Snipped Tom Cat now spraying again??

fifib

My parents have a Tom Cat who they got snipped about 2 years ago to stop him spraying/marking his territory round the house.
Last sunday I was leaving the house and got that distinct smell in the porch where himself was fast asleep on a chair my mum has in the porch. we thought another cat must have gotten in and done it but parents were on to me last night saying that he is able to spray again and has been doing it all over the house last few days!
How is this happening whens he's had the snip to stop it

The Sweeper

The snip doesn't stop a cat from spraying. It simply reduces hormone-driven territoriality, which is what usually causes an intact tom cat to spray urine to mark his territory.

A neutered cat still has territorial urges - hence TNR (trap, neuter, release) programmes work. (If neutered cats didn't have territorial urges after neutering, you couldn't trust a neutered colony to continue to occupy a territory, which is one of the foundations stones of TNR).

Neutered cats usually spray territorially due to stresses or anxiety related to any one of:

• A change in their normal living situation
• Marauding cats coming around into their territory e.g. their yard / garden etc.
• People visiting the house that they're not used to
• A new animal
• A new baby
• A change in routine
• A change in furniture
• Some other change or alteration to the cat's status quo that makes them uncomfortable or rattles them

Your parents need to identify the stressor; thoroughly clean (with an enzyme cleaner) the area the cat has urinated (do not use bleach or ammonia); and look into using behavioural modifiers like a Feliway diffuser (a plug-in device that sends out happy feline hormones the way an air freshener works) or Rescue Remedy (flower remedy that can help ease anxiety in animals).

A visit to the vet may be in order in extreme cases - to ensure the cat doesn't have a medical issue like cystitis or a urinary tract infection (causing him to urinate outside the litter box) or alternatively to give the cat a hormone injection which can help cats neutered in adulthood to calm the territorial behaviours you associate with an intact cat, like spraying urine.

fifib

thanks for this info Sweeper
passed it on to the parents and they tell me theres a new Tomcat knocking around. theres a few strays always about that he plays with and even lets in the house himself (he has learned the knack of opening doors by himself!) but apparantly he doesnt like this new guy! so i guess this is the reason!

ive also moved out so maybe he misses me seen as he's been spraying in my room especially on my curtains!!