Cat Spraying Is Driving Us Crazy

[whattheduck07]

I have never posted to a forum for help, but I'm hoping that maybe someone out there has had a similar problem that has remedied it...

My husband and I have two female cats (which may explain a lot) who we love very dearly. They are polar opposites, and have their good and bad moments. However, about three or four years ago, we started noticing that one of our cats was peeing outside of their litter box. We were frustrated, but it wasn't a HUGE deal because it wasn't on anything important. We also had one cat who scratched...everywhere. But again, it wasn't too bad because we could easily fix where they were scratching.

Now fast forward two years, we are in a new apartment and everything is going good. There was no more scratching, no more peeing...until one day we noticed a very strong scent of cat pee. It was happening again and worse than ever, as it was now on the walls and carpets near the cat litter boxes. Come to find out, it's our calico who was a new addition to the household a year or so after we got our first cat (and the peeing started about a year after we brought her home). We've now determined that it's in fact a marking, not inappropriate elimination.

We've tried cleaning the litter boxes every day. We've added a third litter box. We've tried Nature's Miracle on the spray spots. Nothing is working. We now are having to place puppy pads on the wall where she pees, and we also have to keep cardboard on our futon because she's peed there to. We have also considered buying all new litter boxes and adding a fourth box to maybe eliminate the need for them to share a box. The smell is terrible, and we are in a 1,000 sqft apartment, so there's not much else we can do than what's already been done.

My husband is threatening to get rid of her, but it breaks my heart to think I'd have to get rid of my cat. Our biggest concern is that we are looking to move into a home soon (by soon I mean we've started the process of looking). We don't want our cat to start peeing indoors and tainting this wonderful new home, but we also don't want to be a prisoner to our cat. We've contemplated making her an indoor/outdoor cat once we move, but then there's the risk of her getting more territorial because of other animals.

I'm about ready to try just about anything... so any advice you have about how to keep her from spraying would be appreciated.

 

[tulosai]

First, has she seen a vet? This should be done first to rule out any medical issues.

You say she is 'spraying'.  Has she been spayed? Does she do this at any particular time? How did you determine it was marking and not inappropriate elimination?

Have you tried adding some cat attract litter on top of her normal litter?

How recently have you moved? have there been any other changes (spend some time thinking about this as moving even one piece of furniture or changing the type of litter can majorly set off some cats).

Does she  ever go in the box?

Again, I'd see a vet first.  If you can answer some of my other questions we can also try to point you in a more specific direction if this is behavioral, not medical.

 

[whattheduck07]

She goes to a vet every six months and gets the whole work up, and we ask every time she's there and they say she's fine. However, we do ask every time we go just in case they missed something the previous times.

As far as determining it's spraying... the big give away is that we did see her pee on the pads once. She put her backside up against the wall, tail straight up and just peed. Her tail quivered as well. The only thing is that it does appear she's peeing far more than she would in the litter box, but the way she does it says spraying. Sadly we haven't figured out if it happens at a particular time, but we usually wake up in the morning or come home from work to see it happened. Very rarely does it happen while we are actually at home. It does seem that she does it generally in the same spots though - two places right out side where their litter boxes are. It also sometimes happens in the litter box area, but it's not as frequent.

We moved about two years ago to this new apartment, but before that I know that my husband (boyfriend at the time) and I used to travel her back and forth because he would keep her while I was in college. It started a little bit after we stopped bringing her back and forth and it's been fairly constant. We had suspicions it might have been she never fully adjusted to our other cat, but we just aren't sure.

And lastly, she does in use the litter box. If I had to guess, it's probably about 60/40 litter box to spraying. Usually in a week (if we don't change the puppy pads like we should) we see about 3-4 spots of spraying. The thing is, we see her use the litter box and she kind of just perches on the box and does her business, which is much different than her spraying behavior... 

Any advice? 

 

 

[whattheduck07]

Oh, and we have not tried the cat attract litter. We use Fresh Step Unscented litter and that has never changed because we know that cats can be picky. Maybe it is the litter and that's why she's doing it? Our other cat doesn't seem to have any problems with the cat litter though, and she's extremely well behaved.

 

[shadowsrescue]

I would first get her to the vet for a check up.  Even though she goes every 6 months, she may have a UTI.  Have you ever brought in a urine sample? 

Cats can be finicky about litter and litter boxes.  I never use a box with a lid/hood/cover.  Also I use sterlite containers instead of a regular cat box.  It gives the cat more room.  As for cats who are spraying, sometimes a large/tall rubbermaid container is best.  They can pee all over the sides of the container, but it stays inside the container. 

