What do people mean when they talk about cats spraying? Perhaps you have witnessed this scene: Your lovely cat backs up to a vertical surface such as a wall, window, or piece of furniture with its tail lifted, and directs a bit of what appears to be urine in a fine spray on to the area. This action is normally accompanied by a strong shaking movement of the tail, at times striding with the back feet, and a look of strong concentration on the face of the cat.
Cats spraying should not be thought of as a litter box crisis. It is actually a significant part of non-spoken communication between cats. Spraying helps them to create identity markers and assure other cats whose place is whose.
Basically cats mark their areas by means of the cats spraying a small bit of urine for them to deposit pheromones. Pheromones are a kind of substance produced by animals which mainly served as a sort of chemical communication. Cats, in general, have pheromones that are veiled in different areas of their body.
By sending signals to other cats through spraying, they give off information such as their age, health, territories, and other facts they want to communicate. It is also a way to signal the cats readiness to breed. Some pheromones are utilized to mark things and borders, while others convey a signal of comfort and familiarity.
Cats usually make use of different methods to mark what they believe is theirs. Some of these include rubbing, scratching objects, and openly leaving their feces. Spraying is one of the most common ways of how cats do their marking. The intact male cats are believed to have the most enthusiasm to mark due to their testosterone-motivated territorial schema. However, the neutered male cats also spray particularly when they are aroused. Although females can also spray, particularly the intact female cats in heat they commonly do the urine-mark from sitting position.
A cats spraying can be done in either a squatting or a standing position. The amount of urine they pass varies from small and roughly inconsequential to a normal flood, and perpendicular surfaces or calculated sites are normally their target. In addition, there is a form of virtual behavioral marking in which there is an absence of urine. This is called phantom spraying but most cat owners do not consider it to be a problem.
Ways to lessen or stop cats spraying:
-Take your cat to your vet and let him be examined to find out if there is a possibility of a medical problem.
-If your pet is not yet spayed or neutered, consider doing it. This completely solves the problem about 80% of the time.
-Clean all the urine marks completely with a specialized product like Nature’s Miracle intended to reduce the odor.
-If your cat is experiencing a traumatic condition, try to find out what it is and remove the cause of his stress.
Why do cats spray? Cats only do spray to mark what they think they own. So, the next time you see your cat spray know that although you may not like it, he just wants to identify what he feels is rightfully his and pass the information on to others.