cat Sprayed me

We adopted 2 cats when they were 3 months old. They were spayed/neutered at the time of adoption. They are nearly 2 years old now. The male cat sprayed me for the first time about 3 weeks ago. My husband and I had been sitting on the balcony watching the sunset (whick we do often) when we came in I went and took a shower and back in our bedroom was putting on my nightclothes when my lil boy jumped on the bed and sprayed me.
Last night he did it again, I was laying crosswise on our bed looking at some photographs and he jumped on the bed and sprayed me.
He sleeps on the bed with us at night, sleeps on it during the day with his sister cat. I play with him, haven't changed any routines. I lay on the bed often and read and he usually joins me.
This is baffling to me and if possible I need to stop this behavior. He got me in my hair, arm and face.. nasty!

Vickie


Reply
Hi
Well as you probably know this spraying behavior is a scent marking exercise for your cat.

They usually only resort to this sort of behavior when they feel threatened or their territory smells different and so they feel the need to mark it.

You are part of that territory and so is the bed. In fact the bed area seems to be one of the main places cats will spray when they are feeling a little insecure . It is believed this is because the bed smells most strongly of you and so this is reassuring to them and they want to associate their smell with yours.

So something has definitely happened recently to make your cat feel a little uncertain about things.

unfortunately it may not be obvious to us. It could be a new scent, different soap or washing powder. It could be different people being in the house or even a new cat in the area.

You could try a period of litter training again .the method i recommned also gives the cat a time out from any other anxieties which may be causing the problem. It involves a few days in one room only, the process is described in ore detail here

http://www.our-happy-cat.com/cat-litter-box.html

The other option is to try and help your cat relax and calm down by using some of the cat calming sprays such as feliway or cat medication for calming.

If the behavior continues or if you notice a very strong smell in the urine I would recommned taking him to see the vet in case it turns out he has a UTI. Doesn't sound like that at the moment but if symptoms develop that could suggest this then the vet is the best option.

http://www.our-happy-cat.com/cat-urinary-problems.html

best wishes kate