Hello! I adopted a skittish cat 2 years ago who had been at the shelter for 3 years. My Maui is now 6. He does not cover his pee when he uses the litter but he does cover his poo. He also does not dig a hole or squat like my previous cat. He always sprays at the walls and then it runs down, he just leaves it without covering it. This causes his litter area to smell of cat urine and my husband gets frustrated with the smell and we tend to argue over it.
Why does he do this? Is there hope that I can still train him to cover his urine?
A handy budget friendly solution to the smell is a 50/50 mixture of hydrogen peroxide and water with a couple of drops of dish soap in a spray bottle, lightly spray the wall he’s marking and it’ll help neutralize the smell of the urine.
It’s a stress related condition likely caused by the location of the litter tray. Does he have privacy when he uses it? What else is generally happening around its location?
@matthewbutler I'm not sure why but I was not notified that someone had responded, just seeing this. His litter box started off in a bedroom where he first stayed when we got him because he would not come out. Now, it is in the basement, in an isolated area that is quiet. He has 2 boxes. One with a lid and one without. He pees at his litter box walls in both, it runs down and he leaves it. He does bury his poo. He has been to the vet, they found no issues. My vet thinks that he may have not had a mother to teach him being that he was only a year and a stray before the shelter got him.
@tjjuarez
Hi Tj
I hope Maui is much more settled and less skittish now.
There are generally three reasons for cat spraying:
1. Medical reasons
2. Anxiety or stress
3. Territorial behavior
If there are no medical issues, you can help reduce your cat's anxiety levels by using a Feliway diffuser and anti-anxiety supplements. If your cat is not covering its pee and spraying the walls, it may be trying to mark its territory. To address this, you can optimize the litter facilities by providing multiple choices and offering an adequate number of large-size trays distributed in various locations around the home. You can also try using a hooded litter box, but some cats may not like it. Unfortunately, urine marking is an instinctive behavior that can't be changed. However, you can make your cat's territory more secure to help it cope with environmental or family dynamic changes.
Here are additional resources that will provide more information on territorial spraying behavior and how to minimize it: https://cats.com/territorial-marking-and-spraying-behavior-in-cats
https://cats.com/how-to-stop-a-cat-from-spraying
All the best,
Melina