Inappropriate urine marking in cats is often stress-driven and responds to environmental management that addresses the underlying anxiety rather than punishment.
Urine marking reflects underlying anxiety or stress in affected cats - the behavior is a symptom of psychological discomfort rather than a behavioral problem to be suppressed. Punishing marking worsens underlying anxiety and the behavior it triggers. Effective management identifies and addresses the stressor: reducing inter-cat conflict through resource provision, managing visitor exposure for anxiety-prone cats, and using pheromone therapy to reduce ambient stress. Cats who stop marking after appropriate environmental management have had their welfare improved, not just their behavior modified.