She peed in empty shoe box.....as I stood there watching in amazement..why?

So to recap. I adopted Bitsy Dec 12 from Human Society. She's about a year (vet says definitely is an adult). Don't know her history other than she was a stray and was pregnant at the time she was brought into HS.

I slowly introduced her to my 4 other strictly indoor cats. She has taken very well to them (3 are females, 1 is male, all fixed of course). They like her. They groom her, she rubs up against them, no animosity or issues, it would appear on the surface.

Last week I caught her peeing on a freshly washed shag-type washable rubber-backed bath mat. Of course I removed mat. I have 3 other of this type in my bathrooms and she's not peed on those. 2 days later she peed on a pile of CLEAN, unfolded laundry. I then took her to the Vet. Urinalysis - NEGATIVE. Urine Culture - NEGATIVE, no growth of bacteria. Rules out UTI.

I have ordered Feliway diffusers. I did buy just one last night at Petsmart (ordered the others online, one for each level of house (3) at much better prices, but decided to buy one in the meantime).

Haven't seen her pee anywhere else. Do see her use litterbox. I have (8) litterboxes in my basement; all kept regularly scooped. 2 are hooded, the rest not. She doesn't seem to be the least fearful of using the boxes, she's not "shy" in this regard..sometimes I'll be down there scooping and she'll be using one right while I'm there, or with a couple of my other cats milling about down there.

I bought a black light to use and check my house for urine areas I maybe don't know about. that was a disaster; used it last night and it shows hundreds of small glowing areas all over all floor surfaces, which makes no sense; even on surfaces a cat couldn't possibly access. So light was of no benefit.

Last night I opened up a box of shoes I'd bought.....as I was trying them on in my front entryway (lino floor), I saw her step into the shoe box.....it's a pretty small box, I kind of chuckled to myself that she was trying to fit into something so small, I thought for a minute she was going to try and curl up in the box. NO............she proceed to move around in the box........positioning her BUTT to PEE in the box. All I could do was stand there and watch (didn't see the point in stopping her mid-stream). I removed the box to my garage.

Could this just be that the "box" confused her and it seemed like a litterbox to her? I mean, it was similar in shape, right?

Do I need to resort now to putting a box on my upstairs and main house levels for her?

Would peeing in the shoebox be a behavioral thing or just an "i have to pee, the box seems like a litterbox to me, so I'll just go here" kind of thing?

I realize the feliway spray will take a few weeks to work, if it even does (meaning; if her issue is her needing to 'mark' her territory', or feeling stressed)

I don't know what to do. There's no way I can end up having my house be one huge litterbox. I have never had a cat pee inappropriately.

I just don't know what to do and I'm terrified now she's going to ruin my home.

Thanks

I don't have much advice. I think its possible she was just confused, I know the litterboxes at the shelter are usually much smaller than what we give at home, so maybe she's used to using a small one.

I just wanted to report that I saw the affects of Feliway immediately, no delay. Now I need stock in Feliway, its been a lifesavor but even at discount is expensive to use month in and month out...

LEslie

I will guess she is spayed now? How long ago was she ? How long ago did she deliver?

I have had cats pee in empty litterboxes (when I'm totally cleaning them out or something) I've also had them pee in empty laundry baskets, cardboard boxes put out for them to play in, etc. I think that they confuse it with a litterbox, because it is relatively the same shape as a litterbox. I don't know about the peeing on the clothes and the bathmat- that to me doesn't make sense. But it's a good thing that you immediately brought her to the vet to rule out any UTI. I've also had some of the girl cats in my house pee on this long catnip pillow thing... they would like hump it and then pee on it. I'm guessing the catnip just got them so excited and horny or something and.... well, ya know... . So now I know in the future to NOT buy big catnip pillows lol!

I don't have any advice for you- I am just more careful with what I put out that is in their reach (well in my house the cats have access to EVERYTHING lol- I always joke that it's their house and they are letting me live there )

Sorry I'm not much help!

The title you see from outside this section makes it look like you said she peed in your shoe - wrong to laugh at.. I know. (I've had cats leave vomit and played with turds and toys in shoes..)

Maybe the box also had smells she didn't like? I hope it's a fluke, because cardboard boxes are something that most cats really seem to enjoy. Ultimately all you can do is keep stuff picked up and keep vigilant. That's what I do... at least it means the house MUST stay clean and that others in the home have to pick up after themselves (for fear of me snapping and throwing something urine soaked at them).

Originally Posted by strange_wings

The title you see from outside this section makes it look like you said she peed in your shoe - wrong to laugh at.. I know.

(I've had cats leave vomit and played with turds and toys in shoes..)

Maybe the box also had smells she didn't like? I hope it's a fluke, because cardboard boxes are something that most cats really seem to enjoy. Ultimately all you can do is keep stuff picked up and keep vigilant. That's what I do... at least it means the house MUST stay clean and that others in the home have to pick up after themselves (for fear of me snapping and throwing something urine soaked at them).

Click to expand...

That's exactly what I was thinking when I first read the title! I've had to keep all box-like things away from my cats immediate reach because of this- it's just disgusting. Half the time I didn't notice it right away, it would dry up and make the floor all crusty and stinky from the urine, and it was just nasty.

