# Help, my male cat is spraying everywhere!



## Marleys (Feb 11, 2013)

Hello, I really hope someone can help me, I have a male cat who is 6 years old in May, for some unknown reason he has started spraying everywhere and we have no idea why - he's not threatened - but seems to be spraying upstairs and downstairs - please help, as we really are at our wits end = we love our cat so it's not like he is unloved  thanks so much for taking time to read my post.


----------



## OrientalSlave (Jan 26, 2012)

I presume he is neutered.

Take him for a vet check, and if he's OK think very hard about anything that might have changed that could make him feel insecure in the house, or anything that might have changed about his litter tray, or even something like another new cat bullying him outside the house.


----------



## Marleys (Feb 11, 2013)

OrientalSlave said:


> I presume he is neutered.
> 
> Take him for a vet check, and if he's OK think very hard about anything that might have changed that could make him feel insecure in the house, or anything that might have changed about his litter tray, or even something like another new cat bullying him outside the house.


Hello, thank you for replying to me, no my cat isn't neutered, we have been having personal issues going on at home so not sure if he is picking up on that or not - he is an odd cat - you couldn't go and pet him because he would bite you, he's half wild - so if anyone was bullying - I would say it's my cat doing the bullying  ....


----------



## OrientalSlave (Jan 26, 2012)

He could well be picking up on the tension in the house, though I'm amazed that an entire male has made it to 6 without spraying being an issue before. It must smell vile.

It's in his best interests to get him neutered, and it might help the spraying. It may well calm him down as well. 

BTW just because he attacks you doesn't mean he isn't being bullied by another cat.


----------



## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

Marleys, I cannot imagine how you can bear for a moment the smell of an 
un-neutered tom cat's urine in your house, it is such a horrible stench 

I could not wait to get one of my rescued male cats neutered as he was still entire at the age of 2 when I adopted him. He did not spray luckily, but the smell of his litter tray was bad enough and pervaded the whole house! I had to stop people visiting me until he was done! 

Please get your cat neutered as soon as possible, he will be calmer, less territorial and less likely to spray.


----------



## Marleys (Feb 11, 2013)

OrientalSlave said:


> He could well be picking up on the tension in the house, though I'm amazed that an entire male has made it to 6 without spraying being an issue before. It must smell vile.
> 
> It's in his best interests to get him neutered, and it might help the spraying. It may well calm him down as well.
> 
> BTW just because he attacks you doesn't mean he isn't being bullied by another cat.


OrientalSlave, my cat hasn't made it to 6 years old without spraying, naturally he has done it now and again but not to the extent of this past week of doing it every single day and right in front of our eyes, believe me if you knew my cat - you would understand what I mean when I say - it's most likely my cat bullying, he doesn't attack me, however if someone out in the street tried to approach him, he would attack them - example: a woman seen him and went to give him a pet (as you would) and he attacked her and yelled at her! and yes it does smell vile.


----------



## Treaclesmum (Sep 26, 2011)

Any unneutered tom cat can get quite aggressive, it is a hormonal thing, they certainly lash out more than neutered animals. I'm not surprised he is half-wild if he's still unneutered at his age!... 

You would have a lovely docile pet by now if he was neutered....


----------



## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

Marleys, surely the "vile smell" is enough justification for getting him neutered, even if you have previously had some kind of objection on moral grounds? 

An entire male cat shut indoors all the time is going to get terribly frustrated at not being able to get out and find a mate. I would expect him to be angry and even vicious as a result. 

On the other hand if you were to decide to allow him outdoors to mate, it is likely he will wander too far in search of a mate and get lost (happens more often than you might think). He would also be in danger of injury from fighting with other entire tom cats, as well as at risk of catching a serious sexually transmitted disease from random matings. 

Surely you do not want either of these scenarios for your cat?


----------



## Marleys (Feb 11, 2013)

chillminx said:


> Marleys, surely the "vile smell" is enough justification for getting him neutered, even if you have previously had some kind of objection on moral grounds?
> 
> An entire male cat shut indoors all the time is going to get terribly frustrated at not being able to get out and find a mate. I would expect him to be angry and even vicious as a result.
> 
> ...


