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Why is my senior cat pacing and spraying on one specific item?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Cat | Mixed Breed | Male | neutered | 10 years and 1 month old | 17 lbs

I have a large, 10 year old, longhaired, neutered male cat. He has been consistently pacing around and then spraying on my husband's work bag late at night. The pacing is very methodical and patterned (and creepy!). Both behaviors are strictly confined to the bag. My cat doesn't show any other behavior problems which seems to rule out cognitive dysfunction (my cats usually live healthfully through ~ their late teens). Despite being a seasoned cat lady, I'm at a loss. What could cause this?

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Jessica Keay, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on June 13th, 2017

It is possible your kitty is having some anxiety from an unknown reason and has decided to take it out on this bag! Or perhaps the bag has an odor that he is attracted to and now that he has sprayed it once it is more appealing to do so again/has become a habit. I would consider investing in some Feliway mulitcat pheremone diffusers (available at many vets and online), consider a calming supplement such as Composure for Cats or Zylkene, and blocking off the rooms where he is pacing/keeping your husbands bag elsewhere for sure to prevent the problem from happening. I may also consider starting some omega/fatty acid supplements in case this could be cognitive dysfunction (every cat is different so some behave differently at different ages) as we don't always have to have many symptoms of cognitive dysfunction for it to be present and the pacing/inappropriate urination can be related to this condition.

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