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Tom cat spraying after neutering
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16-07-2010 7:57pm#1The stray tom that has been hanging around and spraying the bejaysus out of my apt
is getting castrated in a few weeks. I like the cat,but the place reeks and im sick of it.
How soon after neutering does the spraying, more so the horrible scent stop?Is it instant or does it take awhile to kick in?0
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Yeah, spraying is peeing - but a particular kind of peeing. Squatting and relieving the bladder is just peeing, though sometimes a cat will do it in awkward spots outside their litter tray. Peeing outside the tray can have a medical reason, and it's worth taking the cat to the vet for a check up to make sure they're not suffering from a urinary tract infection or cystitis or struvite crystals in the urine - anything that makes urinating painful, and creates a negative association with the tray, can cause the cat to pee outside the tray.
Spraying is peeing, but it's where they lift their tail and spray urine, like a puff from a perfume bottle (and yes, I see the irony.
) Spraying isn't about relieving bladder pressure, and can have more behavioural connotations. Spraying is about marking territory, and it can be linked to issues of anxiety, the cat being uncomfortable or feeling threatened in its environment, so on.
Neutered cats can still spray urine if they aren't happy in themselves. If they feel the need to mark out their personal space, they can spray urine as a way of drawing out boundaries. Things that can cause spraying include disruption in the household (a relationship breakdown, a new tennant, a new baby, a new pet) or outside influences (a new roaming cat in the neighbourhood is nosing around your house and staring at your cat through the windows - that's usually a great one).
To work on spraying, first restrict the cat to a single room in the house while you clean up all spray spots. You can buy a blacklight (a UV light) quite cheaply these days. Wait until the evening, turn out the lights, and wave the blacklight slowly over an area you believe to be peed on - the blacklight will show up the urine as a pale yellow (not a flourescent white). Clean using some sort of enzymatic cleaner - you can buy specific pet-urine remover products these days. Do not use bleach or ammonia, because they simply magnify the scent of pee to the cat and will encourage them to urinate in the same spot again.
Clean all peed-on spots very thoroughly, remembering to also rinse off the residue of the cleaner itself.
Then see if you can buy a Feliway spray. Feliway is a synthesised feline 'happy hormone'. It promotes calm and well-being. You can buy it in a diffuser, like a plug-in air freshener, that'll last about four weeks. You won't smell anything, but it can have quite a dramatic calming effect on behaviour in some cats. Alternatively, you can buy the spray, which is a little pump action spray bottle of the stuff. Spray this over all of the cleaned pee spots, after they've dried.
This is the short-term fix. In the longer term, you need to address the reasons the cat sprays - territory, anxiety, so on. As in the OP's case, you just have to wait it out and hope the cat stops spraying once his hormones have settled. If he gets into your apartment, stop letting him in. If he sprays outside doors and windows, try blocking his access with flowerpots or other screens. Keep your fingers crossed that he settles, and if he doesn't, you'll have to try more dramatic deterrents, like spraying him with water whenever he appears.0 -
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