Female cats spraying

Q.    Do female cats spray to mark their territory or is it just tom cats?

A.    Both males and females (even some that have been neutered) urinate to mark territory though in males the urine generally smells stronger.

A new cat in the area, change of housing or a new member in the household can all be causes.   During urine spraying the cat stands up and marks of urine are generally seen above the ground (on furniture etc.)  Excess urinating elsewhere must be investigated for other causes. 

The area where cats have urinated to mark territory should be cleaned with an enzymatic biological cleaner (such as washing powder) to remove the smell from the cat senses.  A product called Feliway – available from your vet – is available as a spray and an electrical plug in diffuser.  This produces the pheromone that cats mark their territory with and gives the cat the impression that it’s done enough marking.