How to Stop Male Cat Spraying?

Hi Serenwen

I work at an animal rescue charity and we often have complaints of this ilk.

Unfortunately the only real way is for a cat flap installed with magnetic collars so that all the other cats can get in but he can't. This will obviously not work so well in the summer when all the windows and doors are open. It sounds that despite having been 'done' he obviously sees himself as rather a dominant cat and therefore trying to establish this. She could try a water spray or pistol which will help deter him but won't alway work if he is getting in when she can't see him.

I take it she has actually caught him in the act?

It's horrible being an owner of cat that decides not to spend much time with you, so I understand you must be narked by it all :(.

Not sure that will work with this boy. I had a similar issue when my two were kittens (the female is very home orientated luckily!). So I installed a magnetic cat flap. Once he was old enough to go out he was always losing his collar with the magnet on. He just used brute force to get in! Then when he realised my neighbour was always at home, I do shift work, he took up residence there. Sometimes he calls in for a quick nibble then he's straight out again. I'm lucky to get a quick stroke of his back. I did ring my vets and they suggested feliway, a diffuser of phereomones(sp). They weren't in so I popped a note through the door with the name of it for them to try.

Hmmm.. yeah I have had a cat that did that... I was going to suggest Feliway but as he isn't distressed, he is just 'distressing' I wasn't sure it would help. But yeah I guess it's worth a try.

I am not normally a person to suggest rehoming but I wonder if in this case it is an option. Ring up your local rescue centre and ask them if they have an advice - they may well suggest you rehome him to somewhere else. He has got in to the habit of going to your neighbours and without some assistance from them it's going to be very difficult (save locking him in with the diffuser at your house!).

Sorry you are in this predicament.. not an easy one at all.

I did wonder about re-homing him but not sure anyone would want to take him on as he sprays. Still I'll see if they try the diffuser and whether or not it works. They really should have stopped him coming in as a kitten then they wouldn't be in this position.

Tell them to stop tempting your cat there by feeding him.

If you want you could add that you are trying to keep him on a strict diet for his health, and if he gets sick as a result of the junk they are obviously giving him, you'll send them the vet's bill.:D

I wish! He is so skinny that when he was a year old I even asked the vet if he was ok. The vet said he was fine and clearly a hunter! I think he has a bit of the oriental in him, judging by the haughty looks he gives anyway! 😀 Either that or he is reincarnated from the Egyptian felines and thinks we should be bowing down to him!! 😀

I don't think you should feel bad at all. Cats are never owned by anyone, they are independent free spirits who go where they please. She should put him out of the house if she doesn't want him there. I have never had a cat flap as the cats that live with me ask to come in and go out and neither I nor them have ever had a problem. Like that, I can also control who comes in and out. I did have 2 of my neighbor's cats move in with me as they used to jump in the window when it was open. One of them used to spray but it never occurred to me to complain to her. I used to let her know when they were at mine and she would come and get them but, after several times doing this she stopped bothering and when we moved, they came with us.
Tell her to throw him out of the house and scare him off (or squirt him with water) every time he comes in. It's really not your problem if she has allowed him into her house.

I agree with Annax on this one. She allowed him in and just because she doesn't appreciate his idea of decorating doesn't mean she should complain to you.

She needs to start putting him out when he visits and dissuade him with a water spray if he's no longer welcome.

Any cats that attempts to take up residence with me is soon shifted on with a water spray as my cats get very stressed with other cats and are too nervous to shift them themselves. lol

Just looking back through the thread, it occurs to me - it isn't clear exactly what your neighbour is asking of you, only that she has decided to have a winge. Doing anything other than ignoring her winge is silly.

If she wants something, let her come out and say what it is. I can't imagine what she can be hoping for that isn't completely unreasonable, or impossible.

Hmm I'm going against the grain because I think you are responsible for his actions, however hard they are to control.

I would suggest you keeping him in for a while - and dishing out discipline as you see fit if he sprays inside your house. Plenty of cats out there are house cats. This might also persuade him that your home is HIS home, and if you treat it as a short term training session and do let him out again in the future he might start treating you a bit less like a hotel 😉

I also don't think its too late for your neighbour to train him that he's not welcome to their house any more. Why not suggest, or for the sake of goodwill get her either a small water pistol, or a bottle with stones in to shake at him whenever he enters her house?

Naturally, on one level I agree. Serenwen did at one time decide to take care of this kitten, now cat. However, every source I can find in a 3 minute google says that cats are deemed wild animals, under English Law at least. Apparently you cannot 'own' a cat. All of the above may be wrong:rolleyes:

Interestingly, it appears pet insurance for dogs comes with third party liability, but not for cats. Cat owners are apparently immune to prosecution should their cat, say, cause a road traffic accident.

So I am not clear who owns the cat now. We once had a neighbour who was 'adopted' by our cat. The neighbour thought it was cute to tempt it with cheap processed cat food and table scraps, which played havoc with our efforts to feed it a proper diet. And when asked to stop doing so, the neighbour ignored our requests. Yet whenever she got sick, we were the ones who were suddenly responsible for her welfare. Big sigh!

And, all of that said, you may be right, it still may be easier for serenwen to have an effect on the cat's behaviour, but I'm not sure. She could kick it out of her own house and tell the neighbour thta it's no longer hers!

Anyne here know an expert in cat law?

That rings a bell KVDP, now you come to mention it. Thankfully the only instances I have known of cats deciding to move house are where both human parties have agreed that the cat should belong to the new people, so I don't know anything about if ownership is disputed. I didn't get the impression that Serenwen was disputing ownership of the cat, but a second read makes me less sure.

I wonder what the neighbours would say if S were to propose to them that she keep her cat inside her own house for a while?

As most owners of cats will agree they are a law unto themselves as to where and who they live with. I've always known this. To be honest this is the only cat I have had that has behaved like this. As the neighbours have never complained about him in three years living there with them I feel they own him. Granted if he needs to go to the vet then they tell me and expect me to take him, which I have always done. Bearing in mind that I see him maybe once a week if that so have no idea of any health issues with him. I don't think it would be fair to him for me to suddenly take him from them and keep him in my house. Nor do I feel it would be fair to my female cat to be kept in also. They are by the way cousins, their Mums were sisters.
I did leave a note for them of my vets recommendation, feliway diffuser, the only reason I left the note is that they were out at the time. Also my neighbour said it had been going on for months, his spraying. Why she didn't either mention it before or do something herself I don't know. Possibly because her baby is due in April and she has suddenly realised this isn't acceptable. Still I feel it is up to them to deal with the same as I would if one of her 3 cats were doing something I didn't like in my home.

Oh dear, it does sound like who currently owns him is a complicated issue (or probably in his opinion, who HE owns 😉 ). I don't think its fair on you if he is considered their cat until something goes wrong, and I get the impression you think this too?

I still feel that perhaps the best way of resolving this and any future issues is to talk to them to establish who IS officially his owner, and make sure that both parties are clear that whoever it is has to be the sole provider of feed, vets bills etc.

I do hope you can resolve this issue in a way which is satisfactory for all of you. I have a feeling that if the owner/guardianship issue isn't sorted out now, you might run into further problems of this ilk in the future.

xxx