Cats & Dogs
For You
Friday April 2, 2010
|  Abyssinian The Abyssinian is a natural breed of domesticated cat originating in Egypt. As the story goes, an Egyptian female kitten, Zula, was taken from a port in Alexandria, brought to England, and bred ...
Read more and see reader photos
Read about other cat and dog breeds
| Do You Know How to Stop Your Cat From Spraying Urine?
By Galia Ivanova Spraying urine is one of the main problems a cat owner has to deal with. Cats use their urine to mark their territory and to notify other cats they have already been there. This typical behavior is known as urine spraying.
Your pets are not spraying in order to make you angry. It is part of cats' natural behavior and is coded in the genes of every cat, no matter if it is domestic or wild.
Urination outside of the cat toilet is not spraying. What makes urination different from spraying is that urination is usually done on flat surface, e.g. a towel, a mat or rug, while spraying is done on vertical surface, e.g. a wall.
Male and female cats both spray urine but it is more common for male. They spray on vertical surfaces, such as walls and furniture.
Why cats spray urine
Urine spraying is a social, sexual and territorial behavior that is typical for male cats. They mark their territory by spraying it with urine. This behavior is caused by hormonal changes and usually starts when cat reaches sexual maturity. Female cats also spray, especially during the mating season.
Spraying can be stopped by neutering. However, some neutered cats continue to spray urine due to the fact they have been neutered after they have reached sexual maturity. By that time, spraying has become a habit for the pet.
Spraying urine is used as a message that given territory belongs to the cat. Cats usually spray as they turn backsides to the object and spray urine usually at the level of other cats' noses. Spraying may also mean the cat is ready to mate.
Spraying as a territorial behavior may occur when you move your pet into a new home or if you have more than one cat in the house. Cats may spray if they are stressed or just to mark an undesirable object or litter.
Occasionally cats may spray items that belong to a certain individual. Cats associate these belongings with bad experiences. Spraying could also mean the pet is angry, stressed or frustrated.
Pets can get stressed by changes in the house, such as your absences from home, changed work schedules that will prevent you from spending enough time with it. Your pet may also spray if you punish it in an inappropriate way or if it has a problem with another pet that accepts as a rival or threat.
Few ideas to stop your cat spraying?
1. The simplest way is to neuter it. This method is effective in 90% of all male neutered cats. However, neutering should be performed before the animal reaches sexual maturity - at the age of 4-6 months.
2. The litter box should be kept tidy and clean. The cat may start spraying if the box is dirty, scented or in a bad location. You shouldn't use scented cleaning agents to wash it.
3. Try reducing the cat's stress by maintaining a routine. Changes can make the pet spray.
4. Give your pet attention and affection. Play, massage, talk to him/her. Happy animals that are not threatened usually don't spray urine.
5. Some cats spray urine near doors and windows where they see other cats. Try to reduce your cat's exposure to other cats, so it doesn't feel threatened by them.
6. You should clean soiled areas very well as cats commonly urinate on places that smell of urine. Avoid using cleaning products that contain ammonia. And keep in mind that your cat can smell many things that you probably can't.
7. If you have many cats in the house, spraying may become very serious problem. Cats spray because of the competition between them. However, if spraying is caused by other reasons that cannot be determined or eliminated, drugs may have to be used to deal with the problem.
8. Hitting or yelling at the cat will not make your pet stop spraying. On the contrary, this will only make the problem worse. You should try to find out why the cat is doing so, not to punish it for doing it.
In case you can not solve the problem yourself, you should consult a vet or a cat behaviorist. There are different herbal remedies and prescription drugs that can be used in such cases
========
O2cats.com is an online website on quality cat furniture. For more details you can see our best selling products in the following category - cat toys.
| | Comment on this Story | Printer Friendly | | Send Story to a Friend | Top | Free Printable Bookmarks at BookDaily.com
Get free printable custom bookmarks at ArcaMax Publishing's newest site, BookDaily.com! BookDaily offers more than 80,000 first chapter book samples -- for free.
Here's a listing of the top five bookmarks that have been printed out so far at BookDaily.com (you won't see the links for the bookmarks until you're logged in or create a free account. It's easy!):
Twilight (Twilight, Book 1), by Stephanie Meyer
On Writing Well, 30th Anniversary Edition: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction, by William Zinsser
Just Like Heaven, by Marc Levy
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, by Stieg Larsson
The Lost Symbol, by Dan Brown
Once you set up a BookDaily account and login, you'll find a link on every book on the site offering a free printable bookmark, including the book's cover, title and author. Print as many as you'd like!
-- From the ArcaMax editors
| | Today's Reader Submitted Photos |  
Click an image above to see full size and read caption.
To see more of our subscriber photos visit our full Photo Gallery.
Enter your Cats & Dogs pictures so you can show them off to other readers right here in this ezine and on the ArcaMax.com Web site. Click here to submit your photo.
Sincerely,
ArcaMax Editors |  | | Recent Stories |  Dog Breeds - Pomeranian
Pet Astrology - A Unique Way to Understand Your Pet
Cat Breeds - Exotic
How to Shop For a Pet Stair - A Comparative Analysis
Dog Breeds - Miniature Schnauzer
| | More From ArcaMax Publishing | | Newsletters: Comics - Knowledge - Lifestyles - News - More Classic Books: Fiction - Non Fiction - Short Stories - Sci Fi - More More: Quizzes - Sudoku - Crossword - Weather - Sports - Columns | Ad Free Newsletter
ArcaMax publications are now available in an "advertising-free" format.
Please click here for details. | | | | | | |
| Manage Your Subscriptions You are currently subscribed as duncanjax@gmail.com.
To unsubscribe from this newsletter, please notify us here or visit https://www.arcamax.com/cgi-bin/custacct. ArcaMax Publishing, Inc., 729 Thimble Shoals Blvd., Suite 1-B, Newport News, VA 23606 | FAX (757) 596-9731
Copyright © 2009 ArcaMax Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Advertise With Us | Contact the Editor | FAQ/Help
ArcaMax Publishing is the Leader in News and Entertainment by Email
ArcaMax Publishing websites:
www.arcamax.com (Family-Friendly News & Fun)
www.bookdaily.com (Book Samples for Book Lovers)
|
