NBR: Need advice on how to deal with my asshole cats!

CamrynnsMommy

So I have two Himalayan brothers, both shy of 1.5 years. We had issues with one of them peeing outside of the litter box (mattresses, floor, clothes, etc.). We got them checked for UTIs, all was clear. We bought them sepeate litter boxes, that we clean constantly, he still kept peeing. So we got them fixed in hopes that it would correct the problem, well it apparently hasn't solved the problem because one of them is still peeing outside the box.

What can I do? I don't want to get rid of them, but I can't handle cat pee everywhere, it grosses me out.

And for your viewing pleasure, here are my asshole cats:

getitdone

My friend had this issue with one of her cats. She said she added an additional litter box to the house and it solved the issue. I do not have cats so I have no first hand experience but this is what she suggested.

lv2011

Did you replace whatever was being peed on outside the box? If a cat has done it repeatedly and can still smell it, they'll continue to pee there regardless of all your efforts. There are very few things that will completely eliminate the odor of cat urine, so it's often best to replace whatever it was that was urinated on. Unfortunately, sometimes that can get expensive. Also, try making sure there are more than two entrances to the box and put double-sided sticky tape in the area that was previously peed on. Something about sticky tape makes cats nuts and they'll avoid it- but you don't want them to avoid the box.

Good luck! I know how frustrating that can be.

Xath

A few suggestions I've seen (in addition for checking for UTIs, which you've already done)

- Have a number of litter boxes equal to n+1, where n is the number of cats you have.  If you have a multi-level home, make sure there is at least 1 litter box on each level.

- If you have multiple cats, make sure one cat hasn't asserted dominance over the other, and is preventing one from using the litter box.

- If cat still pees outside of the litter box, scoop for clumps twice per day.  Once per week, empty and scrub the entire litter box.

- If the cat is peeing in a consistent spot, move a litter box to that spot.  Gradually (over weeks) move the litter box inch by inch back where you want it to be.  

- Have you changed litters recently?  Or has your litter changed scents or formulas?  Try changing the litter type and see if it makes a difference.

- If it keeps happening, check for UTIs or uninary crystals.  If the cat associates the litter box with pain, he may go outside of the litter box.  

Good luck.  Nature's Miracle is supposed to be really good at getting the pee smell out.  

keeumm

Is this a recent thing? We have 2 cats, and one of them has been pooping outside of the litter box. It's on the basement floor, so it can't be replaced, but it's annoying as can be. We think that it's because there are a bunch of changes with new baby stuff being brought in, and our moods/patterns have been thrown off completely. The female cat has also become very attached to me, and has started sleeping in the baby's crib (to our dismay). 

Just wondering if all of this funky cat behavior is related to baby and they are seeking our attention. Maybe the same for yours?

CamrynnsMommy

@lv2011 We've gotten rid of the mattress that was peed on and thrown away the clothes, now he's just peeing in random spots on our upper level. We've used a black light to find the areas he's peed and used the Nature's Miracle pheromone spray and then shampooed the carpets.

@gertiebarden. Thanks!

Xath

keeumm said:

Is this a recent thing? We have 2 cats, and one of them has been pooping outside of the litter box. It's on the basement floor, so it can't be replaced, but it's annoying as can be. We think that it's because there are a bunch of changes with new baby stuff being brought in, and our moods/patterns have been thrown off completely. The female cat has also become very attached to me, and has started sleeping in the baby's crib (to our dismay). 

Just wondering if all of this funky cat behavior is related to baby and they are seeking our attention. Maybe the same for yours?

Try putting aluminium foil under the crib sheet.  The cat won't like the sound at all, and will hopefully learn not to go in there before baby comes.  

CamrynnsMommy

@keeumm, it's a fairly recent thing, we have one cat that's a lap cat, sleeps in my DDs bed or near it, the cat that's peeing is peeing in all of the areas the other cat usually lays or frequents, like literally peed on my DD and her brand new memory foam mattress. It seems to be a territorial thing which we thought would be remedied by getting them neutered.

kat8805

Or just torture him with one of these )
https://www.castlepaws.net/studpants.html

rainydayluck

I second trying a new litter for one box. Maybe try a different style of box too. They have they rounded ones that have little stairs going into them. Or maybe an open box or whatever is different. Maybe he had a traumatic event with his tail getting stuck in the door or something and if afraid of the box.
I may be making this up, but I want to say there is a product that you can spray or put in the box that makes it more attractive to pee in.
Is it just pee or pee and poop?

