Reasons for spraying?

[JamBray]

Last night as I was in my office talking with my friend on the phone, my older cat came in and walked around a small table I have in there, and then proceeded to spray it! :eek: I was in shock! I have had him for 10 years, and he's never done anything like this (he did once try to spray our Christmas tree one year, but got to him before he did it and he didn't try it again). Now, I have some boxes in there (as I'm going to be moving next week) that I brought in on Monday, but I figured if he was going to spray anything it would be those, not a table I've had in that room for over 5 years. Does anyone know what might have caused this? And is there a way I can prevent it from occuring again? I'm just so confused.

[jesvet]

My male cat doesn't spray on a regular basis, but if we have anything in the house from my MIL (who owns cats) he'll spray that, or things around it that may smell cat-like. It's weird. And annoying. I'd try moving the boxes.

As an official note it is never a bad idea to have a vet checkup as well, as often medical issues can cause inappropriate elimination as well.

[JamBray]

Thanks Jes. Well I've been keeping a pretty sharp eye on him when I'm home and he's in that room, and he hasn't done it since that night, so I'm not sure what that was all about. Hopefully this won't happen again, but if it does (there or in our new place) I'll definitely get him checked out since it's so out of character for him.