Cat advice needed...

[vettechick99]

This morning I stepped in cat pee.

Fortunately I have a cat. Mystery solved.

She started peeing on the carpet about 6 months ago...at least that's when I started noticing it. She could have been doing it for months before that.

She never had litter box issues...I could go a week without cleaning it. So now I clean it every few days but her habits are still strong.

And so is that pee.

So I started putting her in the bathroom with the litter box at night. Crate training of sorts. Seemed to work so I let her back out, but now she's back up to old tricks again. Is she destined to sleep in a small room with the litter box forever?

Any ideas or advice? It's not like I can catch her in the act (she's too slick). Or scold her when I do (she's a little dense).

And any products that work well to remove pet stains and smell?

Thanks, I'm kinda lost here. Dog training is much easier.

 

[Danauk]

One of my cats suddenly started peeing around the house too. We were advised to put bowls of cat crunchies where we had seen him pee as they will not go to the toilet near their food. Since we did this he has not gone to the toilet in the house (although we now have 10 bowls of cat crunchies dotted around the house!) As for products to get rid of the smell, we just used soap and water to wash the carpet, then some antibacterial spray and febreeze (don't know if you can get this in the USA) to make it smell fresh again.
I hope this helps, we found it did.

 

[minnie56]

I am having the same problem right now with one of my cats. The first thing you need to do is have a complete urinalysis done on her at the Vets. I did that last week....along with a Bladder x-ray in case stones were her probelm. All results were negative so we're dealing with a Behavioural problem here.

Basically, I was told to attempt at retraining her by confining her to a small room with a clean litter box for a few days.My cat has taken to peeing beside the litter boxes....even when they're clean....and on a towel that I have to now put on the laundry room floor and change multiple times daily!!! Who's training who here? I think she thinks her tushy is too good for litter!

If retraining fails...they say medications...sedatives are the alternative which I am not fond of trying.I think I will have to have my carpeting removed at some point and hardwood floors put in because if I remove the towels....then the carpet is the next best choice for her..

It is a dilemma and I wish you luck too!

 

[minnie56]

If it is one spot in particular you can also lay aluminum foil over it.For some reason cats hate the look and sound of foil when they walk on it so they don't!! But foil all over the house could be tricky!

Certainly will have the neighbours talking!

 

[vettechick99]

Great ideas! The cat food on the floor won't work b/c we have a dog who acts like a Hoover. If we deliberately leave food on the floor, she'll think we've lost our minds. But be so grateful we have.

I think I will have to confine her again (which I hate to do, but oh well).

 

[coliebird]

Take him to the vet. One of my cats had started doing that and it turned out he had diabetes and just could not control himself. We needed to get him on insulin and it really helped. He was able to make it to the litterbox.

 

[minnie56]

I hate confining mine too...they just don't know what they have done wrong and it breaks your heart

Do you have a small room? And you can go in often and give snuggles to her? Maybe every time putting her in her box? I am not sure how many people have success with it...a friend sent me an article from a Florida newspaper about a a Columnist that crated his cat for a month! Only space for food and litter....on the 1st day out...the kitty was back to it's old habits

The food all over wouldn't work for me either as I too have a dog that would think she had died and gone to heaven if we left food all over the place

Wish I could offer more...

 

[720L]

When my cat started doing that we found out he had bladder stones (not sure if that was what they were called)--but we didn't find out until he couldn't urinate anymore and he almost died!! I found him lying on the floor just looking at me poor thing! I felt awful because I had been yelling at him for peeing on the floor (and my brand new chair). He was at the vet for a couple days and the vet put him on a special food: Science Diet CD/L. You can only buy it at the vet. It has never happened again and he hasn't gone on the floor or chair again! Good luck--

 

[Rajah]

Those of you having this problem (especially if it's strong) -- have you taken your cat to the vet recently? Chances are pretty high it's an infection or bladder stones or something similar that needs to be treated.

