Mieshelle Nagelschneider addresses the challenging issue of cats that spray mark with urine. She says the number one reason is the cat has become aware of an outside cat’s presence and feels his territory may be threatened. She also reminds us that spray marking is a natural behavior, not something spiteful.
Spraying is a major reason that cats get sent to the shelters or put out on the street
Source: Modern Cat. Link. Even once neutered or spayed, cats can still urine spray-mark for territorial reasons, though fixed or unfixed, cats generally don’t urine spray mark before they are two years of age when they move into social maturity (social maturity happens between the ages of two and four years; sexual maturity at about 6 months).
INSIGHTS: Nagelschneider’s solutions include sound behavior-redirecting recommendations. She recommends promoting claw marking among them. AHD sponsor Ceva Animal Health developed FELISCRATCH by FELIWAY TM to encourage cats to scratch in the right places <link>. This product may prove helpful to establish alternate behaviors per Nagelschneider’s recommendations.