Pee on coat -- Need some advice.

One of my kittens(about 15 weeks) peed on my sons coat today. It was on the floor beside the closet. I dont know which one did it but I suspect that it might have been Rocky. One day he was going to pee in a big basket we had our mail in. I put him in the litter box and he went.

I now have them both upstairs in the spare room where their litter box is. Do you think one of them forgot or got too busy playing to go upstairs? There is no place for a litter box on the main floor. Just my living room and kitchen. They are not allowed downstairs in the family room and laundry area yet.

Should I just start to keep them up there for a while or just when I am not around. I think it happened when I was out. I dont want this to become a habit so I want to try and fix it while they are so young.

I scoop their litter box twice every day but this morning did not have time and had to go and pick up my grandaughter. Could this have made a difference. Any advice would be appreciated very much.

I forgot to mention too that they have two litter boxes side by side in the spare room.

Yeah, he probably got too busy playing to go all the way upstairs to use the box. I really think you should have a box downstairs for them, but understand that sometimes it's not always possible.

Yes, especially with little ones, they really do need to have a litter box on each floor(if you have 2 floors). Kittens have a hard time remembering when they have to go far. If it is really impossible to put one on the other floor while they are still young, I would keep them confined to an area they can handle. Also, just a tid bit. A lot of cats will eliminate on anything dirty. It is best to try and keep dirty cloths off the floor. They sometimes mistake it for a place to go to the bathroom.

Illusion and Sandie

Thanks for your advice. I cant really see any place for another litter box on the main floor. There is the kitchen and the living room and thats it. Then the stairs leading up to the bedrooms. I will try and restrict their play area a bit. Maybe just to the top floor and to the bottom of the stairs.

Also the coat may have been dirty as he wore it all winter and it was not washed yet. I also remembered that he sometimes was at his friends next door and they have two cats. Maybe he smelled them and tried to cover up their smell. Do you think?

I also thought that maybe I should just leave their food up in the spare room where their litter box is. I always put it there at night when they go in for the night. Then they would be up in the room more often to eat throughout the day and nearer to their litter box.

That sounds like a good idea. Just make sure the food is nowhere near the cat box. I don't like litter boxes hanging out in my general area, so I have the ones downstairs in a closet. The door stays cracked just enough for them to get in. Come to think of it, all but 2 boxes are in a closet..hehe.
Yeah, that could have been the coat problem. Cats sometimes wont distinguish between litter and something that smells a little funky. Not to say that his jacket smelled funky. You also have to watch bean bag chairs. I think it is too much like the texture of litter!!
When they are about 6 months they usually get pretty settled in the house. They can usually make a far trip to the box.

Sandie Yes the coat is a winter one that had fallen down from the hanger. It is one of those puffy insulated kinds if you know what I mean. I have had no more peeing episodes so far since that one.

I was just wondering why the food had to be really far from their litter box. I have seen that posted before and was curious. Their food is a little ways away but not a huge distance. What is the reason for this? A dumb question I know.

No, there are no dumb questions Cats usually do not like to eat where they use the toilet. It can cause them to not eat or not use the litter box. I wouldnt say they have to be a solar system away, but far enough to make a walking distance. If I had to put a cat in the bathroom for training, I would just put the food on the opposite end of the bathroom. Also, they do not like to sleep where they use the toilet. Funny huh...they are so picky..hehe.

Sandie yeah they sure are Its funny because I used to think a cat was being dirty when it pees somewhere other than the litter box but really its because most of the time its because they are so clean. They want to cover a dirty spot or their litter box is not clean enough or they dont want the smell of another cats pee in their territory. Or their food is too close to their litter. I am learning a lot on this forum.

I have also decided to put their food on an old dresser in the spare room so that they will be up and away from their ltter as well. They are always up there anyway. Thanks for the help.