I'm ready to kill my cat.
Emma is 8 years old. Female, spayed. I have had her since she was 6 weeks old.

Tonight is the 5th night in a row she has sprayed up against the wall beside my apartment entrance. The door leads to a private stairwell, that then leads to the outside, which makes me doubt that there is another cat around that she can smell (though maybe possible?)

I have no clue what has started this. She has never sprayed before in her life, and now she is consistently doing it at night, shortly after I go to bed (I can hear her scratching so I find it almost immediately after she does it). Absolutely nothing has changed. There are two other pets in the house, a cat I have had for longer than I've had her, and a dog I've had a year. I have been in the same house since May.

I really don't know what to do about it. She is going into the clinic tomorrow to rule out that she has any type of urinary tract issue (which I highly doubt). Assuming it's not that, it's something behavioural, and I am unsure how to deal with it.

I know there are the products that you plug in like Feliway that apparently help with these issues, but I haven't heard a lot of success. There are also drugs like Amitryptiline and fluoxetine, but I'm unsure if I want to resort to kitty prozac.

Has anyone else had an issue like this and cares to shed some light as to how you dealt with it? I rent, and I cannot deal with a cat that is spraying.

Our cats scratch a doorway to try to get out. Why is she scratching? There must be some reason she wants to go out there, and then spays out of frustration? Would she do this no matter what time you went to bed? Have you changed your bedtime ritual that has put her off somehow? Have you ever checked to see what's out there at that time of the evening? (Maybe someone walks a dog and passes by that time every night?)

I'm betting she has a good reason for spraying.

Sorry I was not clear. She is scratching at the floor after she urinates, trying to cover it up.
And yes I have changed my bedtime ritual. She tends to wait until I've been in bed about half an hour or so.
And no I haven't. The door she is spraying by enters into a stairwell (that only I can access). At the top of the stairs then is a door to the outside, which opens up into a private patio (that only I access) in the side yard, then you walk along the side of the house to get to the driveway, then to the road (we are on the end of a culdesac)

Put a litterbox in the place where she sprays/pees (after cleaning the floor and wall thoroughly)?

She's mad at you for some reason.

Can't exactly, it's the entrance of my apartment and is very tight as it is. Unsure why she's mad, she's actually more affectionate than usual, and getting more attention than usual..
I'm going to do some behaviour modification techniques today. Going to put some tinfoil down and if that doesn't work, I'll move her food dish to that spot since it's smaller and shouldn't get too much in the way...
If that doesn't work, fluoxetine it is.

If that doesn't work, fluoxetine it is.
Nooooooooooooooooooooooooo, not that!! I'll ask hheath for ideas.

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooo, not that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'll ask hheath for ideas.

Can I ask why?

If I have to resort to medicinal management of it, out of the group (Clomipramine, Amitriptyline, Fluoxetine, Cyproheptadine, Diazepam, and Buspirone), it seems to be the most effective (we have never used it at our clinic, but after posting on VIN, that was the general consensus)

I guess I'd try everything I could think of to solve the problem before using meds. I suspect there's a simple explanation, but the trick is figuring it out. My cats have done some awful things (to my way of thinking), but they always had good reasons (to them -- and often something I could adjust).

Maybe I've been reading too much Temple Grandin?

I guess I'd try everything I could think of to solve the problem before using meds. I suspect there's a simple explanation, but the trick is figuring it out. My cats have done some awful things (to my way of thinking), but they always had good reasons (to them -- and often something I could adjust).

Maybe I've been reading too much Temple Grandin?

I want to try as many things as I can, but I won't be able to really deal with daily spraying for months while I try to figure it out.
I honestly have racked my brain, and absolutely nothing has changed. I haven't been working later than usual, the dog hasn't been harassing her, I haven't gotten anything new, I haven't changed her food, her box is changed daily. Everything has stayed static for a long period.

The only thing I can think of is MAYBE she can somehow smell something coming from outside. But usually if there is an issue with another cat spraying or wandering around outside, it's my male that gets his nose out of joint, and he isn't showing any changes in anything.

You haven't changed the litter to a different brand or type? I'm sure she's reacting to something different in her life.

Would you consider buying this:

Natural stress relief for pets - Rescue® Remedy Pet (http://www.rescueremedy.com/pets/)

Nope. Absolutely nothing has changed.
I haven't tried it personally but I haven't heard of great success with both that and Feliway. I'm sure I'll end up testing it out, though.

Is there a way you can shut off her access to that area? From what you described, it sounds like your apartment is set up very similarly to mine (except I don't have a balcony).

My cats have an odd fascination with my stairwell. They scratch at the bottom of the door, and try to bolt down the stairs every time I open the door. They don't tend to pee in front of the door, though, unless there's an issue with the litter boxes (they either need cleaned, or I have one cat that won't use the litter box if someone else is in either one of them).

Try scrubbing the area down with vinegar, to get rid of any lingering smell. It could be that she's waiting till after you go to bed because she knows she'll get in trouble, and is going back because of lingering smells.

The aluminum foil may not work. My cats like the sound it makes when they scratch on it. You can try bubble wrap, instead. The popping should scare her.

I wish I could block her access, but there is no door to close and I know she will just jump over whatever I put there to block her. :P
I've been cleaning very diligently and sure to use non-ammonia things. I have a blacklight I use to make sure it's all taken care of.

She absolutely despises tinfoil, she runs at the sound of it. I'll try it out but if it doesn't work I'll try the bubble wrap. She's pretty small though at just over 5lbs, so I wonder if she could even pop it haha.

For the record, I won't be mad if she sprays today. :P She was in for her annual and I wanted to rule out any medical issues so I did urine and bloodwork.
Emma is the most affectionate cat I've ever met, but at work she does a complete 180, and is by far the worst cat I have ever had to deal with. So in order to get anything done with her today we had to put her under anesthesia - can't even get close to her with a needle so she has to go in the chamber. I feel terrible but jesus she is a horrible cat at the clinic haha.

She gets one free spray tonight.

And just because, here's a picture of the little troublemaker.
http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/3563/n3047002861585326117.jpg

She's gorgeous. I love her colors. Ya, you can see the evil little glint in her eyes. ;)

I'd like to ask. Does she go outside at all or is she strictly an indoor cat?

Hmmm, looking at her cute little face, maybe she doesn't need a reason to spray...

She's gorgeous. I love her colors. Ya, you can see the evil little glint in her eyes. ;)

I'd like to ask. Does she go outside at all or is she strictly an indoor cat?

Strictly indoors, never been outside a second in her life.

It's the scratching that pops the bubble wrap, unless she's declawed.

I'm sad, I see no picture :(