Baker, I’m sorry you’re having problems with your kitty - they’re ornery little creatures sometimes. But as other said, the best thing is removing the carpet. Save that, should the odor/stain remover that you’ve gotten not work, there’s also something called Nature’s Miracle that works wonders.
My own female cat keeps peeing in the bathtub - this is a brand new behavior, and at least she’s keeping it somewhere that it’s easily rinsed, but I’m not sure why she’s doing it.
I had a great deal of trouble once with a male that started urinating all over the house because he was upset when I brought a new kitten in. I tried many things but nothing seemed to help much. My vet recommended this spray and it really worked. It’s supposed to make the cat feel less stressed. My vet uses it at her office to reduce the aggression between the resident males. I don’t know if your cat feels upset or not but it might be worth a try. I really wasn’t aware that my fellow was mad about the situation until the day he came into my bedroom and, right in front of me, urinated all over my wardrobe.
my winken the wonderful has been doing something not so wonderful. since feb she hit and soaked 2 mattresses, 1 papa san chair, numerous cushions, sheets, and throw rugs, 1 longe. laundry basket, various clothes items, and my polar bear slippers. she was checked in feb. all was fine. i called the vet in march and thinking she was “waiting too long” due to malenka the miraculous lurking and awaiting her chance to pounce, we tried to isolate winken in one area. there would still be accidents. the thing that bothered me was that she would pee where she slept, then sleep on the slightly damp and rather smelly sleep spot.
last week she had a vet appt, we got the results today, 3 different infections in her u.t., it took months for it to show up. she is on antibios now and hopefully things will clear up and she will be totally wonderful again.
even a slight infection, that doesn’t show up right away will affect litter box use. that is what the vet is thinking because until last week nothing showed up.
rocking chair, that is really interesting, about the length of time it took for the infections to show up. Did your cat act sick? Mine seems well, eats and drinks a lot. When I am at home I am going to try and note whenever the Road Warrior goes down the hallway. If possible I will try to get his stool for a sample. Don’t know if a urine clump would do any good for testing, but if the opportunity presents itself I will take it. Maybe the vet can go in an extract a urine sample with a needle or something. Roadie wouldn’t like that but I want him to be healthy.
Too bad your kitty was going all over. At least mine is confining himself to one small area. Hope the antibiotics work for your baby. Lord, don’t I know about kidney problems, having a lot of them myself, and due on the 22nd for a fifth lithotripsy. Let us know too how your cat is coming along, you can do it here you know.
I soaked the carpet with the cleaning agent. It has a pleasant odor actually. Surprisingly it smells faintly of vanilla, and for now has at least masked the “eau de pee”. I plan on repeating the process tomorrow, if the carpet has dried. I want to do a thorough job.
winken did not act sick at all. after last year’s kidney problem the vet wanted to check her every 3 months. everything turned up normal until last week. her kidney funtion was a point or two over normal on the 1st. but her white count was fine.
i took her in on the 1st because it looked like she was losing some weight. wink’s weight doesn’t budge an ounce, she is “siamese sleek and lean” even thought i doubt there is more that 1/8th siamese in her. so it is noticable to me if she loses weight. sure enough she had lost a bit over a pound. still eating and drinking normally. i also did not like the way she was moving, her back legs seemed rather “stiff.”
on the 6th i found out she had been using my laundry basket as a litter box. back to the vet on the 7th, this time the test came back with the 3 infections. they do the urinalysis with a needle. if your guy is good at the vets it shouldn’t be worse than a bloodtest. (winken is wonderful at the vets)
she will be going back tomorrow because she is having poo problems as well. there may be an enema involved (super shocked puckered face.)
the good new is since being on the antibios she has been peeing in the litterboxes!
how old is rw? boy cats do tend to have more ut problems than girls. wink’s troubles started at 10, she will be 11 on the 14th.
The Road Warrior is a little over 3 years old. Tobermory, the older cat, is approaching 7, and for all that he was an ourdoor cat for a while, he has never messed outside a box.
I couldn’t teach Roadie not to claw things either. After a while I gave up and had him front declawed. But Tobermory seemed to recognize at once what the scratching post was for, so he still has his claws.
hhhhmmmm. 3 is rather young. i’m still thinking uti or even could be litter irritation. do you use a fine sandy litter? i remember reading that sandy litters grains can travel into boy cat’s ut, causing irritations, sometimes pain when peeing. that would have a cat avoid a litter box.
MissSwish is correct when she mentions not to use ammonia to clean up cat toilet areas. I know my cats like the smell of ammonia and bleach…I often can’t get them out of the bathroom when I’ve cleaned in there. You should avoid using any product that contains ammonia because the odour is similar to the odour of their urine. That will attract RW and encourage him to return and urinate again.
Cats prefer privacy so try to place RW’s litter box in an area that doesn’t get too much traffic. Or you can buy covers for their trays so they can go inside and use it without being seen. These lids over the tray can be a good idea because the litter needs to be about 2-3 inches deep and I know some cats make one hell of a mess when they scratch the litter filler out of their tray and all over the floor. These lids keep things tidy but personally, most of my cats hate the damned things.
