Spraying
Brian Sculac
neutered. We keep him inside mostly, but lately he howls to go outside
and when we don't let him, he lifts his tail and sprays. Any
suggestions? Thanks!
Brian
Rechelle Blair
1. How old was Billy when you neutered him?
2. Are there *any* changes in his enviroment? New baby, new furniture,
anything?
3. Is there a tom cat hanging around the neighborhood? If there is, call
the Humane Society to pick it up.
Rechelle
Brian Sculac
wrote:
>I've got a couple questions.
>
>1. How old was Billy when you neutered him?
Boy, it was a loooong time ago:)
>2. Are there *any* changes in his enviroment? New baby, new furniture,
>anything?
Well, we had no kids for the first 2-3 years of his life. Now I have a
6,4 and a 2 year old around. He stays in the Basement until their bed
time then comes upstairs.
>3. Is there a tom cat hanging around the neighborhood? If there is, call
>the Humane Society to pick it up.
There are Cats constantly coming around our House. I'm sure that's one
of the reasons he sprays. I was under the impression that being
nuetered he wouldn't be doing that.
Rechelle Blair
they usually neutered after 6 months of age, which is too late for neutering.
The other cats in the neighborhood would be causing the spraying. You need to
find a way to get rid of them, either by putting citrus in the yard or calling
the Humane Society. Go into, I believe it's alt.cats there is a debate going
on now on how to keep cats out of yards. This *should* help Billy. There is
probably a certain cat that is threatening him.
If it's not in alt.cats do a deja search for it.
Warmest wishes,
Rechelle
Marca
Sculac) wrote:
>There are Cats constantly coming around our House. I'm sure
that's one
>of the reasons he sprays. I was under the impression that being
>nuetered he wouldn't be doing that.
snip
While spraying is often behavioral in origin, it wouldn't hurt to
ask the vet if a medical problem is causing it. Older cats are
somewhat susceptible to forming crystals in the urine, which can
cause inappropriate elimination, among other things. It can be
serious and painful, even life-threatening in a male cat-so that
is the first thing to rule out.
Also ask your vet about Feliway. This is a spray containing
feline facial pheromones-chemicals cats give off when they mark
with their chins. In general, they don't spray where they have
chin-marked-so applying Feliway where your cat has urine-marked
will decrease or eliminate that behavior. Feliway also calms
cats considerably-so if he's marking out of anxiety, this will
help. I've found Feliway to be very effective. If that doesn't
work, there are anti-anxiety drugs and hormonal treatments to
try, but this should be a last resort, as there can be powerful
side effects.
As far as eliminating "enemy" cats in the neighborhood, I think
this is difficult to do-and new ones will probably show up in no
time anyway. You can call the humane society-but they are often
overwhelmed, and, in all likelihood, cats that they pick up who
are not claimed by owners in a few days will be put to sleep.
You can ask neighbors (nicely) to have their cats altered, or
contact feral cat rescuers to help with neutering any unowned
cats. This may help-but it may not, the spraying is a territorial
issue, and even altered cats exhibit territorial behavior,
although it is not as extreme as that of entire males.
Good luck,
Marca
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