# Help with cat spraying! Don't want to give them away



## Jim Monkhouse (Jan 25, 2017)

Hey guys

I have some serious issues with my cats spraying and I was wondering if I could get some input and help from the community?

I have 2 male cat brothers that I rescued as strays when they were 3 weeks old, and we hand reared them ourselves, since the mother was not around to look after them

. We've had them 6 years now and they have been really nice natured loving pets with the one exception. The physically smaller of the two cats (who has the more dominant personality traits, but isn't physically as large) has territorially sprayed throughout the time that we've had them. This in turn has encouraged our other cat to counter spray.

Just a bit of info to give you an idea of our current setup


They were both spayed as kittens.

They have a chipped cat flap to allow them access to the garden.

We have a medium sized garden, with plenty of foliage for them, and the area is safe and away from a main road.

They seem to have a great relationship each other, curl up together on occasions and rarely fight.

There is a dominant older cat in the area, who is 17 years old, that they are terrified of, but they have a secure area in our house to hide from him.

We have 2 feliway plugins in the room pumping friendly pheromones into the air.

They get treated like little princes and get more than enough equal love and affection.

The room that they live in is our main kitchen living area and is 7 x 4.5 metres so should be large enough for them.

They have sofas an armchair and various other places to sleep away from each other if they choose.

Our house is generally calm and relaxed.


The smaller cat has sprayed on my wife, and has sprayed furniture, and consistently sprays the wood burning stove. On one occasion it sprayed directly into one of our plug sockets and blew the mains and it's got to the stage where we can't cope any more.

Our next stage is having a kid, and it's not practical to be having to deal with cat spray, or risk our baby getting sprayed on. We live in fear of finding cat spray every single morning and we usually do.

Since we don't have the heart to give our cats away, we had the idea of making them a house in the garden, that they can sleep in during the evening, and then we'd let them in the house during the day when we're around.

Has anyone had any experience doing this, and if so do you have any advice on how to do this? and what kind of cat house I should buy? Would you insulate the cat house?

Thanks for any help or advice you can offer!

Jim


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## Paddypaws (May 4, 2010)

Oh Jim I do feel for you and have some similar issues with my won cat household.
I did not find Feliway to be of much use, in fact i think it increased the spraying!
I would recommend you try this product
http://www.nutravet.co.uk/nutracalm
I have been using some of the ingredients with my cats and have seen house soiling pretty much disappear.

Do you have any litter trays in the house? I know it might seem strange as they toilet in the garden but you might be able to channel them to spray in the trays rather thn on the furnishings. I use large clear storage boxes with high sides for this purpose. If I see a cat approaching a favoured spraying spot I try and lure them away, offering a dry food treat once they have performed in the plastic tub provided.


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

Hi @Jim Monkhouse and welcome 

If your cats are always confined to one area of the house, (the kitchen), even though it is a large area as kitchens go, it is probably not large enough to prevent constant competition for resources between them.

As you say, it is probably the smaller of the two cats who feels the more insecure of the two and that is why he started the spraying - to scent mark the resources he regards as his. Then - because cats are renowned copiers of each other's behaviour - the other cat began spraying too.

The fact they seem to get along fine and even snuggle together sometimes does not alter the fact they feel in competition for resources. I would imagine that building them a house in the garden won't make any difference to how they feel about each other as competition, unless you build them a separate little house each and fit each house with a microchip cat flap only scanned to accept one cat.

For them to be comfortable outdoors in the winter they will need proper heated pens. Anything else would not be suitable for cats used to being able to live indoors.

Really it would be better instead to build a conservatory off the back of your house, as an area for the cats, so they have that as well as the kitchen. Heat it in winter and fill it with things for the cats such as cat trees, scratch posts, shelves to sit on, cat beds etc. Let them access it through a cat flap on the back door. This would increase their indoor area giving them two rooms so they will feel they have more resources to share, and thus the competition will be reduced a bit.

