repeated urine on my rug. help!

I have four cats, the two youngest are 3yr's. old. just recently one or more of them has been urinating on my bathroom rug. there haven't been any major changes in the household since the birth of my son two years ago. my cats are strickly indoor and do not come in contact with other animals to cause territory issues. the two cat boxes are cleaned several times a week, usually three times. I have tried some home remedies for the rug, but the smell is still there and they are attracted to that rug now. i don't want to throw it away. i think they will just find a new location to "go." i don't want to and don't have a ton to spend on products. Does anyone have a suggestion for correcting this type of behavior and a successful product for rugs with rubber backs?

I'm sure there will be others to come along shortly with suggestions....but my first thought is a urinary tract infection. I would get your cat, if you know which one it is, to the vet to rule out a UTI. Eliminating outside of the litter box for no known reason is one of the first signs of a UTI....they associate the litter box with pain. Good luck!

thanks, but i should have mentioned that all my cats have recently been in for their check-up and shots. no problems were found. this was during the time of the rug problem.

Check up and shots is totally different then testing for a UTI or crystals. That is a whole different procedure and nothing that could be found at a check up. So get the two who are peeing ont he rug back into the vet to be tested for a UTI and crystals.

You said that the peeing on the rug started around the time of the vet visit. Cats stress out easily. High stress leads to the development of UTIs and crystals, which would make them go to the bathroom outside of the litterbox.

Is everyone neutered and spayed?

What do you feed them? If it is a UTI/crystals, their diet is a really important factor on the cause of it. Low grade foods with by-products and grain fillers are not good. Wet food is best, even add more water to the wet food.

First problem I see here is that you have 2 litterboxes for four cats. There should be one per cat plus one extra.

Buy some Feliway plugs ins, specifically one for the bathroom. As well as a spray for the rug.

Before spraying Feliway on the rug, you need to soak the peed in spots with a cleaner like Natures Miracle or Nok-Out.

first, i appreciate your suggestions, but i have already addessed most of these concerns at home. we went to the vet during the time of the problem, not before it started. the vet checked all four for a uti since i didn't know who the culprit was. he determined that none of them had any physical problems, that the problem was behavior in nature. they were all spayed and neutered early in their lives. my vet has recommended only dry foods for my pets. so that is what we give them, dry friskies. we do not give them people food either per our vet's suggestion. i know that ideally we should have more litter boxes, but we have very limited space. we do not have a litter box on the main floor of the house due to having a curious two year old. we have had all four cats for three years and have never had a problem with having two boxes. in fact, this is the first urine problem we have had with any of them. we use two automatic boxes and dump the collected contents three times a week without them being overfilled. we clean the entire boxes every week to week and a half. we are presently looking for an affordable house with more space. of course moving will add a new stress to them, if stress is a problem. lastly, we have had negative results with the feliway plug-in's in the past. when we saved the two kittens and they were first introduced into our household, one of our older cat's didn't accept them and would attack them frequently. we purchased the plug-ins from our vet and our cat began attacking my husband and i as well as the kittens. we stuck it out for two weeks with no changes. we returned the plug-in's. i don't think it would a good idea to try them again. you had no way of knowing this, and i do appeciate your suggestions. i have had both cats and dogs my whole life, but this is the first time i have ran out of ideas, but refuse to give up on my cats... which my husband has increasingly suggested. let me know if you can think of other possibilities, thanks.

What is the backing of the rug made of? The rubber used in the bottom of some rugs can attract some cats to urinate on them. We saw this with my Himalayan and the problem went away once we got rid of the rugs.

Ok well it seems you have covered everything then hehe. I don't know what else to suggest. Other then buying something like Natures Miracle to pour directly on the carpet to soak. I don't think I have any other suggestions

I am still going to comment on the food though if you don't mind. Friskies is junk food and an all dry food diet is not always best. Wet is more like their natural diets. Vets are not nutritionists and often recommend what they sell or what is easiest simply because they don't really know much about diet and nutrition.

You really might want to do a little research on cat health and nutrition. It is very simple to find healthier foods that aren't junk. You can buy a large bag and it will last a long time if money is a concern. Grocery store foods are junk and even if the cats are healthy now, it usually results in more health issues, more vet visits and more money as the cats gets older. Just keep that in mind. Sure it is easier and cheaper to by the low grade crappy food at your next trip to the grocery store. But it is also easier to run thru McDonalds drive thru everyday, every meal, isn't it? A lot of people don't look at it that way

I would much rather my cats eat healthy meats and good ingredients and vitamins instead of by-products, pieces and parts of various animals and corn fillers which don't keep them hungry but makes them keep wanting more and more which also means you are buying the food more often. The higher grade foods last much longer, especially if you buy a large bag.

Just think about it. I won't keep bringing it up since that is not the topic here. Well eventually it could be but it probably isn't right now

P.S. My one cat will not stop peeing on the nice pretty expensive bathroom rugs from Dillards. I know just how you feel. I either keep the bathroom door shut or pick the rugs up.