Maine Coon urination problem

Question
Hello,  I have an 11 year old maine coon and since we moved to our new place he has been urinating a lot along with urinating at our front door.  He is neutered and declawed and yet still seems to "spray" a lot.  Is this normal and what can I do to stop him from "spraying" or urinating at the front door.

Answer
Brian,

It is hard to tell if it is normal or not.  The first thing I would do is to have your vet check him for urinary tract problems.  It could be the stress of moving has caused some problems (as male cats can have urinary tract issues, regardless).  At 11 years old, he is beginning to be geriatric and there may be physical issues that have arisen.

On the other hand, such behaviors can arise due to the new territory.  Even neutered males will mark territory.  You can check to see if the front door has been sprayed by an outside cat.  Also, there is a species of box elder hedge that puts out an odor like cat spray, and some cats respond to this!  

Whichever the situation, you need to make sure you clean the area thoroughly with an enzyme based cleaner specifically for pet stains and pet odors (available from most pet supermarkets and farm stores).  You can try a Feliway diffuser which may tone down the territorial imperative, but may not!

Check out:  

http://www.geocities.com/heartland/pointe/9352/litterboxhelp.html

An excellent collection of articles written about cat litterbox issues.

Please let me know how it goes.

Best regards... Norm.