Also to reduce competition, give each cat his own separate feeding station at least 10 ft apart from his brother, preferably at different heights, one on the floor, one on the worktop or a shelf.

Place several bowls of water around their area.

Several cat litter trays spread around.

Lots of cat beds so they can swap around where they sleep.

Plenty of scratch posts and pads.

Two tall cat trees so they can both sit high up and snooze, as cats like to do.

Basically provide them with a multiplicity of resources, so that the constant niggling feeling they have of competing for resources will be reduced.

If the 17 yr old local cat is not getting into your home (as you have a microchip flap) I doubt your
cat is spraying is in response to him. Unless the old cat spraying your back door? If so the door needs cleaning thoroughly with an enzymatic cleaner every day.

If the old boy is hanging around your garden chase him away, but my experience with 17 yr old cats is they are not interested in claiming new territory off other cats, all they want to do is sleep, and be warm. I accept your cats may be fearful of him when they see him, because perhaps he is an old bruiser, but maybe they are not fearful of him coming into the house.

When your cats spray clean it up with an enzyme cleaner, such as UrineOff or a solution of Bio laundry liquid.

Safety covers for the electrical sockets are always a good idea when you have a sprayer.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_fb_2_14?url=search-alias=aps&field-keywords=safety+covers+for+electrical+sockets&sprefix=safety+covers+,pets,145&crid=17D4HF20CO1ZF

The smaller cat may have anxiety issues. I'd suggest trying him with Zylkene supplement in his food, or Beaphar Calming spot on supplement, on the back of his head once a week.

Nutracalm may help as Paddypaws has found with her cats.

It is trial and error to see if anything helps.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Beaphar-Ca...8-1&keywords=beaphar+calming+spot+on+for+cats

https://www.petdrugsonline.co.uk/do...lief/zylkene?gclid=CPeQpqSl3tECFYEaGwod7SMOkg


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## Jim Monkhouse (Jan 25, 2017)

Thanks for the advice! 

We've decided that we are going to try Figaro (our smaller male) on nutravet whilst removing the feliway and hope this improves the situation. I'll feed back on this thread to let you know how it goes...

No we don't have any litter trays, as we were hoping that they'd go to the loo in the garden, but it's definitely something worth trying.

I've also put some rectangles of slightly crumpled tinfoil around the 3 problem areas in the room that he sprays in last night before bed and we've had no accidents this morning, so that also looks like a preventative


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

I hope the adjustments work for you and are lasting. 

My strong feeling is that a more fundamental change is required in the cats' living arrangements to achieve any profound and lasting effect on the spraying behaviour. But I am happy to be proved wrong on this occasion and therefore will look forward to some positive and encouraging updates from you.

Good Luck!!


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## Jim Monkhouse (Jan 25, 2017)

@chillminx Thanks so much for the advice!

There's some really good pieces of advice that we are going to work with here, we're going to split the changes in the environment into stages and see if this improves the sitatution as a pose to doing all the changes at once.

first, we're going to try adding some more scratching posts and moving the food bowls apart.

Then if that doesn't work, we'll add the 'nutrcalm' and Beaphar Calming spot and so on ... until I've tried all the things you've suggested.

I'll keep this thread posted as I go along, as it may be off help to other people struggling with the same issue.

Thanks!


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## oggers86 (Nov 14, 2011)

I am having similar issues with my cat and got a behaviourist in. She suggested pretty much everything above so we have:

Feliway plug in
Larger trays
Zylkene once a day

I also use feliway spray. All vertical areas get washed with hot water and sprayed with surgical spirit, horizontal surfaces get treated with urine off. When dry spray feliway sparingly in the area once a day for 30 day's. Repeat if he resprays during the 30 day programme. 

I've also got a pet remedy diffuser going upstairs as I had one so figured it was worth a try. 

We've been spray free for a few weeks which is positive but I can't say for certain it's worked as he's gone weeks before. 

