Content
- Why do cats mark territory?
- Distinguish the cat's type of behavior
- Tips to prevent the cat from marking territory with urine
- Tips to prevent the cat from marking territory with scratches
All domestic cats mark their territory and do it in different ways. The two ways that most annoy the humans who live with them are marking with urine and marking with scratches on furniture.
If in your house you have an uncontrolled cat with the territory marking, we recommend that you continue reading this article by PeritoAnimal in which you will find tips for your cat not to mark territory.
If you also have a tip you want to share with us, don't hesitate to leave a comment at the end of the article for other users to take note of your advice.
Why do cats mark territory?
You must know that cats generally if feel comfortable and safe in their house they don't need to mark territory, as they know they are the kings or queens of their territory and that all the attention of their human companions will be directed to them.
Therefore, if your cat marks the house, its territory, you must ask yourself why it is doing so. It is possible that it is because you feel that you have competition, whether with other cats or other pets in the house or with children or other people, that is, others who can steal attention the ones you like to enjoy so much.
But, although these are the most common, there are other reasons for the cat to have this behavior or behaviors that may seem to us to mark territory.
Distinguish the cat's type of behavior
It is very important that you know how to distinguish the possible reason causing the behavior of your cat. For example, urinating outside but close to the litter box can mean several things. In this case, it may be a matter of marking territory, but perhaps it is a health problem or a problem with the sandbox itself.
Therefore, one of the first things you should do is find a veterinarian for a complete check-up for discard diseases or health problems that may cause your cat to behave unwanted or unusually. Above all, because if it really is a health problem, the sooner it is detected the better.
- We know our cat is marking territory with urine if we find stains like this in different areas of the house and especially on vertical surfaces. In addition, we were able to perceive a strong and unpleasant odor and we noticed that the stain is difficult to remove. Other forms of territory marking in felines are also well known, such as moving scratches and rubbing certain parts of the body such as the head, chin or paws against objects and people. In the latter case, it is sometimes difficult to differentiate when they are marking or when they are asking for caresses, but perhaps it is the form of marking that least bothers people.
- In the case of territory marking with scratches, you must know that cats need to wear their nails and have them sharp, as it is part of them and their natural behavior, it is a necessity. It's possible that if we don't provide you with places to do it that you like, you'll choose to sharpen your nails on our furniture, which we usually don't like. So, to be able to differentiate if your cat is simply following its feline behavior with the hygiene of its nails or if it is really marking territory, you should check its environment to detect focuses of its stress or its sudden need to compete. If this behavior is not resolved by providing a suitable scraper and placing it properly, and we know there are other animals or people, then this could be a marking issue.
Tips to prevent the cat from marking territory with urine
Urine marking is usually more common in unsterilized male cats that they live with more cats or, when there have been changes in their environment and, therefore, they need to re-establish the perimeter of their territory. First you must make sure that your feline companion's health is good and thus rule out medical problems. Then, you should analyze what changes there have been in your life and that of your cat that may have affected you, it could be more pets, more new people at home, a change of house, many hours away from home when your partner is alone , etc., that is, reasons that lead to competition, jealousy or stress. If it is possible to correct the problem and return to the previous state in which the cat was comfortable, then that would make things easier. But since in most cases changes are not usually a reversible situation, we should help our furry friend get used to it again.
Below, we'll give you some advice on how to get rid of urine stains and some recommendations for fix the urine marking problem:
- He must clean the urine stainsAvoid strong cleaning products whenever possible as they can affect the cat's health. It is always better to use water and alcohol and let it dry. Once dry you can then apply products with pheromones for cats following the product instructions. There are sprays, powders, diffusers, etc., which contain pheromones that help cats to calm their anxiety, giving them more security. To see the effect of these products you should wait at least a week, but for them to really work it is recommended to use them continuously for several weeks before evaluating whether they worked or not.
- Another cheaper option is to spray areas that your cat frequently marks with pepper or other natural repellents. But this can lead your furry to stop marking this area but to look for others, so it is really necessary to find the origin of the behavior to look for a more suitable solution.
- You have to think carefully about why your cat is not using the litter box, you have to think through all the options and see which could be the most likely cause.
- Once you know the reason for this behavior you should try to look for the best options to prevent your cat from urinating at home.
- If you can identify the cause of your cat's behavior such as jealousy of another animal or person, you should give you more attention to remind him that he has not forgotten him and that he is still important to us and that he has not lost us. It's not about making him understand that he's the center of all our attention, because if there are new members you should also pay attention to them and take care of them, it's about making him understand that now this attention and affection are now distributed in a way equitable and must respect this.
