Female cats "spray", WTF?

[Tim Hancock]

We have outside cats that we provide food and shelter for, but other than that they are on their own. Over the last ten years, they have numbered between 3 and 8 depending on how many run off and how many have kittens and how many get hit on the road.

On many occasions when we have a male or two, we would at times be rewarded with a nasty smell on our deck or bushes due to what we thought were the males "spraying" to mark their turf.

Last month, our last male got plowed on the road yet one of our bushes still occasionally smelled like urine. Last night, I was shocked to see our female "mother" of three kittens, "squirt" this bush! I thought only male cats "sprayed", what gives? We do still have a couple of other females.

We have an outdoor picnic coming up next weekend. Is there any product available that we can spray on our bushes to keep this momma cat from spraying? My wife is so fed up, that she wants me to just "eliminate" them all! Any suggestions?

[Steve Carlton]

I'd check with a vet. Getting them spayed would probably be a good idea, and likely solve that problem.

[Joeaksa]

Orange spray. Always heard that cats do not like oranges (or was it lemons?) and that this will keep them away from an area.

Agreed... always heard that it was only the males. Have a female cat and no problems here... yet!

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Not sure offhand but I do have a couple of really good references at home I can check for you. Spaying/neutering will definitely help. The only ones in our neighborhood that do it are the strays/alley cats. The ones that belong to people never do - at least I've never seen 'em do it. Spaying/neutering helps somewhat with the territorialism, propensity to fight and that "yowling" when they're in heat (since they no longer have to worry about it).

[Tim Hancock]

Originally posted by Porsche-O-Phile
Not sure offhand but I do have a couple of really good references at home I can check for you. Spaying/neutering will definitely help. The only ones in our neighborhood that do it are the strays/alley cats. The ones that belong to people never do - at least I've never seen 'em do it. Spaying/neutering helps somewhat with the territorialism, propensity to fight and that "yowling" when they're in heat (since they no longer have to worry about it).

Ours basically qualify as one step above "alley" cats, as other than food and a cathouse, they are on their own in the "healthcare" dept. We live in a rural area and while our dogs have been to the vet, the cats are not so lucky. That said, over the years we have mostly enjoyed having the cats living on our back deck, but with our kids growing up, the cat's days may be numbered.

[}{arlequin]

some women do that too

[Joeaksa]

Thats squirting and I believe its from a different cause...

[Porsche-O-Phile]

I think humane society will pick 'em up no questions asked. . . They have various "no mark" products you can get too - forget the name of 'em but any halfway decent pet shop should carry it. . .

[RoninLB]

I've never heard of a female spaying. Males must be spayed while still kittens or there is no guarantee it'll be 100% effective.

If you kill them with anti-freeze the humane society crowd etc can tell they've been poisoned by the way the hair lays after death afaik.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Using antifreeze is completely unethical. It causes massive liver and kidney failure and is a horrible way for any animal to die. They will wretch in agonizing pain for hours or days before finally dying from a buildup of toxic compounds in their tissues. Anyone that would seriously consider killing a cat, dog or other animal in this manner has some serious pathological issues, IMHO.

I've been flamed for this before, but does this seriously sound like a humane/ethical way to get rid of an animal that's doing nothing more than being a nuisance and can easily be driven off, trapped, adopted or picked up by the Humane Society for free? Is this really the kind of people we are?

Ethylene glycol has an immediate and a long-term affect on the body. It is rapidly absorbed and metabolized once it has been consumed. Peak blood levels occur within three hours of ingestion. Within thirty minutes after drinking it, your pet will become ataxic or drunken in appearance. This phase continues for up to six hours. Eventually this tipsy behavior subsides and it appears that the problem is over. It is not however because the ethylene glycol then enters the pet’s liver and kidneys where it is oxidized into toxic metabolites that acidify the blood and destroy renal tubular cells in the kidneys. As the kidneys are damaged, they loose their ability to cleanse the body of waste. The transformation of antifreeze leads from glycoaldehyde to glyoxcylic acid, formic acid, and oxalate. It is the glycolic acid and oxalate that is most responsible for kidney damage and resulting uremia. These compounds also seriously damage the central nervous system. There is no treatment that will reverse this damage. It can be so severe that in a matter of a few days the dog lapses in to a coma and dies.

