Published: January 12, 2009 10:33 pm      

Cats’ marking can be solved

EDMOND — Q: My 5-year-old cat, Baby, has been spraying urine on items in the house, especially those belonging to my son. She is a female Siamese mix, and has been fixed. She has just started this lately. I thought only male cats could spray urine, so I was blaming my male cat, but I caught her doing it. What can I do to stop her? This is very problematic.

A: It is a little less likely for a female cat to spray, but they can and do. Many times it is more common in unneutered cats, regardless of sex. The first thing we would want to do is determine whether or not she may have a urinary tract infection. You should either take her to your veterinarian to collect a urine specimen for analysis, or collect a clean sample at home and take it in.

Many veterinarians can supply you with a urine collection kit for your cat. It may consist of a plastic liner for the litter pan, a small container of inert, usually plastic beads and a snap-cup container to place the urine in after collected. Alternatively you can put her in a room with no other cats, clean and rinse very well her litter box and collect urine this way. You may fit a plastic sack over the box and press it down to fit the box and simply transfer the urine into a clean zip-loc or other plastic container. It is important to take the sample to your veterinarian as soon as you can after collection because long-term setting can introduce artifacts.

If there is no infection, this pretty much says it is behavioral or environmental. Research has shown us that an unhappy coexistence with another cat/cats either inside or outside can result in urine spraying. Cats that prefer to go outdoors, but are not allowed to, are more likely to mark.

A dirty litter box or boxes certainly can encourage marking. Most experts recommend having a litter box per cat plus one. They should be in all areas of the house where the cat frequents and should not be located in noisy, busy or challenging areas to get to. Watch for other cats stalking the box to keep her out. This frequently is reported to be a problem. Cleaning the litter box daily and changing it out weekly certainly helps.

Any time there is an “accident” it should be cleaned up with an enzymatic cleaner or thoroughly washed in the laundry. A UV light can be used to detect where urine has been deposited and can make the job a little easier.

If you have cats that are not getting along well, you can isolate them from one another for a couple of weeks, then go through a formal reintroduction.

If Baby is unhappy with a cat or cats outdoors you may need to block her view of this area of the outdoors or shut her out of that particular area of the house where she can visualize or smell the stranger cats. There are some medications that are available from your veterinarian for inter-cat aggression, but the problem has to be aggressively corrected while they are on the drugs to make it a permanent fix.

One of the most successful treatments for urine marking is the use of a pheromone called Feliway. This is an extraction of the calming, facial pheromones, and it helps to soothe the attitude. It comes in a spray bottle that can be spritzed around the area where the cat(s) hang out. It also comes as a plug-in diffuser similar to an air freshener. Studies have shown a significant improvement in cats’ marking when these pheromones are utilized.

There are also some medications that can be given orally that will reduce anxiety and help reduce marking. The drugs are not specific for urine marking, however, they only have a behavioral modification effect.

Many of these drugs have to be given once or twice daily and may have to be given for two or three months before you see any improvement.

I would start with the simple things — be sure there is no infection, increase litter box numbers and hygiene, and check for behavioral issues between cats. You might also be sure your son picks up his clothes, socks and other items that might be left lying about. Often there is a scent of another animal, cat or dog that Baby may be trying to cover up. Medications should likely be a last resort.

Dr. M. MARGARET KING, a longtime Edmond veterinarian, is a guest columnist. If you have any questions for her, send them to 1900 S. Bryant, Edmond, OK 73013.