Another Cat Urinating Post

[telsiph]

Greetings,

I am sure you get a ton of these posts, but my local vet did not honestly have a good (working) recommendation for me so I am unsure how to proceed from here and figured asking for advice is my best option. I've had Annie for about 8 months now, I got her after my previous cat passed away. There were no issues for the first couple of months, and then we had an incident where she peed on the bed. I figured sometimes this happens, perhaps the liter box wasn't to her liking, so I cleaned it up and moved on. The issue continued to get worse though, and eventually she moved from the bed (which I still can't get the smell completely out of) to my recently purchased recliner. A little information about her, she is a healthy female Maine Coon. A bit skittish, but incredibly loving overall. I thought that maybe the liter box was too small for her as she is a larger cat, so I got the biggest liter box I could find, and I scoop it every morning to keep it clean. I change her water every morning, give her half a cat of wet food, and a bit of dry food throughout the day. She may have a few extra pounds, but otherwise is healthy. Unfortunately the issue still seems to happen sporadically. Sometimes going for weeks without an incident, sometimes only for a day or 2. 

She is on the fast track to completely ruining this chair, so I have to figure out the cause of this issue. I've been cleaning it up with "Nature's Miracle - Advanced Formula" which was a recommendation from my vet to clean up the stains and remove any "indications" that it might be an OK place to urinate. It helps, but the smell seems to never truly dissipate. I also purchased "Feliway" as per their recommendation, which is supposed to stop marking and comfort the cat, but I didn't see it make any change (unless I need to apply it every day, which I have not been doing). She isn't in any pain, no infections or diseases (this has been going on back and forth for months). There isn't even an average time of day she does it, just before this post I came in from cooking breakfast with my SO and caught her just after urinating on the chair.

So I am looking for any recommendations on where to go from here in preventing this issue. Also, if anyone has any ideas on how to clean this chair

http://thumbs.barileatherfurniture.com/images/categories/lane_revive_fabric_recliner.jpg

From the damage, I would be eternally grateful. I love her, so I have no intentions of getting rid of her, but I've got to figure out how to stop this problem. Also, one final question, do spayed cats "mark" territory? I do have a dog, a Vizsla/Lab mix, so I'm curious if it is less about the cleanliness of the literbox (as I clean it every morning) and more about marking it? Unless that is not something female cats do. They may not love each other, but they've never fought and frequently sit/sleep next to each other. 

 

[vball91]

I hate to tell you this, but you might need to throw out the recliner and not replace it until the behavior is under control. I'm not sure you can totally remove the smell out of the fabric. If you can still smell it, she certainly can.

I would suggest adding another litter box as some cats do not like to pee where they poop. You can also try Dr. Elsey's Cat Attract litter to entice her to use it more. You could try cleaning the litter more often as some cats don't like to go in a dirty litter box. Mine yells at me if it's dirty, and she needs to go, so I end up scooping 3-4 times a day.

Other than that, I'm not sure. I know that spayed females can spray, but I'm not sure why. Hopefully some more experienced members will respond here.

 

[telsiph]

Unfortunately the chair is too expensive to simply throw out, I do not make enough money to replace recliners because of a cat. I could get a second liter box I suppose, if anyone else thinks that would help. It doesn't seem to be the cleanliness of the liter box that is the problem though, as the liter box was completely empty of any wastes when I caught her this morning. The smell in the fabric is certainly not strong enough to be a massive issue, and after a few treatments I can get most of it out, but when smelled at extremely close range I can still smell it. Also, is that "attracting" liter something I can get locally? 

Does anyone else think a second liter box might help the situation? That is one thing I have not tried yet, and I would like to exhaust all possible options.

 

[catspaw66]

Yes, a second litter box would be the first thing I would try.  You might try using a different type of litter than the original box.  Is there any indication that the dog is using the litter box or terrorizing Annie when she is using the box? Is the dog male or female?  Has the dog been fixed? Does the dog sleep on the bed?  Does Annie?

Sorry about all the questions, it just helps narrow things down.

As far as cleaning the recliner, have you had it steam cleaned with enzyme mixture?  I am not sure that is even possible. 

 

[di and bob]

I'm curious to see some expert answers here too, my neutered male sprays at times on my doors, I'm sure it's because he smells the outside cats that come around. But since I take care of a couple of ferals, what do I do? But if anyone can give advise on how to get rid of cat urine odor I WOULD LOVE IT! I have used about everything with no success. The only suggestion I have for Telsiph is to maybe take the chair to a professional, but you might want to get an estimate first, a new one might be cheaper. Maybe you could cover it with a plastic for a while until she gets used to NOT peeing on it. The main thing is to figure out WHY!

 

[vball91]

 Dr. Elsey's Cat Attract litter is available at Petco/Petsmart and possibly some local pet stores but not regular grocery stories (at least in my area).

 

[telsiph]

Haha, I would honestly love if Annie only sprayed the door, furniture is so much more....personal. It makes me feel like she is upset about something, or telling me something, but I honestly don't know what. She certainly doesn't want for anything, I spoil the hell out of her. Hah, maybe I should stop spoiling her, perhaps she wants too much!

I believe I will go and acquire a second liter box, and put some of the attract liter in it, and use the same original liter box I have with the same liter. If anything, just as an experiment. I will look into some deep cleaning methods once I have the problems under control. I will say that Nature's Miracle does do a very good job, but it is not 100%. It certainly does enough that I can sit on the chair without issue, and company doesn't smell it. 

As for the questions about the dog. He is fixed, she is spayed. He doesn't touch her liter, or her food, if anything she bullies him. She prefers to drink out of his water bowl, rather than her own. The dog sleeps in a different room, Annie pretty much has full reign to go where she wants (like I said, spoiled). They tolerate each other, and there have never been any hostilities, but I wonder if she is marking it just to simply say "this is mine, stay away from it dog". Which obviously doesn't fly. Any other recommendations would be appreciated!

 

[catspaw66]

Thank you for answering the question I asked. I think by your last post that you are getting a handle on things. I thought that maybe the dog was marking and Annie was re-marking it to show it is HERS.