Cat peeing around apartment

[servals]

He is a male neutered cat, 3 and a half years old. The shelter I adopted him from thinks he is a british shorthair, if that is relevant. He was brought in as a stray.

Everything was fine for a while. I lived in a very small apartment with nothing low to the ground, and no carpeting. Then I moved into a bigger space, with carpeting throughout the apartment. The guest bedroom is loosely furnished, and I just have a full mattress on the floor.

He first started peeing on the guest bed. I IMMEDIATELY took him to the vet and he was given a clean bill of health, so I know this is a behavioral issue.

I tried to get him to stop peeing on the guest bed, cleaned the sheets entirely, cleaned the mattress, put on a bed wetting mattress protectors meant for kids, and none of that worked. So I closed the guest bedroom door and I don't let him in there anymore. I bought a new, bigger, litter box. 

Then he started peeing in the living room. I cleaned it up using pet cleanup stuff meant for this situation. I didn't catch him the next few times, because I was in a different room. I heard him digging at the carpet and found a nice fresh pee spot. Cleaned it up again. Repeat. I did some research and read that I need to make the carpet seem less appealing and the litter box more appealing to him. People said to clean the area, and put tin foil to try and keep him off the spot. So I put tin foil down. He stopped peeing on that spot -- he peed on the carpet in the other corner of the living room. Now he's also peeing on the rugs in the bathroom. 

I scoop his litter every day. I bought calming cat pheromone spray from nature's miracle and sprayed it around the apartment. I use Blue buffalo naturally fresh walnut based litter. I currently have a carpet spot cleaner on its way from amazon to hopefully completely clean the carpet. I think might be important to note that he doesn't pee on things that he uses. He sleeps on the couch, and doesn't pee on the couch. He sleeps on my bed, and (thankfully) does not pee on my bed. 

I can't let this problem continue. I'm a renter. But I am NOT willing to give up my cat. I love him very much and he is my companion. 

I'm very frustrated and I don't know what else to do to make him stop peeing outside the box. Thanks in advance!

 

[ralphonzo]

I've been in a similar situation, albeit with a spayed female. She hates litter. She'll only crap in it, after which she flies out of the box without a single thought of burying it. She wants to have as little as possible to do with the box and spend only the minimum amount of time in it. Eventually, after trying everything you tried including multiple boxes, a dozen brands of litter, sprays, etc., I figured out that I wasn't going to be able to make the little box more attractive than the cleaner-feeling (for her) alternatives like the carpet, so I had to offer an alternative we both approved of. I got a Rubbermaid-style tray that I lay paper towels on. It sits next to the litterbox, and she's the only cat who uses the tray. It isn't difficult to pick it up once used, carefully drop the soaked towel in the toilet, then spray out the tray in the kitchen sink with soap, dry it off, and put it back down with a fresh towel on top. I do that maybe twice a day. She never urinates anywhere else, but still uses the box for the other thing. You may want to put him on the tray a couple times when you first set it up so he can feel what a nice place to go it is.

I've never said this in my life as I can't stand cliches, but I feel it's appropriate just this once: Maybe it's time to think outside the box. If this is an unappealing suggestion, I'm sure others will have ideas for you which you can try first. What is essentially a cat urinal is certainly a last resort...

 

[moorspede]

Hi there, I'm by no means an expert on male cats, I have two BSHs, one of which had a peeing problem. It's really frustrating, isn't it? 

He obviously doesn't have a litter box aversion since you brought your original tray and litter with you.

Can I ask you a few questions?

Do you know if the previous tenants had cats? He may be feeling stressed smelling them?

How long have you been in the new apartment? Did you place him in a small room for a couple of days?

Did you clean the sheets etc with enzymatic cleaner? This is the only cleaner that completely removes the urine smell.

I would clean the apartment thoroughly with an enzymatic cleaner, place him into a small room for a week to retrain him to his litter box. I'd keep the plastic on the guest bed for awhile. I've heard cats hate the smell of citrus, so you could try oil on the bed with the plastic on it for example. I used lavender oil as my kitten seemed to like the citrus. .

There is a cat attractant that you can get at Amazon which seems to work for some cats, you place it on the litter and it's supposed to attract the cat to use it. I believe that there is also litter which has the stuff in it.

It took my kitten about six weeks to get things back to normal. Good luck!

 

[di and bob]

Sounds to me like he definitely doesn't like something about the litter, the box, OR the location. I would change locations first and see if that helps, then try different litters. There may have been a cat in the apartment before, that would start him trying to establish his territory. Or it may be because of the move and he is stressed. You might try some 'calming' treats on Amazon or Pet Meds, I only give one treat for vet visits and they really do help.  Once he gets more secure, he will stop. As for places he goes, if he has a favorite spot, like on top of the bed, get clear plastic carpet runner, the kind with those little 'nubs' on the back to stick down in the carpet, then put them nub side up, it hurts their paws to walk on it so they won't I had this runner all over my house for months when we moved and my male started peeing. They are easily moved and really work.  Good luck, I truly feel he will stop once he feels more secure, but that may be a while.

 

[servals]

An update as of last night and today: He peed in the litter box last night, and today when I got home! I'm gone most of the day, so unfortunately I do not know if he peed on the carpet while I was gone. I sprayed calming pheromone spray around the apartment and near the litter box, so I'm hoping that's what is pushing this positive change. Both times he peed in the box, I made a big deal about it and gave him treats. I want to associate going in the litter box with good things, and he was purring up a storm!

Ralphonzo: 

Thank you! I'll keep that in mind. He doesn't seem to completely hate the box though, thankfully. He pees and poops inside the box and has no problem burying it thankfully!

Moorspede: 

I don't know if the previous tenant had pets, but I do know that it's a pet friendly building. Definitely possible. This is our 4th week in the apartment, and I think I read it takes a cat 6 weeks to adjust. So he still needs some time for this to feel like home. I didn't put him in a room at first, no. My only problem with that now is that I'm a full time student with a part time job, would it make him more stressed to be confined to a single room do you think? I'm gone a good chunk of every day.

I do have a blacklight flashlight coming in the mail so I can check around the apartment, and I also have a bissel carpet cleaner coming too. I'll definitely get some enzymatic cleaner, thank you.

Di and Bob:

I think along with moving the litter box, I'm going to get a second one too. I'm going to change litter to the attracting kind (I found it on amazon! woohoo!) and the next time I'm at the pet store I'm going to see everything they have to aid in calming him. He's definitely a sensitive cat. I really like the idea of those carpet runners. He does have a spot where he has peed most frequently in, so I think once I get the carpet completely clean I'll get some of the runners too.

Thanks for all your help so far everyone!

 

[MoochNNoodles]

Please keep us updated!  It's always good to hear what worked or didn't work for other people. 

 

[moorspede]

That's wonderful news! Congratulations! That's a definite no for the retraining in a small room. Don't be discouraged if he slips a few times but it sounds like it's over. It will still be good if you could use the enzymatic cleaner on the places you know your cat has been to the toilet. When they pee in a certain place it becomes their toilet. Not being able to smell his urine in these places will help him to forget this.