Unusual but a fascinating question, do female cats spray? It is more commonly known that male cats spray, basically mark their territory, and let the world know that the area is their own personal property.
But, yes, female cats can practice this behavior as well. It might be less frequent. But it is definitely a very stressful experience for both you and your cat.
That’s why it is very important to understand its reasons to prevent it and figure out solutions when it happens.
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Spraying VS. Urinating
Before discussing the reasons and answering the question, why do female cats spray? It is very crucial to recognize the difference between cat spraying and inappropriate urinating.
When spraying, the cat typically chooses a vertical surface like a wall, a door, or the side of your sofa. Then it turns around, lifts its tail, and quickly puts a small amount of urine in the form of a jet. Urinating, on the other hand, involves squatting, crunching, and doing it on horizontal surfaces.
If your cat is urinating inappropriately rather than spraying, it might be a sign that something else is going on. You have to make sure that there isn’t an underlying medical condition.
It can be things like arthritis, diabetes, kidney diseases, or other conditions that affect the bladder and urinary tracts itself like cystitis, bladder tumors, and bladder stones.
Because of these conditions, your female cat might be having difficulty getting into the litter tray or might be producing so much urine.
Why Do Female Cats Spray Urine?
In general, female cat spray is a way to attract a male cat, respond to environmental stresses or instinctive territorial behavior.
Your female cat may be spraying simply to be noticed by surrounding male cats. By leaving a strong marking sign, she tries to attract males and having a mate. You have to verify if there are any new male cats around that she might be secretly attracted to!
Environmental stressors include any recent changes that could be a reason to stress out and frustrate your female cat. It could be a new pet in the house, new people, a baby that makes you less caring about your cat, or merely some redecorating or construction work that changed your living circumstances.
As well, a dirty litter, a litter that another cat has been in, or a new litter that your cat didn’t like could also be a reason why your female cat is spraying.
Spraying could be a marking behavior. Your female cat might be leaving its urine scent mark in the environment to let other cats and animals around know that the place is hers. This instinctive behavior helps cats to control their territory and to avoid conflict.
By understanding the reasons why do female cats spray all over the place, you just moved a step towards the solution. You are now in a more upright position to help your cat.
How To Stop Your Female Cat From Spraying?
When your female cat spraying is not adequately treated, it may cause it to form a habit. Here are some tips that you can use to relieve yourself from the mess and make you happier with your cat.
Check If Your Cat Is Neutered
If your female cat is spraying, then getting her neutered might be just what needs to happen to resolve the problem. Our cats that are neutered are much less likely to spray.
They’ve got less drive to maintain a territory and to defend it. They are generally less stressed as well. So contact your veterinarian to know when the perfect age for your cat to be neutered is.
Reduce Your Cat Stress Levels
Stress is a big issue in cats, and often we don’t recognize it as well as we should just because some of the signs can be subtle.
But if you noticed that your cat is clawing or scratching the furniture besides spraying, you really should consider the fact that she might be anxious and stressed about some changes.
It would be best to make sure that other cats aren’t coming into your house and eating your cat’s food. Try to give your cat a little more intention.
For example, you may increase the playing time. If it is a multi-cat house, make sure there is the right number of food bowls and litters. When many cats are around, you have to foster a positive relationship between them so they won’t spray.
In other words, try to understand if any changes happened and could cause your female cat spraying and try to block them. Although, in some cases, this could be impossible but do your best!
Consider Litter Tray Management
Litter tray management is another way that we can stop our cats from spraying everywhere. Try to consider the litter type, change it if you suspect that your female cat doesn’t like it, and clean it regularly enough.
Clean Up Properly After Your Cat
Certain things within the cat’s urine attract them back to that same spot. So, they’ll often keep re-marking in the same spot. What this means is that we have to clean that area very well. I suggest that while there are various sprays and cleaners on the market that do a good job, we can use biological washing powder.
Mix that with a bit of water to create a solution, and then scrub that area. What will happen is that the enzymes in the biological washing powder will help break down all the things that are attracting your cat back to that area.
Things To Avoid!
You should definitely avoid negative reinforcement. So don’t shout at your cat, don’t punish them in any way, especially if it is a long time after they’re doing that spraying or urinating because all that’s going to do is to make them more stressed.
They are probably not going to understand or have a clue on what they have done wrong. It is certain that this won’t improve the situation but only make it worse.
One other thing to avoid is to use ammonia-based cleaning products. For some reasons, the ammonia has the ability to attract cats back to the same area. So by using it, you will be actually perpetuating the problem.
If after using all these tips you still suffer from the same problem. If your cat, especially even spraying or urinating in one spot in particular, what you can try next is merely moving their litter there.
It might not be where you wanted it, but once you get them back using it, you may then slowly move it around to a position where you are happy.
Actually, you may try putting their food and water in that spot as well. It is known that cats are usually spotless animals, and they don’t like to dirty the spot where their food or their water is, so putting it there can actually help them off.
Do Female Cats Spray? The Conclusion
In conclusion, if after all this, you still can’t figure out why do female cats spray? or if the problem continues to appear regardless of all these tips, you should seriously consider visiting your veterinarian. It could be a health issue rather than just misbehavior!