Tips To Stop A (stubborn!) Cat From Inappropriate Peeing!

[StubbornKitty]

This might get long, so the short version: we have a very very stubborn cat who we love, but she’s peeing on the tile in front of our apartment door and we can’t get her to stop! Help??


Long version: Our cat is 6 years old, but I’ve had her since she was 3 months. She has a VERY strong personality and has always been kind of difficult. I’ve grown up with cats but have never had one as difficult as her to train. She’s awesome and I love her, but it can be trying at times. We have a second cat, but she’s super easy to train and very rarely gives us problems.


So for the last two weeks our stubborn baby has been peeing on the tiles right in front of our front door. Some possibly important facts:

1. We moved from the apartment we lived in for 4 years to this current place several months ago (in May). We knew there would be an adjustment period for both our cats, but it went relatively smoothly, and the inappropriate peeing only started two weeks ago.
2. Our former home was on the third floor, and while our current place is on the second, we have a private staircase from the ground floor (where the door is/where she is peeing) that goes up into our living room. Current theory is that maybe she’s smelling stray cats or the neighbors dog and is marking her territory?
3. While things like tearing up furniture and eating plants have always been a problem (we don’t have plants anymore and the furniture... well, it’s an ongoing struggle we continue to work on), the only other time peeing was an issue was during a two month period a few years ago when I was unemployed and extremely stressed, and she started peeing on our couch and a few times on our bed. It was obviously her picking up on my stress as it started when I lost my job and stopped when I went back to work (Yes we brought her to the vet at the time and she came home with a clean bill of health). Otherwise, she pees on bathmats - we have to hang ours over the bath after using it - but she’s done that since she was very young and we think she just... likes it?

We’ve been cleaning the tiles with heavy duty enzyme cleaner, but sometimes the pee sits there for hours (if she does it while we’re at work, for example), which is very stressful as we ALL know how potent cat pee can be. We’ve tried spraying the area with orange and lemon scented sprays, but that doesnt bother her at all. We’ve been giving her more attention, but that hasn’t seemed to change anything... Feliway has never really had much of an effect on her. Litter boxes are cleaned regularly. We’re making a vet appointment for next week, but we want to plan in case it turns out to not be physical.


Any tips? Things that have worked for your stubborn cats? Any calming treats/products you all can recommend? I’m hesitant about calming collars (I’ve heard a lot don’t break away like they are supposed to), but I’m open if anyone has had positive experiences.


Adding to the stress is that my partner and I are planning to start a family and I’m a little terrified at what kind if reaction my wonderful but crazy cat will have to a potential new baby in her home.

Sorry for the length of this! I figured more info is better than less

 

[Lalexa67]

The first thing that I would do is to restrict the kitty to a smaller space with the litter box and the food and water and of course a sleeping box and blanket. A bathroom would be ideal. As they start using the litter box to do their business you can open their space to another room. Smaller spaces create a comfort zone and the whole experience is not as overwhelming. I’m sure you will get tons of good advice on this problem. Best to you.

 

[lre17]

try giving her some some treats in the area that she is having accidents-cat dont like to eat where they pee

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi! Welcome!!
Due to the fact that this just started, AND it's in front of an outside door, in my opinion she's trying to mark her territory to an outside animal that she can detect but that you might not even be aware of. It might not even be another cat.

Can you set up a camera so you can see what if anything's going on out front? Can you set up a motion activated sprinkler to deter whatever wandering creature it might be?

Put puppy pee training pads on the floor there to make cleanup a little easier until this gets squared away.

I tend to think that if you love on her before during and after baby arrives, she should be fine.

 

[ArtNJ]

Lalexa67 's suggestion is basic litterbox retraining; you might end up needing that, but I'd try a few other things first. My thought is that this has become a habit. If I'm correct, it doesn't necessarily even matter anymore how it started. To break a habit, you have to starve it -- you must prevent the cat from engaging in the habit for a time, even if draconian measures are required. Obviously, one easy thing to try is putting a litterbox in that spot. Ideally, I'd keep the cat away from that spot, but if you think that isn't possible, a litterbox would be the next best thing to try.

Peeing on bathmats isn't unusual. Its a texture thing. So that doesn't really mean a ton. Except that you should never leave laundry on the floor in a pile. You have been warned

By the way, I don't think you mentioned spay/neuter?