Adopting a Cat that Pees Everywhere.....

[oldgloryrags88]

Hello, members of The Cat Site!

I am a new member, but I've been reading on here for about 2 years now ( I just recently decided to join. Ha). I'll have to make a introduction post for myself some point, but for now, I've got a question....would you adopt a cat knowingly that it pees everywhere? I hope I posted this in the right selection. Here is my intake...

I am about to have a cat (she is a TICA purebred Ragdoll cat) flown to me from California (I live in Florida) and....her owner says she does not use her litter box for peeing. She is 6 going on 7 years old and is spayed. She has been to the vet for a possible urinary track infection\crystals, etc all came back clear. Owner says she uses his bed to pee on and his rugs\carpet and has been doing this on and off for a couple of years now. I fell in love with her and I just can't say no, even though she pees everywhere, but I was wanting to know if anyone would adopt a cat that does this? What happens when that 1% will actually adopt a cat like this? What about the cats that cannot find that 1%? Does anyone have any tips on helping her back into the litter box? I am a determined person and will NOT give up on her.

Thanks!

- oldgloryrags88

 

[mewtantmommy]

Welcome to TheCatSite. 

  Congratulations on your adoption!

Do you know if her other environment -- with her first owner -- had other pets?  How many litter boxes was she provided there?  Are there other pets in your household?  Has she been fixed?

I am sure some cat behavior experts will be along in the morning.

 

[oldgloryrags88]

Thanks for the response! 

Yes, they had one other cat. 2 litter boxes. Yes, she is spayed. Yes, I have a small farm and other cats (all spayed\neutered).

 

[mewtantmommy]

You are very welcome.  Two litter boxes for two cats = litter box shortage.  That could be one possible explanation of the problem.  Many cats like having their very own litter box, and many of them like to use different litter boxes for different excretory functions.  I believe the general rule is to provide one per cat, plus one.

You will want to start her with the same particular type kitty litter to which she is already accustomed.  That will help with her adjustment to your household.

There is some excellent guidance here on TCS as to introducing a new cat to a household already having cats in residence.

 

[Norachan]

Hi @oldgloryrags88  Glad you finally joined us.

Has she been declawed? A lot of cats experience pain for years after declawing surgery that makes them avoid the litter box. 

I'd suggest keeping her in one room to begin with. Just put as many litter boxes as you can in there with her. Try some with her regular litter, some with wood shavings, some with shredded paper etc etc. Try to find out if there is anything she will use.

It could be something as simple as her regular litter hurts her paws or she doesn't like the smell of it.

 

[oldgloryrags88]

You are very welcome.  Two litter boxes for two cats = litter box shortage.  That could be one possible explanation of the problem.  Many cats like having their very own litter box, and many of them like to use different litter boxes for different excretory functions.  I believe the general rule is to provide one per cat, plus one.

You will want to start her with the same particular type kitty litter to which she is already accustomed.  That will help with her adjustment to your household.

There is some excellent guidance here on TCS as to introducing a new cat to a household already having cats in residence.

Thanks!

 

[oldgloryrags88]

Hi @oldgloryrags88
 Glad you finally joined us.

Has she been declawed? A lot of cats experience pain for years after declawing surgery that makes them avoid the litter box. 

I'd suggest keeping her in one room to begin with. Just put as many litter boxes as you can in there with her. Try some with her regular litter, some with wood shavings, some with shredded paper etc etc. Try to find out if there is anything she will use.

It could be something as simple as her regular litter hurts her paws or she doesn't like the smell of it.

No, she's not declawed (yay!)

Sounds great! I'll try that. Thank you. I'll have to do a update post once I get her. [emoji]128522[/emoji]

 

[Primula]

I was wanting to know if anyone would adopt a cat that does this?

To answer your question, I would not. This is #1 on my list of reasons not to adopt a particular cat.

 

[oldgloryrags88]

To answer your question, I would not. This is #1 on my list of reasons not to adopt a particular cat.

I completely understand that. 2 of my cats I have now were 'offenders' in their previous home (they do not do this in my home). I think it depends on the cat/person/situation.
I just feel so bad for them when no one takes them. [emoji]128546[/emoji]

 

[Norachan]

I completely understand that. 2 of my cats I have now were 'offenders' in their previous home (they do not do this in my home). I think it depends on the cat/person/situation.
I just feel so bad for them when no one takes them. [emoji]128546[/emoji]

I think it's great that you are willing to put up with a little inconvenience to give this girl a loving home. One of my rescues, Forest, was duped in the woods by his previous family. He's a Persian, obviously had no idea how to fend for himself outside and was just a bag of bones when I found him. He's an absolutely lovely cat but he sprays sometimes if he gets stressed. I've often wondered if that's the reason he got dumped.

