I've spent a lot of time reading about problem cats and helping others' on forums with their urinating or spraying cat. A lot of the time there seems to be some confusion differentiating a cat urinating and a cat spraying.  Knowing what your cat is doing will help you determine what you need to do next.

Catching him in the Act

Diagram from @ http://www.sprayalert.com

       The Spraying cat will walk over to the area, usually he'll smell where he's going to do his business. Sometimes you'll notice him open his mouth slightly after smelling the area. He'll then turn his body around, backing up into the desired area, usually quivering his tail. Then he will spray that area with urine. Spraying is distinctive because you will see a light mist coming from his derrière, hence "spraying". Spraying is mostly done on vertical surfaces. Why? Spraying is a cat's way of communicating. The most effective place to put his message is somewhere that will align with another cat's face. Think of it as ads on a blog. They're usually placed where people will see them. If you had to scroll all the way down to the bottom of the blog, they wouldn't be as effective (though most of us want them there). Spraying can usually be found on furniture, walls, doors, anything with a vertical surface. 

       The Urinating cat will usually find an area where he feels safe. You wont find urine along your wall or along your drapes. Urinating cats will unload their bladder directly on the ground. They will use the same method of urinating as if they were doing it in their litter. This usually means back paws relatively flat on the ground, with their back hunched and rear very close to the ground. Cats who are urinating outside of the litter box will usually find other areas that resemble a litter box. This includes your bed, laundry baskets, towels, drawers etc.

Its not always so black and white. Sometimes you get a spraying cat who hunches his back  or a urinating cat that raises his hind while he's in his ltter. It's not as common but it happens.

       If you're not able to catch him doing it, but the evidence is all around. Its still possible to tell even with those tricky situations. Note where the spray or urine is, relative to where your cat spends most of his time. Is it located in a highly trafficked area of your home? One of the biggest giveaways, is the smell. Spray tends to be a stronger smell. If its spray the smell will be alot more concentrated. You'll probably be able to smell it if you're in the same room. Also look for droplets of urine. Spraying cats sometimes want to aim on something specific which may require him to crouch a little. If you see a spray like pattern or a triangular imprint of urine then you know its spray.



      You can also purchase a black light. Ultraviolet lights are able to pick up urine stains. You'll want to get a decent sized one, they can be purchased at most large retailers like Walmart or a larger pet store. In my personal experience, I'd steer from the small UV lights you can purchase from pets store. I've had no luck getting them to show any stains. The larger florescent UV lighting tubes work perfectly. With any black light, you'll want the area to be as dark as possible, so you're able to yield the best results. 

If you do purchase a black light, make sure to scan around all your furniture, walls and doors. Take your time to go over everything in the room. Older stains will not be as strong as newer ones. Also remember other stains will also show up under a UV light.

Who cares what the difference is, its still Urine

Yes both cases are urine but knowing the difference is key to helping you cat. Your cat is doing either of the two for several reasons. 

Reasons for Spraying

www.chartgo.com

       The most common cause of spraying is from unaltered male and female cats. When a male or female cat reaches adulthood, they attract each other through scents. Spraying is their strongest form of communication. Think of it as a billboard broadcasting your cat in all his or her glory!

Spraying is also done to mark territory. We use fences, doors and locks to keep other people from entering our home. Cats don't need barricades, spraying gets their message across. It's their way of saying "Back off!". 

Reasons for Urinating

        Most cats will stop using their litter box because they're ill. Urinating outside the litter box is their way of communicating with us. If your cat has just started urinating outside of the litter box, and it's just randomly started, I would strongly advise you to contact your veterinarian immediately.

Stress

Stress can both produce a spraying and urinating cat. For me, this is the most widely misunderstood subject when it comes to cats spraying and urinating. Unfortunately we can't communicate with our cats to find out what exactly is stressing them. So we have no choice but to play the Guessing game. We look for clues and we try different solutions. This is probably the most used reason why cats end up in shelters or put down. 

Eww, Cats Like the Smell of their Urine?

A cat's smell is different than our own. We smell horrible urine smell, they smell a unique I.d associated with whatever cat left the urine and a message. Urine contains this wonderful thing called pheromones. It allows them to communicate different messages within their urine. This is how a cat who comes across another cat's spray, will know he's looking for a mate, or he's not accepting visitors.

 Mojo's the newest addition to the family. He's a first generation (F1) Bengal cat. This means one of his parents (his father) is an Asian Leopard Cat (ALC). His mother is an SBT Bengal ( this means the mother is at least 4 generations from the ALC). 

