Cat question

I have an indoor cat, always been indoor since she was born. She will be turning 12 in March. She has started backing up to the corner by our front door and a corner over by where I leave my work bag and backing her butt up and lifting her tail and squirting pee onto the wall, which stinks like all get out.
Anyway she has never done this before and I was wondering what has maybe made her start doing this and why do they do this and what the heck can I do to get her to stop? :taz:
She is almost 12 like I said and never was spayed since she has always been an indoor cat.

Any help or advice will be greatly appreciated
Thanks

Sounds like she is making territory. I think getting her fixed would be the only solution I can think of.
But I'm no pro at cats, thats for sure!

She's an older cat. Older cats tend to change a bit over time. You may want to get her fixed, but due to her age it's a higher risk. Also it may or may not solver her spraying issues. When I was growing up and my mom had a bunch of cats, she use to put that foil down and when a cat walked in it, it's crinkle and make a noise witch they didn't like. Also they sell stuff in pets store that is supposed to work and deters then from that area.

Female cats usually don't spray.

Sounds like a Urinary Tract Infection.

One of my female cats started doing something like that at about age 10. Come to find out all I needed to do what change her food. Sometimes it's a simple change that you can make to correct it, type of food, change to filtered water, type of kitty litter, etc.

My big girls are now 13 and 11, and we have a little stinker male that's about 6 months..... boy does he like to make the girls mad!! lol

Whenever an animal has a drastic change in temperament or behavior, it calls for a vet visit. I can think of several things off the top of my head that it may be, but I would def take kitty to the vet to have tests run.
Has anything changed in the house lately, like her food/new people or animals come in?

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Originally Posted by coldbloodaddict

Female cats usually don't spray.

Sounds like a Urinary Tract Infection.

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Actually, female cats can and will spray just as much as males, especially if there is another female around that they feel the need to mark their territory. It's possible another cat is in the neighborhood and spraying outside, which could trigger your cat.

I suggest a trip to the vet though because a UTI is a possibility. Getting her spayed now may not be the best since she is older. A lot would depend on her health which the vet can assess. I can't see how you lived for 12 years with her going through heat cycles..that would drive me batty! :rolleye2:

Along with this, make sure you clean any area she sprays on with an enzyme cleaner such as Nature's Miracle. Even if it looks clean to you, without using something to neutralize the proteins the cats can and will continue to mark the area.

Ask your vet if she is a good candidate for surgery, and if so I would get her spayed pronto. At this age, she is much more likely to get mammary tumours, and spaying will help slow that down (females spayed before their first heat have an almost zero risk of mammary tumours). Age alone is not reason to dismiss spaying her, if she is in good physical condition. My now 17 year old cat has been under anesthesia once a year for the last four years for dental work, and he does fine with it. As long as you have a good vet and obey the right safety protocols, there's no reason not to.

Females can and will spray, and it often behavioral....but behavioral changes can be caused by medical problems.

I would get a full CBC and blood chemistry panel run, check for thyroid problems and high blood pressure (which can cause dementia-like behaviors in cats), and a urinalysis...for starters.

Nature's Miracle is good stuff, Odoban is another cleaner we used in the kennel that is good on urine odors. I also swear by Equalizer, which is an aerosol cannister and works great on carpets.

You might also try getting a spray bottle of Feliway and using it to spray all the areas where she is currently marking. Sometimes it works and sometimes not. You will need to reapply it every few days.

Urine marking in cats is one of the most frustrating problems to solve. I have one who is mostly good, and every now and then will act up...he's done it in in baskets of clean laundry, on my bookbag, and once we caught him peeing into the toaster! Blech! Good luck, and let us know of anything helps.

The toaster? That is one determined cat. My neutered male Cooper will happily pee on leather thus, no leather furniture, besides that he's only pee'd outside the box if he deems it unsanitary.
Shiloh however, the little black kitty in my avatar, has pee'd on clean clothes though it now seems he's grown out of it at a year and a half.

My brother's female cat started spraying, they got her spayed and it stopped. That's the only experience I have to offer reguarding the spraying issue.

Determined indeed. He's only got one hind leg, so the only way he can get on the counter is to hook his front paws over the handle on the oven door, and then lift himself up. He has a lot of issues, much of which I think is related to his amputation surgery and difficult recovery as a baby.

Needless to say, we tossed the toaster. I couldn't think of a way to ever make it clean enough that I'd eat anything out of it. I'm just glad he didn't electrocute himself doing it.