We have a baby with plans for a second and I have really considered rehoming him especially as he also poos in the house but we are giving it a really good shot with the behaviourist over a few months to try get it all fixed. 

Do you have pet plan insurance? They will pay out for the behaviourist we are using.


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## Jim Monkhouse (Jan 25, 2017)

@oggers86 It's great to here that you are having some success with your new plan for your cat 

Just to give an update on how we're getting along with our cats spraying issues.

The cats were doing well, having gone 1 week without spraying. The only step that we'd taken was to tinfoil the kitchen surfaces at night, and to move the food bowls apart and this was all going well. However on Saturday we decided to give them free range of the house when we were out. This ended in disaster with Gepetto spraying all over our jackets that we had hung over the bottom of the staircase bannister :-(.

So now we're on to stage two, which is using some kind of anti-anxiety supplement. Ideally we didn't want to do do this but it looks like we have no choice. We were going to go with 'nutracalm' from nutrivet, or 'Zylkene'. Does anyone know which is more safe and effective for cats? We'd prefer to go with the most natural solution as giving our cats daily pills, is a last resort for us.

Thanks!


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

@Jim Monkhouse

Hi Jim, I'm pleased to hear there was a marked reduction in the spraying in the kitchen, but sorry to hear Gepetto sprayed your jackets when you allowed the cats access to the hall when you were out.

It is great you are thinking of allowing them access to other parts of the house, but I recommend you increase access by only one room or area at a time, and only when you are there to supervise, until you are sure they can be trusted not to spray. Gepetto, as he sounds like a bit of a nervy, anxious cat, will cope better without too much new stimulus at once.

The other thing is to prepare the new area first. Bear in mind if the cats have been restricted to the kitchen for some time their scent in the rest of the house will have faded. I am referring to the scent that cats deposit from the scent glands in their cheeks when they rub against doors and furniture etc. This is their way of marking their home as their territory. It will be reassuring to Gepetto if he can smell his own scent in the hall, so he may feel less of an urge to scent mark by spraying. My suggestion is that before allowing the cats into the hall (or other rooms) you take a soft cloth and wipe it around Gepetto's cheeks and neck and then wipe it on doors, bannisters etc at the same height as he would be.

I would also have a Pet Remedy Diffuser plugged in, in the hall, for an hour or so before you allow the cats access.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Pet-Remedy...485781431&sr=1-1&keywords=pet+remedy+diffuser

I am afraid when one lives with a cat who is a sprayer one has to become disciplined about not leaving temptation in their way. e.g. clothing, or even drying laundry. Bringing new items into the home, such as bags of shopping and leaving them on the floor is also asking for trouble. It may sound like a hassle, but it is really a matter of getting into the mindset of thinking ahead and taking evasive action. For example coat pegs can be put high on the wall in the hall or cloakroom so coats can be hung out of reach of the cats. And shopping can be put away promptly instead of leaving it on the floor. It really does encourage tidiness. 

Can I just say that if you are planning to start a family in the near future you do not allow the cats access to all the rooms now. In fact it might be sensible not to allow them access to any of the bedrooms at all. The reason being that once you allow them access again it will be harder to take bedroom access away from them once a baby arrives. And as Gepetto has this tendency to spray when he feels anxious it is best he does not have access to the baby's room, at least for a while.

Looking into the future, it will be a good idea once a baby is 'on the way' but several months before baby arrives, to prepare the cats to the new scents such as baby talc, creams etc, as well as the recorded sounds of a baby crying.

Incidentally, can you remember what age Gepetto was when he began spraying? Was it in response (as far as you can recall) to any specific incident, change, or upheaval in your/their lives? Had he been neutered when he started spraying, and if so, what age was he neutered? The reason I ask is because the cause might have a bearing on how possible it will be to resolve his scent marking behaviour, or should I say - more accurately - _contain_ his behaviour.

