Does anyone have any experience or suggestions on what to do when a spayed cat starts spraying?

Our 2 year old girl, Polly, started spraying a few weeks ago. She was spayed as a kitten by Cats Protection and we have had her since then. At first we didn't know if it was her or our other cat, Fudge, as we were just finding the urine over the walls and on a playmat but then we caught Polly in the act openly spraying onto the kitchen floor. I immediately thought that she was doing it as an act of jealousy as we have a 9 week old baby. So we took her to the vets the next day (weekend before last) and the vet confirmed that she's probably stressed by the new baby (although only started showing signs around 7 weeks in).

We had tried to make the introduction go smoothly, we bought feliway diffusers which were used in the weeks leading up to and thereafter the birth and we made sure we paid extra attention to the cats once the baby was born but Polly obviously hasn't taken to her.

The vet gave us Hills urinary stress wet food and a bottle of Metacam and we put a third litter tray down on her advice. Plus we bought a refill for the feliway which had run out.

However after nearly 2 weeks, the Metacam course is finished and so is the food and Polly is no better than before. Yesterday she sprayed on the bed where the baby sometimes lies and this morning she has sprayed on the kitchen floor again. A couple of days ago she sprayed on the rug (usually the spot where we put the baby down to change her nappy) and she has also sprayed on the sofa in the spot I usually sit to breastfeed the baby. She's obviously marking her territory but I'm constantly on edge wondering if I'm going to find urine in the crib or cot or on her bouncer. I'm worried about Polly coming close to the baby in case she sprays her too!

The vet mentioned that if the treatment wasn't working that I should bring her back in where they would have to examine her bladder. Does it sound like a bladder problem or a typical stress problem and if the latter, does anyone have any further recommendations on what to do?

I've had a couple of female cats do this. Both times the cats had 'princess' personalities and it appeared they were territory marking.

Multicat household, so not an easy issue to deal with. Mostly we do 'bad cat' type corrections if princess is caught in the act, and keep stocked up on enzymatic type cleaner.

(I'd love to see some suggestions on how to deal more effectively with this too. Because it's super frustrating to live with.)

What cleaner do you use Maggie?

It's territory marking and nothing to do with being spayed or not. Exactly the same with some neutered Toms. All you can do is clean up after them. I would stop paying wasted money to your vet.

Are you speaking from experience Anne? Does it eventually stop?

Indeed as long as a UTI problem has been ruled out as for the different food and the metacam....I'd have told my vet where to go.

Unfortunately it is a problem, generally in multicat households that the more insecure cats can spray, hopefully it will settle down, make sure you use a bio washing powder mix or suitable cleaner

I use plain white vinegar most of the time followed by the pet odor killing formulation of Fabreze.

Most of the time it is a behaviour modification issue, which is why it's so vexing. My current princess also scent marks by pawing doorways and bannisters. Unfortunately she's in a competition with an older female cat, so it's going to be an ongoing issue.

But your vet isn't wrong to check for an underlying cause. Some cats will spray if they have cystitis and want to let you know about it. I had a male once who would pee on the floor at my feet because he knew he'd get my attention that way.

Cats are weird. It sounds like maybe yours is bent out of shape by the arrival of your baby. In which case she should grow out of it if you pamper her some.

Good luck! It's a frustrating problem, especially when kitty is a little sweetheart the rest of the time.

My male Siamese has been wearing on my bed.i have sprayed the spot where it happens. I now put a babies waterproof covered sheet on the bed. And try and keep him out of there.

Just an update to this. Polly has upped the ante and is peeing on various things a good 3-4 times a day. Sometimes she'll actually surprise us and go in her litter tray but more often than not she's spraying on walls, sofas, the TV stand, the headboard of the spare bed, my changing bag, the floor and the curtains! The other day she actually stood in her (clean) litter box, lifted her bum and sprayed outside of the box and onto the wall?!

Anyway, one of my best friends has very kindly offered to temporarily re-home her until my daughter gets a bit older. She can lavish attention on her and will treat her like a princess I am certain. The only problem is that she lives 4 hours away now & Polly hates car rides to the point where she pants and wails the whole way. Is there any kind of calming medication I can use??

Also, does anyone know what I would do about the insurance? Do I just leave it in my name or should I switch it?

Your vet can prescribe a tranquilliser for the trip. That's a shame that she has to be rehomed, but short of a cat shrink, there's probably not a lot you can do for that level of jealousy.