cats eliminating on my love seat -- help...

Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m having a little problem with my 10 month old male, Wingnut. He seems to be developing a penchant for eliminating on the leather love seat in my living room. Not all the time, but occasionally; itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s happened twice in the last week.

Also, my 8 month old female, Moonbat, has done it once, same place. I managed to catch her in the act and gave her a good squirting from the water bottle. She hasnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t repeated it since.

Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m thinking they may not like their litter box. I use a Clever Cat top entry box, which is located under a shelf in my downstairs bathroom. I use a liner and change it out completely every morning.

So, my question – could this be related to the design of a top entry box (some cats donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t like them)? Maybe try an open style box or enclosed side entry? Trying to think like a cat, my assumption is entering from the top would be kind of gross…

I am no expert, but if your cats are using the box regularly, then I don't think it's the box...otherwise they'd be going just outside of the box and/or peeing on your sofa a lot more...

Have both cats been altered? Just wondering because males will spray if left intact.
If it is "marking" behavior, he will be spraying a verticle surface (most likely) i.e. the back of the sofa or sides. If he's "squatting" and peeing on a horizontal surface, most likely it is not marking.

Also, I don't know which types are "safe" for leather, but you need to use some type of odor eliminator specifically for cat urine.... I used nature's miracle and it works great but I haven't tried it on leather... Most cleaners don't completely remove the urine smell, and that will attract the cats back to the same spot (and could have attracted your female to the spot the male sprayed). If you can find a good odor eliminator made specifically for cats that will work on leather it should remove the scent and they won't be able to smell where they last went.

Other people have also suggusted making the spot very unattractive to the cat...i.e. putting plastic on it so that when they go, they get their feet wet, etc. But that might not be feasable in your situation.

They are both spayed and neutered. The male has still exhibited some "spraying" behavior however (guess the hormones are still there).

I do use a urine eliminator when I clean the love seat. I have taken to putting a towel under the leather sofa cushions and an old blanket on top to act as a barrier. The male is the main offender; he has done “No. 2†on it three times. Today I caught him eyeing the love seat right after eating. When he heard me yell “NO!†he ran off to his litter box and took care of his business normally.

I think I need to keep an eye on him after he eats…

First off you should take Wingnut to the vet and have him checked for a bladder infection or other health issues. Have your vet use a needle to aspirate the urine. This is the best way to catch any bacteria. Expressing the bladder doesn't always catch the bacteria.

If there are changes in your home, as during any holiday, this urinating could be a stress reaction. Christmas trees being brought in, furniture being moved, guests arriving, even something so simple as changing the spread on your bed can set some cats into a nervous reaction. If you have brought anything into the house that smells new- they will spray or mark the house to return the house back to a scent they are comfortable with.

Once they pee on a spot, they mark it. Unless you are using a really good enzyme remover www.urine-off.com they will BOTH go back to the exact spot about every three days to refresh their mark.

In her new book Cat Wrangling Made Easy- restoring peace and order in your multi-cat home. Author, Dusty Rainbolt spends quite a few chapters towards this issue, because it is the number one issue for most cat owners with more than one cat. I highly- highly recommend this book for ANYONE who has more than one cat in their home.

Also forgot to add that is highly likely Wingnut is reacting to the animal rendering smell coming from the leather and is urinating over it, claiming victory against the bigger predator

Originally Posted by hissy

Also forgot to add that is highly likely Wingnut is reacting to the animal rendering smell coming from the leather and is urinating over it, claiming victory against the bigger predator

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I never even thought of that! The love seat is right next to their cat tree, so maybe he's defending his turf?

I'll check into the book you recommended. Mean time, I'll just keep an eye on Wingnut and keep the urine eliminator (and water bottle) close at hand

Originally Posted by SalsaNChips

I’m thinking they may not like their litter box. I use a Clever Cat top entry box, which is located under a shelf in my downstairs bathroom. I use a liner and change it out completely every morning.

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Is there only one litter box, downstairs from the room they're using? If so another thing to try is adding a couple more boxes throughout the house, including one in that room.

Cats are usually pretty good about only using their litter boxes, but if you've ever had to make a mad dash from one side of a big store to the restroom on the other side -you can understand a bit how holding it can be bothersome.

here's a link

http://www.amazon.com/Cat-Wrangling-.../dp/1599212242

I had litter box issues with my four year old male when he was adopted. Besides the vet check, just in case there is a physical aspect to this, I strongly second the enzyme cleaner (clean very thoroughly - a black light detector will help), more than one open litter box (I got rid of my Booda domes, which I liked!), got the feliway diffuser, and switched over to Cat Attract litter. I'm guessing all helped a great deal, but I do swear by Cat Attract!!! Worth every penny. There's also a Kitten Attract version. availabile now You can also buy the supplement separately to add to your current litter, but I really like the Cat Attract litter - clumps well, not dusty, and I enjoy the slight herbal scent myself.

Good luck - I know how distressing this can be as you and the kitties try to resolve the problem.