CamrynnsMommy

kat8805 said:

Or just torture him with one of these )
https://www.castlepaws.net/studpants.html

Too funny! That one cats expression is priceless!

busterbeagle

We spank. (Too soon?)

CamrynnsMommy

@rainydayluck Just pee.

CamrynnsMommy

busterbeagle said:

We spank. (Too soon?)

/dead

Mimaloo

Sorry I've got nothing other than this is why I don't have cats.  

TaylorHam86

One of our twice female cats did the same thing for months. Nothing worked for us. We ended up making her an outside kitty, which was very sad for me. Fortunately, she stayed close to the house and LOVED being outdoors. We got her a "house" for the front porch and always put her food and water there. I hope you find a solution!

That+One+Girl

Another thing to keep in mind is that cats are trainable like dogs and will do a behavior if they asociate something goo with it (treats/attention). It may help that when you can catch the cat going in the box, pee or poop, give him a high value treat (something he loves but only gets it when he used litter box) it can be a totally pita to keep that close on eye on him but once the cat figures out you want him to use the box it should help.
I second the #of cats+1= total # litter boxes (or one per floor whatever is greater) and to check that the litter has not changed formula along with keeping it super clean.

Good luck.

tbiscuit18

I have 2 cats and agree with all of the PP's suggestions. 1 of my cats was peeing outside the box all over the house and it literally took adding a litter box to every level of our house to get her to stop. I really think it might have been a bit of a dominance thing, since the other cat only uses the box in the basement, the other uses the rest. And my cats are old, so it's hard to tell what the heck their issues are half the time. 

Good luck! There is nothing worse than cat pee!! 

demofea01

What style of box are you using? It could be that your peeing cat has decided they hate the style of box you've got. I know some cats won't do anything with a lid and those dome ones can be claustraphobic to larger cats.

CamrynnsMommy

demofea01 said:

What style of box are you using? It could be that your peeing cat has decided they hate the style of box you've got. I know some cats won't do anything with a lid and those dome ones can be claustraphobic to larger cats.

We currently have a domed one and an open one. I've seen the cat that pees use both of the boxes.

After reading comments, I think one issue might be that both boxes are on our main level, not upstairs where he pees. We may buy a box and put it upstairs. We also changed litters to a dust free kind, but he peed on things prior to changing it.

EmilyGolden1

Are they neutered? Sounds like one may be trying to mark territory where the other one likes to sleep. Agree to litter pans on every level and try two different kinds of litter he may prefer one to the other

CamrynnsMommy

EmilyGolden1 said:

Are they neutered? Sounds like one may be trying to mark territory where the other one likes to sleep. Agree to litter pans on every level and try two different kinds of litter he may prefer one to the other

They are neutered.

Nmooney1

We had two indoor cats when I got PG with DD. One of them (who I had for close to 12 years at the time) started peeing and spraying through out the house: curtains, carpet and especially baby items. I. Tried. Everything!!
Love the cat to death (still have him!!!) but he got the boot and became an outside cat. Luckily we have a heated garage and stuff. He never did things outside of the catbox, so we assumed it was bc of the change with baby. He continued to do it even after DD got here, which was when I decided to try for the outside route.
I hope you figure something out!!!

Xath

Also, as cats get older they may develop arthritis and find it difficult to get in and out of a litter box with a high rim.

CamrynnsMommy

Update (sort of):  We decided to try the pheromone collar and putting a litter box upstairs where the voiding happens.  

kat8805

Good luck!

Asshole cats...

springbeduk2

There are lots of great suggestions above.  

Additional ones that have helped with one of our cats who sometimes pees outside litterbox (though now thankfully usually just on basement floor, knock on wood) - there's this kind of litter that comes in a red plastic bag about the size of 2 gallon milk jugs together - might be called Cat Attract ... may also have some Dr.'s name on it.  Anyway it has something in it that is supposed to attract cats to litterbox.  It's a bit pricey (like 20$) and only at pet stores but it does seem to attract our cat to the litterbox even with just a little mixed in.   Also at petco they have these little pouches of a litter deodorizer powder which also seems to attract our cat to the litterbox - again, just a little under the regular litter that he likes (yesterday's news) helps.  [of course, with dh in charge of litterboxes while I'm pg, he doesn't listen to these ideas and cat is peeing on the basement floor quite a lot ...]

