Cat owner posts face to stop pet’s urine marking

The strategy draws laughs and sparks discussions on neutering.

To prevent his cat from urine marking at his home, a cat owner employed a strategy which he found effective—stick his printed face on the furniture.

On the Facebook group CAT LOVES PHILIPPINES, a user posted about how whenever he was not at home, his dominant male cat often did territorial marking by urinating at various places.

“Worst place ay sa lagyan ng mga Plato at gamit sa kusina,” he said.

He continued that his cats—four males and one female—were afraid when around him because he usually disciplined them. However, they behaved differently when he was not present, especially his dominant male cat.

“So far so good ginawa ko. Hindi na naihi dominant male cat ko sa ginawa Kong strategy,” he added, showing photos of his printed face taped on the plate dispensers at his kitchen.

In a follow-up comment on his post, he updated that as of day 4 since implementing the strategy, there were still no urine traces on the usual places where his cat did them.

He explained that the key to the strategy’s effectiveness is to impose dominance in the home.

“For example.. kapag naabutan ko nakain Ang mga bata at nasa lamesa lahat ng pusa.. Isang loud vocal ko lang na Out or Alis na may kasamang angry face, alisan lahat Sila sa lamesa,” he commented, “[D]apat Ganon kayo kadominant sa kanila if gusto nyo na m[a]ging effective Yan[g] picture nyo.”

He added that he did these things because it was unhygienic to eat with the cats, as fur and germs might end up on the food.

The user’s post has since mainly gained ‘Haha’ reactions, receiving playful comments like “kahit sino naman matatakot talaga jan,” and “Boss pwede pasend ng pic maglalagay din ako ng ganyan baka sakaling effective din.”

One replied that they followed the poster’s idea, but had different results: “Sir ginawa ko din yang strategy mo, bakit ganun sakin? Inih[i]an din yung picture ko, grabe.”

While many comments recommended having the poster’s cat neutered as a solution, others replied that neutering was still not effective for some of their own cats.

“Sa nagsasabing ipakapon, di rin po sya 100% effective, 3 male cats ko lahat kapon, ung isa nakapon sya ng 1 y.o. na, ung dalawa bata pa lang nakapon na pero nagmamark pa rin sila ng territory huhuh,” one comment said, “and yes fave spot nila sa bahay [y]ung lalagyan namin ng plato tsaka ung pantry cabinet namin kaya every night kinukulong ko or sa garage namin muna sila, off limits sa kusina talaga.”

According to a study by Debra F. Horwitz from PubMed Central of the U.S. National Institutes of Health’s National Library of Medicine, urine spraying, which is synonymous to urine marking or scent marking, refers to urine deposited on vertical surfaces outside of the litter box while the cat is in a standing position.

Urine spraying is a common complaint that has increased due to the trend of keeping cats indoors, and has been cited as a frequent cause of surrendering cats to shelters.

Both male and female cats utilize urine spraying to attract mates, or as a response to social and environmental triggers such as stress.

The study also discussed that though neutering changes the frequency of cats’ spraying behavior, the procedure does not prevent it in all cats.

Addressing the said behavior involves various ways, like having the cat checked up to investigate underlying medical conditions.

Also, treatment can also include having several available litter boxes and keeping them clean, resolving social issues between resident cats, and addressing environmental triggers like the presence of outsider cats.

READ: