You see your cat with his back to some of your furniture or to the wall, maybe you see his tail quiver a little and he might be crouching. Before long you start noticing an awful odor in your home. Your cat doesn’t have an issue with using the litter box he is ‘spraying’, a way of marking his territory in your home. You don’t know why your cat is spraying, but you know that you want to stop cat spraying from happening. There may be medical reasons that cause your cat to spray, but usually this is a natural act that cats use to define their territory. Spraying is a trait that is common in both male and female cats, but is most common in male cats that are not neutered and in households with multiple cats. Spraying usually begins with male cats when they reach sexual maturity, usually between 5 and 12 months of age.

There are several ways to help control spraying. One way is to have your cat spayed or neutered before they are six months old. Many cats will not begin spraying if they get spayed or neutered before they start the behavior. Another way is to restrict his view of the world outside. Seeing another cat in the world outside brings out his natural tendencies to mark his territory. Cat trees and play areas can help to keep his attention from outside.

Having many cats in your home can cause spraying. Cats that are competitive are more likely to mark their territory by spraying. If your cats are on good terms with each other and have a good relationship there is less of a chance for spraying to occur. If your cats play together, sleep together and groom each other then they have a good relationship and this will greatly reduce spraying.

Stress can be a factor in causing a cat to spray. Cats like things to be routine. Any change can cause a cat to be anxious and stressed out. Anxiety can happen when a new pet is brought into the home, by moving furniture around, moving to a new home, or just change in general. To reduce anxiety in your cat feed him at the same time every day and don’t move his litter box or bed. If you are expecting visitors you might put your cat in a different room, especially if your guests have cats of their own and will be carrying their cats scent on them.

There are products you can buy that will help to calm your cat and reduce his tendency to spray. If you’re your cat does mark an area by spraying, then you need to clean the area completely to keep him from marking the area again. Then you can spray the area with a pet stain and odor removing product to help remove the odor from the cats spray. The next thing that you might want to do is to spray the area with a product that repels your cat and makes him avoid the area. When you notice your cat spraying you need to act quickly to take care of the problem.