CAT PEEING!!! I have tried EVERYTHING

Ok, this is like to 200th time I have had trouble with the cats peeing outside their boxes. Normally it is the female and she is always sick when she does it. This time it is the male and he is NOT sick.

We had to move the dogs water bowl to the front room for awhile. He started peeing on the rug that we had the bowl sitting on. So, we threw it away and he started peeing on the wood where the rug was (we cleaned the wood with a protein digesting bacterial cleaner) and put a plastic runner down. Now he pees on that!! He was also peeing on the dog bed so we threw it away as well and so far he hasn't peed where it was. He also peed on the bag that my schoolbooks were in.

HOW DO I GET HIM TO STOP??? We have 4 litterboxes and we keep them VERY clean. The only thing that I can think of that might have set him off is that we moved the dogs water bowl and we also had my cousin's 2 year old for a week while my cousin had her new baby. The toddler did not have access to the part of the house where the litterboxes were. The cat chose to come into the living room and pee in all the spots!!! I am so stressed out with these cats (the other female is throwing up all the time, she has a weight problem) that I am considering taking all 3 to the shelter and washing my hands of the whole thing. I can't have a new baby in this house if it is covered in cat pee!!!!!!! (we are expecting)

Don't get me wrong I love my kitties and am not one to just throw them away, but I am at the end of my rope here...Anyone that has an idea PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE help me!

You said that the male is not sick. Do you mean that he was taken to the vet for a urinalysis and the vet found his urine to be free of crystals and blood? If not, please take your boy to the vet ASAP and tell the vet about the inappropriate urination so that he/she will know to test the urine.

Also, it sounds like things are pretty stressful at home right now (with a baby on the way, a dog, and a barfing cat). Your male might be picking up on all of this stress and having these problems as a result (and stress can cause urinary tract infections as well). Do you know why the other cat is throwing up all of the time? Perhaps adding a Feliway Comfort Zone diffuser to the house will help calm the cats which may help reduce the problems they are having.


Anyway, if your cat was given a urinalysis and it was found to be clean, try these ideas:


• If you use a covered litter box, take off the lid. Many cats refuse to use covered boxes.

• Most cats prefer fine-grained unscented litter. So, try changing litter even if she liked this litter in the past.

• Most cats prefer to poop in a different box than the one in which they pee. So have at least two boxes for one cat.

• If you have more than one cat, make sure you have at least one litter box per cat PLUS one extra box. So, if you have two cats, three litter boxes is ideal. Do not place the boxes right next to each other. Two boxes that are together is the same as just one box in the catâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s mind!

• Make sure you scoop the litter box daily, and with multiple cats, scoop twice daily. Cats often refuse to use dirty boxes. Most of us avoid toilets that are full of pee and poop. Cats are even more fastidious than us humans and certainly have more delicate senses of smell, so of course they do not want to step in a box full of old feces and urine! A clean rug is much more attractive than a dirty box!

• If your litter boxes are old, they may have absorbed odors even if you regularly clean them. So, try buying new boxes.

• Make sure your litter boxes are in a place where the cat feels safe while going potty. If she is disturbed by you or your kids or another cat or dog while she is trying to potty, she will choose to use a safer location. So, move the litter box to a location where she can see the comings and goings of the other people and animals in the house. You can set up the box in the corner of a room, then surround the box with nice house plants. It will be attractive and open enough for the cat to feel safe!

• Put a litter box on each level (floor) of the house.

• Make sure you thoroughly clean all old urine spots on the rug and elsewhere. If she can smell the old urine she will think that place is a good place to potty. Use a flourescent black light to find old urine and treat all old spots with an enzymatic cleanser.

• Try putting a plastic carpet runner upside down on the places she likes to urinate....most cats don't like to walk on the "spikes" so they will avoid the covered spots.

• Put something real smelly where she likes to urinate...most cats hate the smell of citrus, so try putting citrus scented air freshener or orange peels or citrus potpourri where she urinates.

• According to Cat Behaviorist Amy Shojai- if your cat is peeing on personal items the cat is probably stressed out over something. Urinating on some object that holds your scent is calming to him. If you can eliminate the stressor, chances are good that the potty problem will end.

• If your cat is standing inside the litter box and aiming outside the box, you simply need a larger box! Try a Rubbermaid under-bed storage container as a litter box instead of the typical small box.

It's been my experience that having the vet do an x-ray of the bladder can help alot ...will rule out bladder stones....just a thought...
Thanks,
Ellen