Do Female Cats Spray? The Truth About Your Cat

If you’re a cat owner, then it’s only natural that you’re worried about your little buddy’s general cat health.

An outdoor cat (also referred to as a common cat), can often have behavioral issues such as urine spraying or urine marking. This inappropriate urination is a lot more common than you think and even happens with adult cats. But before you go running to your vet thinking they’ve got a medical condition, don’t worry, urine marking is incredibly common.

You’ve probably read online somewhere that male cats spray. But let’s be honest, who didn’t know that? Unneutered males are very well known for their marking behaviour and doing their pee outside the house. It’s this inappropriate behaviour that can often leave even the most hardcore pet lovers frustrated.

However, have you ever wondered: do female cats spray? Well, the answer is most certainly yes! Both male and female cats can spray, although it tends to be the males.

Compared to male cat spraying, female cat spraying is nowhere near as common so male cats often end up taking the blame for any pee outside the litter box.

Have you ever come home to a foul smell and ended up finding your cat sprayed in the house? Surely it couldn’t be sweet little Ingrid? Well, think again…

Currently, it’s estimated that only 5% of female cats mark indoors. Compare this to male cats marking indoors, and the percentage is much lower. This is why most cat owners are often surprised and confused when they find out their female cat has been spraying.

Although cat spraying is uncommon and rare in females, it can be treated. But before you try and stop your female cat from spraying, it’s essential you learn why they started spraying in the first place. Here’s everything you need to know about female cat spraying and general cat care.

Female Cat Spraying: What Does It Look Like?

It’s not uncommon for cats to occasionally urinate outside of their litter box, but how do you know when it’s an accident and when it’s the start of something else? Cat spraying is when a cat will spray on vertical surfaces such as walls, doors and windows.

If you happen to come across a puddle in the middle of your house nowhere near your cats litter box, then the chances are it was an accident. However, if you happen to come across small streaks of urine around your house, especially on the walls and furniture, then the chances are it’s from your cat spraying.

The main difference between the two is that accidents often have a lot more liquid and are found on the floor. Cat spraying on the other hand, involves a lot less urine and is found on vertical.

These surfaces can be anything from beds, to couches, to windows or just your wall. Cats will also back up to a surface with their tail pointed up before they start spraying. Once they start spraying they will often shake their tail at the same time. If you’ve ever seen your cat do its business in the litter box, then you’ll see there’s a clear difference.

So why do female cats spray? Are they just doing it to annoy you? Or are they trying to tell you something with their body language?

Do Female Cats Spray for Attention?

Most cat owners who find their cat spraying often think they are doing it on purpose. This is completely wrong and not your typical pet behavior.

When a cat sprays, they’re doing it for a reason. Its your job to work out why they are doing it so you can help them stop.

Top Reasons Why Female Cats Spray

There are countless reasons why a cat can suddenly starts spraying, from the most obvious reasons to some you’ve probably never thought about. To give you an idea of what could be causing your cats urine marking, here are some of the top reasons.

Changes In Environment

Cats love a sense of calm and structure in their lives. If you’re continually changing the environment that they’ve come to know, then they can often become stressed and scared. Perhaps you’ve decided to rearrange your living room, or move your cats litter box to the kitchen. Both of these environment changes can often trigger your cats marking behavior, even in adult cats. If you’re cat has just recently started spraying, then think back to any environment changes you may have made.

Increased Levels of Stress

Just like humans, when cats get stressed they can start to show behavioral issues and inappropriate behaviour such as spraying. Whether you’re continually rearranging your furniture, or moving their litter box, these seemingly small changes can cause lots of unnecessary stress to your cat.

New Neighborhood Cats

If you have other pet lovers in your area, then it’s only a matter of time until neighborhood cats start to patrol the area. With cats being defensive by nature, seeing another outdoor cat can often set off alarm bells and trigger urine marking.

