Spraying
The most important rule is to keep at it! The key to
dealing with a house soiling problem of any kind is to tackle the problem
from several angles at the same time. And even when you think you've tried
everything, you need to systematically go back and try again. Sometimes
changing one small detail in the treatment regimen will make all the
difference.
Behavioral Treatment and Spaying/Neutering
The single most effective treatment for spraying in
both males and females is spaying/neutering. 90% of males and 95% of
females stop urine marking after being altered. However, for the small
percentage of cats that don't stop marking after altering, it's important
to find the anxiety causing agent(s) that prompt(s) these cats to continue
spraying.
Look for recent changes in the cat's immediate
environment. (Has there been a move, a change in your schedule, home
improvements? Any recent additions to the household of either two or four
legs?) Don't neglect to check beyond your front door. Is a neighborhood
cat regularly 'invading' your yard in full view of your indoor cat?
Remember, a change that seems like nothing to you could set off
territorial anxiety in your cat.
Unfortunately isolating a cause is not always easy.
Cats typically don't show stress until a week or more after a
precipitating event. So most of the time, you'll never know precisely what
triggered your cat's urine-marking behavior. But if you do believe you
have identified the cause, either remove it or try in some way to minimize
its effect.
For example, if a particular person seems to be the
cause ask that person to spend time playing with the cat. If the cause
seems to be a neighborhood cat 'intruder', pull down the blinds so your
cat can't see it stalking across your lawn.
Regardless of whether you can identify and remove
the cause of your cat's distress, you still need to work on modifying your
cat's behavior just as you would with a litterbox problem. Keep your cat
out of the room where it regularly 'goes', deter it from using the bed or
other furniture (there are 'scare' devices on the market to help you), and
above all be patient and kind to the cat. It is already stressed and
yelling and harsh punishment could only make it worse.
Drug Therapy
When faced with an intractable spraying problem that
altering and behavior modification don't seem to help, you can ask your
veterinarian about drug therapy. While drugs are not a panacea, they can
be very helpful. According to veterinarians drug therapy gives behavior
modification a chance to work by interrupting the cat's persistant
pattern. (NOTE: Animals should be on the lowest possible dose for
the shortest possible time!)
Unfortunately drug therapy comes at a high price,
namely serious side effects. For example, progestins - once widely
used for anxiety-related spraying - are now recognized as having serious
side effects. Likewise, the antianxiety drug diazepam (Valium TM)
can have very serious side effects in cats.
Finding a drug that is safe and effective over the
long term is important for the small number of cats that do not respond to
other treatments. There are currently high hopes for a drug called buspirone.
It appears to have virtually no side effects.
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