![]() There are multiple cats in the household.One function of urine marking is to advertise reproductive availability, so unneutered males may urine mark to let females know they are available. Although female cats as well as neutered and spayed cats can urine mark, unneutered males have more reason to do so. There are also certain characteristics of a cat or a household that can contribute to urine marking: It also contains extra communication chemicals. The reason cats can learn so much from the urine mark of another cat is that a urine mark isn’t just urine. The amount of urine a cat sprays when he’s urine marking is usually less than the amount he would void during regular elimination in his box. Urine mark deposits often have less volume than voided deposits.Often his tail and sometimes his entire body twitch while he’s spraying. ![]() When spraying, a cat usually backs up to a vertical object like the side of a chair, a wall or a stereo speaker, stands with his body erect and his tail extended straight up in the air, and sprays urine onto the surface. Marking on a vertical surface is known as spraying. Urine marks are usually deposited on vertical surfaces.The following is a list of characteristics that indicate urine marking: But urine marking deposits are usually qualitatively different than inappropriate eliminations outside the box. Cats who urine mark also use their litter boxes for voiding, so urine in the litter box does not rule out marking outside the box. It takes a bit of detective work to determine whether your cat has a litter box problem or is urine marking. ![]() How Can I Tell If My Cat Has a Litter Box Problem or a Communication Problem? To a cat, marking helps keep unwanted individuals away-whoever and whatever those individuals may be-and it creates an atmosphere of familiarity that makes them feel more secure. But, if they want a mate or they are distressed about something, they’ll deal with their distress like any cat: they’ll mark their territory. If their world is predictable, there are no conflicts, they are spayed or neutered and they don’t need a mate, cats have little reason to mark and probably will not. They can only use the social and communication skills that nature gave them. This way, cats rarely have to meet up with each other.Ĭats who live in houses might not have to hunt for their food or find a mate, but they still look at their world in the same way as cats who must survive on their own. All this information is available to other cats in the urine. Cats can even advertise when they are looking for a mate. By urine marking, a cat tells other cats of his presence and makes a statement about such things as what piece of property is his, how long ago he was in the area and, over time, when other cats can expect him to return. ![]() To avoid disputes, cats communicate indirectly-they leave messages.Ĭats have numerous ways to leave messages for each other, and one way is through urine marking. Cats have no system for working out face-to-face disputes, so face-to-face disputes can be dangerous for them. Socially, cats who greet often handle things like two neighbors in an argument-although one might back down if he thinks he might get injured-neither individual will ever perceive himself as having lower status than the other. They haven’t developed a social system or a communication system like dogs. They might share a territory with other cats, but it’s a time-share approach-they avoid each other whenever possible. Given the opportunity, cats go off on their own when they mature and claim certain areas or territories for themselves. But cats have a somewhat unique social structure in that they do not hunt, eat or sleep in groups like dogs. They are prepared to assume either a leadership or deference position, and they can read another animal’s body language to interpret his intentions and react accordingly. Particularly animals who can cause significant harm to each other-like dogs-have developed a social mechanism for preventing conflict through interpersonal ranking. Why Do Cats Urine Mark?Īnimal species who live in social groups in which the members depend on each other for survival have sophisticated interpersonal communication. Urine marking is a form of indirect communication used by cats. These cats are urine marking, and urine marking isn’t a litter box problem-it’s a communication problem. Quite a few of these cats have issues with some characteristic of their litter box (please see our article on Litter Box Problems for more information), but approximately 30% don’t have litter box problems at all. It’s estimated that 10% of all cats will eliminate outside their litter box at some point in their lives. The most common behavior problem reported by pet parents of cats is inappropriate elimination.
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