Your Cats Territorial Rights

Your cat will instinctively create a social and hunting territory for itself. This is mainly done by an unneutered male cat, as he will want to breed. He may extend his territory to over 7 miles from his home to maintain his position in the social hierarchy and giving him priority access to any females by fighting. His life can be violent and short.

An unneutered female cat can fight as well, she develops and defends her hunting territory. From 4 months of age she will attract male cats in the neighbourhood and will regularly become pregnant.

For the neutered cat, its own home and garden will be its territory. An unneutered cat will challenge local cats as it extends its territory. Kittens that are brought up together, will live quite happily unless there are too many cats in the house, which may result in territorial marking. If you introduce a adult cat into a home that already has cats, you may need to take care and give the cats some guidance. In neutered cats, territorial rights may be shown by loud call, body language, and the establishment of non-violent dominance. But if the cat is unneutered this can be very different.

A cat will mark the boundaries of its territory with a spray of concentrated very strong-smelling urine. It will also do this if it feels threatened, for example if there are strange visitors or animals in the house. The most spraying comes from unneutered male cats, although female cats will spray as well, especially if they are on heat. Neutered cats do spray as well, but it is usually not as pungent.

In extreme cases they cat will mark by dropping faeces away from the litter box. This is a problem and the cause of this should be found. A cat will keep remarking its territory to reassure itself. The owner may be wise to check with the vet for any medical advice. Normally attention and affection will solve the problem. But should the problem persist it may be worth contacting an animal behaviourist.

Neutering your cat will reduce the cat's urge to show its territorial rights. The territory will stay in and around the home. Neutering a male cat will mean the hormones that fuel the sex drive will be removed. Ideally this should be done at about 4 months of age. It is done under general anaesthetic. No stitches are needed and they normally recover with in 24 hours, and there is no traumatic effect on the cat. However, in the long term, the cat's territorial, sex and hunting behaviours will change. A female cat is neutered by the removal of her ovaries and uterus, so that she can not become pregnant. She will on longer come on heat and will not attract the local males. The operation should be carried out at about 4 to 5 months of age. Once the cat has recovered from the anaesthetic she is normally fine. Long-term she will be more friendly.