I don't mind the extra cleaning at all. He's such a sweet cat to have around.

Can we see some pictures of her when you adopt her? What's her name?

 

[oldgloryrags88]

I think it's great that you are willing to put up with a little inconvenience to give this girl a loving home. One of my rescues, Forest, was duped in the woods by his previous family. He's a Persian, obviously had no idea how to fend for himself outside and was just a bag of bones when I found him. He's an absolutely lovely cat but he sprays sometimes if he gets stressed. I've often wondered if that's the reason he got dumped.

I don't mind the extra cleaning at all. He's such a sweet cat to have around.

Can we see some pictures of her when you adopt her? What's her name?

I am so glad you found Forest! One of my previous past 'offenders' above is a Persian. I adopted her last October when she was 12 years old (now 13 years old), she is blind in both eyes since birth.

The Ragdoll's name is Delilah.

image.jpeg

• oldgloryrags88
• Aug 10, 2016

I attached a photo above (not sure if it'll turn out right). I think she is a beautiful cat. I'll upload some more/better pictures of her once I get her. [emoji]9786[/emoji]️

 

[Primula]

I don't mind the extra cleaning at all.

But it's not just a matter of cleaning is it? What about the smell? IMO there is nothing worse than the smell of cat pee outside a litter box.

 

[foxxycat]

Its possible maybe your vet can do a urine check for crystals/infection. Sometimes they don't show up right away.

Sometimes the litter isn't cleaned enough. Sometimes its the texture itself of the litter. sometimes its stress in the home.

do you have other pets in this home?

Sometimes its the luck of the draw. If I had hard wood floors I would take her. But I have carpeting so I don't know if I would BUT I would consider it if I was home all the time or had someone to be home with her to spend time with her.

Sometimes they eliminate in the bed as a way of getting your attention-stress-the other cat=maybe a stray outside made her uncomfortable and she is marking.

You can try several litters. make sure to use soft smooth pellet type litter not wood pellets or crystal. those are hard on the edges of paws. My cats love the ultralight cat litter. unscented of course. sometimes they want one to pee in and one to poop.

you will have to experiment with different dirts. I had one cat that we tried peat moss and garden soil as she was my carpet pooper...we figured out she hates clumping litter and got her plain clay litter which seemed to work for her. she had her own catbox and shared the house with 2 other cats.

 

[Norachan]

But it's not just a matter of cleaning is it? What about the smell? IMO there is nothing worse than the smell of cat pee outside a litter box.

Yes, you're right. I hate the smell too. The enzyme cleaners are pretty good though, they get rid of the smell altogether. What do you use to clean with? I really like Fizzion but I hear Nature's Miracle works well too.

 

[myth]

I haven't read all the replies on this, but I wanted to give you some ideas. I watched my cat from hell and learned alot from it when it came to reasons why cat's don't use a little box. There were cats that wouldn't use the box because they were declawed and thier paws were super sensative and it hurt them to walk on the litter, others had hip dysplasia, others were being bullied by other cats from outside. There are so many reasons its crazy but I suggest going to YouTube and searching the fallow ups from my cat from hell series, it's pretty much the episode condensed and tells you why they were not using the litter box and what they did to fix it. It's definitely opened my eyes when it comes to alot of cat behavior problems. I hope this helps!

 

[oldgloryrags88]

I haven't read all the replies on this, but I wanted to give you some ideas. I watched my cat from hell and learned alot from it when it came to reasons why cat's don't use a little box. There were cats that wouldn't use the box because they were declawed and thier paws were super sensative and it hurt them to walk on the litter, others had hip dysplasia, others were being bullied by other cats from outside. There are so many reasons its crazy but I suggest going to YouTube and searching the fallow ups from my cat from hell series, it's pretty much the episode condensed and tells you why they were not using the litter box and what they did to fix it. It's definitely opened my eyes when it comes to alot of cat behavior problems. I hope this helps!

Thank you!

