New kitten - peeing on couch - HELP!!

Me and my husband just got a new kitten - silver Persian- about one month ago. He is about 3 months old now. He was doing fine with the kitty litter at first, but this past week, he has been peeing on our couch. My husband reprimands him, but he keeps doing it. He goes in the letter box mostly, and always makes bowel movements in the litter box. Why might he be doing this? My husband wants to get rid of him, but I love the little guy. Please tell me what I can do?

Our last cat ( who died) Had an accident or two on the same couch. Could this be the reason if he smells it? Also, the kitty peed on our other couch upstairs as well. It is the same material, leather, as the other one. Does he now think it is OK to pee on leather couches? Please help as soon as possible, because I don't want my husband to do something hasty!!

Thank you soooo much!

-Jacquie

There may be several things going on. One of the most likely is that the kitten smelled the old urine and figured that the couch was the place to go. So, find an enzymatic cleanser and try to remove the old smell. In the meantime, make the couch an unpleasant place for the kitten. Take an old towel or blanket and spray it with a citrus scented spray or cover it with double sided tape and then place the towel on the couch. Cats do not like the smell of citrus and hate sticky stuff, so the kitten will quickly learn to stay off the couch.

Did you change kitty litter brands? If so, try going back to the original litter. Cats prefer the fine grained scoopable litter, and many refuse to use scented litter.

Also...keep in mind that the kitten is still very young. Sometimes, kittens will be so busy playing and exploring that they forget until its too late that they need to pee. Since the bladder is too full to make it to the litter box, they go in the closest place. So, until he grows a little older you might want to put a litter box in the room with the couch so it is there when he urgently needs to go. (I know you don't want a litter box in the living room, but it is a good temporary trade-off...the couch vs an inconvenient litter box.)

Another thing to keep in mind is that inappropriate urination is the #1 sign of urinary tract problems. Your baby is a bit young for that, but I've seen cases in young kittens, so it is a possibility.


I have faith that the problem can be cured

Lotsocats, Thank you so much for your reply. I will definitely try to do the citrus thing with the couch. As far as the litter box being in the liveing room, my husband will not go for it. I think maybe part of the problem is that the litter is all the way in the basement, and we have a fairly large house. The litter will have to remain there, but perhaps, the kitty should be kept in the basement until he learns? Any thoughts??

I wouldn't keep the kitty in the basement. Instead, can you put a temporary litterbox somewhere else upstairs for him to use? Cats grow so quickly that you will probably need it for only a month or two....again, a little temporary inconvenience is a lot better than a lifetime of inappropriate urination!

I had to put a litter box in our family room because of a similar problem. My husband was not at all pleased, but I convinced him that we were better off having the cat pee in the box in the family room than on the wool rug in the family room. He grumbled and complained, but agreed with my logic. We kept the litter box in the room for about 1.5 months before moving it back to the basement. We have not had a problem since then (1 year ago).

So...tell your husband to grin and bear it for a month or so...it will make all of your lives better in the long run!

Thanks. I will print your response and give it to my husband and perhaps it will make a difference. I think you are right though. The real problem is that we are in the process or selling and showing our house to potential Buyers, which is why my husband obviously does not want the litter box in sight (or smell)!

The kitty in the picture under your name...he looks just like my last cat, Norton, who recently died. My poor little, sweet baby. Is that kitty yours now? He's very cute!

-Jacquie

Showing the house to potential buyers does put a hitch on things. You can surround the liter box with pretty plants which will help clean the air and hide the box. Or, if you have an out of the way place upstairs where buyers probably won't look, you can put it there.

The picture under my name is one I borrowed from the user cp page. But...I selected this picture because it was so cute! By the way, I am sorry for your loss of Norton. It hurts so much when a loved kitty dies.

Thanks for the pointers. It is much appreciated.

I can only see a portion of the kitty under your name, but it looks so much like Norton, that it is unbelievable. Thanks for the condolence. It was so hard when Norty died. I felt like I would die, I really did. It was the worst pain ever, I swear. I know that most people have been through it so they can realte to it. But I loved that cat so much. Like he was my son. He was the greatest cat of all time. So sweet and smart. He never did anything wrong, really! He just died on July 5th. I think of him all of the time. In fact, my husband got Jinxy because he was so worried about how upset I was and how much I was crying. I did not want the little guy at all. At least not so soon after Norty died. I had no choice in the matter though. It helped a lot though. Every time I would start to cry, Jinxy would do something funny and I had to smile. I called him my little distraction at first, but now I love him. He could never replace Norty though. That would be like replacing someone in your own family. It just cant be done.

Anyway, I'll let you know how I make out with my husband and Jinxy!

