Cats Peeing Outside the Litterbox in the Basement...advice needed

owenmeany

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So I've dug around a bunch of different sites for advice on this, and found a closed old thread here that helped a little but in the end didn't do the trick.  So I figured I'd mention the problem here and see if anyone had any advice!

I have two lovely cats, one 3, one 11.  The 3 came to us as a kitten and rarely ever peed outside the litter box (only did so out of stress like as we were leaving/when we got home from trips, that kind of thing) so she was good.  The cat we got we got at 9 because he was SUPER stressed out due to his family having kids and he was peeing all over their house.  So we kind of figured he might pee some with us, and at first he did a lot, but over time we tried new litter, several boxes, things like that, and he got a lot better.

We recently moved into a new older house, and at first we had the litter boxes in two places, one in a kitchen and one in a bedroom.  No real issues besides the older cat occasionally peeing in a pile of clothes or something, but that was rare.  We later decided, at my wife's request, to move one of the litter boxes to the basement to get it out of the bedroom.  The cats loved having access to the basement all of a sudden and again, all seemed well.

Eventually I started noticing pee spots on the wall in the basement.  I cleaned them best I could when they happened, but they got more frequent, mostly in one spot.  So I did something that now feels like it was wrong and I brought the second litter box downstairs (so all on one floor, the basement) and put it in the other area the cats were peeing.  This helped for maybe a week, but then they started peeing all over that one wall and around the litter boxes (both), which was something they never did before.  I cleaned up like mad, tried vinegar, tried tin foil, tried bleach, and nothing has worked (I think it has been even worse after the bleach, they seem like they pretty much only use the litter box to poop now...which obviously isn't good).

So starting right now, I moved both boxes back to the spots they were in when we first moved in and closed the basement.  Drasticish change I know, but I need to at least clean the basement again and they've been good about using these spots in the past and in recent history when I moved them there temporarily to clean the basement.

So I have a few questions:

1. Does anyone know a real good enzyme type thing for getting pee smell out of basement floors?  Nothing I've tried so far seems to work too well and I'm looking for something that will.  Stains are okay as long as they don't smell!

2. Does anyone have any other ideas for getting cats not to go to certain areas?  We tried citrus, the cats didn't mind it.  We tried tin foil and they just peed right on top of it.  Neither of my cats really is detracted by normal cat things, so I'm trying to think of other ways to deter them that I haven't heard of yet.  I even tried putting up obstacles along the one basement wall so they couldn't pee.  They either peed on the obstacles (a good foot or two away from the wall) or, in the case of one shelving unit, crawled under the shelving just to pee on the wall more.

I guess that's it for now.  I also currently clean each litter box every night but I will now do twice a day as my cats are definitely picky.  But as I said they haven't peed like at all in the boxes lately, so I'm curious how the basement closed will work.
 

catspaw66

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Nature's Miracle is the one I use. I know a lot of the others on here use it also. Another thing to do is get some Dr. Esley's Cat Attract litter. Buy a couple of new boxes, use the Cat Attract, scrub the old places thoroughly with the Nature's Miracle (or an enzyme laundry soap) and sacrifice some catnip to Bast.
 
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owenmeany

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Awesome, thanks for the ideas!  My only question, is that litter pretty soft on the paws?  Part of why we always thought the 11 year old kept peeing once he started was because he was front declawed as a kitten (awful I know, our 3 year old has all her claws) and he has shown a tendency to be litter sensitive.  But if it works, that's awesome!
 

otto

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Has your senior boy been taken to the vet and had his urine tested? It's quite possible he has a urinary tract problem; bacterial infection, crystals one of the other, or both.

Welcome to TCS and I'm glad you were able to rescue him from his previous place, sure doesn't sound like they cared about him very much.
 
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owenmeany

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Yeah he has, and he's good now.  He has had UTI issues in the past but for now he's good.  Growing up I had an older cat who had lots of issues with crystals so that's definitely always a worry, but nope, this guy just likes to pee all over!

Also I should add the family wasn't all bad, he actually had a pretty happy life with them from about age 1-7 (shared the home with two older cats and a dog too).  Then they had their first kid and he just wasn't having it, started pee problems.  They had another kid two years later and he was just done...when the kid came home from the hospital for the first time the first thing my guy (his name is Toby by the way) did was pee in the diaper bag they brought home.  He just HATES kids.  We think it's because he's a big attention lover. 

