1 year old cat spraying

Question
Hi,
My 1 year old male cat, Dewey, has started spraying in my house because I have not gotten him fixed. But I heard that even if I get him fixed now, he won't stop spraying at all. :( If I get him neutered, will that stop at least some of his spraying? My mom said we might have to get rid of him or we will have to move him outside if he doesn't stop. :( Do you have any idea I can do, also?

-Maria

Answer
Maria,

Your boy Dewey will stop spraying after being neutered, however it won't be an instant fix... The testosterone takes a couple of months to leave his system entirely and you absolutely will need to thoroughly clean your home using an enzymatic cleaner and a black light to find old urine stains (urine fluoresces under black light). Regular cleaners may remove the scent for us, but it won't remove it for Dewey's sensitive nose! Try a cleaner such as Petzyme which is available from Petsmart in large jugs in the dog section of the store.

In the meantime adding plenty of high sided litterboxes and making areas that Dewey sprays in routinely unpleasant for him to be in will help. You can use cheap placemats from the dollar store and cover them with Sticky Paws which is a pet safe double sided tape. These placemats can then be placed in areas that Dewey routinely sprays to keep him away once you've cleaned them thoroughly with the enzymatic cleaner. To make things easier you may choose to confine Dewey to a single easy to clean room while you clean up and the testosterone leaves his system as this will help you to determine when he stops spraying.

If his spraying persists after the testosterone has left his system you can try using a pheremone based calming collar, spray or plug in with him to see if that settles things down for him. If the spraying still doesn't stop with the use of a pheremone based product (I recommend the collar because he can take it everywhere with him) then you can always talk to your vet about placing him on medication short term to help modify his behaviour.

Contrary to what you've heard it is possible to work with Dewey and stop his spraying but he MUST be neutered ASAP in order to get the process started... For some cats neutering and a complete house cleaning with enzymatic cleaner will be enough because they won't have the same urge to mark their territory by spraying, other cats will need a little more work. Dewey does not have to become an outdoor cat or be "gotten rid of"... With the help of a few basic tools this can be turned around. If you have any further questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me again at any time - I'm more than happy to help in any way that I can.

Kind regards,

Ali