- Joined
- Sep 19, 2015
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- 6
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- 6
Hi all,
Hope someone can give me some advise in dealing with wild cats. I must add that I don't have any experience at all in having pets around.
When we first moved to our house in the country, we had a wild cat hanging round the house and tearing up the garbage bags left outside.
We immediately started leaving food out for her, hoping she would start to trust us (she was very wary of any humans) and it being winter time, she was very thin.
By the end of spring, we didn't see her for a few weeks, when suddenly she showed up with 4 tiny kittens, of just a few weeks old. She looked exhausted and terribly malnourished. It looked like she came to us begging for help. Which, of course, we were but gladly to give.
Now the kittens are about 4 months old, and enjoy eating, sleeping and playing inside the house. And I must say, I immensely enjoy the commotion they make But none the less, they are still wild cats, that spend most of the time outside.
One thing bothers me though: 2 of them have peed on the couch several times already, so here is my question: how do I stop them from doing this?
The advise I get from friends and family and on the internet, does not help me at all, every one says I should get a litter box, and some spray to attract them to it, some even say 1 litter box per cat (that is 5 of them), but that advise does not suit us: they all do their thing outside.
And I don't think they are marking territory. I think 4 months is too young for that, the pee is every time in another place and the amount of pee each time seems too large.
The couch is from IKEA, with removable covers. Every time I see it, I immediately throw the cover in the washing machine, with vinegar to make sure the urine smell is gone. If it has seeped through the cover, I treat the area with soda and vinegar, as well as any other areas that need treating.
Punishing wont work, since every time I see the pee, the moment has way passed for punishing to be effective. I also do not want to keep them off the couch, since they so enjoy sleeping on it (which is so damn cute by the way).
So any other tips on keeping two of my four kittens from peeing on the couch are very welcome.
Donna
Hope someone can give me some advise in dealing with wild cats. I must add that I don't have any experience at all in having pets around.
When we first moved to our house in the country, we had a wild cat hanging round the house and tearing up the garbage bags left outside.
We immediately started leaving food out for her, hoping she would start to trust us (she was very wary of any humans) and it being winter time, she was very thin.
By the end of spring, we didn't see her for a few weeks, when suddenly she showed up with 4 tiny kittens, of just a few weeks old. She looked exhausted and terribly malnourished. It looked like she came to us begging for help. Which, of course, we were but gladly to give.
Now the kittens are about 4 months old, and enjoy eating, sleeping and playing inside the house. And I must say, I immensely enjoy the commotion they make But none the less, they are still wild cats, that spend most of the time outside.
One thing bothers me though: 2 of them have peed on the couch several times already, so here is my question: how do I stop them from doing this?
The advise I get from friends and family and on the internet, does not help me at all, every one says I should get a litter box, and some spray to attract them to it, some even say 1 litter box per cat (that is 5 of them), but that advise does not suit us: they all do their thing outside.
And I don't think they are marking territory. I think 4 months is too young for that, the pee is every time in another place and the amount of pee each time seems too large.
The couch is from IKEA, with removable covers. Every time I see it, I immediately throw the cover in the washing machine, with vinegar to make sure the urine smell is gone. If it has seeped through the cover, I treat the area with soda and vinegar, as well as any other areas that need treating.
Punishing wont work, since every time I see the pee, the moment has way passed for punishing to be effective. I also do not want to keep them off the couch, since they so enjoy sleeping on it (which is so damn cute by the way).
So any other tips on keeping two of my four kittens from peeing on the couch are very welcome.
Donna