Marley does go out, so it's not that he is being shut indoors all the time and getting frustrated. Thanks anyway for your help. I did come on to this forum to ask for help, I didn't come on here to feel like I'm being abused.


----------



## spotty cats (Jul 24, 2012)

Poor boy being entire all these years rather than a neutered pet, I'd get him done ASAP and enquire about a hormone shot to be done at the same time to help him settle into a loving pet and stop spraying


----------



## auspiciousmind (Sep 2, 2012)

Marleys said:


> Marley does go out, so it's not that he is being shut indoors all the time and getting frustrated. Thanks anyway for your help. I did come on to this forum to ask for help, I didn't come on here to feel like I'm being abused.


Wow, So not only have you allowed your cat to get to the age of 6 without being neutered your also letting him out to roam.. How irresponsible.

Toms that aren't neutered are more likely to:


Get into really horrible territorial fight with other toms (abscesses, damaged eyes, bite wounds)
Stray miles from home looking for a female in heat - Which means A) they can get lost B) More likely to be involved in road accidents 
Are more likely to catch FIV (like human HIV)
Spray (Which your already experiencing)

Your cat could be adding to the 1000's of unwanted kittens / cats in the world.. because YOU haven't had him neutered?! I really don't understand, has your VET not tried to persuade you?

When I rescued Romeo I took him straight for his vaccinations one of the first things the vet said to me is "When shall we book him in for neutering?" and gave me a list of reason why I should have it done!!!

I don't know how you've managed to live with the smell to be honest... Romeo luckily never sprayed but the stench coming from the litter tray was enough.


----------



## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

Marleys, certainly it is no-one's intention here to "abuse" you, and I am sorry if you feel that way. 

As you said, you came here looking for advice, and forum members are responding to your request, and giving you very good advice. I am not sure what other advice you were expecting 

Basically, you have an entire tom cat who is spraying in your house, and as you are aware, this is expected behaviour from an entire tom cat. 

OK, so he is spraying more than he usually does indoors. Perhaps this is due to him feeling increasingly territorial recently, either from a perceived or an actual threat to his dominance. 

What might this be due to? 

Well, it could be a strange tom cat hanging around outside, spraying near your house, or regularly spraying your back or front door, and your cat responding to this.

Or it could be there has been an aggressive tom cat in the neighbourhood 
who has picked a fight with your cat and tried to chase him out of his territory. Your cat may have lost the battle outside and may have retreated indoors to "man the barricades". Hence the recent profuse spraying to mark his boundaries. 

Or it could be that a recent human visitor to your house has a cat and is bringing in the scent of the cat with them on their clothes, or shoes, making your cat feel threatened in his own domain.

We can speculate on all manner of causes, and to exclude every one of them as being the culprit would take a lot of time and dedication on your part. The fact is you may still not find the answer at the end of weeks of investigations. 

On the other hand, you have a simple logical explanation as to why your cat ever sprays in your house at all. It is because he is an un-neutered tom cat. 

So I am at a loss to understand why you would not opt to take the most straightfoward solution to your problem and have the cat neutered. For the sake of his health, and your sanity. 

I feel as though I must be missing some vital additional information here, and maybe this is why you are not happy with my judgment. Is there perhaps another aspect to this case you have not shared with us?


----------



## LauraCats (Feb 25, 2015)

Marleys said:


> Hello, I really hope someone can help me, I have a male cat who is 6 years old in May, for some unknown reason he has started spraying everywhere and we have no idea why - he's not threatened - but seems to be spraying upstairs and downstairs - please help, as we really are at our wits end = we love our cat so it's not like he is unloved  thanks so much for taking time to read my post.


Hi Marley, I would really like to talk to you about the problems you had with your cat spraying and how you dealt with it in regards to a new documentary we are making about cat behaviour. Please get in touch, my email address is [email protected] Thanks, Laura.


----------