Moving House

A new house means a fresh territory for your cat to claim and the fastest way to claim a new area is with a strong smell. There’s a much higher chance moving house will cause you cat to start spraying if the previous tenants also had a cat in the past. As soon as your cat moves in they will instantly smell other cats scents and want to cover them up.

New Cat Litter

Similar to what we mentioned before, even the smallest changes in your cat’s environment can trigger cat spraying. If your cat has been used to a certain scent of cat litter in the past, then changing it to a new one can leave them feeling stressed and unsafe. Only change your cat’s litter if you really need to. You’ll thank us later!

Other Cats In Your Home

Have you recently just added a new feline friend to your family, only to come home and notice one of them has sprayed in the house? It’s pretty common for cats not to get along with each other and if one of them feel’s threatened, they’ll respond in the only way they know how: with urine marking. Over time cats can get used to each other but it can be anywhere from a few weeks to a few years.

Medical Issues

In some cases, the sudden beginning of cat spraying can often be related to medical issues. These issues will often require diagnosis or treatment from a trained vet before they can recommend what to do. The most common medical issue that triggers spraying is a urinary tract infection which leaves cats with trouble peeing. Since they can’t pee as normal, they start to let it out in small bursts or sprays which makes it look like they are spraying. If your cat’s body language suggests they are in pain or discomfort, then it’s always worth taking your pet to the vets no matter how much they hate it.

As you can see, there are numerous reasons why a cat might start randomly spraying. But almost all of these reasons are closely related to 1 theme, marking territory.

Why Do Female Cats Spray?

Like most animals in the animal kingdom, cats are territorial. Big cats such as Tigers are, and so are smaller cats. It’s in their nature. Spraying is a form of communication between other cats and animals to warn them to back off. Cats love to mark territories with their scent and establish a safe space for themselves.

Cats can mark their territory in several ways. The chances are you’ve seen your cat stroking furniture and even your leg! By doing this, your cat is spreading their scent and basically claiming the area as their own. When cats become stressed, anxious, or scared, they will often increase the strength of their scent and start spraying. This can also include leaving faeces if they feel extra threatened. If your cat keeps sitting at the window staring outside, then the chances are they’re keeping an eye on another cat.

Maybe your neighbor has just got a new kitten or a brave cat on your street has gone exploring. Whatever the reason, your cat wants to make them know this house belongs to them. Like me mentioned before, it’s completely normal. It’s in their nature to mark out their territory the only way they know how. Cats can also spray to advertise reproductive abilities to other cats. Although it is usually male cats that do this, female cats can also do it. Consider it flirting, just in a very, very weird way. Another reason why female cats can start spraying is due to stress.

If you’ve moved house, moved her beloved litter box, or you’re leaving her alone more often, your princess can get really stressed out. To help calm herself down and “de-stress” your cat will start taking it out on your furniture, bed and walls to establish a sense of security. So, do female cats spray? Yes, they do, but it’s very uncommon and just like male cat spraying, it is treatable.

The pet care industry will convince you to neuter or spay your cat. However, that’s not the only option available out there.

Stop Cat Spraying Today

Cat spraying is a terrible thing that can leave your house with a foul smell no matter how hard you try to hide it. Just when you think you’ve got rid of it and masked up the smell, your cat does it all over again! This cycle continues forever until you finally decide to get help. Punishing your cat or trying to cover up the smell won’t solve the problem. No matter how many pet care products you use, if you don’t tackle the source of the problem your cat won’t stop spraying.

Many owners will consider spaying and neutering their cat, but truth be told, even after these operations, cats can still spray. Both males and female cats will continue to mark their territory until they either feel safe, or you train them to stop.

If you want to truly stop frustrating cat behaviors such as spraying indoors, then you need to use behavioural techniques. Not only will these techniques de-stress your cat, but they’ll also ensure they never pee outside the litter box again. Learn how you can stop your cat from spraying in only 7 days using the revolutionary TTS method. Find out how you can stop your cat spraying below.