Cat peeing in house HELP

[Yogurt]

I have 3 cats. I'd rather have 0, but they are now my responsibility and I accept that.

One of them (I know who) is peeing in the house. It has happened about 6 times. It happened twice, I took her to the vet then stopped for a month and now it's happened 4 times this week. She will be returning to the vet asap. It's always in the living room every time but 1 on something soft like a chair or couch, not the floor.

She is around 8-10 years old
Regular vet visits
No uti
Same litter
Clean boxes
3 extra large boxes, 3 cats
No household changes

Any ideas? I am so frustrated and I do not want live in a piss house. ("Luckily" most recently it's been on the couch, which now has pee pee pads under a washable couch cover, but it has been other places).
Thank you

[sarenu]

Do you have a litter box in the living room?

Also, how have you cleaned the spots? I'd use an enzyme cleaner and baking soda to absorb as much as possible. The problem is once they start, they tend to keep using that spot.

[ladybrienne]

Get an enzyme cleaner ASAP and get that spot - get a good brand, there are plenty at the pet store. Once you’ve got the smell out, cover up that spot with something, a box, whatever. I’d add another litter box to the mix too, the rule is one box per cat plus an extra. Make sure there is one accessible on each floor of the house.

I also recommend those pheromone plug ins - feliway is one brand I’ve used. You can get them off amazon or at pet stores. Plug a few in throughout the house, particularly where the cat is peeing - they help relax them. It could be stress related.

I have been through this with an older cat, it’s incredibly frustrating.

[Yogurt]

Sept 23, 2018 10:08:26 GMT -6 sarenu said:

Do you have a litter box in the living room?

Also, how have you cleaned the spots? I'd use an enzyme cleaner and baking soda to absorb as much as possible. The problem is once they start, they tend to keep using that spot.

The items she peed on, I threw away (little kid soft chair, blanket). The couch had a drop cloth slip cover that i bleached. The one time on the floor I used lysol.

The living room has laminate flooring and is adjacent to the room with 3 litter boxes. I am going to go buy one more box.

[anonim]

Try Cat Attract litter.

[Yogurt]

Its also a one story condo, so small. Im going to order the pheromone thing if petco doesn't have it

[Yogurt]

Sept 23, 2018 10:21:19 GMT -6 ladybrienne said:

Get an enzyme cleaner ASAP and get that spot - get a good brand, there are plenty at the pet store. Once you’ve got the smell out, cover up that spot with something, a box, whatever. I’d add another litter box to the mix too, the rule is one box per cat plus an extra. Make sure there is one accessible on each floor of the house.

I also recommend those pheromone plug ins - feliway is one brand I’ve used. You can get them off amazon or at pet stores. Plug a few in throughout the house, particularly where the cat is peeing - they help relax them. It could be stress related.

I have been through this with an older cat, it’s incredibly frustrating.

Many reviews on amazon mention the feliway plastic diffuser melting and being a fire hazard or actually starting a fire. Damn.

[klw]

Feliaway also comes in a spray form. If the cat sleeps in a certain place, you can spray the area with it.

Have you tried getting all new boxes?

[klw]

And vinegar helps gets the smell out

[Yogurt]

Sept 23, 2018 10:49:14 GMT -6 klw said:

Feliaway also comes in a spray form. If the cat sleeps in a certain place, you can spray the area with it.

Have you tried getting all new boxes?

Oh, i will look at the spray. The boxes are very big, open top. You think the box could be an issue?

[robot]

We’ve had good luck with using an enzyme treatment to get rid of the smell and then spraying this on the spot the couple of times one of our cats decided that they wanted to not use their box Keep Off! Repellent For Cats & Kittens www.amazon.com/dp/B0030BE192/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_Ru8PBb1AS9BJ8 It smells pretty strong at first but fades fast (seems to keep the cat off for much longer than the scent lasts) and hasn’t damaged any fabric we’ve used it on.

Also I’ve had friends strongly recommend CBD oil for cats for bathroom issues, but I can’t speak to that. We did use it on our cats for a very long drive and it seemed to help them calm down.