But while all those issues were going on they went to the vet a million times, tried new litters, new boxes, etc. and just kept seeing failure.  Their vet actually recommended crushing up prozac for Toby to calm him down around kids and that's when they made the decision to find another place where he'd be happier.  They were friends of a friend and it all worked out real well...Toby now has a facebook where we regularly post pictures and updates about him and his old parents and grandparents get to see him on a regular basis.  Open adoption if you will haha.
 

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I'm still trying to figure out the logic behind where my cat sprayed and why. He never sprayed the bathrooms, kitchen or our bedroom, but he sprayed in the office, future nursery, hallway, living room, dining room and basement. We did have another cat and i think there was territorial

issues between them. We also had a stray outside that might have contributed to spraying near or on exterior walls as well. I think attention given out to each cat might have to be equal too. He liked to spray just my objects, but I petted both of them more so I think he was trying to court me or something.

I'm wondering if its as simple as the older cat getting annoyed the younger is using the one in the basement or just being in the basement in general? The vets told us is should be 1 litter box per cat plus one additional. Maybe you keep the one in the basement (put it in a different location) and do the kitchen and bedroom.  I've read that they don't spray where they eat, so maybe feed him in the basement near the area he keeps marking.

I heard a black light works to see if you've cleaned thoroughly enough. You could try the Feliway diffusers or the collar. Meds are an option. (maybe last resort?) I've heard of putting the the feliway plug-ins on a timer too so you get more use out of them. 

When i did add the extra box to basement I didn't keep it as clean since it was out of the way. Something to think about. I think that's a separate issue though that causes them to urinate outside the box. So for your info. Marking walls or clothes (spraying) and going outside the box (puddles) are two separate issues. Best of luck! let us know how it goes.

This site has a ton of info about stress and behavior: http://www.feliway.us/
 
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owenmeany

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Thanks much for the advice!  We have a pee light somewhere but I forget where, gotta dig it out.  As for the too many cats in the basement, I'm sure that initially could've been part of the problem since they used to go down there together some.
 

catspaw66

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Awesome, thanks for the ideas!  My only question, is that litter pretty soft on the paws?  Part of why we always thought the 11 year old kept peeing once he started was because he was front declawed as a kitten (awful I know, our 3 year old has all her claws) and he has shown a tendency to be litter sensitive.  But if it works, that's awesome!
The Cat Attract litter has herbs in it that make the cat want to go there. I am not sure how soft it is. If you need a really soft litter, someone on here recommended using CareFresh. It is shredded cellulose and is used for gerbils and such for bedding.
 

jcat

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Awesome, thanks for the ideas!  My only question, is that litter pretty soft on the paws?  Part of why we always thought the 11 year old kept peeing once he started was because he was front declawed as a kitten (awful I know, our 3 year old has all her claws) and he has shown a tendency to be litter sensitive.  But if it works, that's awesome!
You could try the Cat Attract Litter Additive with a soft litter.
 

gloriajh

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Awesome, thanks for the ideas!  My only question, is that litter pretty soft on the paws?  Part of why we always thought the 11 year old kept peeing once he started was because he was front declawed as a kitten (awful I know, our 3 year old has all her claws) and he has shown a tendency to be litter sensitive.  But if it works, that's awesome!
We have 3 declawed cats - and the litter type doesn't seem to bother them - sorry to hear that yours seems to have a problem.

I love Nature's Miracle - I use it on hair ball messes as well as any pee spraying, or issues that I find.

 The Cat Attract is great - only I just use enough to sprinkle on top of the other litter I use (World's Best Cat Litter) - and haven't needed to fill the pan with just the Dr. Elsey's Cat Attract except when I was training some baby kittens or feral-born to use the litter pan.

Some cats are just real picky about using only clean litter to make his/her deposits - I have some that hear me cleaning the pan and come and wait for me to finish so they can use it, so I just wait until they are done and re-scoop it.

Also, your cat(s) may be spraying where previous occupants of the house sprayed. (?)  The smell lasts forever, and some cats will need to claim their domain with a good spay over the old marking. 
 Using the Nature's Miracle over those areas - and allowing it to dry there - may be helpful.
 
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