Until recently, our cats have been pretty consistent in using the litter boxes downstairs, but recently one --we suspect the oldest – has begun to pee upstairs. Fortunately, almost always on non-absorbent surfaces, but at least once on a rug. My question is twofold:
How do you stop the cat from peeing on the rugs and elsewhere?
How can I get out the smell?
I know about products that are supposed to keep cats away from things. We’ve tried them, and they don’t work./ Besides, we don’t want to keep her away from somwething – we want her to stop peeing. (It doesn’t gain us anything if she just pees somewhere else).
We’ve tried several stain- and odor-removing products. Even if they seem to work at first, they ultimately fail. I’ve tried deep-cleaning the carpet, too. I think it’s just spreading the stench around.
Any ideas?
Do you know why she’s peeing in the wrong place? Cats often do this when they have a urinary tract or bladder infection - it hurts to pee in the “right” place so they learn to associate pain with the litter box. Hence, the move to another spot. Is she peeing on tile or something otherwise cool to the touch? That is very common in cats with a urinary tract infection, as the sensation of cool seems to lessen the burning they feel while urinating. You might want to bring her to a vet.
For the smell, I’ve had good results with Simple Solution. I don’t know what behavioral remedies will work, since we haven’t really tried to stop the behavior, since our cat luckily pees on things that are washable, but this recent thread did have a lot of good suggestions.