Please Help! My cat won't stop marking

Cat spraying is one of those mysteries - how do you get them to stop? It's different for each cat and situation, and I've never found a blanket answer.

The only consistent information I've found on the subject is that upon maturing, both male and female cats, neutered and spayed or left intact, have a good possibility of starting to spray, with males being slightly worse offenders than females. Territory, dominance, frustration, many things will cause it. And since it's so instinctual, it is very hard to get them to stop.

I did, however, find a webpage with some clinical study information, concerning some drugs (yes, drugs suck, but this may be your only option) and something to do with "brain therapy"? Maybe they meant surgery, but that's pretty invasive.

Anywho, here it is:
http://www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu

I hope this helps you and gives you some conversation points with your vet.

You may also want to seek out an Animal Behaviorist specializing in cats.

Here's some more corrective behavior information I found:

"The next step is to retrain your cat to use the litterbox.

This is best accomplished by locking the cat in a small room (such as a bathroom) with all throw rugs removed. The cat's food and water and litter box are kept in the room as well, but the food and water dishes should not be kept right next to the litter box. You may want to experiment by placing two boxes in the room to see if they prefer to urinate in one box and defecate in the other. You may also want to try two different types of litter in each box to see which one it prefers. There are many litter types to choose from so you may want to experiment with different brands including ones made from newspaper, etc.

Many cats prefer only a small layer of litter in the bottom of the box so that they can dig to the bottom. Try using just enough litter so that the cat will easily dig through the litter to the bottom of the box.

Keep the cat in this room for several days (at least a week or so) and give the cat a lot of attention while they are locked in this room. If they are routinely using the litter box, as they should, then you can test them in the house again but only under close supervision at first. If you catch them attempting to soil an area in the house again, quickly startle them with a spray bottle or loud clap of the hands to cause them to cease their current activity.

It is not wise to punish your cat such as with a swat or by rubbing their nose in the mess since this only serves to make things worse and may result in the cat fearing and avoiding you (more stress!). If a mishap does occur, the cat should be locked back up again for a few more days.

In some cases, especially those concerning social structure, behavior modification medication may be needed. These medications are typically given for a set period of time (for example, 2 to 3 months or more) before weaning the patient off of them. Some cats needs to be placed back onto the medication from time to time. I encourage you to work closely with your veterinarian to solve any behavior problem, especially to rule out any medical causes first."

I had a cat that did the same thing for years. At one point we even thought she had a blatter problem. Because she was so territorial we had the vet put her on these pills that calm them down and it seemed to work. Ask your vet about them.

I have 2 spayed female cats that mark like this. I like you have tried alot of things to help. At one point we had them on kitty prozac. It did help some. I have used feliway it helps some use the spray and diffusers together. Also there is a kitty litter called Cat Attract that helps. The one thing I have found that helps most of all is extra litter boxes and clean them regularly. This may mean daily. When I slack on the litter cleaning it shows. Sometimes cats are picky about the type of litter used and if you are switching it can cause them to go outside the box. I have found the Fresh Step with carbon scoopable works well for my cats. One of my cats does have FUS (feline urinary syndrome). If you vet has not x-rayed your cat to check for stones have this done also. I have had a cat in that started going out of the box and she ended up with stones and the only way we found it was through an x-ray. I know it is frustrating but keep on trying. Good Luck.

Have you had the cat checked for a urinary tract problem? I realize he's been doing it for a while, but it can't hurt to check.

Two suggestions:

First, is the cat neutered? If not, get this done right away. It's a simple surgery, and it's not as expensive as spaying a female. There's a very good chance this will cure the marking behavior.

Second, try Feliway. It comes in both spray and diffuser, but the spray works best with my cats.

I currently have 4 cats (2 males, 2 females), all indoor/outdoor. I've also had 3 other male cats, and neutering cured the marking behavior in every case.