Problem Sprayers

Urine spraying is another normal territorial behavior of cats in the wild that can become a major frustration for domestic cat owners. In the wild, this behavior familiarizes the cat with its territory and home range. The urine odor probably makes it feel self assured and comfortable and signals its presence to other cats in surrounding areas.

Veterinary behaviorist Leslie Cooper of the University of California, Davis, and I found in 1984 that 5 per cent of female domestic cats and 10 per cent of neutered male domestic cats become problem sprayers. The cat sniffs a target area a foot or so above the floor, and then turns and directs a stream of urine toward the target. Males and females spray using basically the same posture, but the behavior is most common in males. Neutering male cats markedly reduces the occurrence of this behavior, but even the neutered males and females may ruin household furniture or stereo speakers by their spraying behavior.

Frequently, a pet cat begins spraying after the introduction of a new adult cat or kitten into the household. A cat owner may have mistakenly believed that a cat needed company and brought home another cat, only to find that the resident pet is not at all thrilled with the newcomer. In this situation, the original cat begins to spray because it is anxious or otherwise threatened by the invasion of its territory.