4 Year Old Cat Pees In The Same Spot On The Carpet

mimicheese

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We have had Yuki for about two years, she is about 4 years old now. She was adopted as the second cat in the apartment.

Since we adopted her she has had occasional peeing outside of the litter box. We originally attributed it to her having trouble adapting to our home, and then to her health issues (throwing up, has since been fixed with better food), and then to not liking the litter options (we have to have non clay litter for cat #1)

Yuki will use her box most of the time, but probably three times a week she will pee in front of the door (we have three litter boxes in different rooms with different litter and box styles).

She is a cat who stays to herself 100% of the time, she does not approach me or play with the other cat. She will allow me to pet her for about a minute if I approach her, and sometimes she will bump noses with Cat. I really get the vibe that she wants to be the only cat. Most of her day is spent sleeping on the top of the couch. She is blind, but so is Cat.

I have had feliway in every room for the last two months but it doesn't seem to effect her peeing. The vet says she does not have any health issues to cause this.

I am pretty attached to her, but I feel like being a single cat would make her happier. Should I take the risk of rehoming her? I feel really bad because I adopted her from a shelter and I don't want her to go to a third home, but she doesn't seem as happy as she could be. I also plan on moving to a new home soon and I'm afraid of her peeing on brand new carpet, or hiding in a room for the rest of her life.

I feel like I've tried everything but ultimately Yuki doesn't seem super happy in my home :(
 

murphyboy

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Have you tried like a cat off spray? I am sorry you are going through this.
 

Columbine

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I'm so sorry you're going through all this with Yuki. It sounds to me like she's stressed or anxious, and that's why she's peeing. My girl will pee outside the box when she's ultra stressed (in her case, it's usually on the dog's bed :rolleyes:), so I do understand how frustrating it is to deal with.

As Yuki's peeing by the front door, my first thought is to check the outside of that door with a blackight. It's possible that there's a cat (or cats) making that door from the outside, making Yuki feel that she has to mark the inside as her territory. If this is the case, you'll need to clean the outside of the door (and anywhere else in that area that the backlight shows up) with enzymatic cleaner to remove all traces of urine marking, and look into humane cat deterrent options to keep other cats away from your front door. The cheapest of these is to scatter citrus peel outside your door, but there are various devices available too (sonic deterrents, motion activated sprinklers etc).

Inside the house, thoroughly clean the pee spot with enzymatic cleaner, and maybe cover the area with puppy pee pads for a while. These will protect your floor and make clean up much easier. Another option, if space allows, would be to place a litterbox over the pee spot, so that Yuki would at least be using a box rather than the floor. Over time, and once the trigger of other cats' territory marking has been removed, you should be able to gradually move this box to a more appropriate location.

You say Yuki doesn't like the litter your other cat needs, and also that you have several different litterbox and litter types available. It might help to add an extra box or two of Yuki's preferred litter/box style around the place, to give her a few more appropriate options to use.

Nothing about what you're saying makes me think that Yuki would rather be an only cat. I think she's just feeling stressed out right now, and is maybe a more anxious/nervy personality generally.
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