How to Clean Feral Cat Spray Bad Smell

02.25.2013 - What to do about stray cats fighting and spraying - How many times have you laid in bed at night and heard the unmistakable racket of two (or more) cats fighting? It is now a common sound for many of our communities, and the biggest that we as humans face, is learning how to deal with the situation effectively.

There is a difference between stray cats and feral cats, and this is one of the most useful pieces of information you can use when trying to deal with the situation. A stray cat, for example, is one that has become lost from its owner's, for whatever reason. It could have been that the cat had run away or wandered off and got a bit lost. It could also have been that the cat was kicked out by its owner's after they realized they couldn't afford it. It might even have been neglected, abandoned or abused. These cats will be easier to deal with, and this is for two reasons. Usually, they will be much more responsive to human interaction, so will easily be “grabbed” with a bit of petting and some scraps of food. Also, because they had owners at one point, there is a good chance that they will have been spayed or neutered, (one of the things that usually stops spraying and fighting cats) and won't be the cats creating the noisy and rather smelly problem.

A feral cat is a cat that will have been born into the “street” lifestyle, either from two feral cats before it, or by strays that bear babies in the streets. These acts will be much harder to deal with and will resort more to their wild ways much more than average strays. These cats will fight and spray, and will not respond well to human interaction at all. They will usually just run off before you have even had the chance to pull leftover food scraps out of your pocket, or will hiss and gnarl at you until you leave them alone.

There are a couple of different approaches that you can take for the whole spraying/fighting behavior of stray cats. Firstly, - what kind of cat are you dealing with? If you can approach it, there is a good chance that it is a stray and not a feral cat, and therefore wit a bit of investigative work and some time taken on your part, you can usually find the original owner, or at least take it to the shelter to get new ones.

A feral cat will be harder to sort out, but with new TNR or CNR programs, (basically trap the critter, neuter it and then release it) you will have taken away the hormones that causes them to spray or fight in the first place. This is a great program for many reasons – it minimizes the babies being born into the wild, thus lessening the stray cat problem. It also ensures that any feral cats that could potentially be tamed are tamed and hopefully adopted by new owners.

There are plenty of repellants on the market that are said to stop cats fighting or spraying, usually in the form of an electronic gadget or a spray, but in reality, these things will rarely work and can be expensive. If you are going to spend money on anything, at least spend it on a humane trap so that you can use the TNR/CNR programs to better your community.

Do it yourself: Visit my How To Get Rid of Stray Cats page for tips and advice.
Get professional help: Visit my Nationwide Pro Directory of wildlife removal experts.

For more wildlife stories, click my Wildlife Blog or click my below banner to hire a local trapper.

Cats may seem like simple creatures. However, there are things they do that can cause quite a mess. One of those is when they “spray” which is a common behavioral problem in cats. Usually, the reason a cat sprays is to send signals to communicate with others.

Simply, spraying is a cat's way of making scent signals to let others know different things. A few of the most common reasons are (1) marking an area as their territory, (2) finding where to go when they get lost, and (3) looking for a mate. With feral cats, this is something that is done normally.

Also, take note that there's a difference between a stray and a feral cat. Strays are often those who have gotten lost, while feral cats are those who have adapted to living in the streets or the “wild”. This means they are less trained and tend to act more hostile towards strangers or people in general as they see them as threats.

Because of this, it would be much harder to keep them from spraying in your area. You can ask for the assistance of animal control in your area to deal with this for you. However, there are a few ways you can handle the problem yourself.

Listed below are what to do to clean up feral cat spray and how to keep the scent away:

Locate where the feral cat sprayed.

Cat spray emits a really strong scent, which may make it hard to locate where the source is. You first need to find where this is coming from and identify where it's on a certain surface or a specific object. Clean the surface or wash off the object.

Once you've found this, thoroughly clean the area or the object. To do this, you can use enzyme-containing laundry detergent and then rinse it off. Mix a solution of 50% white vinegar and water. Then spray this over the area or item that has been sprayed on. Add rubbing alcohol to the area or item and then let it dry. If needed, you can opt for stain and odor removers to get rid of remains. The goal is to get rid of the scent as much as you can. Avoid using an ammonia-based cleaner.

As much as possible, don't use ammonia-based cleaners. Urine contains ammonia which could potentially cause the feral cat to keep coming back to the spot. Use air fresheners, deodorizers, or similar products. If the scent still feels too strong in the air despite all the cleaning, cover it up with other scents for the meantime. The priority is to get rid of the source to keep the cat from returning, but the smell may still linger in the air. Try out other ways to clear out the smell after the cleaning has been done completely and thoroughly. Use repellant to keep the cat from coming back or safely get it neutered. Lastly, you will need to keep the feral cat from finding their way back to the same spot. You can do this by making use of cat repellant or getting rid of what may possibly be attracting them to your area. Another is by using a live trap to capture the feral cat and have it neutered in community vets or animal control, and have them freed afterward.