Please help me! This is urgent!

Me and my boyfriend live in a small studio apartment..We currently have 3 cats (this was never meant to happen but it did..) When we moved in together I brought my cat Mitsi with me from FL because I could never seperate from her, My boyfriend brought his cat Ralph (an 11 year old Maine Coon that only likes him and hates everyone else, but he also does like me to) The third cat came to us as a kitten that my boyfriend found in someone's muffler...We decided to keep him and called him Whisper..Well..Whisper has grown now (not fully grown up but he is bigger then my cat already)..We haven't fixed him yet but have the certificate to get him fixed soon..the problem is...as a kitten he always went in the litter box..but now he won't...he pees on our bed, our blankets, our clothes, everything...even the rug...My cat Mitsi also has gone into this habit now and she is fixed..So to fix the problem we bought a cat pen that we keep them both in at night and when we're at work (this way they don't destroy our home)...But this is getting bad..Whisper still will rarely go in the box..He chooses to go next to the box or in the food dish or water dish, Mitsi also will rarely go in the box..Ralph is the best cat we have and has never refused his box..We've tried everything from spraying that stuff that is supposed to not make them want to go there again, to getting each cat their own box, to keeping them in the bathroom, to finally having the two of them in the pen..Me and my boyfriend are running out of options..our house is starting to smell aweful despite our best attempts to keep the litter box as clean as we can..They just keep messing the pen, we clean it, they mess it again..What can we do?? Please help me...I'm desperate for answers..thank you..

You're keeping an unneutered male cat in a pen night and day (with a female, spayed, but also locked up) and you wonder why you're having trouble? For heaven's sake get him fixed now (you have the certificate, what are you waiting for? Plus leaving two fit animals locked up day and night is abusive. You should either rehome Whisper, or not lock anyone up, make sure you have 3 litter boxes (ideally should be 4) and get some Nature's Miracle enzyme cleaner to get rid of ALL the smells (it's the only thing that will actually do that) after you've brought Whisper in.

It is the fact he is unneutered that is causing your probs, and the problem you may have is that you have left neutering him until he has started to spray, so you might find he never gets out of the habit.

Hello and welcome to TCS - I have to agree with the above posters.

Your un-neutered male is just doing what comes natural to him Of course all this activity will have completely turned the 'harmony' of your house upside down

If you have the means to get him fixed now - it is best to do so, all this stress and trauma is not helping any of your cats and indeed you.

I am from another country so I am not aware of a 'certificate' for fixing, but if you can make the appointment to have him done, the sooner the better

I have off on Tues. I'm going to give the vet a call on Monday and see if he can get Whisper in on Tuesday..Hopefully after nuetering him and cleaning the cage, carpet, litter box...and some other things with the Nature's cleaner..hopefully we will get some better results or at least progress..Thank you for the input...I just hope I'm not to late and whisper will kick this habit..I have no idea why Mitsi is going outside her litter box..but then again she has always been picky...even though she is litter box trained..she always had a habit of going elsewhere once in a while..I don't know why...but now it's not just once in a while...it's regularly...Hopefully this will all get worked out...I pray it does...I love my cats more then anything and only want happiness for them...I'm doing my best to give them the best I can..

There is a difference between a cat urinating and a cat marking territory by spraying. When a cat urinates, he/she digs a hole, squats, wees and then covers it up again. Or, if the cat is urinating on carpet, there is no digging obviously. When a cat sprays, he/she stands upright, the tail quivers and the cat shoots a fine spray of urine against an upright surface like a door, fence, pole etc. Always about 15-30cm off the ground.

Are the two cats urinating or spraying? I ask because inappropriate urination may be a sign that the cat is sick (could be a UTI, crystals in the bladder, kidney problems etc) . Your male cat should get a check-up before his neuter but if you suspect that your female cat is ill, I'd recommend that you take her to the vet too.

Well then..Whisper is definitely peeing and not spraying then..because he always squats and pees...I've never seen him standing upright and shooting at a door or anything..So will nuetering him help with his peeing problem? Does the vet check the cat before nuetering him or do I have to tell the vet to check him? What should I tell the vet to look for? Sorry for all the questions but I really want answers to these issues before they can grow into worse issues..thank you everyone for your help..

the vet will ask you some questions about general health etc, so obviously you will be able to tell the vet about all the recent problems you have been having.

But I always tell my vet as much as possible, even if you think it might not be important, all information will help the vet get a good picture of your cat(s)

Try not to panic, take one thing at a time you need to get each issue addressed and get back into a normal routine.

I feel for you...I have two in a small studio. It can be done and bless you and your partner for being so patient and loving with your cats even when things are tough.

I think your youngest needs to get neutered ASAP. He will still have testosterone coursing through his body for up to a month afterward so please don't expect him to change immediately.

Your older girl may be acting out because the young guy is threatening to her. Or she may have something medical wrong. Please have her looked at as soon as you can, too. I know the medical bills can be painful or almost impossible but she could be hurting - cats are great at hiding illness.

As mentioned, Nature's Miracle is an enzyme cleaner. It breaks down the crystals in the cat urine that other cleaners do not. Cats can still smell it even though we cannot. So they keep coming back to the same places. I found a large bottle at a nearby variety store in the pet food section for about $5.

Do you have spaces where each cat can go when they want to get away from the others? Like tops of bookcases, other shelves, or a cat tree? There are some great ideas here for affordable and creative cat spaces. Skippymjp has a wonderful set up with Rubbermaid containers and economic shelving.

Do you know about all the food recalls? Not sure what you are feeding your cats, but may want to check.

Feliway may help, too after your little guy is neutered. It is spendy though.

Please let us know how things are going and if you have any other questions.
Good Luck

Besided neutering, ideally there should be one room for each cat...not including closets and bathrooms!

Mitsi could also be going outside the box because of the residual scent from Whisper's activities. Neutering and thorough cleaning, plus some Cat Attract litter, might resolve everything for you... I sure hope so! But bear in mind that it takes a month or so for the hormones to leave the kitty's system after neutering, so you'll have to bear with him for awhile. Good luck!

cat attracting litter?? You mean there's litter that can actually attract the cats and make them want to go there?? What kind of litter is this and where can I buy some??thanks for help..

I didn't read everything thoroughly, but...

Tell the vet about the innapropriate peeing. They should do a "urinalysis" to check for bacteria, crystals, etc. It's a fairly simple inexpensive test. It's $28 at my vet, but your mileage may vary...may be an office call fee plus meds too.

If he has a UTI, they'll prescribe antibiotics. Crystals are dealt with differently. Either condition would cause him to pee everywhere except the box, regardless of how attractive the litter is. UTI's and crystals are painful, and the cat will associate his pain with the box. Cat attract is good stuff, but your cat needs a vet check.

If he isn't spraying now, he will soon because he's not fixed. So that is still a very high priority.

Good luck.

Yes, I would get them both checked for a urinary tract infection first, then get him neutered, (good time to do a good, all over cleanup with the enzyme cleaner ) and proceed from there... Good luck!

First of all, the biggest problem is the young male is NOT neutered - he is marking territory (bed, etc.) and in turn is causing the others to mark territory even if they are spayed/neutered.

The best thing to do is to confine the unaltered male in a room or large cage with his own pan until he is neutered. It will take a month for his system to be free of hormones, so he still may mark things if let out.

Then thoroughly clean your entire house to get rid of all the smells where they are marking. You might have to figure out how to separate each cat with their own pan for a week or so till you have everything done.

You also need to check the male for possible uti because if he's blocked he would be avoiding the pan. And he's in danger of dying too. You need to get the male in very quickly to be checked out and neutered.