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FELINE URINE MARKING

I am finding urine on vertical surfaces like walls and backs of furniture.  What does that mean?

When cats deposit small squirts of urine on vertical surfaces, it is known as urine spraying. This is a scent marking behaviour rather than elimination. Usually the cat backs up to a vertical surface, raises its tail, treads with its back feet, the tail may quiver and a stream of urine is directed backwards.  Marking with urine may also occur by depositing small amounts of urine on horizontal surfaces.  Occasionally faeces may be used to mark an area.  A behavioural history should help differentiate marking behaviour from elimination behaviour problems. Spraying may be a normal sexual behaviour in both males and females who are not neutered.  A cat will mark its outdoor territory in order to communicate with other cats but when urine marking occurs indoors it is often a manifestation of stress.

Why do cats "mark" with urine?

Cats mark the locations where they live, or which they frequent, in many ways.  Cats will mark with scent glands on their feet, cheeks, face and tail as well as with urine.  Deposition of a chemical leaves a message in a location long after that animal has gone. Marks within a territory may signal the presence of an individual and may advertise their sexual receptivity and availability. Marking in response to other cats in the vicinity and even in response to housemates may be used to maintain distance between individuals and avoid potential confrontation.  Marking within the home increases in response to a number of stressors including a change in household routine or composition, alterations in living arrangements, new living locations and other environmental and social changes.  Marking is a method of delineating territory and therefore urine is often found in prominent locations and near windows, doors and heavily traffic areas in the home.

Which cats are more likely to urine mark?

Any cat male, female, neutered or entire can mark with urine.  However, urine marking is most common in intact (non-neutered) male cats.  When an intact male sprays urine, it will have the characteristic "tom cat" odour that is strong and pungent.  Neutering will change the odour, and may reduce the cat’s motivation for spraying, but approximately 10% of neutered males and 5% of spayed females will continue to spray.  While cats in multiple cat households are often involved in spraying behaviours, cats that are housed singly may also spray.

 I am finding small amounts of urine in a number of locations around the house, not always on vertical surfaces.  What does that mean?

Some cats will mark their territory with small amounts of urine (and on rare occasions, faeces) in various locations.  These locations can be similar to those for spraying, i.e. near doors, windows, new possessions in the home or favoured locations, but may occasionally be found on owner’s clothing, items of furniture or other favoured possessions.  However, small amounts of urine deposited outside of the litter tray can also be an indication of numerous other problems including inappropriate elimination problems and medical conditions including diseases of the lower urinary tract.  Similarly faeces found outside of the litter tray can be due to a multitude of medical conditions including colitis, constipation and any other condition leading to difficult, more frequent or uncomfortable elimination.  If you find small amounts of urine in a number of locations around the house a complete physical examination and appropriate laboratory tests will be necessary to rule out potential physical causes.

How do I treat a spraying or marking problem?

As with all behaviour problems, the history will help determine treatment options.  The location of the urine marking, together with the frequency, duration and number of locations are all important.  For example is the urine found on walls, 6-8 inches up from the floor, or are there small urine spots found in multiple locations on both vertical and horizontal surfaces?  Does the urine appear every day, several times a day or less than once a week? In addition to this information you also need to determine the number of cats inside the household as well as possible contacts outside of the home and any changes in environment, social patterns of humans and animals, and additions (people, pets, furniture, renovations) to the home. A urinalysis should also be performed to rule out medical problems.

If the cat is not already neutered, and is not a potential breeder, then neutering is recommended.

Treatment is aimed at breaking the habit and decreasing the motivation for spraying. This is achieved by paying attention to adequate cleaning and also by working to decrease stress and anxiety.

If the problem relates to cats outside of the home, then the best options are to find a way to deter the cats from coming onto the property or to prevent the indoor cat from seeing, smelling or hearing these cats. Cat flaps may need to be boarded up, at least temporarily. It may be helpful to house your cat in a room away from windows and doors to the outdoors, or it may be possible to block visual access to windows up to the height of the cat. When you are at home and supervising you can allow your cat limited access to these areas.  It may be necessary to keep windows closed to prevent the inside cat from smelling the cats outside, and you will need to use an appropriate cleaning regime to deal with those areas where the outdoor cats have eliminated or sprayed. 

