As the title suggest, I’m looking for advice or ideas on what I can do to stop my cat from spraying inside.
For context, he’s a male ragdoll, desexed and almost three years old and we adopted him over a year ago.
Our local vet mentioned that he was desexed late so he has already formed the habit of spraying.
It’s a three cat household and he doesn’t get along with one of my other cats (female), which I suspect is the reason for the spraying.
He sprays quite a lot outside in the garden which doesn’t bother me, but inside is a massive problem.
It’s been going on since we got him and we’ve tried everything ranging from 4+ litterboxes around the house, feliway diffusers, enzyme cleaners, letting him sleep in his own room overnight with food, water, toys and a litterbox but nothing seems to work.
I’m pretty much out of ideas, any suggestions or has anyone had a similar situation they managed to resolve?
Brief Answer:
Your situation is a classic case of behavioral spraying driven by chronic inter-cat conflict that has become entrenched due to a late desexing and established territorial habits.
Your vet’s assessment is correct: late neutering means the hormonal driver was present long enough to form a strong, deeply learned behavioral habit.
The main cause is the conflict between your male Ragdoll and your female cat.
Even with four-plus litter boxes, Feliway, and enzyme cleaners, the core problem of social instability and territorial threat remains unaddressed.
The key strategy now is to move beyond simple co-existence to structured, total separation, followed by a slow, formal re-introduction.
You must dedicate a portion of your home as his permanent, scent-secure territory, utilizing the Feliway diffusers only in that core zone to make it a haven.
I recommend implementing the structured steps found in a guide like Cat Spray Stop by Susan Westinghouse to break the spraying habit and methodically resolve the underlying conflict, which is a cost-effective alternative to continuous cleaning and failed remedies.
Detailed Answer:
It is completely frustrating to diligently try the “textbook” solutions—multiple litter boxes, Feliway, and enzyme cleaners—only to see the spraying persist.
Since you have confirmed that the male cat does not get along with your female cat, this chronic social stress is almost certainly overriding all your positive efforts.
The spraying is not about a full bladder; it is a desperate form of communication stating, “I feel threatened and insecure in this shared space.” Spraying outside is manageable, but the indoor marking confirms the severity of his distress within the home’s core territory.
Your current strategy is failing because it treats the symptoms (spraying) but does not resolve the root cause (the animosity and territorial guarding between the two cats).
The crucial intervention now is to escalate the conflict management:
First, Absolute Separation and Sanctuary.
The overnight confinement is a good start, but you must expand this.
For a period of at least two weeks, the male cat and the female cat must be completely separated while you are home, utilizing vertical gates, closed doors, and separate feeding/resting schedules.
His “own room” must be turned into a true, high-value, exclusive sanctuary.
Place all his resources, including food, water, scratching posts, and his most comfortable bed, only in this room.
Place a Feliway MultiCat Diffuser (which specifically addresses social tension) only in this room and perhaps the main living area, not distributed so widely that the effect is diluted.
Concentrate the pheromones where he needs the most calm.
This is a low-cost, high-impact method to give him a secure base that no other cat challenges.
Second, Targeted Cleaning and Re-Acclimation.
You must continue using the non-toxic enzymatic cleaner on all past indoor spray sites, even if you think they are clean.
Cats can detect residual pheromones that trigger remarking.
The pool table legs from the previous user’s problem illustrate that a specific, high-traffic spot is often targeted.
Find his inside marking spots and turn them into feeding or play areas, as cats rarely eliminate where they eat.
Third, Structured Re-introduction.
Once two weeks of separation passes with zero spraying, you must begin a formal, gradual re-introduction, starting with scent-swapping (rubbing a towel on one cat and putting it in the other’s area) and then sight-swapping (using a clear screen or glass door) before brief, supervised interactions.
Finally, integrating the techniques from a guide like Cat Spray Stop by Susan Westinghouse would provide the necessary framework for this process, specifically by focusing on techniques to ease his stress and systematically address the late-desexed habit through positive environmental control.
This comprehensive behavioral approach saves you the recurring cost of ruined property and ineffective products by finally addressing the deeply rooted territorial anxiety.
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