Some cats like to mark their territory by urinating outside of their tray. They may feel threatened by a cat (this includes feline trespassers outside) or he may be feeling stressed by various things, including stress or changes in the household. If RW tends to soil the carpet when you are away, you could try putting him in a large crate with enough room for food, water, a blanket and some litter in a small tray when you are away from the house. You could try placing his food and water bowls near the targeted spots because cats typically don’t like to urinate where they eat.
My vet told me one of the most common symptoms of Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease (FLUTD) is failure to use the litter box. It’s good that you’re going to see your veterinarian, Baker. There is a reason why he’s doing it…it’s just a matter of working through a whole lot of things to sort it out.
It’s a shame you got RW declawed, Baker. How long ago did you get that done? I have 17 cats and I’ve found that cats need their claws. They claw things to spread their scent, shed nail tissue, to exercise and keep their balance and to express their anxiety. I have scratching posts sprinkled with catnip and chairs which are specifically for them. They also adore scratching on the wood logs I use in my fireplace. BTW: declawing is illegal here because it’s considered inhumane because it unnecessarily maims a cat.
Good luck at the vet…I hope there’s nothing medically wrong with RW and your vet can give you some good advice about it all.
Believe me, Necromancer, declawing the cat was a last resort too, and was done over two years ago. He was destroying things, big things, like bedding and furniture. I hated to do it but at least he’s an indoor cat. As I said, the other cat still has his claws because he behaved himself. But I understand and appreciate your concern in the matter.
There haven’t been any changes in the household. Roadie came to me as a kitten, and he and Tobermory have been together for quite a while now, and get along well. Both boxes are of the covered sort, and are in an out of the way place, just inside the door of a storage closet at the end of a hallway. The opposite door is my bathroom, across the hall.
More and more I’m wondering if it isn’t a UTI. I’ll be glad to get to the vet’s.
Baker, are you alternating your cat’s feed? A friend told me that Toms should be fed wet food once every week to help prevent crystal buildups that can contribute to U.T. issues.
Since you own the living space you’re in, consider tacking up some thin wallboard like they use in shower stalls. It is water proof and easy to clean.
Here’s one idea that just might help. CHICKEN WIRE!!!. Place the wire down on the floor in that area. Be sure to use a size closely matching your cat’s paw size. This will maximize the discomfort he experiences walking on it. Trim the ends to avoid any sharp protrusions and make the little sucker’s life miserable if he wants to hang out (as it were) around that location.
PS: Jaade, fear not, in my post I did recommend a light soapy rinse in between each stage to eliminate reactive chemicals that might be left behind. It’s hard to fault you though. Whenever you see the words “bleach” and “ammonia” mentioned in the same paragraph, such precautions should spring to mind.
As I post this, I hear major growling and hissing amongst my three felines - and one using the litter box, I think. Night crazies.
I have had major problems with my almost one-year old peeing and pooping on clothes left on top of the dryer in the laundry room (where two CLEAN litterboxes reside). The situation has improved since I started cleaning the boxes three times a day (sigh). He is as healthy as a horse, beautiful black Persian who is quite finicky about litter boxes. Baker, de-clawing is fine IMHO for a 100% inside cat.
Zenster, I feed our 3 cats wet and dry food, and recently was advised by our vet (upon taking the 10-year old queen feline in for asthma) that wet/dry should be 10%/90%. I need to cut way back on the canned food, clearly.
Does the Container Store sell chicken wire for dryer/washer tops?
Okay, I just got back from the vet. I told him everything about the cat I’ve said here, and he asked some more questions. The vet also did a urinalysis. Most everything on the latter came back normal, but the vet was concerned about one item. He said the specific gravity of the urine was higher than it should be, indicating he needs to drink more water.(That was one of the first questions from the vet before the test.) Apparently the kidneys are keeping things within proper parameters, but they’re having to work hard to do it. The vet recommend buying distilled water, and keeping it cool, as he said some cats just don’t like the taste of our city water.
Since the peeing is not random but located in a specific area the vet added to the chorus of putting down plastic sheeting to cover up the affected area. So I’m going to Lowe’s or Home Depot to pick some up.
The cat had a good coat, and great teeth. His ears are clean, his eyes are clear, and he’s not overweight.
one thing i’m thinking about getting my girls is a nifty water flow fountain thing. it is the new big thing in pet stores. you put the water into a tank, and it flows out a spout and gently splashes down onto a little hill and pools in a bowl. the water recycles around and around. i think it is about 50 dollars.
good luck with the little guy. i’m glad the tests turned out well.
Just thought I’d give this an update. It has been four days since the vet visit. I did get the new boxes and litter, and have been scooping twice a day. I cleaned the carpet twice with the cleanser, then I cover the carpet with a $3 shower curtain, cut in two pieces. The new boxes had covers, but I have been keeping one covered and one uncovered, in case the cat preferred one or the other. So far I have not discovered any markings away from the covered area, and it’s smelling a lot better too. I even bought the distilled water for drinking, but I haven’t noticed any difference in consumption. I’m keeping my fingers crossed this will all work for the long haul. And I have been trying to pay more attention than usual to both my babies.
Thanks again for all the suggestions and encouragement.