Some people have confusion when trying to decide if the cat is spraying or urinating outside of the litter box. Either situation is bad, but knowing which one your cat is doing can help you more quickly solve the problem.
In many cats, they will use the litter box faithfully, but still spray and mark their territory on a regular basis.
Cats spray and mark their territory for several reasons. Mostly spraying is done by unaltered males and females trying to attract a mate. This activity is also done to mark territory. It is a signal to other cats to stay away and that this is their house.
Some cats also do it as a reaction to stress, or to simply communicate with other cats.
When your cat sprays they are not simply urinating what comes out is a mixture between urine glandular secretions. These are essentially pheromones the other animals can smell.
To tell the difference between urinating and spraying look for the signs. First when a cat sprays it stands straight up lists its tail and holds its bottom-up high. This is opposed to urination were the cat crouches and the holds its bottom down.
Also when a cat sprays it has a distinct smell that is very different from urine.
One of the easiest ways to get your cat to stop spraying is to have them spayed or neutered. If you think your cat is exhibiting this behavior because they are stressed out, try to figure out where the source of stress is coming from and eliminate it.
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