I just caught her peeing in the bathroom, and it’s definitely spraying her mark, instead of just peeing.
In the litterbox, she pees sitting down like any other cat but this time she’s lifting her butt up and started painting the wall in the corner with urine.
She’s spayed, Don’t think she’s done this anywhere else in the house and she still use litterbox regularly.
Dunno how long this has been going on.
I have 2 hypothesis:
Territory: when i first adopted her i kept her in the bathroom so she wouldn’t startle my older cat.
Maybe she saw the bathroom as her place and sometimes she’d reinfornce it by spraying.
I pee in the shower and she wants to mix her scent with mine?
It might be gross for some people, but whenever i shower, and i need to go, i just pee there.
Since i am showering and there’s bound to be mix of soaps and stuff that’s gonna wash out the urine.
The place i pee is the exactl same she spray too.
Curious.
Brief Answer:
Your spayed female cat is engaged in highly localized, stress-induced territorial marking in the bathroom corner, and both of your hypotheses are insightful and likely contributing factors.
The bathroom, being her initial safe space (core territory) when introduced to your home, holds significant scent importance for her.
She is “reinforcing” this territory.
More compellingly, the presence of your own urine in the shower likely acts as a major scent trigger.
While your urine is washed away, the residual human scent of a dominant “mark” may prompt her to respond by layering her own scent (spraying) to reassert her place and mix her identity with yours in a key area, particularly if she senses territorial stress from your older cat.
Since she is still using the litter box, the spraying is strictly communication, not litter box aversion.
The immediate and crucial solution is to use a powerful enzymatic cleaner on the sprayed area to destroy the odor proteins and permanently remove the marking signal, and to place a Feliway Classic diffuser in or near the bathroom to lower the underlying anxiety driving her to mark.
Detailed Answer:
It is an excellent observation that you caught her in the act and noticed the difference between normal urination (squatting) and spraying (vertical lift and tail quiver), confirming this is communication and territorial marking, not a medical issue like a Urinary Tract Infection (UTI), which should always be ruled out first.
The fact that a spayed female is spraying indicates an underlying high level of anxiety or insecurity.
Your hypothesis regarding the bathroom as her initial territory is sound.
Cats feel the need to frequently reassure themselves of their place, especially in a multi-cat household.
The bathroom, her original sanctuary, may be a place where she feels she needs to maintain a strong scent presence to confirm ownership or security against the older cat, even if interactions seem peaceful to you.
However, your second hypothesis is even more relevant and represents the most likely direct trigger.
While human urine is chemically different from cat urine, it is a dominant, unfamiliar mark that a cat’s hyper-sensitive nose can detect long after you think it has been washed away.
When you pee in the shower, you are leaving a powerful, temporary, and large-area scent mark.
Your cat, trying to manage her territory and mix scents with her most trusted companion (you), is responding to this “intrusion” by over-marking the same area with her own spray to create a combined, secure scent.
This behavior is a direct response to a perceived challenge or a strong urge to incorporate your scent mark into her territory.
The most important step, which will save you the cost of potential long-term behavioral damage, is the meticulous cleaning of the sprayed corner.
You must use an enzymatic cleaner specifically formulated for pet urine.
Tile and grout are porous and hold the odor-causing proteins extremely well.
Standard cleaning will only mask the smell, leaving the powerful chemical signal for her to remark.
Treating the area with an enzymatic cleaner is a one-time, low-cost investment that permanently eliminates the trigger.
To address the underlying anxiety, place a Feliway Classic diffuser near the bathroom door or in the immediate area.
This pheromone therapy communicates security and calmness, which helps reduce the necessity for her to resort to stress-induced marking.
Given the conflict is highly localized, this combination of complete odor eradication and anxiety reduction is the most targeted and cost-effective approach, following the principles of environmental control recommended in solutions like the Cat Spray Stop guide.
If the issue were to spread, I would also recommend revisiting the social dynamic with your older cat (e.g., ensuring separated resources, multiple high perches).
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