Animal Pets and Friends Articles and Websites

Urine-marking can be a troubling behaviour for cat owners and may indicate some hard-to-handle stresses in the cat's life. It is probably the most common form of inappropriate elimination and is the number one cause of surrender of cats to shelters.
There are several reasons why cats may urinate outside their litter boxes, most of them simple in etiology. But when urination is employed as a signaling device, there is often intriguing motivation underlying the behaviour. This motivation must be understood before the problem can be properly addressed. Feliway and Feliway diffusers can be used for this.

All cats are capable of urine-marking – both males and females, intact and neutered. The likelihood of urine-marking is greatest in the intact male cat; neutered males are next most likely to urine-mark, then intact females, and finally spayed females. Urine-marking can be performed with the cat in a standing position or in a squatting pose. The volume of urine passed ranges from small and almost insignificant to a regular flood, and vertical surfaces are often the target. There is also a type of "virtual" marking behaviour in which no urine is passed at all, so called phantom spraying, though owners do not usually regard this as a pressing behaviour problem.

Spraying is the most common form of urine-marking behaviour. In spraying, cats back up to a vertical surface, tread with their hind legs, quiver the tip of their tail, and deliver a fine stream of urine onto the surface. Feliway can stop this. The purpose of this behaviour is to inscribe a urine-born pheromonal message for subsequent passers-by to detect. The message probably reads something like: "Kilroy was here," or "This is Kilroy's place: Keep out." Intact males have the greatest motivation to mark because of the behaviour is testosterone-enhanced, but neutered males will also spray if suitably aroused. Though females can spray, especially intact females in heat, they urine-mark more commonly from the squatting position.
Recognizing Urine-marking

It typically involves interesting and varied locations, such as countertops, heating registers, stereo speakers, electric toasters, oven tops, refrigerators, windowsills, drapes, desks, screened porches, shopping bags, clothes or beds.
It usually involves multiple sites and often has a discernible pattern, such as on a person's belongings or near sites of access to the outside world.

It often involves a small amount of urine deposited on a vertical surface.
Diagnosis and Treatment

Urine-marking used to be the most difficult behaviour problem to treat. However, we now know much more about the reasons why cats mark with urine and have numerous treatment options at our fingertips.You can use Feliway, Feliway diffusers and Feliway sprays. Here are some other things you can do.
Patterns. Recognize the typical pattern of urine-marking and consider possible initiating factors. It is important to consider events that occurred at the same time as the onset of urine-marking, such as the arrival of a new person in the household, the departure of a key household figure, the arrival of a new cat, or the opening of porches in the springtime.
Neutering or spaying. Intact males almost always mark. Neutering eliminates urine-marking in 90 percent of male cats. Intact females may spray when they are in heat, but spaying intact females is 95 percent effective in eliminating female estrus-linked marking behaviour.

Medical examination. Rule out all possible medical causes of inappropriate urination by means of a urine analysis plus any other relevant veterinary tests. Sometimes, feline urological problems can trigger spraying and, if present, must be addressed first.

Any medical condition which causes discomfort, pain, mobility or sensory problems may cause your cat to eliminate outside the litter tray.

The use of a Feliway pheromonal spray, containing facial pheromones in an alcohol, base can help deter some cats from urinating in particular locations. The active ingredient in Feliway is oleic acid. It is thought that this delivers a message of "peace and love" rather than the angry "keep away" message of territorial urine-marking.

Author's Resource:

For more information on Feliway visit our online store. We sell Feliway diffusers, Feliway refils and Feliway sprays, all delivered straight to your door.

Visit Animal Pets & Friends for more pet and animal articles.

Please Rate this Article

5 out of 54 out of 53 out of 52 out of 51 out of 5

Not yet Rated