Also - maybe try putting 2 litterboxes on the upper level (even though it's a pain) and try a totally different kind of litter (like, yesterday's news unscented, or the pine pellet one, or the crystals) in one.  The texture of regular litter hurts some cats paws.  You could observe if he shows a preference for one kind over the other.

Other suggestions:  If it is a territorial thing you might need to divide the house between the 2 cats.  My brother and SIL had to do this - for about 15 years - until the last territorial cat died and they finally have 2 that actually get along ok now!  It's a pain and only feasible with some house layouts, but maybe?  Also depends how determined the cats are to bother each other.  Bro and SIL's cats would stay separated with a baby gate even though of course most cats can jump that easily.  I think way back at the beginning though with a different dominant cat they had to have a real door.

Also - though this is very difficult with a small child - keep as many room doors closed as possible and try to have as few things of the sort the peeing cat has peed on before accessible in the areas that are open to him.

Another method I've read about but that we knew would never work with our cats - basically a variation on kennel-training like for dogs.  Keep the cat in a bathroom, similar small room, or an actual kennel-cage with just litterbox, water, food (if they usually have food available all day) and a rest/sleep surface or two.  There's some period of time to do this and some gradual re-introduction to larger territory but I don't remember the details of that part.  Would come up in a google search (that's how I read about it - several years ago though).

Good luck!

flutepharm87

We have this problem from time to time with our asshole cats. Here are some of the things that have worked for us.

1. As far as keeping the litterbox clean, we use clumping litter and scoop daily, change the litter completely weekly. When we change the litter, we wash out the box with bleach to completely get rid of the smell/pheromones before putting fresh litter in the box.

2. We got a plug-in with cat pheromones that we put in places where the cats usually pee. It's supposed to calm them down so they don't go outside of the box.

3. We use special cleaner (I can't remember the name, but it comes in a white bottle with a red cap and is sold in pet stores) that's supposed to eliminate the urine smell. If you get the smell up, they're less likely to keep peeing in the same spots.

4. With one of the cats, we had to put him on anti-depressants for a little while. This happened after the twins came home, he didn't adjust well to the new additions. Expensive, but it was only for a few months and really seemed to help.

rainbowsockmonkey

My parents have a cat that has a similar problem.  They used a pheromone collar, and also put him on some anti-depressants.  His issue also seemed to be that he wan't getting enough attention.  Their vet recommended playing with him every day for 15-20 minutes.  

Vinegar can also work help with lingering smells for him to continue marking.  I used vinegar water that was about a 50/50 mixture when i have problems with my female cats.  Stopped them from marking, and got rid of the smell.  

firebelle26

Not sure if this has been mentioned or not, but have you tried Feliway? They make a spray as well as a diffuser (like a glade plug in). It helps with vertical scratching (our problem with our cat), marking, etc. it also helps when a life changing event is happening like moving, a new baby, etc. Give it a shot, it's really helped our cats. Hope that helps!

CamrynnsMommy

firebelle26 said:

Not sure if this has been mentioned or not, but have you tried Feliway? They make a spray as well as a diffuser (like a glade plug in). It helps with vertical scratching (our problem with our cat), marking, etc. it also helps when a life changing event is happening like moving, a new baby, etc. Give it a shot, it's really helped our cats. Hope that helps!

We just bought the Feliway cat collar, fingers crossed it helps!

ASasquatch

Have you noticed any other stress behaviors with him? My guy occasionally gets really stressed out and will start peeing on things. We notice that he kneads a lot more when he's freaking out. For whatever reason sometimes they can be prone to anxiety and the peeing happens. Mine is presumed to have issues because the litter was separated from the mother a little too early. But anyway- If you're noticing other stress behaviors definitely talk to your vet. A 6 month stint on kitty prozac did wonders for him. Some cats have a really hard time breaking the anxiety cycle when they are exposed to something that freaks them out.
Definitely use the Nature's Miracle Urine Destroyer on anything he has peed on. It can be poured in the washing machine with clothes etc. and we have never had it stain anything.