Table 1.
Risk factors for a urinary marking problem in the home and associated data from a review of the literature.
| Risk factor | Study reference and population characteristics | Metric:OR (CI) | Significance | Analysis used to extract risk factor |
| Gender / neuter status | ||||
| Male | (34)(n = 134 male neutered, 152 female neutered cats) | OR = 2.30(1.29–4.11) | p = 0.004 | Case series prevalence comparison vs female neutered |
| (1)(n = 19 marking, 30 latrine behaviour cats) | OR = 4.83(1.37–17.09) | p = 0.012 | Case series prevalence comparison (male versus female) | |
| (17) (n = 47 marking cats recruited for intervention study) | p < 0.001(1-sided test) | Enrolment characteristics comparison with population of pet cats in California | ||
| Castration of males | (35)(n = 23 marking cats subject to castration) | 20/23(87%) reduce | Case series comparison (pre and post castration) | |
| Early-age (<5.5 mo) castration in males | (36) | OR = 0.79 (0.64–0.97) | p = 0.002 | Retrospective study, OR for 1 mo reduction in neutering age |
| Outdoor access | (17) | 12/47 (26%) | Owner reported significance to problem | |
| Reduced cleaning regime (litter box and marks) | (17) | p < 0.001 | Case series, within subjects comparison based on intervention effects | |
| Medical-related conditions | ||||
| Urinary abnormalities | (37) (n = 34 marking cats that use vertical surfaces only) | 13/34 (38%) | Case series, within subjects comparison | |
| (38) (n = 58 neutered marking cats, n = 39 controls) | p > 0.05 | Case-control, comparison based on urinalysis results | ||
| Lower urinary tract disease | (1) | OR = 0.71(0.20–2.55) | p = 0.604 | Case series prevalence comparison with latrine cases |
| Social-related | ||||
| Inter-cat antagonism | (17) | 49% outside the home 28% in the home | Owner reported significance to problem | |
| Multi-cat household | (1) | OR = 2.67(0.63–11.35) | p = 0.175 | Case series prevalence cf latrine cases |
| (17) | p = 0.032 (1-tail test) | Cross-sectional comparison based on enrolment characteristics |
OR (CI) = Odds ratio and 95% CI. Results in bold have been calculated by the current authors from the available data, rather than authors of the original study. Blank cells indicate data not available.