 

[IceQueen777]

I have been reading these recent cat threads and have to say that I am concerned! I am now the owner of a cat for the first time (I usually have dogs), and I am worried that I will experience this problem. It seems pretty common to have urinating problems. Is there anything that can be done to help prevent this in the first place? Any special food to prevent the urinary tract infections? I have also read some threads lately about vomiting issues that seems to be common in cats. I have to say that I haven't had any of these problems with my dogs.

My husband was so against us keeping this kitten we found, but my DD wanted it so badly. He will really flip if it starts urinating around the house, especially since we are building a brand new house and getting new furniture.

 

[HollyJoy]

Maybe you should take her to the vet. It's possible she has a Urinary tract infection or kideny infection.

 

[minnie56]

Don't think ALL kitties do this!! I have 3 and the other 2 that live with her never, ever do this and she sets a pretty poor example! Most cats are very fastidious and clean providing their litter boxes are clean and readily available.

As for vomiting...cats throw up hairballs...that is a fact of life in the Feline world! They groom themselves so often the accumulated hair has to go someplace...relax...I am sure your sweet kitty will do fine!

 

[IceQueen777]

Thanks minnie. That's encouraging to know that only one out of your three have started doing this. It just seemed like a lot of people have been posting about this lately.

Speaking of litter and all that, has anyone tried the Littermaid boxes? They seem kind of neat.

 

[Amberle3]

I have 4 cats, one of whom has this behavioural problem.

I resorted to buying the small Bissel Green Machine carpet/upholstery cleaner thing. Best purchase I've ever made. I use it for cleaning so many things, and it sure is cheaper than renting a carpet cleaner.

I'll take the green machine to the area she's chosen and clean the heck outta it. Then I spray it with febreze, just to make sure.

My vet had said to put citris peel around places I wanted to keep the cats away from since (supposedly) they don't like the smell, but my cats just eat it.

Now my little peeing rascal also has a tendency to get urinary tract infections, so we feed her (well, all the cats now) the special PH balance cat food. We've started using the stuff from I think it's cat chow. Much less expensive that the brand the vet was having us buy.

My fiance hates the cat, ever since she peed on him one night. But she's just so sweet and cuddly. This morning I woke up and she had somehow burrowed under the covers with me and was snuggled up right at my side, her head on my arm. Now how cute is that? How can you get mad at something that cute?

 

[hockeymom7691]

Oh boy, I have the same problems. I do believe that my kitty is just behaving badly! He does use the litter box (when he feels like it) and also has been using the carpet in my computer room. This is the only room with carpet left in it so I might end up pulling it out, but I know that dear Ricky will find something else such a towel on the floor, etc left by my 13 yr old slob DS. He has also done that in the past.

Now here's the kicker - he also "poops" right outside of the litter box. He never does that in the computer room (thank goodness).

One of my friend's suggested putting a small litter box in that computer room and see if he uses it. It's definitely worth a try. One cat - two litter boxes. Oh My!

 

[minnie56]

Occasionally my little 'Miss' poops right beside her box too!!!

She did it the other day imediately after I changed all the litter in all 3 boxes! Go figure...

I have also tried just about every kind of litter you can imagine as well...that sometimes can be the thing that offends! Often unscented versus scented will fix the problem...but I alas am not so lucky as to have it be that simple

 

[shortbun]

haven't had this one with my cats but my sister currently has
bowls of catfood sitting on aluminum foil in 4 spots in her house.
I do recommend the vet thing just in case it's an illness.

 

[Danauk]

I also recommend taking the cat to the vet. Neither of my cats have had any urinary problems. Cheeky only started spraying around the house because he was marking his teritory (a new cat had moved into the street and kept coming into our garden.) As for being sick, my cats only do that outside (not very often). If a cat knows it needs to be sick it will eat some grass which does the trick. I guess that is why mine are only sick outside. My other cat Figaro has never sprayed around the house.

 

[KristaTX]

Wow. I just posted a thread about this last night http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=615218 . It seems that a lot of our little furbabies are having this problem .

Fortunately I don't have a dog, so last night I put several bowls of food around the house where my cat has peed. I hope this works . That was something I hadn't thought of. And I took the food bowls out of the laundry room (where the litter box is).