- It's also a good idea to put your cat's things like the litter box, bed, food container, etc., in a part of the house where only he is and other pets or people who might be the focus of your jealousy will not enter. That way you can have a zone that is yours and you can have a place where you feel safe and stress free.
- Something that might not cross your mind is that your cat or cat is urinating outside the litter box simply because it doesn't think it's clean enough. Must be very careful with the sandbox hygiene, as there are cats that with little use of it already find it dirty and do not want to enter it to use it. As you may know, cats are very clean and tidy so they don't like dirt and tend to avoid it. Therefore, you should also be careful that the litter box is not too close to your food and water area, as it will not seem like the best place to do your needs and, if that happens, he will look elsewhere.
- Also in relation to the sandbox, it may also happen that our feline don't like the texture of the sand or its odor and so decide to urinate outside the litter box. So simply changing the brand or type of sand can solve the problem. Another possibility is that you don't like sharing a litter box with more cats or that you feel that too many are using the same litter box, so it will be important to have a litter box for each cat, or at most one every two years if accept that. If they have to share the litter box with more cats, they will most likely look for a place they like best.
- In addition to changing the sand frequently, changing the type of sand, putting more sandboxes so you don't have to share one of several and keeping them well separated from food and water, you can try place litter boxes at all points where the cat urinates in the house to relate it and learn to use and accept the sandbox. Even if the litter box is not next to the food and water, the place where it is located may not simply convince the cat, and it may be that just changing its place will accept it and stop urinating in other areas of the house .
- During this entire process of change, every time you see your cat is urinating out of place, you should give him a firm "no" as you stop him and walk away from the area. A negative reaction costs more to understand than a positive one, so what you should do is when you see that you are using the litter box correctly instead of urinating on a wall, you give it a prize, it can be a caress, a playtime or some of your favorite food. You should only give this reward when you catch the animal having the correct behavior, otherwise it will not remember what it did and will not understand.
Tips to prevent the cat from marking territory with scratches
If you want to know why your cat scratches furniture, you should keep in mind that there are several reasons and that they are all natural behaviors. It is known that cats need to wear their nails and have them sharp, as it is part of them and their behavior. It's possible that if we don't provide them with adequate places to do it, they'll choose to sharpen their nails on furniture, something we don't like. Therefore, you should strive to find a suitable scraper for your furry friend.
But cats don't just scratch surfaces to sharpen their nails, they also mark their territory in this way. Therefore, to differentiate if your cat is simply following its natural behavior with the hygiene of its nails, or if it is marking territory, you should review its environment. You must first be sure that your partner is in good health with regular visits to the veterinarian. Then, you should analyze the changes that have occurred in the cat's life that have caused him stress, jealousy or annoyance that have led him to mark territory by scratching the furniture. As we have already mentioned, these factors are moving house, new people or pets, among other stressful factors that provoke competition.
Next, we'll give you some tips to get your feline stop scratching the furniture:
- You must first make sure that both your health and your environment are okay. You must be sure that there are no factors that cause you stress and the need to compete. Therefore, in the case of new pets or new people at home, you must remind your furry faithful to continue to have our attention and affection. It's likely that if he notices that your attitude toward him hasn't changed as you expected, he'll relax and stop marking territory with scratches and start accepting the new company.
- As we have already mentioned, if it is a matter of marking territory, the unsterilized male cats they are usually the ones with these behaviors more accentuated, although unsterilized females can also do so. Therefore, you must take into account the sterilization of your cat. Check out all the benefits of neutering a cat in our article.
- Make sure you have a suitable scratcher for your friend and if you have several cats you should provide them with several and not just one. In addition, it can provide them with game circuits with different heights and textures where they can tire and wear out their nails.
- He must place scratchers in strategic locations who knows you like to scratch. For example, in the corners of the easy ones, you'll get him to use the scraper instead of scratching the noose.
- It can protect parts of furniture that are often poorly treated with fabrics that they can already scratch and damage.
- If you have enough scratchers and your cat still prefers to scratch furniture, you can always try to change the type of scratching and/or its location, as you may not like this scratcher or not like where it is.
- It is important to cut the tips of your cat's nails. If you don't know how to do it, go with him to your veterinarian.
- They exist natural herbal products that attract cats. If you spray scratching with these herbs you will get your cat to focus on this object and not others.
- In turn, you can use repellent sprays on the affected areas of furniture so that the cat does not scratch them again.
- Remember that if you catch your cat marking furniture, you can demonstrate that this is not a desired behavior with a firm "No," but negative reinforcements are never as effective with positive ones. So, when you see him scratching the scratcher, you should reward him.