 

[cocobutterfly]

Congratulations on your adoption! Our cat had a few accidents when we first brought her home. No medical issues at all... just anxiously adjusting to a new environment. We cleaned it up right away, and it never smelled.

We figured out that she is extremely picky about her litter, litter box and litter box location. We applied Jackson Galaxy's helpful advice, and the litter box problems disappeared. Here's how we implemented his advice:

1. We added more litter boxes scattered all over the house. We laid out four boxes (and a 5th one on standby) in different areas of the house and let her choose which she liked best. She started out using all of them then she decided on her favorite within a month or so and never went to the other boxes. She's a social butterfly, so she did not like the boxes that were in quiet rooms far away from her socializing/play zones. So we now have a litter box sitting in our family room next to our sofa where the whole family gathers to socialize and hang out. 

She's a family member so she also gets a say in where she'd like to put her piece of furniture down.

 Other cats might be the opposite, so let your cat choose the location.

2. We tested every kind of litter. We really hoped that she'd like the natural litter made of pine, corn or wheat, but she didn't like them. I'm sure their scents were foreign to her, so she stayed far away from them. She'd gotten used to the clay litter at her previous residence and at the shelter where we got her, so even though we were against clay, we had to give her what she wanted.  Dr. Elsey's Cat Attract (red bag) worked wonders for getting her back in the litter box. They're unscented but have phermones that attract cats. She practically ran into the box when we poured the stuff in. Then we slowly began adding more of Dr. Elsey's Ultra (blue bag) because it now works just as well at a lower cost than Cat Attract. We still add a cup or two of Cat Attract every time we change out her litter. 

3. Even though she's a small cat (8 pounds and the size of a kitten), she liked the biggest litter box with plenty of room for her to turn around and dig all she wants to. For her that was Nature's Miracle High Sided Litter Box. If your cat is bigger, you may have to go bigger because it's considered a mid-sized litter box and probably not big enough for a large cat. I'd also stay away from covered boxes. Those were designed to protect human noses while further aggravating cats' noses. Imagine being stuck in your bathroom with a closed door and no ventilation. I don't ever want to do that to our cats. And any added scent, air fresheners (i.e. Glade and Fabreeze) are banned from our house. They're toxic enough to cause cancer and respiratory problems in humans; it can do exponential damage to cats. Dr. Elsey's litter does a great job of absorbing the odor, so we've never been assaulted by any smell. Plus we scoop multiple times a day right after she pees or poops. Another thing we learned the hard way... she does not return to her litter box if her poop is in there. She'll find another place, a clean place, to pee. I don't blame her. I'd do the same if I went to a toilet and saw a big fat turd in there that I could not get rid of.

We slowly started removing the boxes that were not being used, and now she's down to that one favorite. We still have one back up set up in the bathroom in case of emergency, but it's been sitting there unused for months. And we still have hopes of slowly changing her over to World's Best (corn) litter one day. 

I hope some of this information is helpful for you and your new cat. Best of luck to you! Looking forward to hearing your updates.

 

[Primula]

Yes, you're right. I hate the smell too. The enzyme cleaners are pretty good though, they get rid of the smell altogether. What do you use to clean with? I really like Fizzion but I hear Nature's Miracle works well too.

I don't clean with anything since my 2 cats use their litter box.

 

[Draco]

Congrats on the adoption! You've received the advice I would've given here. I hope it goes smoothly!

 

[MoochNNoodles]

I'm late but adding; my mother has one who is a problem litter box user.  We assume that was the REAL reason she was returned to the SPCA; twice!  Through trial and error my mother has found some things that work.  one is using a big storage tub (tall and spacious) with soft litter.  This particular cat also likes to go outdoors; or did when she was younger.  She will also use a box with shredded paper or puppy pads.  Mom has had her for almost 13 years; making her about 15 now. She is a sweet cat and the issues have been frustrating.  But not impossible.  Mom is also careful about leaving things on the floor; like a pile of dirty clothing.  She used to go on the rug in front of you if you didn't let her outside.  She was clearly trying to tell us all something.

  

I bought a black light flashlight off Amazon to help me detect any accidents in my home.  (They can detect human "accidents" too. 

)  I use Nature's Miracle.  The only item I wasn't able to get the smell out of completely was a small rubber backed bath mat that had dried before I knew what happened.  It was in our guest bathroom.  (We don't keep those kinds of mats anymore.)

Good luck with your new kitty!  Thank you for giving her a second chance!