I really like litter attract.  I don't know anything about Fresh step,but it could be a texture issues too.  Any chance she is declawed?  I use Dr. Elseys Precious Multi Cat litter.  It is unscented and works very well.  You could start by mixing some of the litter attract with it.

Go to Jackson Galaxy's site.  He has a show on Animal Planet called "My Cat From Hell".  There have been multi episodes on cats with litter box issues.  Here is one example http://jacksongalaxy.com/2012/08/02/does-your-cat-pee-outside-the-litter-box/

I didn't see that you mentioned if she is spayed?

 

[whattheduck07]

We've never brought in a urine sample, but with as much peeing as she does it might not be too difficult to get one next time she goes in. Slightly unrelated, but she also HATES the vet. Last time I took her in, they called me and said they couldn't see her because she almost took the fingers off several nurses. She gets very stressed out at the vet, so more times than not if they can get her out of the carrier safely, they end up sedating her heavily so they can do what they need too. Then, she comes home and takes her stress out on our other cat. The problem kitty will go up and just bat at our other cat for just looking in her direction.

We don't cover our litter boxes, we learned that they didn't like that and we think that's why they started peeing outside of the litter box to begin with (as in improper elimination). Now we have three, open litter boxes for both cats to use. 

Neither of our cats are declawed (I couldn't imagine doing that to them!) and they have both been spayed. I'll have to keep the Dr. Elseys and the litter attract stuff in mind. We never thought of changing up the litter because our other cat isn't acting out so we figured it was an isolated incident to our calico being picky and obnoxious haha

 

[peaches08]

If she's peeing that much, that's not spraying.  Maybe try a different vet? 

 

[whattheduck07]

I wouldn't mind trying a different vet, especially since we use Petsmart Banfield. The thing that makes Banfield so attractive is they have a lot of the tests we'd need done included in their wellness plan. My only other concern about it possibly not being a health problem is that she's been doing this for about a year and a half. I would hate to think my poor kitty has been so uncomfortable for so long, especially if Banfield didn't catch it. We'd probably move vets permanently at that point. 

I will say, though, you all have me really thinking I need to take her back in just to triple check. Guess I'll be having a conversation with my husband tonight to see if we can set up a time.

 

[peaches08]

Cats are FANTASTIC at hiding discomfort.  Well, they don't typically whine and carry on like us dramatic humans do.  I had a cat do inappropriate elimination on and off for years.  Finally another vet did blood work for something else and her blood sugar was 450 (normal is 70-100).  Yep, diabetes.  Years later she was breathing funny so I got her an appointment.  Of course she wouldn't breathe funny for him, so the vet kind of looked at me crazy, and I smiled, "Fine, I'm the crazy cat lady.  I'll pay for the X-rays regardless if nothing is wrong.  But something tells me that something is wrong."  The vet was SHOCKED.  She had a thymoma (benign thymus tumor) that took up half of her chest cavity.  He was so apologetic, and I said, "It's fine, and I believe you didn't hear anything funny when listening to her chest.  This cat has fooled me and others before."

Cats.

 

[whattheduck07]

We decided after some consideration that it wouldn't hurt to take her back to the vet - and a different one at that. Hopefully we'll get a definite answer to our UTI/Not UTI question (or if she has some other problem going on), and move on with keeping the pee strictly in the litter box. If it's not a UTI or other health problem, Awe'll try buying all new litter boxes, and perhaps some larger ones. If that doesn't work, we'll try changing the litter brand. If that doesn't work, we might  be at a loss and I might be back on the forum again. Thank you to everyone to offered me some great advice that we will use going forward with our calico kitty

 

[shadowsrescue]

 
We decided after some consideration that it wouldn't hurt to take her back to the vet - and a different one at that. Hopefully we'll get a definite answer to our UTI/Not UTI question (or if she has some other problem going on), and move on with keeping the pee strictly in the litter box. If it's not a UTI or other health problem, Awe'll try buying all new litter boxes, and perhaps some larger ones. If that doesn't work, we'll try changing the litter brand. If that doesn't work, we might  be at a loss and I might be back on the forum again. Thank you to everyone to offered me some great advice that we will use going forward with our calico kitty

Good idea.  I remember having to get a urine sample from my cat once.  They gave me a small amount of special litter, a syringe and vial.  It was a pain, but it did work.  I do believe that the vet could get a needle aspiration sample right from the bladder too.  Hopefully you can get some answers.  Please keep us updated.