[ladybrienne]

Sept 23, 2018 10:44:50 GMT -6 Yogurt said:

Sept 23, 2018 10:21:19 GMT -6 ladybrienne said:

Get an enzyme cleaner ASAP and get that spot - get a good brand, there are plenty at the pet store. Once you’ve got the smell out, cover up that spot with something, a box, whatever. I’d add another litter box to the mix too, the rule is one box per cat plus an extra. Make sure there is one accessible on each floor of the house.

I also recommend those pheromone plug ins - feliway is one brand I’ve used. You can get them off amazon or at pet stores. Plug a few in throughout the house, particularly where the cat is peeing - they help relax them. It could be stress related.

I have been through this with an older cat, it’s incredibly frustrating.

Many reviews on amazon mention the feliway plastic diffuser melting and being a fire hazard or actually starting a fire. Damn.

There are other kinds and there are calming sprays and collars - I’ve been using them a long time and never had this problem.

[sleepymonkey]

Did she have an X-ray at the vet? The only time my cats have peed outside of the litter box is when they had bladder stones. They don’t show up in a urine sample but show up on X-ray. If it is that, there is special food that can help dissolve stones (it they’re the most common type).

[loveswaffles]

Our one cat pees outside the litter box when his nails are due for a trim. Is your cat’s nails ok?

[Yogurt]

Sept 23, 2018 11:07:52 GMT -6 sleepymonkey said:

Did she have an X-ray at the vet? The only time my cats have peed outside of the litter box is when they had bladder stones. They don’t show up in a urine sample but show up on X-ray. If it is that, there is special food that can help dissolve stones (it they’re the most common type).

This was my next thought for the vet to check!

[Yogurt]

Sept 23, 2018 11:10:57 GMT -6 loveswaffles said:

Our one cat pees outside the litter box when his nails are due for a trim. Is your cat’s nails ok?

I'll get her nails trimmed when I bring her in to get checked for stones. Why not try everything!

[ladybrienne]

Yogurt if you haven’t yet I’d do research on petmd and other reputable sources before your next vet visit, just to arm yourself with information.

As I said before I went through this and I know how frustrating and tiresome it can be to deal with, the more you know, the easier your vet visits will be and hopefully you can save some money too. Ultimately this shit sucks and I feel for you.

[Deleted]

My parents cat does this to their loveseat every time she has a bladder infection.

[frantastic]

My mom had a cat that started peeing in the house and eventually had to be put on Prozac. (The cat. Not my mom.)

[Yogurt]

Sept 23, 2018 11:43:04 GMT -6 frantastic said:

My mom had a cat that started peeing in the house and eventually had to be put on Prozac. (The cat. Not my mom.)

She is extremely skittish. I've touched her like 10 times in 8 years. She cuddles my husband only. I think this is a possibility.

[Sunny41]

m.petmd.com/cat/care/evr_ct_ultimate-guide-to-eliminating-cat-pee-smell


have this issue with 1 spot in our living room. I found this article to be the most comprehensive and informative. Everything else is just forums like this with response. We cut out the section of carpet last weekend because she just moves next to it whenever we use enzyme cleaner (and pro cleaning). For our linoleum floor a soaked a rag in bleach and just laid it there for a while then scrubbed. That seemed to be the best for the smell.

[Sunny41]

Sept 23, 2018 12:25:22 GMT -6 Yogurt said:

Sept 23, 2018 11:43:04 GMT -6 frantastic said:

My mom had a cat that started peeing in the house and eventually had to be put on Prozac. (The cat. Not my mom.)

She is extremely skittish. I've touched her like 10 times in 8 years. She cuddles my husband only. I think this is a possibility.

She might benefit from the pheromone stuff. I think our active cat got calmer though on it

[hayleysmith]

So, our cat did this and it was both a behavior thing and then it was a health thing. For awhile we used the calming collar (you change every 30 days) and it worked really well. But then she became sick (bile duct carcinoma & some other crazy thing) and was peeing wherever whenever. By this time she was also puking quite a bit so she was mostly isolated to one spot in the house (we had to put her down in June).

I’d try the calming collar. The spray and diffuser (on top of being a fire hazard) you have to use in every single room for it to be effective.