If the problem is due to feline social interactions inside the home, it may be necessary to determine which cats do not get along.  Temporarily keep these cats in separate parts of the home with their own litter and sleeping areas.  Reintroduction of the cats may be possible when they are properly supervised and can be aided by allowing the cats together for positive experiences such as feeding, treats and play sessions whereby they get used to the presence of each other, at least on a limited basis, in a positive context.  However, when numbers of cats in a home reach 7-10 cats you will often have spraying and marking problems that cannot be resolved without rehoming one or more of the cats.

Where the problem is related to disruption in the household through renovation or redecoration it can help to keep the cat isolated from the worst affected areas, and where the cat’s anxiety is related to new members of the family in the form of a new spouse or a new baby treatment will need to include desensitising and counter conditioning the cat to the new arrival.

I’ve cleaned up the spot but the cat keeps returning to spray.  What else can be done to reduce the problem?

Since the "purpose" of spraying is to mark an area with urine odour, it is not surprising that as the odour is cleaned up, the cat wants to refresh the area with more urine.  Cleaning alone does little to reduce spraying and in cases where the cleaning materials used have contained ammonia or chlorine there is room for a lot of confusion.  Ammonia and chlorine are constituents of cat urine and the application of household cleaners that contain them can actually induce the cat to mark more. It is therefore very important to use a suitable cleaning regime and the most effective one is to use a warm 10% solution of biological washing powder, rinse with cold water and then spray over with surgical spirit, making sure that the area is completely dry again before allowing the cat access to the area. The one exception is when synthetic facial pheromones are being applied in the treatment of an indoor marking problem and in such cases it is best to clean the area with water and then spray over with surgical spirit as the presence of the biological washing powder may interfere with the action of the "pheromone" spray.  This problem is avoided by using the pheromone product in the diffuser form.

Cats that mark in one or two particular areas may cease if the function of the area is changed and it is unlikely that cats will spray in their feeding, sleeping or scratching areas. 

Recent research has shown that cats appear to naturally produce a group of chemicals which together have a calming effect. These chemicals which are produced by the face glands are known as the feline facial "pheromones" and they are normally rubbed onto familiar objects in the home. Some cats are less likely to spray if a little of this cheek gland scent can be placed in the sprayed area and it is thought that the scent acts to reduce any anxiety which is underlying the marking behaviour. A commercial product containing feline cheek gland scent has recently been introduced in Europe. The product is a synthetic analogue of a particular faction of the so-called feline facial "pheromone" and is designed to mimic cheek gland secretions from a cat. This product appears to be very safe and does not seem to suffer from the same problems as anti-anxiety medication. It needs to be applied to the environment on a daily basis and when sprayed on areas where cats have sprayed urine in the past or on those areas where it can be anticipated that the cat is likely to spray, it may decrease the likelihood of additional spraying in those areas. The "pheromone" spray has also been used to calm cats in new environments. It is only available from your veterinary surgeon, but may be useful if it is thought that anxiety plays an important part in the onset of the marking problem. It is possible to achieve a similar effect by rubbing a cotton ball or gauze square on your cat’s cheek or chin glands and then rubbing the scent onto the previously sprayed areas.  The pheromone product is now available in a diffuser form as well as a pump spray and this can be beneficial when the marking behaviour is widespread throughout the house.  The use of the diffuser also removes concerns over suitable cleaning regimes and ensures a more even distribution of the scent signal throughout the house.

Are there any drugs that are available to treat this problem?

Over the years many pharmacological means have been tried to control spraying behaviour.  The choices have focused on the theory that one of the underlying causes for spraying and marking behaviours is anxiety.  For that reason, anti-anxiety drugs and female hormones have all been tried with varying degrees of success.  Few of these are presently approved for use in cats and some carry a list of possible side effects, but the newer generation anti-anxiety medications appear more promising and your veterinary can discuss with you the potential indications and contraindications of drug therapy for your cat. Of course, if the underlying reason for spraying is not addressed, the problem is quite likely to occur when the drug is withdrawn.  In addition even when behavioural modification has been used there are some drugs which carry a high risk of relapse once the medication is withdrawn due to their blockade of short term memory, inhibition of learning and induction of drug dependence.  In general if anxiety is suspected, pheromone therapy with behaviour modification is advised as the first line of treatment.