Does it seem as though she stands on the edge of the litter box and sprays pee?  On the show "My Cat From Hell", Jackson Galaxy calls it "elevator butt".  Some cats like to pee from a tall spot and spray instead of squatting to pee.  If you get the large rubbermaid tote, she can spray the sides of the tote and you can just clean the sides.  Do a google search on "rubbermaid tote for cat with elevator butt" and click on images.  You will see some examples.

 

[whattheduck07]

Thought I'd post a quick update on the pee problem. We recently decided until we both get paid again (early next week) that we would try buying a big Sterilite storage bin to use as a cat litter box. Since we implemented that we've only seen three accidents total, when we used to see, at it's worst, two to three in a day or two span. We've also began changing the litter every day, and cleaning any pee that hits the side of the bin. 

I also just recently posted a new topic called "younger cat bullying older cat" to address some aggression issues we've been having with Kimi - the same cat who has been peeing everywhere. If any of you have advice on taming cat-to-cat aggression, I'd love some advice on that post. Once we take her to the vet I'll be sure to post again.

 

[catpack]

I didn't see whether your cats are spayed or not?

 

[whattheduck07]

They are both spayed. Kimi (our problem kitty) we spayed ourselves, but Syra we adopted from a Petsmart and she was given to us spayed.

 

[shadowsrescue]

 
Thought I'd post a quick update on the pee problem. We recently decided until we both get paid again (early next week) that we would try buying a big Sterilite storage bin to use as a cat litter box. Since we implemented that we've only seen three accidents total, when we used to see, at it's worst, two to three in a day or two span. We've also began changing the litter every day, and cleaning any pee that hits the side of the bin. 

I also just recently posted a new topic called "younger cat bullying older cat" to address some aggression issues we've been having with Kimi - the same cat who has been peeing everywhere. If any of you have advice on taming cat-to-cat aggression, I'd love some advice on that post. Once we take her to the vet I'll be sure to post again.

That is great news!!  You may want to get more than one storage bin.  Place a second where she continues to pee.  Make sure you are cleaning the pee with a good enzymatic cleaner so it leaves no scent behind.  You can wipe the sides down with a Lysol/clorox wipe. 

I will try to take a look at your other post.

 

[katruble]

Oh, and we have not tried the cat attract litter. We use Fresh Step Unscented litter and that has never changed because we know that cats can be picky. Maybe it is the litter and that's why she's doing it? Our other cat doesn't seem to have any problems with the cat litter though, and she's extremely well behaved.

 

[katruble]

One of my kitties used to straddle the sides of the litterbox and P but usually missed the box .my vet suggested "premium choice" cat litter scoopable, no scent and it's not very expensive .because my cat didnt like the texture of tidy cat or many others .often it is a texture thing.

 

[whattheduck07]

Most Recent Update:

So, after only seeing 1 to 2 accidents in about a week and a half, we are now creeping back up to one a day accidents. It's still not as bad as 2-3 times a day, but it's still more than we'd like. We noticed that the storage bin we bought to help with the "spray" peeing is helping, and we've noticed that Kimi is peeing on the sides of the bin occasionally. We think is helping her not pee outside as often. We also noticed she pees only in one spot outside the litter box (thank you puppy pads). Every time she goes outside the box, it's in the corner of the hallway outside the litter box room. We hope this will help us some how, even if it doesn't seem like it right now.

We also think that the reason she keeps going back to the puppy pad is because we've yet to really rid that area of her pee. Pre-puppy pad, we have no idea how often she peed there, let alone how long it happened... We need a really heavy duty cleaner that will get down deep in the carpet to rid the smell and stains. Any advice on a good product?

Lastly, we are taking Kimi to the vet this week (a date and time has been set!). Hopefully we'll get a concrete answer on whether or not it's medical, and if it's not we can start to pursue the behaviorist route. Sorry for the novel of an update - but any advice on pet mess cleaners would be appreciated. Y'all have been beyond helpful

 

[katruble]

Nature's Wonder is great cleaner for accidents. I also use it to clean the litter pans every so many weeks. they now make a cat litter and my kitty who sometimes has a P problem had no problem with their litter .otherwise the only other litter I use is called premium choice unscented clumping. cats don't like scented litter. Good luck with what you find out at vet. keep us informed

 

[shadowsrescue]

Nature's Miracle is really good stuff.  You really need to get rid of the urine or she will keep going back.  I also would suggest you get rid of the puppy pee pads from that area.  Clean the area with Nature's Miracle and then put another litter box there.  It should only have to be there temporarily, but you do not want her to continue peeing there unless it's in a litter box.  It may not be an area where you want a box, but once she uses the litter box there you should be able to move it shortly.  Just get the area really really clean. 

Let us know how it goes at the vet.