# Why did my cat SPRAY me?



## Cygnet

:run: I have had cats my entire life, and I have NEVER had a cat do this. 

I will say this same cat has PEED on me twice -- once as a five month old kitten (he was very promptly neutered within a week of that!) and once about three months ago. Both times, I was under covers, and it was peeing, not spraying. I was not sure in the past two incidents if he truly realized my legs were under the covers.

He's also not one who normally marks things. 

Anyway -- he's now ten years old, in apparent good health, with no notable behavioral issues other than this. Neutered. Not a cat who normally gets stressed out over much. (I've NEVER heard him growl.) Really, he's an absolute sweetheart.

He was cuddling with me this morning as I got ready for work -- I was sitting on the bed reading the morning news on my laptop and petting him. He was being snuggly. Totally NORMAL behavior.

Then he turned around and SPRAYED me. 

I'll tell you, I was so surprised I didn't even yell -- though the cat ran under the bed anyway. 

I have ... no idea WHY he did that. What the heck was going through his mind? I've never, ever, had a cat do this and I've had a lot of cats in my life.

He's curled up next to me right now, acting completely normal. 

I'm baffled. Grossed out. And I love the little monster, but I find myself eying him suspiciously now, any time he moves.

Ideas? Help? I don't want a repeat!


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## InvalidID

I can't say why he did it, but I do know if it were my cat he wouldn't do it again...


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## GrannyCarol

I'd hope it was something like a urinary tract infection irritating his bladder and take him to the vet to have it checked. I started to have spray problems with my boy and he responded well to antibiotics, seems he had an infection.


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## Ardie/WI

GrannyCarol said:


> I'd hope it was something like a urinary tract infection irritating his bladder and take him to the vet to have it checked. I started to have spray problems with my boy and he responded well to antibiotics, seems he had an infection.


Yes, this.


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## madness

My dad has a cat that went years being "normal" then suddenly started marking everything in the house. Neutered, maybe 8 yrs old when he started the behavior. No change in home life (no new pets, no pets passing away, no new people, etc). Got a clean bill of health but just kept doing. My dad learned he liked to spray certain things (floor rugs, new things placed on the floor - a backpack, etc) so he was diligent about removing those things. Then...the cat started peeing on my dad's bed at night. About 5 AM, every morning, Sammy would jump on the bed and pee right where my dad's legs were under the covers. Now the cat is locked in another room at night. The cat has sprayed people a few times, usually in the middle of being petted. It sucks - he's done it to me!

The point is, do get his health checked out. But I've seen a cat that was perfectly healthy and just developed this bizarre behavior. Not fun. My dad swears when this guy passes away he will NEVER have a cat again!


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## birdman1

Cats often mark there teritory in this ways they also often have trouble with a urinary infection .boys(human ) often (always) when urinaiting end up with a drop or 2 back in there underware this is enough to let a sensitive animal think to mark this area also .


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## Ravenlost

He marked you as his own.


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## Wolf Flower

I'd say a vet visit is in order. Any time a cat starts weird pee behavior, the first thing I think of is UTI.


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## akane

Definitely always check for health issues with cats because they are so good at showing no signs of discomfort except inappropriate behavior. However we've had cats who would do these things on purpose if they didn't think you were paying enough attention. One cat would poop on my dad's chest if he didn't wake up quick enough and pet him properly in the morning. One day said cat went flying in to a closet door rather hard and never did it again. They know if you start getting distracted by not being awake enough or putting more attention on your computer than them and some will retaliate because they think they deserve more of your attention. Most of mine have retaliated with claws (one cat would not let you sleep for 36hrs straight if you let her sit on you pawing you in the face that long) but some have used worse means. 

Make sure such behavior results in immediate loss of attention such as being run from the room and locked out. I have come to love squirt bottles even for the dogs. Especially with a little mint or cinnamon in them to make it smell strong but harmless. I can send them right out the door way and keep them there just by saying "out" and putting a squirt bottle in view these days. Also keeps that stupid shiba from hauling her raw food on to the same eating area as the akita and losing her head and meal for it. Instantly stops the one cat from jumping/climbing the cat barrier since the cats are being reintroduced to the house in pieces after they started peeing on literally everything with no reason found.


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## Mildred16

Our cat Puffy has been driving the entire family crazy with his spraying everywhere.
We bought de-scenting sprays and special cleaners, which he ignored and re-marked all over the house...some advice? (I refuse neuter my cat.)
Thank you.


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## RichNC

Mildred16 said:


> Our cat Puffy has been driving the entire family crazy with his spraying everywhere.
> We bought de-scenting sprays and special cleaners, which he ignored and re-marked all over the house...some advice? (I refuse neuter my cat.)
> Thank you.


I see you are very new here Ms. Mildred, but I am just going to say if you refuse to neuter him there pretty much isn't anything, and I mean ANYTHING you can do to make him stop.


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## GrannyCarol

I'm afraid that I have no better way to stop him than to neuter him, or make him an outdoor cat. Unfortunately that is likely to shorten his lifespan a lot. Intact male cats outdoors wander and fight and have a hard time of it. He's expressing his hormones. 

If he's a valuable breeding cat, then you may have to make him a cattery cage, where he and his spray can be confined in reasonably large area so that he's comfortable.


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## RebeccaW

Mildred16 said:


> Our cat Puffy has been driving the entire family crazy with his spraying everywhere.
> We bought de-scenting sprays and special cleaners, which he ignored and re-marked all over the house...some advice? (I refuse neuter my cat.)
> Thank you.


Well, you can find guides that solve this and other training issues. Instead of the expensive sprays, you can guide your cat to "not think out of the box". HaHa! I found out what we were doing wrong and quickly solved what my cat's communication problem was.
There is a vast amount of information on the Internet, but most of it is useless. You should find a good guide somewhere on this page http://bit.ly/206Sq8l or here www.healthyfamilyhouse.com Good luck!


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## motdaugrnds

Well, only once did a cat disrespect me in such a fashion and that was many, many years ago and it was NOT my cat. It belonged to my child at the time who had caught the bus for school. The cat was meowing at me and I ignored it until it started biting my toes. Then I let it outside.

The cat I have now is about 7 yrs old. A spayed female. When she wants attention, she will meow at me. When she wants food, she will meow at me. When she wants outside, she will meow at me. She communicates real well and I will always respond to her needs. She sleeps either near me or on top of my legs and she is extremely careful when getting on me as I can feel her very gentle test the area where she is going to place a foot...guess to find out if I will let her step there or not. Finally she finds a place to curl up. 

I don't understand any animal showing such disrespect of its owner unless it is something that a vet needs to look into....sorry not much help here.


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## frogmammy

Think of two things that have changed in the last three weeks.

Mon


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## CountryMom22

My neutered cat was 8 when he started this kind of behavior. Not directed right at his humans, but mostly in different areas of the house. After a vet visit, it turned out he was diabetic.

Mildred, it is an unfortunate fact of life that an unneutered male cat will spray, period.


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## Forcast

after a vet check and the aok I bet Raven is right he is marking you/bed so you know were to come home to.


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