cats urinating

I came home lat night and found our bedroom smelt - well you know how it smells after a cat has urinated in a room - it stinks vile.

He has used his litter tray as normal and then he seems to have gone up stairs and started tiddling in places. There was a small puddle / damp patch on the stairs, another under our bed - and it smells horrid.

He uses the litter tray as normal and always has - even today he has used it but again, an occasional wet patch.

1 - whats the best way to clean it so he does not do it again - ie soap and water?

2 - Could this be him marking his territory as I guess Vicki scent has gone from the house as she died a few weeks ago? Never had a cat or seen him mark territory before so am unsure what to look for?

3 - If marking - why ?

4 - How do I stop it.... please ?

- I have a lot of pine furniture in the house and am nervous in case it gets damaged.

Thanks

Kev
Holding peg on nose and hoping some one may have an answer....

I would take him to the vet ASAP to have him checked for a UTI.

Originally posted by Princess Purr
I would take him to the vet ASAP to have him checked for a UTI.

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what the heck is UTI?

Kev

a UTI is a urinary tract infection.

Princess Purr gave good advice - take him asap.

He could be mourning Vicki and is stressed out by it. Stress often causes UTI's in cats.

Soap and water won't get the smell out. Need to get an enzymatic type cleaner / odor neutralizer - they sell these in pet stores. I have seen advice in here that Vodka works, but haven't tried that myself. (could be fun....a little for me....a little for my carpet....*hic*)

Originally posted by Momofmany
He could be mourning Vicki and is stressed out by it. Stress often causes UTI's in cats.

Soap and water won't get the smell out. Need to get an enzymatic type cleaner / odor neutralizer - they sell these in pet stores. I have seen advice in here that Vodka works, but haven't tried that myself. (could be fun....a little for me....a little for my carpet....*hic*)

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This is getting a night of me asking the daft questions - can a cat mourn? Cats, being naturally independant, I would think that they would just get on with it and take it day by day.

Thanks a lot for the final line - that has me laughing and this evening I took a hard knock and am down a long way at the moment - I needed your humor and a smile that it brought to my face. May have an extra tablet and an early night - have a bad sore throat as well!

Kev

kev - here is a good link to a thread in the behaviour forum about this. peeing

Oh yes, cats will mourn....not in the traditional way that humans do, but they do indeed mourn. Stumpy's best friend in the world was our dog Jethro. When Jethro crossed about 3 years ago, Stumpy went into a deep funk for close to a year. He tried to play with the other dogs (Stumpy has a love for dogs you see), but they couldn't relate to cats like Jethro did. When our last dog Ellie Mae crossed in January, he went into another deep funk. I've seen this same behavior with other cats that have owned me over the years.

I'll tip one for you tonight Kev!

Hi Kev! Vodka is said to work, vinegar and water will as well if you don't want your house smelling like a pub. Or commercial enzymatic cleaners.

Any time there is inappropriate elimination, a vet check is the first course of action. UTIs, if not treated, can actually be fatal and do occur more often in male cats than female.

I'm going to move this to Behavor where you'll more likely catch the eyes of our resident experts, as well as all of us who hang out in the Lounge.

Yes cats mourn, and they can do so a very long time. I would take the cat to the vet for a check-up as already mentioned stress can cause a cat to become ill quite quickly. UTI can go bad just as quickly. Hydrogen Peroxide and vinegar mixed together in equal parts will take the smell away as well.

Kev, I agree with the others that said you should take your cat to a vet ASAP. It's better to be safe than sorry and you want to be sure he doesn't have a life-threatening blockage. I learned about this type of problem the hard way. Quite a few years ago, I had a young cat whose bladder had become completely obstructed and I didn't even realize my cat was sick. When I finally did realize something was seriously wrong, I rushed my cat to the vet and they performed emergency surgery. Unfortunately, my poor cat died immediately afterward.