Spraying

[Maggie]

We actually got him way too early, 8 weeks. He’s a little more friendly with me, he’ll rub on my leg and sit next to me, but unless he’s distracted, he doesn’t like to be pet. There are occasions when he’s laying down and sleepy, he’ll let us. I think he’s warming up to us now. He definitely loves being near us, he’s just not ready to snuggle.

As for spraying, he has started spraying more things, such as my legs and my car. It has something to do with me. Im still reluctant to put him back in his original segregation room, but I need to get this under control. I’ll try the treats first.

Anyone know why I’m the target?

 

[Ninja-n-Bear]

We actually got him way too early, 8 weeks. He’s a little more friendly with me, he’ll rub on my leg and sit next to me, but unless he’s distracted, he doesn’t like to be pet. There are occasions when he’s laying down and sleepy, he’ll let us. I think he’s warming up to us now. He definitely loves being near us, he’s just not ready to snuggle.

As for spraying, he has started spraying more things, such as my legs and my car. It has something to do with me. Im still reluctant to put him back in his original segregation room, but I need to get this under control. I’ll try the treats first.

Anyone know why I’m the target?

We got ours at 6 weeks, and it was a tough start. I would think about restarting the quarantine if you can because it sounds like he is sort of bonding to you and would benefit from strengthening that bond. The others here have way more experience as we only got ours this past July, but I know from my experience that it took effort to facilitate bonding with extra playtime, treats, and patience. We did pet them most while sleepy, and made a point to stop before it was too much. One stroke - okay. Two strokes - okay. Three strokes - dirty look. Four strokes - walk away and hide.

I don't have experience with spraying, but others here do for sure.

Just curious, does he purr at all?

 

[Patti]

he has started spraying more things, such as my legs and my car

Cats mark their territory - he's claiming you as his!

 

[Maggie]

Cats mark their territory - he's claiming you as his!

How can I prevent this?

 

[Maggie]

We got ours at 6 weeks, and it was a tough start. I would think about restarting the quarantine if you can because it sounds like he is sort of bonding to you and would benefit from strengthening that bond. The others here have way more experience as we only got ours this past July, but I know from my experience that it took effort to facilitate bonding with extra playtime, treats, and patience. We did pet them most while sleepy, and made a point to stop before it was too much. One stroke - okay. Two strokes - okay. Three strokes - dirty look. Four strokes - walk away and hide.

I don't have experience with spraying, but others here do for sure.

Just curious, does he purr at all?

Yes, he purrs, but only when sleepy. I think I’m going to have to try separation again, It may help both issues.

 

[Patti]

How can I prevent this?

I've never found anything that will stop a cat from spraying (except altering if still intact and even then, if the cat was already spraying it sometimes continues). You can try isolating him in a small room to see if he'll be more consistent with a litterbox, but spraying is a different activity than urinating, and driven for different reasons.

As far as you know, there aren't any stray cats outside spraying around your house?

 

[Maggie]

I've never found anything that will stop a cat from spraying (except altering if still intact and even then, if the cat was already spraying it sometimes continues). You can try isolating him in a small room to see if he'll be more consistent with a litterbox, but spraying is a different activity than urinating, and driven for different reasons.

As far as you know, there aren't any stray cats outside spraying around your house?

No stray cats. He has no litter box issues, just the spraying. I’ll keep cleaning and stopping him when I know he’s about to do it. A few offered other ideas. I’ll give them all a try!

 

[IpoKoa]

My 8 month old male F1 has started spraying. It’s only on the door to the garage, which is where we come in/out. He only does it when we’re about to leave. He has been neutered. If I catch him quick enough, I push on his butt, and he lays down. Any way to break this habit?

Our intact male used to pee on the bed (my side only!) and even has sprayed me in my sleep! He would also spray anything "new" that was brought into the bedroom (yes, they're room is our bedroom) My fiance' was partial to our female, so I insisted he start showing the male attention. Also, we modified our house and created a "window" that leads to an outdoor enclosure. Both can come and go freely and the spraying is to a bare minimum now. In cold months we leave it open for a bit in the a.m. and p.m., not all day as we do in warmer months. So far, so good!