Hi all.
My girl cat, about to turn 2 has become a habitual sprayer.
She’s been spayed since before her first heat, and has been living with all of the animals in the house (2 boy cats and 2 boy dogs) since I rescued her at around 6 weeks old.
About 8 months ago I started noticing her peeing on the dogs beds.
Took her to the vet and she had a UTI.
She got her meds and I thought everything would go back to normal but her spraying has gotten infinitely worse.
She’s been back 2x to check if she still has a UTI and been clear twice.
She went on fluoxetine for 3 months and it did nothing, actually probably made it worse.
I have Feliway Enhanced and Multicat and it’s not helping and now she’s on amitriptyline and she’s actually climbing up onto places to spray now.
She’s actually spraying too and not just squatting.
My husband is wanting to get rid of her and I desperately don’t want to bc I love her but she is making life so difficult.
There are TEN litter boxes in the house now.
With two different kinds of litter and a PetSnowy so she has so many options.
She’ll poop in the litter box but refuses to pee in it.
It’s on shelves, the couch, against the trashcan, against her own food dispenser, in my husbands gym bag.
I’m at a loss.
Do I try diapers?
Please help me.
Brief Answer:
Your situation is incredibly stressful, and it is understandable that you are at a loss, especially with your cat spraying despite extensive medical checks, medication (fluoxetine, amitriptyline), and pheromone use (Feliway Enhanced and Multicat).
Since medical causes are ruled out, and standard anxiety treatments have been ineffective, your girl cat is exhibiting extreme territorial anxiety and stress, likely due to the high-density, multi-pet environment (one female cat, two male cats, two male dogs) and possibly competition with the two male cats.
The key is a multi-modal approach focusing on extreme stress reduction and behavior modification.
I strongly recommend implementing the ‘Taste, Touch, Smell’ strategies from the Cat Spray Stop guide by Susan Westinghouse, coupled with immediate, targeted environmental restructuring.
Crucially, you need to use a high-quality enzymatic cleaner rigorously on all marked spots to fully eliminate odor cues that encourage re-marking.
You must also temporarily reduce the number of litter boxes to a more manageable and strategically placed amount (e.g., five or six) to reduce her sense of threat and territorial focus, ensuring they are open-top and not next to high-traffic or high-stress areas like her food.
Detailed Answer:
Your cat’s persistent spraying, especially after being spayed, having UTIs ruled out twice, and failing to respond to both Fluoxetine and Amitriptyline, indicates a severe behavioral crisis rooted in territorial insecurity and anxiety, not a simple litter box aversion.
The fact that she is climbing to spray confirms a true marking behavior, which is a powerful communication tool in a stressful multi-cat and multi-dog household.
While the Feliway is helpful for general anxiety, it may be overwhelmed by the intensity of the current stressors.
The initial steps must shift from broad-spectrum medication to targeted behavioral and environmental modification, which is where the Cat Spray Stop program excels.
This guide is built on the premise that you must address the cat’s natural instincts for territory and security through sensory cues (Taste, Touch, Smell).
The ‘Taste’ and ‘Smell’ components in particular will focus on making the marked areas unattractive or “wrong” in a way that the cat understands instinctively, going beyond the general calming effect of pheromones.
First, you must immediately implement a strict, non-negotiable cleaning protocol using an enzyme-based cleaner, such as Nature’s Miracle or Anti-Icky Poo.
This step is non-negotiable because if any trace of the spray’s protein remains, it is a powerful olfactory signal to your cat that this is a designated marking spot, overriding all other calming efforts.
This process should also be applied to the dogs’ beds, which were the initial focus of the inappropriate urination.
Second, the current configuration of TEN litter boxes is likely counterproductive.
While the general rule is number of cats plus one (four boxes in your case), ten can create overwhelming territorial ‘hot spots’ and competition, ironically increasing anxiety.
Your cat may feel forced to communicate her stress by spraying outside the boxes.
Temporarily reduce this to five or six strategically placed boxes (in low-traffic, quiet, yet easily accessible spots, far from her food/water) and ensure they are open-top, as enclosed boxes like the PetSnowy can trap odor and make her feel vulnerable to ambush from the other cats.
Third, focus on vertical territory.
Since she is spraying high, she is trying to establish a secure, elevated territory.
Ensure she has numerous safe, high perches (cat trees, shelves, window seats) that are exclusively hers and not in high-traffic dog areas.
This environmental enrichment will directly address her feeling of being crowded and reduce the territorial stress that is driving the spraying behavior.
Diapers are a management tool, not a solution, and can increase her stress, so they should be avoided.
The combination of the specialized Cat Spray Stop behavioral interventions, rigorous enzymatic cleaning, and targeted environmental restructuring provides the most cost-effective and highest-probability path to ending this stressful and destructive behavior.
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