Need some tips on out-of-litter-box peeing.

Quick Note: I've read related threads in this forum before writing this.

I have two kittens (one male, one female) that are now about 9 months old. Around 4 months I noticed they (or one at the time) had begun peeing in my roommate's closet on his clothes that he'd leave on the floor. I could never seem to catch them in the act, but both were still using the litter box on a regular basis. Eventually it moved to both the closet and my bed, and I don't know how many times I've had to wash those sheets - I even caught the female kitten doing it while I sat 3 feet away!

I bought a plastic sheet to cover my bed with, and the female kitten only seemed to pee on it once. Soon enough I figured that maybe it would cease when I got them neutered and spayed. I also got a second litter box for the second floor of the house. Things seemed to be going pretty well, but I eventually found cat pee in my roommate's closet again. I had pretty much narrowed it down to my female kitten at this point, yet I still found the male kitten doing it a few times. I once grabbed the female kitten and placed her in the litter box when I caught her starting to pee on my bed, but she came right back up and peed in MY closet.

Flash forward to the present, there's been a few incidents in the previously mentioned closet and my bed. Only a handful of times have they gone anywhere else in the house but the litter boxes. I've been doing some room construction for the past month or so (got delayed by finals) and have had the door shut most of the time. Recently I had found some messes around their litter box. I put some newspapers down around the litter box last night since it was hard to tell whether the messes were puke or pee, and I came home from work today to find two pee spots on the papers.

So, I'm wondering if there are any other tips that I could use to remedy the situation. In the past I excluded the idea that they (or one) had a urinary tract infection since they were both still using the litter box 95% of the time. I'd like to let them in my room more often now since the house is empty for the summer, and I love them a ton. I just worry about the bed and closet - they tend to sleep on my roommate's bed and they haven't ever peed there. Bah!

Oh, and I clean the litter 1-2 times daily.

HI and welcome!

First of all, you can't rule otu a UTI based on that, when my siamese has a UTI he uses the litterbox 90% of the time and the closet 10% of the time. When he is UTI free he uses the litterbox 100% of the time.

However the kittens may have thought the soft bed, and clothes in the closet was just as nice a place to go to the bathroom as the litterbox, and now that they are older if they smell it AT ALL they will continue to use those places. you MUST clean these area's with enzymatic cleaners, and ideally use a blacklight to find any traces of where they peed and clean this and your sheets with enzymatic cleaners.

You may also have to try different litters and boxes to find ones they like. ie. some cats don't like the type of boxes with lids. There is a litter called 'cat attract' that can help break bad urination problems as well......

Try all these things and if that doesn't work a vet check may be necessary!

Good luck!

Oh also try putting tin foil or the likes in your roommates closet AFTER its cleaned, they won't like peeing on that and the litterbox will seem much more attractive!

hello

my cat didnt have uti i got her checked by the vet who did all the tests and she was peeing on my carpets and bed , something she never did before while she was using her litter box as well ...

firstly i cleaned up the places with a carpet shampoo for pet odors then i started keeping my bedroom door closed so she didnt go on my bed .

secondly i was giving her dry food with occasional fresh chicken.. i switched brands ( of dry food ) and am using it as a treat only and im giving her boiled chicken instead .... its only been two days but there have been no accidents so far

I recently dealt with a bout of this at my house:

1. Do get them Vet checked first, rule out a UTI or another problem...

2. Keep the clothes off the floor in the closet or consistently close the door, and get your roomate on board with this too. You are providing a nice soft easy spot for them to do their business.

3. Clean their favorite spots thoroughly with a enzymatic cleaner. If they've been doing this for some time this may involve tossing some bedding items. Cover the mattress with an impermeable cover to get rid of the smell.

4. Get a plastic cover for your bed over the top of the sheets etc. And be choosy about what kind. I find shower curtains have a vinyl odor that encourages the problem rather than discourages it. Blue tarps seem to work, and your kitties may prefer it as a play surface to a peeing one.

5.I would not recommend the tinfoil if you have a cat that likes to shred and ingest things like my Aya. She wants to shred and eat it. Get a bunch of disposable foil pie tins. They're not chewable. And randomly place on top of the tarped over surfaces. You should tarp your bed whenever you are not using it for at least 2-3 weeks. I know its a pain but it worked in my case. Aya likes to play on/under the tarp so much that I've kept it in use as a kitty den, but no accidents thank goodness!