At My Wits End With Kaylee

[jreiger]

Kaylee is eight months old, and about two months ago she started peeing on my clothes...clean or dirty, it did not matter. I have been using the same laundry detergent since I got them.  Vet found nothing wrong after extensive tests, but suggested I get her fixed. I did. A few days later, it started up again. 

I clean the litter boxes out (there are four cats in the house, and we have five litterboxes) twice daily, and 99% of the time she uses them. I have been to three vets, and they all gave her a clean bill of health. I have feliway, because one of the other cats doesn't like her too much. Is it because of that? 

 

[catlady2013]

It takes about 30 days for a cat to lose hormones after surgery so don't expect much improvement until then.  That being said if there are any spots where Kaylee peed she will be drawn back to it if she can smell it.  First I suggest getting a UV flash light and looking for pee spots.  Then you can use vinegar on hard floors and something like Natures Miracle enzyme cleaner on the carpet.  Keep cleaning and give her 30 full days after surgery to see if anything improves.  Keep on top of cat fights, try to find ways to make everyone get along like play and treats.  Reward good behavior when you see it.  Pay close attention to see if you can find other reasons for this behavior.  You can even keep a log.

 

[jreiger]

I didn't know about the hormones, but there is not much to clean up, as she is just peeing on my clothes, no where else (I have done the UV thing).

 

[Willowy]

I have to say, I've always considered it normal for cats to pee on piles of laundry :tongue2:. But that's because my childhood cat did it all the time. We learned to put dirty clothes in the hamper and clean clothes in the drawers pretty quick! I can really only recommend putting the clothese where she can't pee on them.

 

[catslady]

I just posted something similar on another forum, but wanted to share my advice with you.

My cat started peeing anywhere that had an appealing fabric/material, like rugs, clothing, etc. I love clothes/fashion, and when my cat peed on my favorite skirt and it had to be trashed, I started googling with a vengeance to figure out what was going on. It's odd that your cat has a clean bill of health, because most experts agree that cats tend to pee outside of the box because they have a health condition where urinating causes intense pain. Unfortunately, the cat will then begin to associate the litter box with this pain. In my case, after a trip to the vet, we found he had cystitis (inflammed bladder), which my vet believed was due to him not drinking enough water. Cat food can be very protein heavy, and if cats do not get enough water, this can be the source of inlammation/discomfort. What I did was purchased a drinking fountain, and my issues were solved, since he began drinking more. I also tried moistening the dry food slightly, and trying to supplement wet food, but my cat is unfortunately not much of a wet food fan. I might recommend trying to get your cat to drink more, even if there isn't a known health condition that your vet has found.

I would also try to pay extra attention to cleaning your litter box during this time. I can usually be pretty lax with mine (clean one time a day), but during this time period, I completely trashed my old box and cleaned the new one like a crazy person. Apparently, smells can settle into any scratches made into the plastic, and a new one may just be the key. I also researched and found that although humans love hooded/domed boxes, cats do not, as they can be dark and cramped. My old one was a dark blue, and I changed to a tan one with a clear lid from Petco, which they love. I also switched litters to Cat Attract, and have been using it since with no issues. Additionally, experts recommend having one box per cat. We now have two, and they both tend to use the same one, but at least they can use the other one if they go into the main one and don't find things to their liking.

I'm not sure what the main factor was in solving my issues, but trying some of these methods couldn't hurt. In my experience, peeing outside the box was a health condition, so we tried to clear that up, and I also tried to make the box more enticing. Hopefully your girl feels better soon! As for the smell, I would recommend Nature's Miracle in Orange, would did a good job of covering it up for me.

We also used Feliway infusers in my house, since our Border Collie can get pretty annoying when he tries to herd them. I don't think the Feliway had ever been an issue in this way. We ultimately stopped using it, since our house was too large for one dinky infuser, and I didn't notice any negative changes. If it works for you, though, I would probably guess you're okay to use it. I never noticed any ill health effects.

 

[skeletor]

My 5 year old tabby started doing the same thing back in May, and it persisted until October. The majority of the time she uses the litter box but every now and then she pees on the rug and clothes in the bathroom. She knows she's doing wrong, because I've caught her in the act and she freaks out, runs and hides even without me using negative reinforcement.

I bought a sentry pheromone disperser after narrowing down causes and eliminating UTIs and other health problems. I thought she was stressed and blaming me, but my larger cat was also picking on her and playing a bit more roughly than she likes. Buying the disperser helped them both and stopped her accidents. As soon as the 30 day supply runs out she starts again.

However! Since I found a kitten on the day of her last incident she hasn't had one since. The large cat has a new playmate which takes the attention off her, and she's got her mid-life crisis baby to take care of. No need for the disperser anymore, two months "Clean"