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→Treatment
==Treatment==
==Treatment==
Underlying medical conditions should be investigated and treated. Regardless of the cause for the marking behaviour, it is useful to increase available resources so that cats have easy access to them and perceive their core territory to provide a surfeit of the things that they need. F3 diffusers [Feliway] help to create a sense of core territory and can considerably reduce tension in cat groups. ''Soiled areas should be protected according to the guidelines in the box entitled ‘protecting property from urine damage] and on the handout in the appendix.'' This prevents soiling from becoming ingrained and harder to remove.
In the case of spraying caused by an external threat from cats, the perceived threat must be reduced and the boundary of the core territory strengthened. Basic changes might include installing an electronic coded cat flap so that outside cats cannot gain access to the home and the use of glass etch spray on windows. Glass etch spray is applied in several coats until the window is effectively opaque. Light will still enter, but it will be diffuse. This has several functions. It removes the opportunity for non-resident cats to use visual threats
[posture, eye contact] to intimidate resident cats in their own home. It also prevents the resident cats from using internal vantage points to threaten cats outside, and encourages them to go outside instead. This helps to prevent reactionary spraying on areas around the window, which are intended to be a deterrent to the outside cat. Glass etch is not needed on all windows; only those which are known to be used as vantage points by indoor cats or are associated with areas of spraying or provide outdoor cats with a view indoors. It may be removed after marking has stopped for a period of 8 or more weeks, and can be shaved off the window in strips using a razor blade or scraper. This makes the change back to normal transparency more gradual.
The intensity of core territory facial and flank marks can be enhanced using F3 diffusers [Feliway]. These should be positioned in each of the rooms in which the cats spend a lot of time, and used at a rate of 1 per 50-70 m2. F3 may have no effect if used at less than this rate.
Having made the core territory safer, the aim is to enable the cats to reestablish a pattern of territorial defence outside. The cats should be given several vantage points that face into the garden but have no view back to the house. This prevents non-resident cats from using these perches to threaten the owner’s cats. Non-resident cats may have favourite places from which they use long-distance visual threats to intimidate the client’s cats. These should be
removed or altered so that they are unusable. Flat headed nails,8-10 cm long, knocked into the top of a fence about 6-8 cm apart will allow cats to walk along the fence but will prevent them from sitting comfortably on it. Pieces of sharp plastic doormat or plastic anti-burglar strip can be put onto the top of concrete posts or roofs so that perching is uncomfortable. If a particular perch cannot be made unusable, then the view from it can be blocked using fencing
or plants. Glass and other hazardous deterrents should not be used because these may cause injury to the cats.
Softwood posts make good clawing places and they should be installed at the edge of the territory so that the resident cats are able to leave appropriate territorial scent marks. Rub them against existing scratch places and then break up the surface with a wire brush to make them appear attractive to claw. It is also sensible to place claw posts or pads near to the cat door inside the home so that the cat can leave a territorial scent mark without spraying.
The cats should be provided with outdoor latrines around the edge of the garden, as these also help to strengthen territorial boundary and reduce the need for resident cats to cross other territories to find a latrine. ''Information about these ideas is included in a handout in the appendix.''
If indoor marking has been caused by conflict between cats in the home then comprehensive environmental enrichments should be provided. The aim is to provide separate factions with their own resources so that they can effectively live separately from each other whilst sharing the same domestic space. This ability to coexist without competition actually increases the likelihood that the cats will begin to associate with each other.
The mixture of facial and urine marking odours impairs the sense of core territory for the cats. Urine marks are also self-perpetuating because the marker feels compelled to refresh them periodically. ''For these reasons, it is very important to remove urine odours thoroughly using the cleaning methods detailed in the box entitled ‘removing urine odours’ and on the handout in the appendix. ''Scented products and those containing ammonia should not be used
to clean up spray marks because they may intensify urine odours and leave an objectionable smell that encourages over-marking. F3 diffusers may be used to intensify the core territory facial and flank odours, and these scents may be harvested from the cats and then spread around the house.
Group odour is crucial to maintaining a conflict-free multicat household and it is often apparent that relationship breakdown occurs when cats are unable to maintain this for themselves. In the same way as for treatment of '''inter-cat aggression '''in the household, it is possible to classically condition an association between the odour of a specific cat or cat-faction and the presentation of food or play ''[see figure 15.4]''. The scent is harvested from the facial and flank regions of the individual cats [or factions] onto separate cloths. The cloth from one individual or faction is then regularly presented to one of the other cats
before giving food or play, until that cat shows a positive response to that odour. That cat’s cloth is presented in the same way to the group or individual represented by the cloth. Initially the presentation of the odour may cause some alarm. However, after repeated presentation each cat should begin to rub against the cloth when it is presented, which indicates that the odour has been fully accepted. The body odour of the factions or individuals may then be merged, by exchanging odours between them ''[see diagram below]''. In
situations where there is overt aggression between cats it is best to isolate them for a period of 1 to 2 weeks and reintroduce them as if bringing in a new cat for the first time.
Marking sites can be made less attractive for cats in a number of ways, but it has to be remembered that, if the motivation is strong, this will merely displace the activity elsewhere. Deterrent methods must therefore be used in combination with other environmental modifications. Cats are generally reluctant to spray or midden close to feeding sites, so small bowls may be put close to spraying locations. This also increases the number of feeding places. Odour deterrents should be avoided, because these may actually draw attention to spray sites or produce odours that the cat will deliberately overmark. Sheets of aluminium foil or plastic can serve to protect the floor around a spray site and may deter cats from going there. These methods are best used for isolated locations where it is imperative that the cat does not spray, such as around electrical equipment.
Claw marking often exists as a sub-problem in indoor marking cats. Claw marks have a similar territorial function to urine spraying and the rate of claw marking may increase along with other forms of indoor marking. Providing cats with good claw marking sites that fit with their need to defend territory can be an effective way to displace the pattern of marking from spraying to clawing. Most owners find this desirable. Claw marking posts or pads may be positioned close to windows, doorways and cat doors. They are made more attractive by rubbing them against existing clawing sites and then raking them with a wire brush to simulate real claw marks. Bold vertical stripes made with a permanent marker pen will draw attention to the object as a suitable clawing place. Undesirable claw marking can be deterred by daily application of F3 spray, combined with the provision of a nearby alternative scratching place. ''Client information on the provision of clawing places is provided in a handout in the appendix.''