CAT PEEING ON SOFA

Hey everyone,

I have a 2.5 year old Russian Blue who I absolutely adore.

We have successfully trained him over the last 3 months (fully graduated 1 month ago) to use our toilet to go to the bathroom for wee and poo. We did this because I am 7 months pregnant and we wanted to eliminate the use of the litter box.

This has been working without incident for a month.

A week ago I woke up to find he had pooped and peed on our couch. We cleaned it with Urine Off, disinfectant (no ammonia) and hot water. He also peed on my shoes by the front door which I have cleaned and he has not returned to that spot thank God, no carpet , only wooden floors so that probably helped.

The next night he did the same again and the couch is still drying on the balcony!!!

I woke this morning and he has now peed on the other couch (lucky I had a waterproof mattress protector over it just in case).

My plan of attack so far

# vet is coming tomorrow to check his physical health and test for UTIs etc

# I have read the previous treads and will try placing OLBAS oil with a tea bag near the affected area to deter him returning to the spot

# wash the mattress protector in vodka and what parts of the couch that I can

# if I can find it, try the Microdyne solution on the couch

If anyone has any other suggestions, I would be most grateful. If anyone has any success stories I would love to hear them also, Im really quite upset about the whole thing and worried about my little fur child

Normally when cats pee on their owner's thing, my first suspicion (after ruling out medical issues) is some form of separation anxiety. What has changed in your household a week or so ago? How much play time is he getting? The key is to find out why he's doing this. If he does have SA, he is feeling insecure over some changes in the household, and sometimes it may even be changes that we don't notice as humans. Usual suspects include change in work schedule, more time out of the house, sometimes it may even be as minor as furniture placement (however, to the cat it's not minor at all and is causing them stress).

How did the vet appointment go?

Hello,

So a bit of an update. Thank you for your advice, Fhicat and MoochNNoodles for asking about the progress.

Vet came out, he checked Rocco physically and didn't feel the need to perform any blood tests or urine. Based on what I told him, he didn't feel there were any symptoms of UTI or any other issues. He did however think he needed some teeth out, so that will be next on the list.

Which brings us to behaviour, as you predicted, Fhicat.

Vet suggested Feliway plug ins and to reintroduce the lounge in pieces and test and see if he goes there again. It will probably remain a mystery why he christened the sofa in the first place  but he said if he isn't stressed and the urine smell is COMPLETELY gone, it shouldn't happen again.

Rocco has used the toilet since the incident and we have locked him in the toilet at night to "break any habit forming behaviour." He wasn't a fan of being locked up, which probably caused us both anxiety so tonight he will be allowed to roam as usual.

We cleaned the couch with pine-o-clean disinfectant, then Urine Off and hot water, then vodka. As I return each piece to the living room I will spray it with Feliway spray which the vet feels will tell the cat that he doesn't need to mark the couch as it already belongs to him.

First piece came back into the living room today, so fingers crossed when I return from work we are ok. I will keep you updated. Ive covered the piece with a waterproof mattress protector, until I get the courage up to remove it.

Wish me luck

Another update:

I have all positive news to report so far.

Rocco has been free to roam the whole apartment since I posted last. When my husband and I are not home and at night we cover the lounge with 2 king waterproof mattress protectors just for piece of mind. We have had no accidents and Rocco has returned to his normal toilet use.

We introduced longer play time before bed and we are making sure he is getting plenty of attention and love.

Not sure what got him off track but hopefully its behind us.

We will continue to cover the couch, use the Feliway plug ins and give treats for correct toilet use.

Thanks to FhiCat and MoochNNoodles for your advice and concern.

Fingers crossed he stays on track....at least until the baby arrives to freak him out again

That's great news!!  And good to know there isn't some kind of health issue going on that caused it.

I hope you can put this all behind you soon!! 

Quick update:

We had an accident a few nights ago and Rocco pooed on the sofa again. Lucky the waterproof covers were on it so no major damage.

We have racked our brains to see what might have caused his return to the sofa, but there  was nothing different that day or the days leading up to it. 

We did, however, forget to spray the couch with the Feliway spray, so he may have been marking his territory again.

It hasn't happened since and he has returned to the toilet as normal.

His attitude towards me has been changing. Im in the last trimester of my pregnancy and we strongly feel that this has something to do with it. First trimester he wasn't interested in me at all, second trimester he was obsessed with me and my bump and now third trimester hes starting to go off me again. My husband is the new favourite and he is showering him with love and attention, play time and treats for good behaviour. We figure once baby comes, hubby will make sure Rocco is feeling included while I focus on the new arrival.

Ill let you know if anything further happens, fingers crossed!!!

Have you considered bringing the litter box back? I wonder if Rocco feels he doesn't have territory because his litter box is the toilet, which gets flushed.

Can the litter box go someplace that's out of the way, and not in the common living space? If the vet says he's fine, I'd bet it's because he doesn't have his litter box. Just my opinion however.

I second @Nora1  on this one.

Although you can train a cat to use toilet for humans, it is not his natural behavior, and also reduces the cat in him, the instinct to sniff a bit at first, to dig in the sand looking for that perfect spot, and to sniff, and cover or just kick the sand when done. All these rituals are important to a cat.

Rocco is using the toilet, but I bet he is not happy with this arrangement, so my guess on eliminating on the sofa would be: a message to you, because you are using the sofa and it smells you. On your shoes: a more obvious message to you. Withdrawing from you could also be a little break in trust, because Rocco's messages don't get through, and the nights when he was locked in the bathroom not knowing why. He can not tell you in human words, so he is using what he can, that is what I believe.

Are you sure there is no way to get him a litter box somewhere away from you, and which your husband would clean so you wouldn't have any contact with the litter?

Here is a clip from Jackson Galaxy on the subject, please take a look, he explains it better than I can do:

jacksongalaxy.com/2014/09/01/cat-mojo-why-you-should-not-toilet-train-your-cat/

Here is another clip, explained in depth, and some very good thoughts:

 

Hey Nora and Inka,

Thank you both for your suggestions and the Jackson Galaxy video.

The toilet tray has litter around the outside that Rocco gets to push in after he finishes so there is still an element of the scratching and covering in his routine.

In saying that, I completely understand what you have both said and will discuss with my husband and the vet when he attends at the end of the week.

Rocco, as of 3 days ago, has stopped eating his wet food (which he normally scoffs down) and has become more erratic and unsettled.

No more messes, but things are definitely not right.

Sad times in our household at the moment, because I love my little guy and hate that he is not a happy camper.

Ill keep you all posted and welcome any more feedback, support or advice.

So thankful for this website and that it brings cat lovers together.