Do intact males always spray?

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Harvey

Has been COTD!

Purred: Sat Mar 19, '11 9:05am PST


	What about intact human males? Seems they often miss the target and spray the wrong place...

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Pepsi

FRISKY=RISKY,- SPAY & NEUTER!

Purred: Sat Mar 19, '11 11:09am PST


	I think intact males will almost always start to spray at some point. Some cats reach sexual maturity later than others and they might not even start doing it until they're three or four. Once they've formed the habit, it can be hard to get them to break it. Neutered males often spray too, but it doesn't tend to smell as strong as an intact cat's spray!

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Penn & Teller

Masters of The- Multiverse

Purred: Sat Mar 19, '11 12:26pm PST


	ThaNks for the heads up Hawkeye, I was just about to lay down mothballs because my yard and porch is really getting offensive

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Umesaburo

I'm a stud!

Purred: Sat Mar 19, '11 5:42pm PST


	Well, studs often stay intact until they're five or six, and I've heard of a few who never spray, even when there are other intact males nearby. However, I've only heard this from Maine Coon breeders, and Maine Coons tend to mature later than other cats. As for strong-smelling urine--oddly, Umesababuro's urine doesn't smell very strongly, but Spike's does. Spike was neutered when he was around 5 months old, and never sprayed before that, but perhaps it has something to do with his being a shorthaired moggy, or a former feral, or none of the above. Intact females spray, too, although I'm not sure whether their urine smells particularly strong.

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Miss Edith

Oh rly foo?

Purred: Sat Mar 19, '11 10:21pm PST


	Miss Edith did something to my futon while she was in heat and it didn't smell very often. It only smelled in waves if that makes any sense? Every now and then it would give off an odor. Eventually I decided yes that's cat urine and threw out the futon. This realization took months. Whereas the intact males doing things on my porch smell vile, always. It's just degrees of vile. I feel really bad for delivery guys. I don't even think it's my porch because I don't see it anywhere. Do you see spray? Is it colorful? Yellow? It could be the bushes around the porch.

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Chibi

Proud mother of- the Gang of- Four!

Purred: Sat Mar 19, '11 11:40pm PST


	Well, it's urine, so on a white surface (wallpaper, etc.) it will appear as a yellow stain. If a wood floor is urinated on enough, the varnish will blister, and the wood may turn color. Cat pee smells like cat pee, so maybe female cat pee smells like ordinary pee to us, but has special pheromones that attract the toms. Edited by author Sat Mar 19, '11 11:41pm PST

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Arli

I need some- alone time!

Purred: Sun Mar 20, '11 1:18pm PST


	Heard 10 % of neutered males still spray....anti anxiety meds may do the trick if it's really bad...plus, they say don't clean up with products with ammonia, because kitty might mistake it for "another cat's mark" and spray there again.....

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Linus- (Dreamboat- #72a)

So many toys, so- little time.

Purred: Sun Mar 20, '11 1:20pm PST


	Although I'm not a breeder, I do show my cats and I've talked to a lot of breeders. Most intact males will spray, some only occasionally... others are real "hosers" as one breeder put it. There are a few intact males who do not spray though. Irregardless of spraying, intact males do need to be confined so there is no indiscriminate breeding going on. Also, breeders have told me you can NEVER trust two intact males together - sooner or later they WILL fight! Intact males are generally caged or kept in converted rooms, and only allowed out for "supervised play times." Also remember that female cats can spray too. Particularly when an intact female is in heat - she'll mark too to attract the boys. I've had some breeder tell me they've had some girls spray as bad as the boys. Sometimes females have to be confined due to spraying while they are in heat. Spraying is not limited to intact males!

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Booger

444670

Purred: Tue Mar 22, '11 9:57am PST


	I think it varies greatly based on the individual cat as well as environmental conditions. For the most part, I've always had male cats, and other than the two kittens I have now, none of them were neutered prior to at least a year in age (because they had all been strays). Believe it or not, despite the fact that some of the boys were closer to three or four years in age when I had them neutered, I never once had a spraying issue (and they all lived indoors together). I used to think it was because I did everything "right" in terms of number of litter boxes, time spent making sure boxes were scooped, etc... but now I think at least a little bit of it was just sheer luck in terms of the boys' personalities.

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Member Since
06/22/2012

Purred: Fri Jun 22, '12 9:37pm PST


	I realize this was a while ago, but in case anyone else comes across this or anything, moth balls are a no-no with cats. they are toxic to cats. they can cause extreme stomach pain, vomiting, diarrhea, seizures, damage the blood, liver, and kidneys, coma and death. Please do not use moth balls with your cat ever, and if the person who posted that ever sees this, please go and tell that guy at pets mart if he's still there so no other cats will be harmed because of his expert advice.