Disclaimer: the information provided below is not intended to replace or override the advice of your veterinarian. Both the author and the site owner assume that this information will be used to work with your vet in planning the best treatment plan for your cat

As a cat owner, one of the hardest things you will have to deal with is if your cat starts to spray. If it is truly behavioral in origin, resolution can be a long and arduous task. But take heart - you can overcome this behavior without resorting to potentially dangerous behavioral medications or kicking the cat out! (Note: I use "he" because usually male cats are the culprits. Female cats can and do spray, also)

The first thing you need to do is have your cat examined by your veterinarian. There are physical causes that are much easier to deal with than behavioral ones, so always give Kitty the benefit of the doubt. One of my cats sprays, but each time he finds a new place to spray, I have his urine checked to rule out any physical causes. I can't stress this enough. Crystals in the urine and bacterial infections (see FUS/FLUTD for more info) can cause spraying.

Another point worth mentioning is that neutered cats are less likely to spray than un-neutered cats. And if you neuter your boy cat (or spay your girl cat) before they start spraying, you will likely avoid these unpleasantries altogether.

If your cat is neutered, all physical causes have been ruled out and you are truly dealing with a behavioral problem, first gather all your patience. Your cat is not doing this to make you angry, to get back at you or for spite. He is communicating to you that all is not well with his world. Have you recently moved? Added another pet? A new baby? A new roommate? Are there cats outside that may be bothering your cat? These things, among others, can cause your cat to become insecure. He sprays to reassert his territory and his presence.

For example, my sprayer, Sam, began spraying in earnest when we moved. A few months earlier, we had brought a third cat into the house, and Sam sprayed a couple times. But when we moved, he couldn't handle it and began spraying more often.

At that point we put him on a human anti-depressant that our vet recommended. In retrospect, I wish I had never used it, as Sam developed major liver, pancreatic and gall bladder problems within 2 months. At the time, however, we thought it was a godsend, as it stopped the spraying. When he finally recovered from everything and began spraying again, we knew that a kinder, gentler approach was needed. It is my hope that you will try these gentler methods first.

This time, we used a combination of herbs, homeopathy and behavioral modification to get things under control:

1) Calms Forte in a 'liquid dose' (will explain later)
2) Isolation in our bedroom- and letting him sleep there at night
3) a valerian combo when things got really stressful
4) Lots of special Sam-only stuff

Calms Forte is a combination homeopathic remedy available at most health food stores. As to the liquid dose .... what I did was crush 2 tablets in a coffee filter, add it to 1-1 1/2 ounces of purified water in a brown dropper bottle, and let it dissolve. I then gave Sam a couple droppers full every 3-4 hours at peak crisis time.

You will also need to reduce your cat's territory. Cats are fastidious, and know from centuries of wild instinct not to go potty near their food. When you shrink your cat's domain (to a bathroom if necessary) they are more or less forced into using their box, as the alternative is to live -- and eat -- in a room that reeks of urine. It is distasteful and it goes against their instincts.

It is important that the cat not see this as a punishment, per se. Spend time with him in his room, make sure he has clean water and toys, and that you do your part and keep his box as clean as humanly possible. Play with him and shower him with praise when he uses the box. Sam spent 2 weeks living in a half bathroom (or the screened porch when we were home) before he 'graduated' to our bedroom.

Sam stays in our room, with no other cats, all day and only with Skippy at night. He and Skippy have been together for their whole lives with me, so they get along well. If it's nice outside and I'm home, Sam also has run of the screened porch. He is allowed in the house for an hour or so ONLY after he uses his box. We have gotten to the point where I put him in his box and he pees whatever he's got to give. I also have success putting him and his litter box in the bathroom, and leaving him in there. He will pee in the box w/in 15 minutes.  But since the put-him-in-the-litter-box routine works so well, I rarely use the bathroom method anymore.

I also used a valerian combo I got at Pet Smart called Pet Calm. I chopped the pill in half, and gave it to him when he seemed really stressed. Valerian *can* have a stimulant effect on some cats, but with Sam, it just mellowed him out. I'd put him in our room and turn on some classical music and let him sleep it off. I hardly ever use this anymore, as he's gotten quite comfortable with his routine. But at first, he'd bang and meow at the bedroom door forever when we put him in there, and the valerian seemed to take the edge off for him. I have also bought loose dried valerian root and sprinkled it in one of his sleeping boxes. He loves the smell (it's not pleasant, but he likes it) and it sends him to dreamland in a few minutes.

Last, Sam gets extra attention. He has favorite foods, toys and games, and he gets at least one of them once a day. He loves peeing on stuff, so he gets to go for walks on his leash where he can whiz on everything he sees for all I care. He loves playing games, so we spend at least 20-30 minutes a day playing with him (usually when we get up or go to bed). He thinks raw food is divine, so that's all he eats.

It basically boils down to catering to Sam, and I am fortunate in that my other cats don't seem to mind. Well, Jezebel cries piteously every night when I lock her out of the bedroom, but she eventually stops and goes downstairs to be w/ Max. But in Sam's eyes, he was here first, and Jez and Max are intruders, taking up my time and getting in his way. By catering to him, and keeping him isolated, I resolve those issues and he doesn't pee.

If you've tried everything I've suggested and nothing is working, I would suggest contacting a homeopathic veterinarian. They can work with you and your cat to find the root of the problem, and hopefully prescribe the right remedy to eliminate the problem altogether. A holistic vet, too, may have herbal remedies that they have used with success. If that fails, there are prescription drugs that have been used to treat spraying cats, but they are not without serious and life threatening side effects. If you feel you have no choice but to try them, I would suggest having a complete blood work-up to make sure that everything - especially liver and kidney values - is normal. Once you start the medication, I would monitor liver and kidney values every week or two to be safe. When Sam got sick, it happened within 24 hours. Had I been watching his blood values, I might have caught it before he had to spend a week in intensive care.
 

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