-Jacquie

Oh...he died so recently! I know you must still be miserable. My 18 year old died a couple of years ago and I still get teary when I think of her. I'm glad Jinxy is bringing you moments of happiness, but you're right that she will never take the place of Norton. Despite that, I think you will soon find her to be her own wonderful special kitty who will worm her way deep in your heart just like Norton did.

Thanks. Yes, I am still miserable and get teary every day still, but Jinxy is special in his own way. I will love Jinxy, but Norty will be in my heart forever and ever.

Wow, you had a cat that lived to 18 years!? That is remarkable. You must be a good Mommy!!

-Jacquie

It is amazing that Peppy lived 18 years because she had a pretty rough life. I rescued her when she was a kitten from some neighbors who were putting LSD in her milk and were otherwise very abusive to her. Then, I moved a lot (including to and from Germany) with her. She was the tiniest, sweetest little kitty. She slept on my butt every night for those 18 years...even now I will wake up expecting her to be perched on my rear end! Sigh.

I now have 5(!) other cats who are my babies and I love them all deeply. But no one will ever take the place of little Peppy.

Hello Jacquie!
I'm not sure if you remember me? We corresponded a while regarding Norton..
How is it going with your new baby and your issue about peeing? Has your hubby been able to handle this better?
Keep us posted! Hope all the suggestions that have been made here have helped you in some way with your new baby Jinxy. Do you have a pic of Jinxy??
Pamela

Lotsocats,

I actually got very teary reading your post. Poor little Peppy. I am glad you took such good care of him. I just don't understand what is wrong with people!! How could anyone be abusive towards an amimal. It pains me greatly!! So glad there are people out there like you and me! I know just how you feel about him. They really get under your skin, don't they?

Pamela,

Yes I do remember you and your concern. Jinxy is doing pretty well. I dont have a scanner so I cannot give you one of the MANY pictures I have. He is unequivocally the cutest kitty ever!! I'm not even being biased. What a face. We are selling our house and we have people coming in to look at it every day, and no one can resist his powers of cuteness!!! He's too much. He blongs on one of those calendars!

However, he had another accident on the couch last night. All of the suggestions I have been getting are good ones, but my husband is the real problem here. He's a good man and he loves animals, but he is a clean freak too and he also expects this cat to behave just like Norton did. Norty had few accidents and was easily trained. The problem is that we have a much bigger home than when he trained Norty in his small condo. The litter box I feel is just too far away in the basement. When he gets excited, he messes up. My husband (Eric) feels that since he knows where it is and goes most of the time there should not be any problem. He smacks him when he does it even though I tell him this is ineffective and mean. ("worked with Norty!") He does not want the litter upstairs or consider getting a second litter for upstairs. I am sick of arguing about it with him. He thinks Jinxy is stupid. He is not. Today I am going to buy some double sided tape as someone suggested and put some on a towel and tuck the towel into the couch with the tape on it so that when he jumps on, he wont like it and hopefully jump off. There are 2 couches in question. I dont care what Eric says, I'm doing it and when we show the house, I'll take them off. This better work, because he wont consider the other alternatives (2nd litter box or unpleasant smell on couches to deter him) Wish me luck with this. If you have any other non-messy, non-smelly advice, please let me know.

Otherwise, still very sad about Norty. We received a plack (sp?) in the mail yesterday which I ordered in his honor. When I opened it I cried like a baby! I am not ashamed, I miss him so much. I wrote a long letter to him, just for myself, and it made me feel closer to him and a little better. I don't particularly want to feel any better though. I will always feel this way and it is my tribute to him because he was so wonderful and worth my thoughts, tears and love every day.

I absolutely love this site and am so glad I found it. I guess I can indirectly thank Norty for that too. People here are so nice and so helpful. I really didn't even know such niceness existed in the world really. This site changed my outlook and I am thankful to everyone who tried to help me with their advice and kind words. It helped me so much and continues to help me. I only hope that I can be as nice, compassionate and helpful to everyone as they have been to me. I will make sure of it.

-Jacquie

Too bad hubby is a clean freak! However I would think that he would think that a litter box is cleaner and neater than urine on a couch! Sometimes life would be easier if single! Husbands....you can't live with them and you can't live without them!

You are so right about husbands!! Sorry it took so long to respond, but I was on vacation last week.(I didn't go anywhere though, but was unable to get to my compouter at work)

The good news is that Jinxy has not peed anywhere except for his litter box in over a week. We just keep taking him down to his litter box several times a day and it has worked so far!! Thank goodness.

-Jacquie

I'm so glad that Jinxy has had no accidents for a while. I guess that until he gets a little older taking him to the litter box a couple times a day is a good idea! Soon he will be better at recognizing when his bladder is getting full before it becomes an emergency.

