By Kimberly Aita
Anytime your cat backs himself up to a door or other object in your house, lifts his tail, and releases urine – you have a problem. Commonly called spraying, it is a problem seen mainly with indoor cats. Even though it is a very annoying problem, it’s a problem that can be solved.
Many people think spraying is a litter box problem but that is not the case. Spraying is actually a cat marking it’s territory. Cat urine that is sprayed contains pheromones, which is a substance that cats and other animals use for communicating. Much like fingerprints are used to identify humans, pheromones are used to identify cats to other animals.
A cat is simply marking his territory with his urine whenever he sprays something. Simply put, this is the way the cat lets others know that this is his territory.
Although this is a very annoying problem and may even make you mad, getting angry with your cat isn’t going to solve the problem. Actually, when you show anger or start screaming at your cat, the chances are it will only lead to even more spraying.
Cats that are in heat are easily attracted to the odor of urine. Spraying can be thought of as an invitation for love when cats are in heat. Many times you will have a litter of kittens within just a few months of your cat being in heat.
Remember though, that cats will not spray only when they are in heat but also when they are feeling stressed or when they are in an encounter with other animals.
Although spraying is a way of communicating for cats, the smell for people is horrible. The good thing here is that most cats will do a majority of their spraying outdoors. If you have an indoor cat that never goes outside, spraying can indeed be a problem. If you’ve noticed spraying in your home, you should take action and do something about it immediately.
Having your cat either neutered or spayed is the easiest, fastest and most effective way to put a stop to spraying. Male cats will almost always stop spraying as soon as they have the surgery to be neutered. If you don’t want to get your cat neutered or spayed, you should look into other options. Obviously if you want to someday breed your cat, you will not want to have them neutered or spayed.
Talking to your veterinarian will be the best thing to do if you find that this is your situation. Your vet should be able to help you solve the problem without having to do surgery although this is still going to be the best solution in the long run. The problem is sometimes caused by a medical condition which your vet will also be able to identify, hopefully correcting both problems.
Addressing this problem immediately will save you a lot of time and frustration because cat spray has a really strong odor and can ruin just about everything it touches, leaving noticeable stains all over your house.
Source : Ragdoll Cat Secret
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