Zylkene is the milder of the two supplements, so it is worth starting with that, along with use of the Pet Remedy Diffuser I mentioned above ^^. The effect of the Zylkene will be gradual, but you should see some change within a couple of weeks.

Nutracalm contains different ingredients, and is stronger than Zylkene in its effect. It may suit Gepetto, as I know it has suited other cats. But did not suit my spraying cat as it made him so relaxed he lost his natural inhibitions, with not good results! .


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## Jim Monkhouse (Jan 25, 2017)

Just an update on our situation, and it's not very good :-(

My wife has found spray and urine all over the cooker microwave and all up against some more of the kitchen units this morning.

we have the zykelene on order, but we are seriously going to have to consider them as outdoor cats during the evening when we can't supurvise them, because it's becoming unbearable and it's greatly stressing my pregnant wife.

We realise this isn't ideal, but we've put up with this for years, and it's hitting breaking point now, in the past two weeks they have almost destroyed our electrics that we've just paid a lot of money to have redone, peed on expensive jackets and suites, and peed where we prepare our food.

If we were to do this, does anyone have any suggestions to the best way to provide shelter for them?

I was thinking about maybe two of these boxes, with some insulating material inside on the walls and roof.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/External-...id=100005&rk=1&rkt=6&mehot=pp&sd=162283088880

and chipped catflaps on the door.

and then letting them back in the house during the day when we can keep an eye on them and make sure that they don't destroy everything.

@chillminx

The main activities in their life that could have caused this major issue are as follows

They had no mother when they were small and we hand weined them from about 3 weeks (She was a stray, and our mother in law saved them ... long story)

When they were about 2 we had a stray cat coming through the cat flap for 2 weeks, untill we got them chipped and added a chipped cat flap.

2 years ago we moved from our flat into a house, although we though this would be better as they now have a private garden as apose to a communal one, however there is a dominant male (17 years old) who runs the area.

7 months ago we had an extension added to our house, which was major structural work on the back of the house, at the time, thet were living in our bedroom and sprayed only occasionaly during the 3 month building duration

In the past 4 months they have been really bad with the spraying, we feel like we have been so leniant with them, and most people would have tried to rehome them by now, but we have to face reality that we are having a child now, and we cannot have the stress that the spraying causes as the same time as being first time parents.

It is literally daily, and it's where we prepare our food.

I'm responsible for them, so instead of giving them away, I'd like to see how they get on in our garden first/

Thanks for any advice you can offer

Jim


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

I am so sorry to hear things are so bad Jim.  I understand you feel at the end of your tether.

I am afraid your cats will hate being suddenly shut out of the house on their own in the evenings and it will cause them a lot of stress and feelings of rejection. It is evident they are already very stressed, by the fact they are spraying so much.

I am sure that some, if not all, of the recently increased spraying is because your wife is pregnant. Cats are acutely aware of hormonal changes in their female human companions (because the human scent changes) and they can find it worrying and puzzling.

The kennels you link to are very small and there is no room for heating. They might be OK as shelters for stray or feral cats in very cold weather, who are used to living outdoors, but I do not regard them as being at all suitable for cats who are used to having an indoor home as members of the family.

To be frank with you, I think if you are going to be shutting them out away from you in the cold every evening in such unsuitable kennels it will be so stressful for them that it really might be better to try and re-home them.

If you want to keep the cats, but have them living outside the house, my opinion is you need to build them proper quarters, perhaps a log cabin in the garden, which can be heated in the winter and where they can have their scratch posts, cat trees, food, water etc. There will be room for you to go and sit with them to keep them company at least part of the evening, so they don't feel so rejected. The cabin would have a microchip flap on the door to keep strange cats out. I think anything less than this is unfair on the cats. I would go as far as to say unkind.

https://www.tuin.co.uk/Log-Cabins.html

http://www.gardenbuildingsdirect.co.uk/log-cabins?gclid=CKrJoMCw7NECFW237QodyzIFsg


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

@Jim Monkhouse - it is very upsetting when cats lose their status as members of the family just because there is a human baby on the way. Sadly we quite often get similar posts on this forum: - baby has arrived, (or is due), new parents are absorbed by the baby, the cats feel ignored and rejected and their anxiety shows in stress-related behaviours such as spraying and house soiling.  . Or in your cats' case a considerable _exacerbation _of such behaviour.

