# Male Cats, Urine Odor and Spraying



## cmw0829 (Nov 23, 2008)

We've been looking to adopt a second cat and have seen a number of males that interest us. Many which are more affectionate than the females. Until now, we've only had female animals and I have been nervous about male cats in particular. And even though we're entering kitten season, we're not keen on having a kitten and would rather adopt an animal that won't jump off the shelf - so to speak.

I've done a bit of reading - neuter by 6 months so they don't start spraying, etc.

But I still wonder:
- I understand that some might even spray after that - any experience with this?
- If not neutered by 6 months, and the cat has no history of spraying, will it spray? Esp. if coming into a house that already has a cat? Of course, depending on its circumstances, you might not know it's history
- Is the urine odor of a male still strong after neutering?

Any other words of wisdom? 

Thanks in advance, Cathy


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

Well I guess if you look at this forum it's a pretty good indicator....we have many posts about inappropriate peeing, whether due to urinary issues or behavior, about both male and female cats. But posts about neutered males engaging in actual spraying are few and far between. I would say it's a minor concern....it's possible, but not very likely. Inappropriate peeing from either sex is more of a concern than male spraying in my opinion.


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## OctoberinMaine (Sep 12, 2006)

I can speak for my one and only male cat, who hasn't sprayed or had any litterbox issues in the year we've had him -- and that's in spite of being in a house where a previous cat, a female, peed all over everything. If there was ever a house where a male might be tempted to spray, it would probably be ours.


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## Luvkitties (Jan 22, 2009)

I can tell you about my two male cats, but it's only my personnal experience! 

When I adopted my first cat, he was 3 months and a half and already neutered. He never sprayed and his urine doesn't smell strong.

My second cat was 8 months when I adopted him and he had been neutered at 7 months. He never sprayed even though we have another male cat but his urine smells really strong. But he only goes in his litter box so we just have to walk by quickly to escape the bad smell so it has never been a problem!  I really don't know if it's because he had been neutered late, I don't have many experiences with cats!


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

As male kittens get older and reach sexual maturity, the testosterone increases in their body and I feel this is one of the causes of strong male urine odor. After you've had your male cat neutered, it takes a while for the large amounts of testosterone in their system to dissipate.
However, when I took in Floofy last year, he was about 10mo old and his urine odor was so strong....he was closed in the bathroom and it woke me out of a dead sleep and I had to get right up and scoop his litterbox to get that odor out of the house!
Luckily, he was being neutered the next day, and when he came home I noticed a definite decrease in his urine odor that gradually decreased over time as to be as unremarkable as our other kitties' urine.


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