This
marking is different from normal territorial spraying activity
because they are responses to challenges (these challenges may
be real or perceived).
The
identification of the threat in this case was the problem, as
there had been no recent changes to the family home to spark off
the behaviour. It was likely therefore that there was an accumulation
of a number of small and seemingly insignificant influences. The
emotional threshold of each cat is different and sometimes, the
most trivial of influences such as the smell on a plastic bag
can start a spraying episode in a highly sensitive feline
Given Phoebe's past, she fell into the category of highly sensitive.
It was apparent that Phoebe liked to spend much of her time outdoors
and paid a lot of attention to spraying in the garden. The owners
had had a bird aviary built shortly after they had moved to the
property and this was the most likely cause of Phoebe's angst.
The geographical locations of the pieces of furniture sprayed
by Phoebe meant that she was sensing a threat from outside, for
example. the number of cats paying attention to her garden (due
to the presence of the aviary). She then responded accordingly
when these threatening presences (smells) were brought into her
home via shoes, bags, etc by her owners.
Treatment
and Progress
A
number of recommendations to the family who were all extremely
co-operative and willing to make changes (this is the most important
element of any successful behaviour therapy).
The owners were given time to implement the changes and after
3 weeks, told us that even though not all of the recommendations
had been implemented at that time, Phoebe had stopped spraying,
was more at ease in the home and around her owners and had even
sat on the arm of her owners chair.