[jinkies]

Well, the good news is you know which one it is. Can you restrict her to a smaller space for a while?

My cat peed in laundry baskets when he had crystals.

Now he started peeing on our shower mat, bc he's mad we got a dog. Removing the shower mat completely (hanging whem not in use) worked, but that's not really an option when the cat is targeting your couch.

Good luck! I hope one of the suggestions here work.

[Yogurt]

Sept 23, 2018 14:08:44 GMT -6 jinkies said:

Well, the good news is you know which one it is. Can you restrict her to a smaller space for a while?

My cat peed in laundry baskets when he had crystals.

Now he started peeing on our shower mat, bc he's mad we got a dog. Removing the shower mat completely (hanging whem not in use) worked, but that's not really an option when the cat is targeting your couch.

Good luck! I hope one of the suggestions here work.

Hmmm...i suppose I could trap her in either the laundry room or a spare bedroom. My reluctance with the laundry room is that it is very small and my reluctance with the spare room is that its carpeted. What is the idea, that it would keep her away from the couch?

[lifesaverz]

We had this problem with our 2 cats & tried various things for quite a long time before making them outside cats. The different methods did always work for awhile before the behavior would come back.

+1 to Feliway diffusers

Also have tried putting tinfoil over common repeat pee spots (they don’t like to walk on it)

Tried putting in a cat door so they could be indoor/outdoor, definitely helped for awhile

The vet said our cats had anxiety. We weren’t willing to do daily meds for it, but one of the other things we tried was making more “safe spaces” for them to go to help them feel comfortable. For example we created a little “step” on the wall to help the cats be able to climb up to the top of a section of cabinets, & put a little soft bed up there...they loved hanging out up there. We used L-brackets & a piece of wood that we covered with carpet to make the step on the wall.

By the time we made them outdoor only cats it felt like we had really tried everything.

[greykitty]

FWIW, I've used Feliway diffusers for, oh, over eight years (cat with IBD). I'm religious about changing out the refills timely and also using a new diffuser every six months. I get mine from Amazon. They don't work the minute you plug them in - I noticed my guys calming down maybe two weeks after I first started using the diffuser.

Cat Attract (Dr. Elsey) was a god send to me when my boy had crystals before the Hills C/D worked. Now I just use the regular Dr. Elsey litters. Also a good enzyme cleaner is very handy in general.

I'm definitely on board with a vet visit, and also adding a another box (one box per cat plus one additional box is generally recommended). Also, if they're getting up there in years, boxes with lower sides may be in order now. I get new boxes once a year.

Also maybe trial some new litters in one of the boxes and see if there's a preference. I did add a box to the area that seemed more popular for elimination. I have two cats and four 'large' boxes, which aren't that huge really. The boxes are separated. I'm in an 816 foot condo. I also have two cat trees and try to make spaces that each cat can access when they want space from the other cat and me. Umm, I scoop twice a day and clean the boxes out totally at least monthly.


Good luck - this is an incredibly frustrating time for you and the cat. Oh, if you get the Cat Attract litter (petsmart, Petco and pet supplies plus all carry it in my area), there's a little brochure of advice attached.

[Yogurt]

Omg the cat attract litter is $$$$$$$$$$$.
Fuck this sucks so bad.

[greykitty]

Re Cat Attract, maybe check the internet. I want to say at one point the Dr Elsey site offered a try one box free deal, and I always got at least $1.00 coupons off on each box. Yep, not the cheapest litter, but for a lot of people it worked extremely well.

Or, maybe just get some new litter and trial in one box (from what you're currently using) - some cats can get very particular regarding texture or scent.

I really would recommend getting new boxes if your current ones are more than a year old after/if the vet gives you an all clear on your cat's physical health. I get those 'large' boxes that are about $10 or so at pet stores or even Walmart/Target. My guys are getting up there in age, and I didn't want the high sides anymore for them.

[Yogurt]

greykitty I bought 3 bags from petco because desperate, but I can see it's cheaper on amazon. If it works, its worth it. Can I ask the rationale behind new boxes each year? Would an extremely thorough cleaning do the trick or....? Why new?