I was originally looking for another Bengal, specifically an early generation to add to our family. I searched for quite awhile, contacting several breeders in the area. The only reputable breeder who was breeding F1s within driving distance had taken a break from breeding. I needed to extend my search. Finally I came across a breeder(on the other side of the continent!) who had just bred an F1 litter. I knew once I saw little Mojo that I had to have him. At 6 weeks old Mojo was flown by airplane to the airport where we picked him up. Words can't explain the panic of having to fly such a small guy but everything went more than well.

It's been almost a year since we first got him.  He is the love of my life. Unlike a regular cat, Mojo loves to play with water, better yet he's obsessed with water. He enjoys spending time in the shower with me or helping me clean the dishes. He loves to play hide and seek, fetch, he even plays in the lake at our cottage! He's best buds with our Bengal, Amazon and he's helped him regain some confidence. 

He's got moxie we've never seen in other cats and hes passed it on to the other cats in our household. He runs around with his Zena call and gets all the other cats frisky and ready to play. He really is something special.

Amazon is our 7 year old  Bengal Cat. 

   We adopted Amazon 7 years ago from our local animal shelter. He was 7 months old, malnourished and unsocialized. The shelter mentioned he was part of a breeding program gone bad. The breeder had fallen ill and left the cats in a house unattended for a long period of time.The shelter was only willing to give limited information about his past.

  Being from a cat-loving family, we had done our research on the Bengal cat. During the 90's and early 2000's, Bengals were very pricey and in their early stage of development as a breed. We waited it out in hopes something would come up. Several years later while my sister was volunteering at our local shelter, Amazon arrived and we scooped him up right away. Our long wait had finally come. We had no idea what the future lay ahead. Amazon would be prove to be the most demanding, passionate,  and expensive pet we've ever owned but worth every penny and day.

 We had no idea what bringing home an unsocialized bengal would entail. For the first couple of months during his kittenhood, no one could catch him or cuddle him. Cuddling and touching was on his terms! He bonded with me almost instantly but still was very timid. We had a older Siamese, Akia in our home and she wanted nothing to do with him but he wanted everything to do with her. She is strongly bonded with me, which caused some conflict between the two. He'd chase her out of my room and cuddle up beside me, not wanting to share me. This went on for a very long time. Even now it still goes on. 

 Because we knew nothing about Amazon's past, we were left guessing and coming to conclusions about some of his behavior. He was extremely skiddish, especially with abrupt noises. Moving your feet suddenly would send him flying in the air. He's very dominant at the food bowl and very territorial. He sprays and continuously tries to mount every other cat in our household. We have no idea if perhaps he was in training to become the next stud for the breeder or just learned behavior from other studs he may have been in contact with.  Perhaps he should of been neutered sooner, or we just happened to get a very dominant male cat. 

Amazon's physical health was another issue. All of his canines were chipped. We were boggled by how a 7 month old kitten could have chipped all 4 canine teeth. The only answer we could seem to agree on was that these cats had been neglected for quite some time. They were not little chips from rough housing or simply biting down too hard on kibble. These chips were pretty substantial and only worsened with time. Eventually Amazon's bottom canines were completely removed. We also noticed a lump on his right paw. So far it hasn't developed into anything serious but every so often we have it checked.

 Aside from all the bonuses we received with Amazon, he's just like your regular Bengal cat, with glitter to boot! He loves perching up high and communicating with us: telling us how his day is going, what he's spotted out the window. He communicates so much just with his tail. By watching it, we're able to tell when he's not happy with something and when he's excited, or when he's had enough.

 Amazon has taught us a lot over the past 7 years and will continue to do so. We love him very much and never regret having him. He has become a part of our family. 

Akia is a traditional Siemese cat.

  We had a family tragedy before the Christmas of 1997, so my mother decided a companion would do me some good. My aunt always had Siamese cats and I loved them. So, I decided I was going to find a Siamese cat. My mom broke the news that if I were going to get a cat, it would be from the humane society. I agreed but had no idea finding purebred cats was any different than your regular short hairs, especially finding one in a shelter. 

 As fate would have it, we walked into our local shelter and there was a 6 month old, Siamese kitten who was brought in the day before. I knew it was meant to be. I vaguely remember her curled up in a little ball with her big blue eyes watching my mother and I. She was watching me look around at the other cats hissing and caterwauling. She just stared me, scared for her life. 

 She was an extremely timid cat. It took her a very long time to come out of her shell. She was always hiding and waiting until night time to come out of her hiding spot. Then she'd sniff me out while I slept( I woke up once, to her standing on my stomach checking me out). Eventually she figured out we're okay people.

 When she was younger, she had an obsession for rolled up socks, underwear and wool. She would dig through the laundry basket and place gifts at the front door. In hopes we would have company over! She was also a natural hunter, bringing us the occasional outside prey. There's nothing Akia likes more, then being by my side. She is the most loyal cat I've ever had.

Akia is now 16 years old and spends her days on the couch while i blog. Even though shes's considered an elderly, she's still got her moxie!