# Ex breeding queen spraying



## Hayley Limb (Feb 1, 2017)

Hi  
Back in September I brought 2 cats 1 which is an ex breeding queen and her daughter who is neutered and not been used for breeding.
Mother cat quickly decided that whilst she would use her litter box she also liked peeing on the kitchen work too, the kitchen floor, the rug in the lounge and the carpet by the front door.
This is usually done at night and she has only done this once in front of me. Since I moved the Lounge furniture around she has been spraying a lot on the wall by the window. The carpet below has been peed on previously and cleaned. She has sprayed before but very little this week she's done it 4 times. I'm unsure if it was the lounge furniture being moved around or the purchase of a feliway which has made little impact in fact it's made it worse. 
Her relationship with her daughter is relatively good mother is the dominant one and tries to fight with her or at least chase her twice a day. Daughter just gets scared and runs and hides but since the purchase of the feliway has been standing up to her not in a bad way simply standing up for herself.
I have 3 litter boxes which are cleaned at least 3 times a day 
They are in private quiet areas 
No other pets 
The home is quiet 
There are cats in the area but immediate neighbours don't have cats 
They are indoor cats 
Previously the breeder kept them in outdoor pens 
They both have lovely temperaments.
Today I set up the spare room for them they were previously kept in the kitchen and lounge. 
They have litter boxes beds on different levels toys and food. 
Mother seems quite happy up there but daughter is not keen and keeps trying to escape. She does not mark or soil.
How long do you think I should keep them refined to the spare room? 
I would eventually like them in there whilst I'm out and at night and then give them the run of the home when in. The problems occur when I'm out or at night 
Thank you for reading  
Hayley


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

Hello @Hayley Limb and welcome. 

Is the mother cat now spayed? If so how long ago? It will take a couple of months for her hormone levels to drop.

I think it's brave of you to take on an ex-breeding queen who always lived in an outdoor pen. It is possible the breeder knew the queen was a sprayer and that's why she kept her in an outdoor pen. I hope the breeder was upfront with you about the possibility the queen would spray indoors.

Perhaps the breeder assumed once the queen was spayed she would stop spraying. I am afraid this is not always the case and a cat who is a confirmed sprayer may retain the habit all their life even after spaying.

However, looking at things more positively, it is possible you may be able with time and patience be able to remove some of the triggers for the spraying, I think you need to accept you may never stop her spraying completely.

From your description of the two cats' relationship I'd say the mother cat is not happy to have her daughter around, and the daughter feels quite intimidated by the mother. It is quite common for mother cats not to want their offspring around once they are weaned.

I think it might prove to be difficult to keep these two cats sharing the same space harmoniously. If you want them to live contentedly you may need to divide your home into two with some kind of a semi-permanent physical barrier and let them have their own territory. If you plan to keep them as indoor cats this is even more important.

I would definitely not shut them in the same room together. It is evident the daughter finds it stressful being cooped up even though the mother cat may well be more comfortable in the smaller space.

If you're going to try to get the two cats to share the whole house, without any physical barrier there need to be plenty of places for them to get away from each other.


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## spotty cats (Jul 24, 2012)

Our girls only spray when calling and all retirees have stopped immediately after being spayed. since she was kept outside it's possible she was never properly litter trained, and having her in a smaller space may help retrain her to only use the litter.
A low dose of medication can also help stop the peeing. Feliway does make some cats spray more, and become more aggressive.

Are you using a proper enzyme cleaner in the areas she's marked?

The breeder should be advising you, she knows her cats best.


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## Hayley Limb (Feb 1, 2017)

Thank you for your replies 
Both cats seemed very settled in the room no noises etc overnight mother seems to be very happy there I think she's preferring the smaller space? All pee was in the litter box and no spraying I will see how today goes...
All of the breeders cats were kept outside in pens so I didn't think the spraying was the reason for that. I've lost the breeders number and not sure if she had a website she was a really nice lady so I know she'd help if I had a way of contacting her. 
I'm thinking long term of setting up 2 areas for them as mother is clearly annoyed by her daughter I think. But still letting them have the whole house. 
Fingers crossed


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## QOTN (Jan 3, 2014)

It may well be the case that the mother is so used to being confined in a small space that she will never realise her good fortune to have a larger area which may just make her feel insecure. If she was confined in a pen on her own, it may be that she will never adapt to living with other cats. Without more details of her background, it is very difficult to know how ingrained her behaviour has become.


