What is the difference between elimination and urine marking in cats ?
The cat emits urine in two different ways :
¤ The elimination
When he goes to the litter, He sniffs the substrate, turns on itself, squats and then eliminates in this position, this before overwriting its urine and its excrement.
This elimination behavior is to differentiate from urine marking.
¤ Urine marking
It is used by cats to communicate.
It consists of the emission of a small jet of urine on a vertical support, to ten centimeters of soil :
The cat mark the place he wants to score, sniffs… He then climbed on his later projects and small urine jets as high as possible, while kneading the ground with its front paws and jolting, tail up…
Urine marking can be
– territorial : it then allows the cat to mark and delimit the space by issuing urine jets in several locations
– sexual : in this case, urinary spots are found near housing issues.
At the age of puberty (worms 6 month), chat often makes the practice sexual marking in the house or apartment.
Castration performed early after the onset of this type of urine marking allows to eliminate this behavior certainly "normal" but unappreciated owners…
On the other hand, the occurrence of a sudden elimination in inappropriate places or a urine marking can reveal discomfort to the animal.
This dirtiness disorder is so often associated with other symptoms (aggressiveness, excessive grooming, Anorexia, bulimia, diarrhea, vomiting, cat who complains when trying to urinate…)
These behaviours are then at all normal and we should talk to your veterinarian to find the origin.
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The distinction between urine marking and elimination in inappropriate places can be of great help in finding the cause of a urinary disorder.
It is therefore imperative, when uncleanness, well describe your veterinarian to the circumstances in which the urine is issued, in any amount, on what media type (big puddle on the floor, small jet of urine on a wall or cabinet, in the same place or, on the contrary, dispersed throughout the house…)…
In the same way, feel free to talk with him about anything you could have seen your cat, even if it seems, you think, have no connection with the urinary disorder (cat that always seems fearful, cat aggressive, cat that suffers from frequent diarrhea, cat drinking lots…) because these can help highlight an anxiety disorder, a developmental disorder or a general disease that could explain the urinary problem.