I have spent nearly every day for the last ten years talking about cat urine. Some days I drift off into Cat Pee Princess Land…
Where litter boxes are full and there are no stray puddles. And all the cats are happy, curled up and purring gently.
But that’s only in my day dreams!
To talk about this subject, you need some clear terminology, and lots of humor, because it’s not a very funny subject. People love their cats, sometimes more than their family, and when one cat is, well, acting out, it can lead to marital strife, and a ruined house.
In fact, the cat usually loses with its life. The #1 cause of feline euthanasia is spraying.
Cat urine is self explanatory. Cat spraying is when they back up to a surface, and tail twitching, mark the surface with their urine. Inappropriate elimination is not the same as cat spraying.
Never punish a cat for this, and always make a vet visit as it may be signs of a urinary problem or other underlying medical condition. I’ve seen pictures of the things that grow in the urinary system of cats, and you would have a problem too if they grew in you.
Cat Spraying in the Wild
Cats in the wild use urine marking to mark their territory and declare something as “mine”. Domestic cats are no different, but they usually don’t do this as part of their normal behavioral repertoire, at least not the fixed, well adjusted ones. For unneutered males, it’s also very natural, and both breeders and rescuers donate their houses to cats.
70-80 percent of the time, a spayed/neutered cat will spray because it is having anxiety over another cat. It can be a cat in its domestic group, or a cat next door, or a tom outside. Even if the cat is not in sight, your cat may be able to smell it and feel threatened. Spraying, or urine marking its territory reduces its anxiety.
The Modern Social Cat
There are some cats who are perfectly fine, social cats. I have talked to some people who have a group of 12 perfectly happy cats. No problems, no fights. Then I will talk to someone with three hellions who fight all the time, pee all over, and are all causing their human great stress. It’s all in the personality mix, and, like children, there’s no way to tell if you’ve got a bad apple until you get one.
And all it takes is one. Just one uptight, dominant cat – it can be male or female, the sex doesn’t matter, and the marking commences. Sometimes it’s a clearly unhappy cat, or a very clear group bully. Sometimes the bully just hates one cat, or tries to get everyone to obey him/her. This can be very abusive, and the dominant cat can spray to establish dominance, while the subordinates (particularly if there is a really abused cat) can spray to reduce anxiety from the abuse.
The Loner
Some cats should never be with other cats. Cat people know who these cats are. They are notoriously anti-social and don’t care what anyone thinks. They are content with crumbs of affection from their humans and minimum contact. I believe these cats are extremely sensitive to any outside stimulation and have a rich inner life. They are best found a single cat house.
Spreading the Love
I have talked to people who have been peed on, had their food peed on, had their marriages break up, had their houses ruined. We have talked to people who house set on fire because a cat peed on an electric outlet. For people in rescue, because the situation is always changing, and the cats are in a state of flux and uncertainty, the houses are just donated to the cats. The problem is when spraying starts as a stress response; it can quickly become a stress reducer, and a habit. This does not bode well for the cat, or their human. In rescue situations, it really makes it difficult to adopt out a cat.
It only takes one cat to start the group a-peein’. One cat smells the others, then they have to add their two cents worth. Pretty soon, it becomes a chemical conversation where everyone wants the last word. To us, it just smells like chemical warfare.
Routines and Rules
One of the really basic needs of our pets, whether dog, cat, parrot, or other, is a need for routines and rules. OK, at this time I get food. On this day my litter box gets changed, OK she’s mine when she’s on the couch- but she’s yours when she’s on the lazy boy, OK. This is my happy place, OK. Here’s mine OK.
My cats would go through an intricate dance of making rules when I would move. I used to move a lot. When situations change, it’s a great stress to our pets, and for cats, new rules need to be figured out. For rescue situations, the rules are ever changing, hierarchies are ever changing and its drives some cats crazy with stress.
This is why Bottled Blessings’ flower essences can be such a life saver-especially our No Spray formula, and can really prevent some very bad habits from forming in the first place. In the case of cat spraying, we need to minimize stress, and territoriality this can all be done with our formulas. For cats who have been saved from overcrowding and hoarding, they may never be adoptable. But their situation can be improved with the right combination of flower essences.
There are flower essences for just about everything- every mood, every fear, phobia, every emotional block. Flower essences are the most amazing blessings I believe we have from the 20th century, and they help animals even better than they help people.
I always want to help every animal that I possibly can- almost to a fault. And that’s why I have spent the last ten years listening and learning.
We would love to hear your story. We would love to hear about how you used our formulas, and how they worked.
We are constantly searching for a better way to treat this difficult problem. If you know of a better way, we’d love to hear it.
For more information, visit our website: www.bottledblessings.com