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

If the mother cat was at ease when confined to the bedroom and there was no spraying then I think you're probably right she feels content in a smaller space because it is what she is used to. Giving her access to the whole house may have made her feel very insecure, hence the spraying.

But I agree with QOTN if the queen was used to being confined in a pen on her own she may never adapt to living with any other cat, including her own adult daughter.

I think you are going to have to go very slowly with her, in terms of getting her to feel comfortable outside of one room. It would be great if you can gradually restore the confidence she no doubt once had.


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## Hayley Limb (Feb 1, 2017)

Hi yes sorry she's 5/6 and was kept by the breeder for all that time and she was In a pen outside with her daughter ( I think?) they were in together when I collected them. she still seems very content in the room and made no attempt to escape when I opened the door. 
I agree I don't think daughter should be in there all the time just a little hard as I don't want to distress her by separating her I don't think Mum will be bothered by it.


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## spotty cats (Jul 24, 2012)

What breed are they? Some can be more highly strung than others.

If you recall the breeders name you may find her via google or enquiring with the governing body.


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## Hayley Limb (Feb 1, 2017)

Hiya they are Savannahs x bengals


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## spotty cats (Jul 24, 2012)

Not sure why they'd be crossing the 2 together, but the breeds are why they were kept in outside pens. They're terrible sprayers when entire, even when neutered they often don't have the best litter tray habits once they reach maturity.


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## Hayley Limb (Feb 1, 2017)

They call them snow Savannahs apparently...
There has been no accidents or spraying from neither cat since being in the spare room
My dilemma is it's no life for a cat to be locked in a spare room  
The daughter is fine in the rest of the home
And has brilliant litter tray habits. 
If I let the daughter out of the spare room
And then put her back in with mum, mum immediately puts her in her place


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

As I said earlier I think you need to let the two cats live separately from each other in your home. But it sounds like you don't need to bother with a physical barrier as mum is not interested in the rest of the house.

If the mum cat is happier in one room can't she stay there? Why does she have to be locked in? Can't the door be left ajar so she can come out, if or when she wants? And can go back in her room whenever she likes?

It is very sad if her whole life never consists of anything more than looking at the 4 walls of one room, but there may be nothing you can do to change that in view of her history.


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## Hayley Limb (Feb 1, 2017)

chillminx said:


> As I said earlier I think you need to let the two cats live separately from each other in your home. But it sounds like you don't need to bother with a physical barrier as mum is not interested in the rest of the house.
> 
> If the mum cat is happier in one room can't she stay there? Why does she have to be locked in? Can't the door be left ajar so she can come out, if or when she wants? And can go back in her room whenever she likes?
> 
> It is very sad if her whole life never consists of anything more than looking at the 4 walls of one room, but there may be nothing you can do to change that in view of her history.


Oh yes I completely agree with you with keeping the door open I was thinking of introducing this slowly and allowing her a small time amount out building up to then leaving the door open the whole time I'm home as their aren't really any problems when I'm home only when I'm asleep or out. She can then choose where she wants to go. Thankyou I'll bite the bullet tonight and seperate them


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## lillytheunicorn (Nov 17, 2012)

There is a Bengal and Savannah chat uk group on Facebook, they might be a good place to ask for advice and they may be able to put you in touch with the breeder or know the lines your cats come from. The mods are lovely and breeders of bengals / savannahs.


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## Hayley Limb (Feb 1, 2017)

Thankyou I've joined this. 
Just to give you all an update the cats are still not seperated they seem so much calmer together since being in the room. I tried seperating twice with both of them
Meowing to each other between the door  they both come out of the room together for an hour each day where they can roam freely, play sleep etc they sometimes wander back to their room and come back out. There has been no accidents or spraying since they've been in there so success all round


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