You mentioned the cats' spraying suddenly got much worse *4 months ago*. There is bound to be a logical reason [cats are very logical creatures ] and if it coincided with your wife becoming pregnant then that is the reason.

You don't say at what age the cats started spraying or how old they were when you had them neutered. If they started spraying _before _they were neutered then it was because they had been allowed to reach sexual maturity before they were neutered. Kittens who have not yet reached sexual maturity do not spray.

International Cat Care recommends kittens are neutered at 4 months old, i.e. before they reach sexual maturity. More cats are given up to Rescues because of spraying and house soiling than for any other reason. This is why it is so important to castrate kittens around the age of 4 months.

As your cats are spraying all over the kitchen worktops etc, I am puzzled as to why you shut them in the kitchen? Why not give them a room where they could do less damage and not interfere with your food preparation? 

You say when they were shut in a bedroom for 3 months during the building work they hardly sprayed at all. Not that I am suggesting you shut them in a bedroom all the time as that would be zero quality of life for them. But it does give one pause for thought that they sprayed so little whilst in the bedroom, so they must have felt more secure, less anxious at that stage.

You say you have put up with the cats' behaviour for years. But why just put up with it, why not try and resolve by bringing in a professional behaviourist ? I am surprised your vet has not recommended this course of action to you a long time ago.

The cat behaviourist would make their own observations, assess why the spraying is happening and give you guidelines to try and resolve it. A behaviourist is in a better position to see exactly what is going on than we are on the forum because he/she would be there in your home to watch how the cats interact together.

If you have pet insurance for your cats, you will be covered for the fees of a pet behaviourist providing your vet makes the referral.

Either of these organisations are reputable and worth using.

http://www.apbc.org.uk/help/regions

http://capbt.org/findabehaviourist.php

Or there is the acclaimed Vicky Halls, of whom you may have heard as she had a series on TV a few years ago and has written several books on cat behaviour.

http://www.vickyhalls.net/

if you don't have pet insurance and have to pay the fees yourself, they are not hugely expensive. Sometimes one home visit and a couple of follow ups on the telephone may suffice. Cost probably no more than say £120 (though Vicky Halls may be more expensive). But worth every penny if it resolves the problem.

I think at least you owe your cats this much, before you consider banishing them to the garden every evening.


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## oggers86 (Nov 14, 2011)

Don't give up yet, it is tough with a baby, there are so many times I've been at the end of my tether with Elsworth but so far we've managed to get through it. 

I really would recommend a behaviourist, Vicky has been a lifesaver and I can almost see an end to our problems. Elsworth hasn't sprayed for a while now, not saying its stopped but it's becoming manageable if it's every few weeks. The pooing is getting less and we may have figured that out too. Now I can't say for certain it will all be OK if baby 2 comes along but its a bridge we will cross when that happens. 

I can imagine very well the stress of it daily so as a short term measure try and restrict access. Definitely try some calming stuff and a feliway diffuser, I can't say for certain it's helped us but it can't all be coincidence. 

Vicky suggested to me that I give myself a realistic deadline to see improvements and then think hard about rehoming if there weren't any. In the meantime we really put all of our effort into trying to make things work because at least then I can say I've tried everything and not have to wonder what if. 

I really hope you can sort this, if you are willing to put in the slog now to try fix it then you are halfway there so don't give up. If not then you need to rehome one or both asap for everyone's sanity. 

Good luck.


