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Instinctive Cat Marking
Behavior
First and foremost, it is important to understand that leaving cat urine on the
carpet or walls is not Tuffy’s way of misbehaving, of being spiteful, or of
showing jealousy.
These, rather, are the reasons why you are faced with dealing
with cat pee on your walls or carpet:
Not being
spayed or neutered
Cats who are not fixed are
more likely to spray urine than those who are. Also, Prissy Miss is just as
likely to spray the walls as is Mr. Boy. If you have several cats and some of
them aren’t fixed, those who are fixed may spray in response to those
who aren’t.
Conflicts
with other cats in the home
If you have several cats, they have their own
system of establishing a hierarchy. Every now and then, they may try to change
pecking order. A cat may spray cat urine on vertical or horizontal surfaces to
establish dominance. The flip side of this cat potty coin is that the cat who is
bullied may spray as a way to alleviate his anxiety. He may even be simply
relieving his bladder if the dominant cat is aggressively defending the litter
box as his territory!
Encounters
with outdoor animal
If your cat has encountered
another cat while venturing outdoors, he may instinctively mark his indoor
territory with cat urine when comes back in. Even if your cat never ventures
outdoors, just seeing another cat near your home can trigger him to mark indoors. And other animals may not be limited to cats! Trickster the
Raccoon may likewise stimulate Tuffy’s marking behavior.
New objects in
the environment
When Tuffy graces your new boyfriend’s shoes with his pee, he’s not trying to tell you that this guy is yet another Toad, he’s
simply marking some more territory. This is especially true if Prince
Charming’s shoes smell like another animal.
Potential Medical Problems Signified by Marking
Oftentimes your cat is leaving cat urine outside the litter box and seemingly
right under your nose because he’s trying to tell you that something’s wrong.
“Hey you, I can’t talk, so I’m going to leave my cat wee on the carpet right
in front of you because I'm hurting!"
Medical reasons why cats soil outside the litter box
include:
Urinary tract
infection. This is the most common ailment.
Clogged anal
glands. Dogs aren’t the only ones with anal glands! Just be glad that humans
don’t have them, and that we don’t have to get to know one another by sniffing
each other’s butts! Your cat’s anal glands may become plugged over time, and he
may need them expressed at the vet’s. And yes, it’s just as disgusting as it
sounds.
Both ailments require a trip to the vet, your cat’s very favorite
pastime, and quite possibly antibiotics.
Why Punishing Cat Marking Behavior is Ineffective
It’s important not to punish your cat after he deposits cat urine. It’s highly
ineffective, because he doesn’t understand why he’s being punished, even if it
takes place immediately after the incident. He’s simply engaging in quite normal
territorial behavior or trying to relieve pain.
But it’s perfectly fine to interrupt him if he’s sniffing around an area
previously marked like he’s going to do it again. That’s what
squirt bottles are for! Fill your Feline Behavior Modification Device with
tap water, stand behind the cat so he can’t see you, then let ‘er rip! He will
associate the desire to leave cat urine with something unpleasant—and since he
can’t see you, that something unpleasant won’t be you.
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