Cat Spraying and Scratching
September 15, 2014
by Kelly Eerenberg
Everyone who has a cat knows that they can urinate on couches, carpet, beds or clothes. Scratch up speakers, carpeting, couches, walls, or just about anything they can manage to get their claws into. This can be a problem to pet owners who want to live in an odor free, and undestroyed environment. The act of a cat urinating and scratching is called marking. This means that they are acting out generally due to stress in the environment they are living in.
Cats can be stressed out due to several reasons, moving, bringing a new animal home, a new housemate, a new baby, or even something as stray cats outside. If you start to notice cats marking in your house there are several ways to stop this behavior. Cat scratching is natural and they will always do this, even if you have chosen to declaw. Cats have scent glands in their paw pads they release a pheromone that basically states “mine”. This scratching behavior can increase when they believe there territory has been intruded upon by others and they feel the need to mark it. There are several alternatives you can take to prevent your cat from scratching up your couch, carpet, or speakers. Buy an excellent cat scratching post remember this doesn’t have to be the most expensive one at the store. Make sure it is long enough for your cat to stretch out and give a good scratch, invest in a cat nip plant so you can rub some onto the post to encourage your kitty to come there and scratch and rub. Many places also offer cat claw capping kits, these are an excellent alternative to declawing your cat. Simply purchase these kits and cap kitty’s claws no more unsightly shredded carpet. Not to mention you will save yourself watching your cat go through a lot of pain of declawing and a huge vet bill.
Cat marking by urination can be horrifying for owners to deal with. One of the easiest ways to deal with this is spaying and neutering your cat before they reach sexual maturity, especially males. If you have a stressed out cat they may begin to mark even if they were fixed before they reached sexual maturity. Cat urine has a very strong odor and is pheromone filled and calls to cats. If a cat urinates on a spot in the house you have to make sure you thoroughly clean the spot or they may continue to use that spot. Cats use urine as a way to mark their territory or to display extreme displeasure with situations. If cat urinates on your bed, pillow, couch, clothes this means they are stressed. There are simple ways to handle this. There is an excellent product out there called Feliway. Feliway mocks the calming pheromones of a cat’s facial glands, and can help stop urine marking and cut down on scratching. It comes in sprays and a wall plug in. You simply have to purchase this product and spray it where your cat has previously marked, and areas where the cat likes to hang out. The wall plug ins spread the pheromone around so placing one in a small room or two in a large room will cover the entire area and help calm your cat down. These are extremely helpful if you are introducing a new pet into your household, a new family member, or are moving. The key to keeping your cat from doing these undesirable behaviors is when you notice them stopping is to have the right tools to stop them.