Like humans, stress and anxiety develop many strange and irritating behaviors in pets. When your feline feels uncomfortable or stressed or faces difficulty adapting to changes such as a house, room, or environment, they may start spraying. A stressed cat can start urinating anywhere at any time.
Difference Between Cat urinating and Spraying:
Normal and abnormal urinating or spraying in cats are not the same. The urination generally happens on the horizontal surface such as floor, carpet, sofa, bed, etc.
On the other hand, the Cat spraying pee, usually on the vertical surface such as walls, fences, furniture, trees etc.
How do I know if my cat is spraying?
Symptoms of Spraying in cats are:
- Peeing on vertical surfaces and objects.
- Standing on the backside to vertical target.
- Quiver tail with no or little crouching
- Lees pee amount as compared to the normal urinating
How to stop a cat from spraying?
You Can stop your feline from spraying on the below mentioned techniques.
1. Neutering or Spaying
Neutering or spaying your cat before its reaches maturity under the supervision of a professional veterinarian is considered the ideal way to stop your kitty from spraying pee anywhere.
Your vet can recommend the process at the age of 4 to 5 months before maturity.
Please remember that Neutering or spaying your kitty is not a permanent solution to stopping your cat from Urine Mark. Neuter or spayed cats may develop urine spraying in some cases.
Also, note that your feline friend will be unable to reproduce after Neutering or spaying.
2. Early Training
Early Training is the key for developing good behavior and stopping the irritating and ugly behaviors in your pet, including dogs and cats.
Try to keep your feline friend happy and comfortable, reward them for good with recommended cat treats and discourage them from bad habits from a very early age.
3. Provide a stress-Free Environment
Stress and anxiety are among the leading causes of many canine irritating behaviors. Cats can adopt particular annoying behavior when they are under stress.
Being a good cat owner, find out anxious kitty issues and resolve them. Also, provide a calm and comfortable space.
Stress issues might be in the form of a guest or another pet in the home, Change in their bedding, crate, room or shifting to the new house, etc.
You can use Calming cat Pheromones around your home. This will help reduce stress-related problems and will keep your pet calm.
4. Cleaning the pee spots
Cats has a compelling sense of smell. They can easily smell their pee odor. If you left behind the already pee, your kitty will sense the space and will again mark the urine.
To prevent your feline from peeing again on the spot, make sure to clean the area with the recommended cats pee odor cleaner and remover.
5. Physical and mental strength
Proper routine walks or exercise and playing physically and mentally strong your kitty and prevent them from adopting certain stress behaviors in cats. If you have a busy schedule, you can use interactive cat toys to achieve the goals.
6 Avoid Territory Invading
Pets such as cats and dogs are curious, and they can not tolerate pets or humans invading their territory. So if you own multiple pets or outside pets are approaching your pet food bowl, crate, living palace or bedding, you should not allow them to do this.
Usually, cats urinate the place and object to mark their territory.
What should you Not Do?
Cats are very innocent creatures. They don’t understand your yelling and shouting purpose. However, they can feel it and will differently fall into stress.
Do not shout at your pets on any behaviors. Try and sort out any pet issues in a gentle manner.
Which cats are more likely to spray?
Urine marking is common in both female and male cats; however, male cats are more exposed to urine marking.
Following are some kitties that may be more fond to develop spraying behavior.
- Unspayed cats
- Cats with lack of training.
- Stees and Anxious cats.
- Cats in multiple cat households
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FAQ:
Do all unneutered male cats spray?
Spraying is a common and natural behavior in unneutered cats. However, with proper care and early training, you can prevent your feline friend from marking urination. Neutering is considered ideal for dogs who spray pee a lot, but this doesn’t mean that all neutered or spayed cats will stop urine marks. There are still approximately 5% to 10% rare chances of urine marking in spayed females or de sexed male cats.
Why is my desexed male cat spraying?
No doubt desexing reduce the pee spraying issue in cats, but this is not a 100% guaranteed treatment of the problem. The research concluded that approximately 5 to 10 % of desexed cats could continue spraying. But, again, a professional veterinarian can help you in this regard to find out the underlying cause of the problem.
What does it look like when a male cat sprays?
When sprays pee, a male cat usually urinates on the back to the vertical target. They may also strait or quiver tail with no or little crouching while urine mark.
What does cat spray smell like?
In the beginning, the cat spray smell like ammonia. After that, the pee smell worsens, and the urine emits mercaptans that smell significantly bad.
Do male cats spray more than female cats?
Both male and female cats can spray; however, the male cats spray more than the female cats. A male un-neutered kitty is more fond of developing urine behavior than a female cat.
When do male cats start spraying?
A male cat usually starts spraying when it reaches maturity in about 4 to 5 months. However, the mark urine duration in felines can vary depending on the age, overall health condition and breed.
Can you stop a male cat from spraying?
Yes, you can stop a male cat from spraying by neutering, early training, proper care, avoiding territory invading and reducing stress and anxiety. Pee marking is a natural and ordinary feline behavior that can occur at any movement and time. You can stop or reduce the kitty mark urine nature with the proper measures.
How do you stop a male cat from spraying without getting neutered?
Neutering is not a single way to stop your male cat from spraying. Approximately 5 to 10 % of neutered cats redevelop the pee marking behavior. However, with early training, developing of physically and mental strength, preventing from stress and anxiety, you can prevent your cat from spraying.
How do I find where my cat sprayed?
With the help of a cat pee detector, you can easily find the place where your pet is sprayed. In addition, the detector helps you detect invisible pet urine stains on rugs, carpets, and clothes that are otherwise invisible to the Naked eye.
How long does it take for a male cat to stop spraying after he’s neutered?
Neutering is considered the ideal treatment for cat spraying problems. Generally, about 90% of cats stop urine marking within 5 to 6 months after being nurtured. However, 10% of felines continue the spraying even after being desexed.
Why does my cat keep peeing in the same corner?
Cats pee contain a unique odor that a kitty use to mark their territory, and they can quickly identify the same corner or place by sensing the smell where they were peeing first. So to prevent your cat from peeing at the same place, clean the area thoroughly with the best cat odor cleaner.
