Urine marking is a form of indirect communication used between cats. Cats have social needs, but they generally prefer to hunt, eat, and sleep alone. Though they might live in large groups or families, they are not pack animals. As opposed to a pack of dogs, a cat group is not a hierarchy based on social ranking and the establishment of a natural alfa. Leadership in a cat group is fluid and may alter from day to day. Male cats like to wander off and establish new territories of their own, but ideas of superiority do not play a role in forming these new territories. If two male cats meet, neither individual will perceive himself as having a lower status than the other. One might back down out of fear of being injured, but that is all. Instead of engaging in face-to-face altercations, male cats prefer to avoid each other as much as possible, especially if they share their new area with other cats. To avoid conflicts or misunderstandings in that regard, cats have therefore developed a communication system based on urine marking. They will use spraying to leave each other messages such as “I was just here”, “This is my spot”, and “Stay away”.
So, if you have a cat—either an indoor cat or an outdoor cat—who suddenly starts spraying or urine marking inside, you are not dealing with a litter box problem. You are dealing with a communication problem. Something in your cat’s environment will have triggered the need for territory marking. Spraying is most common in male cats, but a female cat may urine mark, too. Possible triggers include wild animals outside the window, feral cats in the garden, and the addition of new pets to the family.
If one of your cats is urine marking and you don’t know what to do, Smiling Kitty can help! Our expert behavior modification plans will establish the root of the problem and suggest ways of fixing it. We will guide you through the process of re-training your cat and help you modify your cat’s environment to prevent the problem from recurring. Contact us here to make an appointment!