HELP. My son is being deployed and brought us his adorable half-grown male kittens. They are spraying.?
They are intimidating our two cats (sigh!) and spraying. I'm getting them neutered next week--sorry son, no kittens in their future. My house REEKS of cat pee. How do I find where exactly it is and get rid of smell? Tried a black light, but didn't seem to help. Know there are some good products for removing smell, but need to find exact locations, and my 3 story house REEKS.
2008-05-03T14:09:56Z
I was hoping there was some way to find the sprayed spots without crawling around the house sniffing. Good thing they're so cute and he loves them so much!!!!
Anonymous2008-05-02T07:32:28Z
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That was nice of you to take in these cats.. I know how annoying it can be when you have males that are spraying!... The only way to rid your carpets of that awful smell is to use an enzimatic cleaner... my vet office sells a VERY good cleaner.. If the cat can still smell his urine, he'll continue to go there... so all areas that smell need to be cleaned very well.. and make sure the cleaner says "enzime action" or something along those lines... enzimes break down the odor and eliminate the smell... How I found the spots in my house was on my hands my knees, and sniffing!... It took a while, and was pretty gross.. but I found all the areas.. My cat started spraying when he was about 3 months old, and the vet wouldn't neuter til he was at least 6 months.. so I had to deal with spraying for a couple months.. it was not fun!
awww. it's ok i do foster and have faced this problem many times. Yes! to the neutering. i am so happy you choose to get them fixed. We do not need anymore cats in the world. OK, Odo Ban workds th best available at sams club, or even walmart. They male cats are marking their territory and showing thir dominance. They will intimidate normally for about three weeks andthen they under most circumstances will accept the others as part of their colony. Now, neutering will not stop them from spraying. I had my male neutered at twelve weeks and now he is 7 and still sprays. Noemally this behavior will only occure when they feel their territory is threatened. It should cease when they accept eachother. I say mine still sprays, and he does if he smells another male cat outside, if we move to a new place or especially when I introduce a new kitty or even a new roommate. it is something that kind of goes with the erritory. You need to basically spray everything that is three feet high and bewol including the furniture, the walls, the carpet, the drapes, etc. They do it on doors and walls and everywhere then want to be noticed in each corner of each room. Pain in the asp, but you are a good person to take them and not surrender them to a kill shelter. Good luck. Keep odo ban on hand. If you catch then doing it, spray them with a quick squirt of water. and thell them loudly "NO" cats are smart. If I see mine start to hike his tail up or face the wall, I tell him, "no" and he looks embarressed and runs. They will stop after a few weeks normally for the most part, but at any time they feel they need to make their territory, it is a natural instinct.
Yikes! I feel your pain. One of my cats started spraying at the age of 5 months and the vet wouldn't neuter him until he was 6 months.
Locating the cat pee is not going to be easy. I always use my nose. It sounds silly and even a little nutty, but to locate an area where the cat has peed, I get on my hands and knees and start sniffing around. (Drives my husband bonkers.) Or, you can just treat the entire house as if it's been peed on and clean everywhere. Open the windows to let some of the ammonia air out.
I also recommend isolating your son's cats from your cats. Your cats should not have to be intimidated in their own home. (It's even possible that your cats are having accidents, too. Intimidated cats who feel like their territory is being invaded will pee outside the litter box.) Good call on getting your son's cats neutered! They will live longer and be a little more affectionate as they get older. Plus, they won't contribute to the overwhelming number of cats who don't have a home. You're a very responsible cat-grandma. Your son and his cats are lucky to have you.
They are probably spraying on upright surfaces, such as a table leg, chair, wall, door jamb, etc. To find the exact areas may be hard, because they are probably doing it in more than one spot. Just keep sticking your nose up to things. Believe me, you will know when you find the spot. It will stink so bad that it will turn your stomach. To get rid of urine stains and smell, thoroughly soak the area with plain white vinegar. The acid pH of the vinegar will neutralize the base pH of the urine, and should prevent kitty from peeing there again. This really works, I've used it for years.There is also a product you can buy called Feliway. Feliway is not a cleaner, it's a tool to help integrate multiple cats and prevent spraying and other undesireable behavior. It is a spray that mimics cat facial pheremones, which are calming to them. It is useful in integrating mulitple cats into one household, because cats usually dont spray on surfaces where they also rub their faces for scent marking. Thus, what you do is spray feliway on the areas likely to be sprayed by urine to discourage the cats from continuing to do so. It is a bit expensive, but totally worth it in a situation such as yours.
Nature's Miracle is great at removing pet stains and smells, but not unless you're unable to locate it :). The neutering should definitely help with the spraying, but keep in mind-sometimes it's already become too much of a habit and it may continue. I really hope it works out in your favor....and good luck.