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## Jim Monkhouse (Jan 25, 2017)

Hey guys

I'm just giving an update on our spraying situation

Last week we had the vinyl floor tiles in our main room (where we keep the cats) pulled up as it's getting refitted. We found cat pee soaked into the plywood underlay in nearly every corner of the room.So the situation was even worse than we initially thought.

As well as what we'd spotted, on walls, clothes e.t.c., there pee was soaking into the floor as well!

We decided to try the Zykelene as our next course of action.

We have been giving both Figaro and Gepetto 75mg of Zykelene a day. We are currently about a week in on the treatment and we've seen a marked improvement in their spraying behaviour and they seem more relaxed.

For now the spraying and urination seems to have all but stopped (touch wood).

The last incident that we had was 2 days ago when one of them peed on the floor, but they've been on a two day run now (which is a record :-D) and they both seem calmer in nature.

I know that they haven't peed, because I'd see the stains on the plywood underlay that we have whilst we are waiting for our new floor to be fitted, as liquid takes at least 24 hours to visibly dry on the plywood.

Another thing that we did, was remove the feliway plugins. We had two plugged in, in the room and I've noticed that they were spraying around the feliways ... so it's almost like the feliway was having an adverse effect which is very strange!

So to summarise what we have been doing to see our 2 days of success.


We have been cleaning the floors and problem areas with "simple solution" every 2 days.
We are giving each cat 75mg of zykelne supplement sprinkled on their 'Purina' kibble daily.
We have removed 2 feliway plugins from the room.
We've bought them a new tall cat tree, which gives them a vantage point to sit on.
We have been using the same pieces of crinkled tinfoil to cover the floor area near the repeat incident areas, when we go to bed.

I'm convinced that the zykelne is the main reason for this improvement. and I just wanted to ask if anyone else has kept their cats on this supplement long term? @chillminx @oggers86 @Paddypaws

It says on the back of the package that you should only keep them on it for a max of 2 months, but I'm worried if we stop the zykelene ... the spraying behaviour will just return.

Also ... does anyone have any experience of giving their cats 'royal canin calm cat' food? I was thinking about switching out the purina / zykene combo for 'royal canin calm' as I understand that it has the same milk protein and would save us a bit of money and convenience?

Thanks!

Jim


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## Paddypaws (May 4, 2010)

Great progress! Once you have established this new stable routine I would try swooping around with other supplements.
I do feed some of the RC calm food and do think it helps although I should point out that dry food should never form the bulk of a feline diet especially with urinary issues.
You can also buy the bigger 450mg capsules of zylkene labelled for dogs and then sprinkle out an appropriate dose which is much cheaper than the 75g capsules.
I too found Feliway to actually increase the spraying so you are not alone there.
I have been using L tryptophan which is the active ingredient in the product I think I mentioned in earlier posts. This should be used in carefully measured doses and not continuously . ( @chillminx didn't get on with this one I know but it has solved my issue) Nutracalm
When new flooring goes down make sure you use silicone sealant round the perimeter to prevent any more leakage into under floor.


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## Jim Monkhouse (Jan 25, 2017)

Thanks for the reply @Paddypaws

I think like people all cats are different, so it's a case of finding what works for your own particular setup.

So some cats might like feliway, whilst others see it as a threat to their environment.

I'm not going to get too excited yet, but there just seems to be a different vibe with the cats,I'm finding them being a lot more affectionate than they usually are and seem happier in general.

Just out of interest, what does your feeding / supplement routine look like?

Which brands and types of food do you give your cat / cats?

Thanks


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## Paddypaws (May 4, 2010)

I make most of my own raw cat food at home and have been adding the L tryptohan into the mix. I only feed twice a day although I do agree it is probably more ideal to feed 3/4 smaller meals.


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## oggers86 (Nov 14, 2011)

Sadly things aren't going well so we've made the tough decision to rehome. Zylkene for us doesn't seem to stop the spraying but I'm glad it seems to be working for your cats.


