NTTGPR: cat pee

itshumpday

Does anyone have any advice on getting a cat to stop peeing?! Facts: we have 3 cats and a dog. The cat who we think is peeing did it a lot when we were on vacation and not so much when we are home (only twice all summer). The dog is a year old and the cats don't like her but they all have places to get away and the dog isn't here when we are on vacation. The cat that might be doing it was adopted... He has 3 legs, is huge, and hops around slowly. He was fixed late in life because he was hit by a car as a stray and someone took him to get his leg amputated and get him fixed at an estimated age of 3. (He howls ALL night long as a bonus). He only does it on the carpet in two rooms so far... One of which will eventually be a nursery (thank you cat).
Getting rid of my dog or having a house that smells of cat pee are not options. He can't be an outside cat because of his 3 leg problem. HELP!

Edit: cars don't pee..cats do

Cythe

I've seen this on My Cat from Hell, but I don't remember what he said to do about it. Cats pee as a way of marking their territory. Do you have any cats only areas? Like cat trees or an outdoor area for them to go to?

Cythe

bibliothecary said:

Nature's miracle. Invest in the stuff. It worked for my ginger cat.

I can't decide if I want to make a ginger/soulless joke or not.

pippacricket

Vinegar is also really good at getting rid of the smell. 

When my female cat kept having accidents on my side of the bed (that was a fun time), I bought one of those keep off sprays and would spray it on the blankets. She hasn't done it since so either the spray worked or she finally took pity on me. 

catwine

how old is the cat? maybe he is peeing because of a medical issue. If he has no medical issues, maybe he is just super picky about the litter box.  Try giving him his very own box and make sure you clean it out often.  I've heard that cats can stop using their box if something startled them while they were in it (like the furnace kicking in ).

 My cat suddenly refused to poop in hers but once I started cleaning it out every day she went back to using it.  

mak7788

How many litter boxes do you have? The general guideline is one per cat. I have four cats. But when we had two cats they used to have a turf war in the one litter box. And even though they were both fixed they sprayed sometimes. Once we got multiple letterboxes the spraying stopped.

As PP said as well take to the vet to rule out any physical issues.

BillyHorrible

AnnaTTCat32 said:

@itshumpday,  have you had him to the vet to rule out physical issues?  Cats are pretty prone to urinary and kidney infections, so I would first rule out a physical problem.

That said, it definitely sounds like a behavioral issue based on when/where he does it.  Also, since he was neutered so late, it's probably his way of marking his territory, which is something tomcats instinctively do.  I've heard good things about Nature's Miracle as @bibliothecary suggested.  I would also close off those rooms where he has peed so he can't continue to mark them (otherwise he will), and also I would add some additional litter boxes in other areas of the house (if this is feasible).  Ideally a multiple cat household should have as many litter boxes as cats.

That's about all I've got (I used to be a vet tech)... Good luck!

These are my three main recs also.
1) Clean with enzymatic cleaner (like nature's miracle)
2) Check for underlying issue.
3) Add more litter boxes.  I've actually heard you should have +1, so if you have 2 cats, 3 boxes.

sthrncharmer

Stress can also be a cause of random urination. Every time something dramatic happens in our house, our female cat pees outside of the litter box. Using feliway and giving her more one on one attention while keeping her separated from the other animals helps. He may need more attention. You also might need to move the location of the litter box. Sometimes cats don't like there litter box to be in a heavily trafficked area.
Basically cats are fickle creatures

Bee1112

Have you changed anything about your house or schedule or anything? My moms cats per everywhere whenever something changes. Like when we moved across the state and stayed with my mom her cats started peeing on her bed because it was a disruption to their life.

dmsmth

get more litter boxes, change litter, get the cat checked out for uti.  Use enzamatic spray to get urine out.  and keep cat out of those rooms if you can or put something over the areas that he always pees on.  That will help break the cycle f he can't get there to pee. 

If he is overweight, make sure you feed less/give weight formula kibble.   If she is having a hard time getting around and frequents the rooms that she pees in, maybe its just too much for her to walk to the bathroom.

Habits in cats are hard to break.

csquid361

My cat started doing that and we thought he might be marking his territory for the wild animals that started coming closer to the house (woodchuck namely) but we took him to the vet and it turned out he has diabetes. We switched him from dry food to wet food and he no longer does it thankfully.

itshumpday

Unfortunately I have tried everything you guys have mentioned. He doesn't have any medical issues other than the missing leg. I can't close off one of the time because it doesn't have a door... Open floor plan. I'm not OK with cat pee in a house when I have children crawling around. Just not sure what to do. I might try the feel away collar when we go on vacation and see if that helps. It helped calm him when MH and I moved in together and introduced him to the other cats. Man I have too many cats. We have 3 huge litter boxes. We have a large cat tree but with his 3 legs he doesn't climb it well. Thanks for the advice. Hopefully he does better this vacation.

HippoTooth

You've gotten some great advice already but I'll toss in my 2 cents as well.

Since they have gone back to the same spot a couple of times, clean it really well with Nature's Miracle and then get a spray bottle with vinegar and water and spray it a couple times a day.  This will discourage them from going back there.  And no, your house will not smell like vinegar all the time.

Second, take him to the vet to be checked for underlying issues.  Sometimes if they start peeing in random spots it could be due to kidney issues.

Maybe the cat just needs more attention?  My ginger cat is "needy" to say the least.  When we got married and were packing for our honeymoon he decided to chew off half his tail.  I shit you not.  It was like a bloody massacre in house cause he just kept whipping it off the walls.  He was precribed prozac (well, whatever cat prozac is called).  He goes a little nutty every once in while when he doesn't get the attention he needs.

Sometimes they are just assholes, and they need to let you know who's boss.

Best of luck to you and I hope your kitty is ok.  Cat piss is the worst.

itshumpday

@apresmoi   They are all fixed.  And we have 3 huge little boxes. The cats all get along.  They don't get along with the dog. 

mustloveerica

Same advice as everyone else about taking him to the vet. We had a cat that suddenly stopped using the litter box (laundry baskets became her favorite bathroom) and it turned out she had diabetes. Once we got that treated she went back to normal litter box use.

Also speaking from experience, white vinegar does wonders for that cat pee smell in carpets. Soak the area with vinegar and let it sit a few days. Then go back over it with resolve or other carpet cleaner and the pee smell will be gone.

Hope that helps!

mamablue85

I don't have any additional advice other than what's been stated, but I feel your pain. Once they start it's hard to get them to stop. My cats are engaged in an endless piss war and it's a constant headache.