how to stop cats from urinating everywhere!!!??

[belle2006]

Background....I moved in with my boyfriend about a year ago with my 2 cats (male and female).  He has a dog and a cat also.  Things were rough to begin with but now all animals seem to get along fairly well.  My cats are fed in a separate room in the basement and the other cat is fed in another part of the basement.  The room my cats are in have a litter box and the other cat has one too.

Recently, we started smelling and finding some piles of urine in the basement.  So we cleaned it up not thinking much of it and then upon further investigation we found ALOT of urine all over the place in the basement.  Neither set of cats had urinated anywhere but their litter boxes before so this a new problem.  How can we get them to stop doing this?  Also, I think my cats have started to use Mr Cat's (my boyfriends cat) litter box. 

HELP!!! I don't want the boyfriend to kick us out!! ;-)

 

[kailie]

First of all, are all of the kitties spayed/neutered? If so, I would suggest Feliway. You can buy it either as a spray or a plug in diffuser and it works wonders to stop stressed kitties from peeing where they shouldn't. If that doesn't help I would suggest a vet visit to rule out any health problems.

 

[belle2006]

Yes, all three cats are neutred/spayed.  They were all done at an early age too.  Mr Cat (the original cat to this house) has been less than pleased lately.  He hisses and growls at us everytime we try to pick him up or if the other cats get close to him.  Maybe I will try to get Feliaway.  We have a small house but the cats pretty much run the basement.  Do you think I should get mutliple diffusers for the basement and upstairs?  Or would one be enough?

Another question,  I cleaned up all the urine I could find but I can still smell it when I am on one part of the couch that is directly above their main "pee spot" in the basement.  How can I get rid of that smell??  I don't want people coming into the house and smelling urine.  I cleaned with a citrus based cleaner and have put up odor eliminators in the basement.  Any help would be greatly appreciated!  Thanks!

 

[ldg]

The problem was the cleaner. :nod: Cat pee, if not cleaned properly, has a half-life of six years, and there's a component of cat pee that "regular" cleaners are not chemically capable of removing - and that's what keeps smelling. All you need is a good enzyme cleaner, like Nok Out, Urine Off, Stink Free or Anti-Icky Poo. :nod: Here's an article that explains why, and how to use them: http://www.thecatsite.com/a/how-to-remove-cat-urine

Given the spots were already cleaned in a way that just helps "set" the problem, you may have to clean several times with an enzyme cleaner.

You can find all the cat pee spots by using a black light at night. :nod:

All of that said.. given that they had adjusted to each other without anyone "marking," I'm concerned that someone has developed either a bladder infection, a urinary tract infection, idiopathic cystitis, or is just doing their best to let you know they're in pain from something like a bad tooth - or other medical problem. Cats will and do pee outside of the box for stress-related or territorial reasons. But USUALLY it is for medical reasons. They have very few other ways to let us know there is a problem. Can you set up a webcam to see which cat - if it's just one - that is doing this? (Of course, once the scent of pee is outside the box, it can then encourage the other to pee there... that's why the main solution to peeing outside the litter box is properly cleaning up the pee).

But given peeing outside the box is so often a medical problem, I'd try to figure out if it's just one cat, and then get that kitty to a vet asap. If it is pain (and bladder infections are pretty darn painful), that's a real problem. And if it's the male cat, if the problem is caused by crystals in his urine or sloughing of his bladder wall, he can become blocked. Not to scare you, because obviously if it is him, he certainly hasn't completely blocked yet, but a complete blockage will result in death within 24 - 48 hours.

 

[ldg]

Also, I think my cats have started to use Mr Cat's (my boyfriends cat) litter box. 

HELP!!! I don't want the boyfriend to kick us out!! ;-)

As to this part of the problem... if they have access to his box, they'll use it if they want to. Cats do not have the concept of "mine" and "yours." What you may want to consider is adding another litter box or two.

And to help them get back to using the boxes while you finish properly cleaning up the pee, you may want to consider buying either Cat Attract Litter (Precious Cat), or the Cat Attract additive - something you add to the litter you're already using. It really helps most cats return to their boxes.

 

[belle2006]

Oh guys, still having a problem of the cats urinating.  We think we have it narrowed down to one cat, my boyfriends male cat, Mr Cat.  We had him checked and he has a mild case of cystitis so he is on meds for that but we are still finding pee everywhere!  There can be anywhere from small drops to big piles all over the place and not in the same places they were before.  I bought enzyme cleaner to clean the urine up, bought feliway diffusers to help calm them down, got an extra litter box, and used some citrus cleaners to deter all cats (since they don't like citrus smells)

anyone have any clues as to why this is still happening and in different places?  Also, I have cleaned the couch (where some original pee spots were) and it still smells sooooo bad! Help!!!!  How do I get the couch clean, other than buying a new couch!

 

[momofmany]

Cleaning the couch: I use Nok Out and literally pour it on so that it soaks deep into the cushions then force it in with a brush. Surface cleaning alone will not take the smell out of the cushions.

If Mr. Cat has cystitis, how are they treating it and how long has he been on the medications? I have a boy with chronic cystitis and I do know that it is very painful. When he first got it, he was also avoiding the litterbox because he related his pain with the litter box. He would pee on cold hard surfaces (similar to your basement floor) because it felt better for him to pee there. You need to attract him back to the litter box, either by using a product like Cat Attract (sold at Petsmart), or putting a cold hard surface in the bottom of one of your pans (like cheap ceramic tiles). If you do the latter, sprinkle a little bit of litter on top once he starts to use the pan until you've worked out all the tiles and replaced it with litter.