Symptoms:
Clinical signs depend on how long it has been since the pet drank the antifreeze as well as the amount they drank. Early symptoms are much like alcohol intoxication. Dogs and cats may vomit due to the irritating effects of ethylene glycol on the stomach. They drink and urinate excessively and may be depressed and wobbly. The increased thirst is due to stimulation of the thirst centers of the brain. Pets may seem on the road to recovery twelve hours later as the ethylene glycol is metabolized by the liver and kidneys. However, a day later in cats and two days later in dogs the patients suddenly becomes much worse. They become depressed, weak, and dehydrated. They may develop diarrhea, mouth ulcers, rapid breathing and seizures. Their kidneys are often painful and swollen.

Diagnosis:
Dogs and cats can only be cured when the poisoning is detected before extensive kidney damage has occurred. Diagnosis is not difficult when an owner presents a pet that is staggering, and drunken in appearance and has seen the animal drink the poison. It is much more difficult when the ethylene glycol first reaches the liver because early in this stage the pet will appear healthy while later in this stage symptoms are multisystemic and nonspecific. We often confuse these signs with other diseases such as pancreatitis, acute gastroenteritis, diabetes or other forms of kidney disease. By the time ethylene glycol metabolites have attacked the kidneys it is too late for a cure. By this time the animal is very sick from uremia and acidic blood (acidosis). In unfortunate animals that die it is the six-sided or Maltese-cross shaped crystals of calcium oxalate within kidney tubules that allow pathologists to make the diagnosis. Sometimes the urine of affected pets will glow when exposed to a woods or ultraviolet lamp.

I used to work in a vet's office a while back. . . I saw a couple of animals and pets that were beyond hope suffering terribly from this kind of poisoning - usually at the hands of inconsiderate and unthinking imbiciles but probably at least a few at the hands of malicious and diabolical nutjobs. It's tragic and gut-wrenching to witness first-hand to say the least. Even convicted killers don't suffer 1/1000 as much as these animals suffer. They thrash around and yowl and cry for hours as they slowly die right before you, looking at you scared and knowing they're going to die. They know - you can tell just by the look in their eyes. It's enough to rip your heart out because you simply can't do anything other than try to somehow make the process less hellish - or euthanize them. Hell, even the VICTIMS of psychopaths probably don't suffer as much as these animals suffer. Trust me - it isn't pleasant by a longshot. As far as I'm concerned any individual that would even remotely consider this is either stupid or no better than the kind of budding psychopath that would rip apart kittens or puppies with his bare hands or feed seagulls Alka-Seltzers for the hell of it or sheer twisted pleasure. Such individuals need to be "educated" with the business end of a Louisville Slugger, IMHO - apparently it's the only language they understand.

There are ways to deal with nuisance animals and I would certainly hope as a civilized society that we'd try to at least avail ourselves of them. Nature can be cruel sometimes, but this isn't even remotely about natural behavior. . . This is simply about rationalizing torture and abuse defended by either ignorance, stupidity or morbid cruelty - or some combination.

[kycarguy 935]

from pet planet:

Urine marking
Urine is a very potent territorial mark to cats, which is all very well when a pet uses it outdoors, but quite another matter in the house!

Male cats may spray droplets of strong-smelling urine onto objects around the perimeters of their territory. First the cat examines an object such as a post, turns his back on it, lifts his tail then, making treading movements with his hind legs, squirts a jet of urine. Sometimes he will turn and examine and sniff his signature, and occasionally repeat the whole performance.

It is much rarer for female cats to spray. If this occurs, it is generally seen in unneutered females, whose hormonal balance is upset, or who are under stress.

In fact, stress may cause any cat, neutered or unneutered, to scent mark using urine, though the smell is nothing like as strong as the that from an unneutered tom cat! Cats thrive on security, and something like a house move, the arrival of a new baby, a new kitten or puppy, or even a change in their owner's routine. If a cat is really upset, it may even deposit its droppings as scent marks. If you think your cat's marking may be stress related, check with the vet to rule out illness as a cause, then attempt to restore the cat's sense of security.