Another peeing question. I'm stumped! (And sad.)

[claired]

My Guy keeps peeing in my favorite Papasan chair, and I don't know what to do.

The backstory: I got the chair second-hand from Goodwill. Guy immediately pees on it when I get it home. I try enzyme cleaners to remove the smell, and he pees in it again before the cleaner is even dry.

I throw out the cushion and wait a few months with an empty frame (which was also treated with enzyme cleaner stuff) figuring there were probably offensive odors from other pets of the previous owner.

I get my stimulus rebate check and go splurge on a brand new, never used $65 dollar cushion. This very quickly became my favorite chair for reading in...

Till today. I sit in the chair...what's that smell? Not again...

Yes again. I really want to cry now! He doesn't pee on ANYTHING else inappropriately. EVER. Why this furniture? Can shapes be offensive? What can I do?

 

[laureen227]

i assume he's been checked for a UTI? [each cat chooses different peeing locations, btw - my Chip prefers cardboard boxes, while Pixel peed on my bed. both had UTIs...]
after that - if you're treating the chair w/an enzyme cleaner, it has to dry completely before the cat has access to it again - at least, that's what mine says on the bottle.
after it's dried, try spraying w/feliway &/or catnip spray.
[Chip recently peed in a new basket i got for toy storage. after i cleaned it w/Nature's Miracle, i let it dry... then sprayed w/feliway, then w/catnip. he hasn't re-baptized it yet

].
hope one of these helps!

 

[claired]

He hasn't been checked for a UTI recently, but I did have him checked for it with the first round with the cushion, and he came back clean. Should he be checked again, even if the first offense wasn't from that?

 

[laureen227]

Originally Posted by ClaireD

He hasn't been checked for a UTI recently, but I did have him checked for it with the first round with the cushion, and he came back clean. Should he be checked again, even if the first offense wasn't from that?

i probably would. 1st offense might've been just what you suspected - scenting other animals. this one might be - UTI, i've peed hereabouts before.

 

[claired]

Well, it's confirmed as not a UTI. But he did manage to break into the closet where I have the cushion shoved away just to re-pee on it...before the enzyme stuff was even dry.

 

[mschauer]

Does he ever pee in a litter box?

If that is the only object he pees on, I would do something to keep him away from it all together. Maybe use one of those devices meant to keep them off things by spraying air or sounding an alarm. I used the alarm type devices to train my crew to stay off of eating surfaces.

 

[momofmany]

I've had cats that choose certain shapes to pee on. Papason chairs would be one of those shapes for some really weird reason. I don't know if its because of the shape of the bowl. One of my cats can't help but pee in plastic bins, regardless if they are full of litter or not. So yes, I think that some cats get a preference to certain shapes or textures.

But there's still hope. If you got it from goodwill and it came from a house full of cats, perhaps the frame itself smells like other cats and that is what is attracting them? Have you cleaned off the entire frame of the chair? And have you put things like bubble wrap on it to deter them from it?

 

[claired]

Originally Posted by mschauer

Does he ever pee in a litter box?

He's never really peed in anything but the litter box, which is part of what gets me about this whole thing. He was still peeing in the litter box, in between peeing in the chair, too.

I'm thinking the shape might (somehow) be the issue for him. I don't think I could cover it in bubble wrap as a deterrent, cause he's also a plastic-eater.

I also treated the frame with the Nature's Miracle stuff. Should I try that again? How much (or how long it needs soaking) is needed for it to be effective on wood?

 

[abstract]

I'm not really sure why he's doing this, especially with a new cushion... all I can suggest is a powerful feline deterrant of some kind. You can try spraying the whole thing down with something orange scented - I'm told cats dislike citrus smells, but it should smell pleasant enough to you.

 

[emmylou]

My guess is that it's either a scent or a texture issue. When I first got my cat, I discovered that I couldn't have suede pillows in the house.

If you've completely treated the chair with Nature's Miracle (and a good soaking with Febreeze might not hurt either), then try behavioral tricks. I got my cat to stop peeing on the chairs that had had the suede on them by covering them in double-stick tape (the kind they sell at the pet store, which is removable without leaving a mark). It took months, and I couldn't use the chairs during that time, but the cat learned that those chairs were off-limits. Years later, and he never goes near them.

 

[cc12]

If you can put the chair away and then get some cat attract. I had to replace my sectional after Cleo peed all over it.
If the cat can get out of the habit it could help.

 

[rattatat]

i'm laughingbecause my cat does the same exact thing  - she only ever pees in the litter box. but when i got a papasan, she peed all over it. i cleaned it. she peed on it again. had to get rid of it. now i want another one and was afraid she'd pee on it again, so  googled and see that there are a few people who have cats who pee on papasans :/

 

[Starry Cat]

I have a papasan as well. Although, my cat doesn't pee in mine. Maybe its because I put a grumpy cat blanket over it, lol.