two cats scent marking

by Barry
(Selden NY)

I have an 8 year old spayed female and a 1 1/2 year old neutered male. About 2 months ago both cats started marking 1 couch in my house. One of them seems to do it once a day. I've replaced the cushions, covered it in plastic, tried cat away sprays, sprayed them with a water bottle when catching them in the act, but nothing seems to deter them from this behavior. Both cats are indoor, don't fight and tolerate each other pretty well. They both use the litter box on a regular basis, and don't mark any other areas of the house. Any suggestions?


Answer by Kate
Hi
well considering what else you have tried, the only other thing i would suggest is to try and keep them away from the couch for a few days. Perhaps try the litter re training process which will confine them to one room (separately), this may be enough time to break the habit and to give the couch time to really loose the scent, perhaps sprinkle the couch with bicarbonate of soda, leave for an hour then vacuum off.
here is my web page with the litter retraining process

https://www.our-happy-cat.com/cat-litter-box.html

best wishes kate

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two cats scent marking
by: glenda

This is not a toileting issue. This is a territory issue. Indoor cats are not immune to the outside activity of other cats. Indoor cats scent through door and windows. Your cats are very much aware of the activity of cats in close proximity to your/their house. They are reacting cats which may be having close contact with them. Close contact can be outside cats wandering around the perimeter of your house, spraying outside around your house and/or garden. Two courses of action will help to ease if not eliminate the spraying. One, start them both on anti-anxiety medication and two, acquire an effective product to prevent outside cats from having close contact to windows/doors and the perimeter of your house. Not sure what is available to you but in Australia there is a company called Innotek and a product called Cat Stop. Cat Stop sends out a beam which most cats won't walk into. Giving your cats a 'sense' of their territory back will take away the need to spray. Another good idea if you're not already doing this, is to shut your cats up at night with no access to outside stimulation, even with the above two suggestions in place. Strays and cats allowed to roam freely will be more active at night.

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