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## Jim Monkhouse (Jan 25, 2017)

Hey @oggers86

I'm sorry to here that you are having to rehome, but I totally understand the stresses that it causes. When you put in effort to keep your house nice and clean, and the cat just undoes all your work by spraying everywhere. It's a serious daily stress :-(.

I also spoke too soon about my situation ...

We just had a nice new floor fitted yesterday and the room was smelling really fresh when I went to bed, then we came down this morning to spray on the wall, on one of our units, all over our firewood and floor and it's run down the back of the skirting board :-(.

As I mentioned my wife is pregnant and it's really taking a toll on her, She should be relaxing and it's getting her really uptight. We adore our cats, but if we can't fix this issue before the baby comes we will also have to consider rehoming.

Thinking about it makes me really sad, because I genuinely love those little guys and they are part of my family, but we don't want to spend the next ten years of our life living in fear in our own home.


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## Calvine (Aug 20, 2012)

Jim Monkhouse said:


> Hey @oggers86
> 
> I'm sorry to here that you are having to rehome, but I totally understand the stresses that it causes. When you put in effort to keep your house nice and clean, and the cat just undoes all your work by spraying everywhere. It's a serious daily stress :-(.
> 
> ...


Really sorry to hear this @Jim Monkhouse: I guess this may have been caused by the stress of building work to your kitchen. If it does come to rehoming you should obviously try to keep them together if possible. Another point is that you will have to be totally honest with everyone as to why you are rehoming your two cats otherwise you are going to have a situation where they are either brought back to you or get passed on from pillar to post for the rest of their lives. A good rescue would be the best way forward...they may also have someone with experience who can work on their issues. But the rescues, if not already bursting at the seams, will in a few months have a load of kittens arriving.
I wish you well.


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## AmyRedd (Nov 9, 2015)

My parents went through this exact situation with their cats while I was growing up. Two brothers just like yours, one was a little scaredy and anxious and the other much more like a confident tom. They were both neutered before sexual maturity and yet they still learnt to spray.... and they literally sprayed everywhere. It was a nightmare, curtains, carpets, furniture ruined. We thought it was because of neighbours cats stressing them out but the only thing that eventually stopped it was when one of the brothers passed away sadly before the other. The one that was left never sprayed in the house ever again. It was strange as they were inseparable, slept together, did everything together but they must have been in competition with each other the whole time so I wonder if you might be having the same issue? It's hard to know if keeping them together is for the best as our remaining cat did pine for his brother alot but ultimately he actually came out of his shell more and I think he was happier without his brother in the end. I know it would be extremely difficult to rehome just one and I honestly don't know if it would be the answer... but I didn't want to read and run having gone through something similar!


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

@AmyRedd, you make a very valid point.  . I think there is a real possibility that it could be competition between the two boys in the OP's case that is causing the spraying/scent marking.

You are right when you say cats sharing a home can often appear to get on well, but underneath they can still be in competition for resources. It is not a natural thing for a cat to share their resources with another cat (other than a mother with her kittens). Instinctively a cat wants their resources to themselves.

The only way one can sometimes resolve the situation (i.e. other than rehoming one of the cats) is to provide a multitude of resources (food, water, litter trays, toys, cat trees, scratch posts, cat beds etc) almost going 'over the top' with provision, as well as providing separate feeding stations. And give the cats plenty of space in the home to get away from each other when they choose.

Even then it may not always work, but has more chance of working if it is the routine from kittenhood.


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## AmyRedd (Nov 9, 2015)

@chillminx Cats are much more sensitive than people realise I think. It definitely depends on the individual cats though as my parents now have two brother cats again in exactly the same set up (except as house cats as their previous cat who died early was run over) and they have absolutely zero issues. And I run an even weirder set up in my house with three unrelated neutered males one of which I acquired as a stray unneutered tom at 2 years old and no one has ever sprayed even though none of them particularly like each other!


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