Originally Posted by Jack31

I don't have much advice. I think its possible she was just confused, I know the litterboxes at the shelter are usually much smaller than what we give at home, so maybe she's used to using a small one.

I just wanted to report that I saw the affects of Feliway immediately, no delay. Now I need stock in Feliway, its been a lifesavor but even at discount is expensive to use month in and month out...

LEslie

Click to expand...

I agree that she might just be getting a little confused. That's is a good point about being in the shelter. Not only are the boxes smaller, they are right there, next to the cat in the cage, at all times.

Give it time, and the feliway time, before you try an upstairs litter box.

Do your best to keep things off the floor that will tempt her, to give her a better chance of success, if she's just taking longer to learn.

As for the feliway, it can get costly. My advise on that is, if you are in the habit of running feliway at all times, especially if you have multiples. try not having them all going at once.

Start with all going at once. But after a few months, if you see improvement, start unplugging one. For instance unplug the one on the level they use the least, for a couple of weeks. Plug that one back in, and unplug the one on the middle level for a few weeks. And so on.

This stretches out the life of the refill. Save the cap when you install the bottle, and when your have it in the "rest" period remove the bottle from the plug in and put the cap on it, to keep it fresh.

<I would like to add for general information that this advice is being given for a cat who has already been tested for illness with urinalysis and cultures, and illness has been ruled out>

Originally Posted by sharky

I will guess she is spayed now? How long ago was she ? How long ago did she deliver?

Click to expand...

Yes, they spayed her at the HS (won't let them be adopted if not fixed, which is good, of course) - on Dec 3, 2009. I adopted her Dec 12. I believe she had her kittens early October. The notes from the HS were a little vague re: the # of kittens she had. From what I could gather, she was brought in, in labor. She was having difficulty with the first delivery so the Vet had to intervene. She then delivered another 2 on her own. Though further notes seemed to only indicate 1 kitten so not sure if maybe 2 didn't make it? (the notes were very brief so maybe missing info).

She went to a foster home while she was nursing the kitten(?s). The notes from the Foster Mom stated nothing whatsoever about elimination issues; only that she always used her box, very playful, got along well with kids and cats, loved any cat toy, likes to ride around on peoples' shoulders (yes she does, it's hilarious, she's like a parrot! She's very very tiny for her age, I think).

Inside the shoebox was some tissue paper and these cardboard thingies that fit inside the shoes for packing/support. I think MAYBE all that "loose stuff" in a small box made her think "litterbox." God I hope so.

I went out and bought 2 more litterboxes today; one with a lip around the edge, one with a hood. God, now I have 9 LOL. Some here suggested i wait and just give the feliway time to work before putting out additional boxes on upstairs and main level. I'm willing to wait because I fear that once I put them out, she'll be so used to them that I'll have to leave them out permanent and I'm not really crazy about having a cat sh*tter in my living room LOL. Plus.......it won't just be her that uses it, my other 4 will use it too. Ugh.

I just got home from being gone all day. I just went downstairs into the basement to scoop the boxes and she followed me down as she always does; peed and pooped, no problem.

I came into the house from being gone all day, as I said.......and definitely didn't smell even the faintest scent of cat urine (just my bath and body works wallflowers LOL). Though when I come down the stairs from my upstairs, there's a certain point near the bottom of the carpeted stairs where I HAVE (the last 2 days) smelled the faintest scent of urine. I've gotten my nose down to every surface within a square mile radius (LOL) and tried to see where the smell is from but nothing. If it's enough for me to smell just walking down the stairs, it should be strong enough in the actual area for me to smell with my nose right to it, you would think.

I bought 2 bottles of Nature's Miracle and I know this isn't how you're supposed to use it but I thought about even locking up the cats in the basement, then spraying the top of the stairs down real good. I know you're supposed to fully saturate the offensive areas with the stuff but I'm not about to saturate 6 carpeted stairs when I can't tell where the spot is.

Good tips from others about how to make the Feliway diffusers last longer (when using 3 of them).

Prissy has a preoccupation with cardboard boxes. She loves to play "defend the box" with the other kitties, with her hiding inside and attacking any kitties who get close to her. But when she does get tired of a particular box, she will urinate in it. I don't know why. I think it's because when I first had her about 9 years ago as a tiny kitten, she "lived" in a wire dog kennel in my bedroom, so she could be tube fed, and her litter box was one of the disposable cardboard kinds with the shredded newspaper in it. I've seen shelters use the "green" cardboard litter boxes, as well as with newspaper, so if she ha that kind of box in the shelter, it would only be natural for her to use a box.

As another poster said though, it could have been smell, as well.

As far as the black light goes, I'd try using it on the stairwell. The other spots you're seeing could be all kinds of other things as well. Things that show up under a blacklight include: urine, blood, some cleaning chemicals, fungus, highlighter, some vomit, and lots of other things. SO all those spots you're finding could be anything from a kid leaving an uncapped marker on the floor, to spilled drinks, a furball you cleaned up, or lots of other things. You should be able to still see urine, even if you're finding other spots too.

I hope this helps.