Catarina,

Thank you so much for your post. I am sorry you lost your kitty this year. I know you can relate then to how much I loved my Norty. I still find it hard to talk about it out loud. I loved him like a child and I feel like I let him down. Very helpless when you cant help someone you love. Especially when they cant tell you what's wrong with them or how to help them. I hope it will get easier someday. The picture on your post was positively adorable!! I had a cat like that a long time ago we named Spunky.

My husband loves animals, but he is a major pain in the ass and not the most nurturing person. However, I can tell that he loves Jinxy now and I am able to handle him as far as the kitty is concerned a little better. I put towels on the couches where he was peeing with double sided tape on it (as suggested on this site!) and it has worked so far. But you are right, I have a feeling that he is going to give us more problems in this area. The good news is that we are moving to a new home soon and I have told my husband that I insist that the litter box be put in a spare bedroom upstairs instead of the basement and he ageed. One problem solved. Maybe you or someone else reading this can help me in other problems I am having with Jinxy.

As you read, he is a Persian. He has this kind of nose whistle and makes little noises when I hold him, kind of like sighing a lot. And he snores a little. I took him last week to the vet and she said that she couldn't tell if it was in his chest or his nose. It could be a pollup (sp?) in his nose, but she gave him antibiotics in the meantime to see if it is a respiratory infection that will clear up, which it hasn't. He also has been throwing up the last couple of days. Maybe its because he got wormed or because he got shots for distemper and rabies last week, or maybe he's sick, or maybe its the medicine, or maybe his food doesn't agree with him (we give him Iams kitten). I just dont know what to do. After what happened to Norty, I am so paranoid that something could be wrong without my knowledge. But these trips to the vet are costing a fortune already and she doesn't know what's woring with him. She said if the Clavamox doesn't work, then she wants to take an X-ray of his nose. Anyway, I read somewhere that Persians are prone to respiratory problems. Are you familiar with that or with any of what I am saying. If so, please shed any light on this situation that you can.

I appreciate your help and understanding.

-Jacquie

Catarina,

Thank you again for your post. I pretty much figured that you wouldn't really be able to help me considering you are not a vet and it could be so many things. I'm glad to hear your kitty too had a nose whistle that he grew out of. Hopefully that is the case. I too wondered why the vet did not just take an x-ray, but maybe she wanted to save me some money since she didn't think the problem was life threatening. I had a different vet with Norty. I was very upset with him about Norty's treatment when he was just recently sick...kind of a long story. So when we got Jinxy we switched to this new vet. She seems really nice, but I just hope she knows what she is doing. I was a little bothered when she suggested that we get him de-clawed. I am pretty against that and am not even considering it, but she said that it is no big deal and that animal rights people are crazy when it comes to that. She did it to her cats. Jinxy has to get neutered in about 6 weeks or so, so if his breathing is still heavy, I will have her take an x-ray then. I will check out that book in the meantime though. He did not puke yesterday, (yeah!!) but when he does, it is not hairballs at all, just his food. Also, that picture on your last post is too much!! It kind of looks like Jinxy, but less fur. Jinxy sleeps just like that, on his back, all the time. So, so cute!!

By the way, I am just curious at how your kitty died? You said that you found this site looking for answers. That is exactly how I found this site and I still have questions about Norty's illness. I thought maybe your kitty might have had a similar problem?

Yes, Jersey is actually really great. People do not understand that just because there are som kind of gross parts of Jersey that there are not really beautiful parts. I love where I live. Lots and lots of wood, mountains and nature. It's awesome. But I too hate the winter. I would never want to move except for that part. Florida sounds great to me!!

Talk to you soon!!

-Jacquie

Okay Jacquie
Stay calm Yes, persians do have problems with upper respitory infections. They sometimes will breath funny and make noises because of the pushed in features. Now, I know yours is not standard, but he still could have all the internal passages. Same thing goes for his eyes. If they run at all, it is probably because of small tear ducts. Clavamox will usually do the trick if it is an upper respitory problem. You can have the vet check for any blockage or even a chest x ray if asthma is a possiblility. However, I have also found in my experience that most pet store cats will have chronic respitory problems until they are about a year old. Mostly I think it's because of the poor conditions as babies and inbreeding.
As for the vomit...I havnt seen cats showing signs of a vaccine reaction a week after the shots. Most bad reactors do so within 10 to 20 minutes of the vaccine. Some will show signs within a few hours. The first thing I would try is the food. I would gradually switch him to a different brand. If you are happy with Iams, you can try the Eukanuba. You can also try the science diet, Nutro or Pro Plan. Chronic vomiting is usually due to the food unless they are ill. While I am here, did the vet do a FELV and FIV test on him yet?
Now these are just my thoughts....My suggestion might be to call around and ask the different vets if they declaw. You will probably come across a vet that does not perform the surgery at all. I would give it a try, they are usually very good with feline medicine.