I've had it up to here...

Since about mid-late July Angus has been urinating very inappropriately. Always on piles of clothes, clean or dirty, doesn't matter. I took him to the vet in early August and they ran all the typical tests for FLUTD. They all came back normal, so the vet and I talked about it being a behavioural thing.

We just moved into a house mid August and had been packing our stuff up since the beginning of July, so the vet said it could be stress related to his entire world being packed up, furniture being moved around etc.... So we bought the pheremone diffuser and it seemed to help for a while, but last week he peed in my laundry hamper, then after all that laundry was clean and sitting on top of the dryer, he took it upon himself to pee on it again (I realize the scent could have still been lingering on the clothes). I only discovered it yesterday (busy week, no time to sort and put away) and it seems as though he's used that laundry several times. :frustrated: This was a bit unusual since he generally only pees on piles of clothes on the floor or inside a basket etc....

And now I just did a walk through the house to make sure nothing is lying around that he could pee on and found one of Skylar's clean towels sitting on the comfy livingroom chair has been peed on sometime today, WTF? Now I have upholstery to clean, great:sad:

I'm at a loss as to what's going on here. We keep the litterbox clean, it's in a private room accessible by a small kitty door so he has no doggy disturbances, he's got the pheremone crap all over the place, he has more space now than he knows what to do with and doesn't have to see the dog all day if he doesn't want to. He always seems to be playful and in good spirits, doesn't appear to be stressed out (ie: not hiding from dog, very affectionate etc..)

We continue to supplement his wet food with a urinary supplement just in case (he has had FLUTD before)

Any ideas? Anyone?

I'm off to clean more p!$$ soaked towels...

My friend went through this with her cat a few years ago, no matter what she did, he was peein geverywhere and would even do it in front of her. She was moving out of the country for 6 months so she got this crazy cat lady to take him and he never did it once at her place (they had free access to go in and out of the house andhe was the only cat who was allowed in bed with them at night. Well, when my friend came back this woman asked if she could keep him because she loved him so much so she agreed since he was doing so great there. For him, they think that it was spite because he wanted ot be outside. who knows. I definitely think it was psychological, he did look like a confused cat. LOL

Stacer,it's a huge problem,I know,I found the Feli-Way diffusers work very well,but I also do not leave anything around that might be tempting to pee on,just in case,like laundry,our clothes or anything like that.
My cats do however come outside with us and they seem to get all their spraying-urges out outdoors.
It sounds to me like Angus is peeing,not spraying,so I am sure it has to do with the move,does he go in the litter at all???

Maybe try a different litter? Cats can be really picky about their litter. I use to use the normal grocery store one but my cats didn't seem to like it getting into their paws. My cat felix was peeing and pooing on the bathroom floor, and Noel was peeing on clothes :yuck: I switched to a recycled newspaper type litter and they never did it again.

My only other suggestion is getting a hamper that has a cover. Good luck :D

I heard a theory recently about why some cats pee on people's clothes. It has to do with the ammonia smell that our clothes/towels/blankets take on that the cats can smell and we can't. This smell remains even after they've been thoroughly washed, and it's similar to an old urine smell. Which is why some cats feel the need to add their own scent to the pile. If that is the case, I would think being uber vigilant about picking up every single piece of clothing might be one solution.

Or maybe he doesn't like your choice in laundry detergent? :laughing:

Litter change could be effective. After visiting the vet we did switch back to a clumping clay litter from World's Best Litter which we had only been using for a few months. Maybe another switch is in order. Something with a cat attractant in it.

He does go in the litterbox when he feels like it. Lucky for us he has never sprayed, I think we had him neutered at just the right time

As for the ammonia smell on our clothes, that's a good theory. He never pees on anything but clothes and towels, never on beds (which would also have our smells all over it) or carpet. It is so hard to be uber vigilant about keeping clothes off of the floor, even clean clothes in baskets are targets and the floor is where I set the baskets until I get around to putting the clothes away, which usually involves the basket substituting for my dresser for about a week :D We'll just have to try harder to not be slobs.


I really think I should buy stocks in Nature's Miracle, I've been buying the big 4 litre jugs.

I just remembered now, the vet suggested buying pheremone spray and soaking his collar in it so that the good smells are always around him, I think I'll go ahead and try that one.

So frustrating. And I hate how it makes me feel about him after I discover that he's done it again. i truly hope it's becasue he's still trying to settle into the house. We've only been here since August 16th, maybe it'll take a few more weeks. Finn on the other hand has never been a problem, she's the most laid back cat ever!

Instead of using baskets, what about those material ones that hang on over the back of a door, if you keep all dirty clothes in there and don't leave clean ones around maybe he'll get back into using the box. I have hooks in the bathroom and bedroom as well for stuff like towels etc.

I've got no advice except maybe you should try this.

Dr. Elsey's Cat Attract litter (http://cats.about.com/cs/litterbox/fr/catattract.htm)

Good luck. :fingerscr

If you can't put your clothes away right away why not put them in the closet? At least then they're out of sight. You could keep dirty ones in there too until you get a chance to do laundry.

The best tool I have found is really simple. Works for housebreaking and behavior control.
Plain white vinegar. It wipes out any urine smell and cats/dogs detest vinegar and will associate vinegar with the act. Put some in your laundry wash, furniture etc. The smell of the vinegar will be long gone for humans but not for the furry noses.
Just for a test, put some on a paper towel & put it up to their nose...they will not stick around for long and the memory is ingrained. They will not want it!

Since I have a cat who sprays still on occasion,I keep the hamper for dirty stuff in the closet,if I don't have time to put it away when clean,it also goes in the closet.
Tidy-ness is the key:laughing:

So we bought the pheremone diffuser and it seemed to help for a while, but last week he peed in my laundry hamper,

It just occurred to me, could the diffuser be running out? I think they only last about a month.

This also reminds me of the problem Winston was having with Tabitha. In her case, extensive testing ruled out any physical cause to the inappropriate elimination, so the diagnosis of idiopathic interstitial cystitis was made. Here is my post with some links that might be useful: http://www.pets.ca/forum/showthread.php?p=647445&highlight=interstitial+cystitis#post647445

Those are helpful links SCM. I think I'll follow some of the guidelines and also mention idiopathic cystitis to the vet when he goes in for his annual in a few weeks.

I hope we can figure this out because the smell of cat urine makes me want to vomit.

One of our cats had decided that my mans hockey equiptment would be a wonderful place to pee... which was quite interesting as it is hanging off a pole in the basement. I thought my man was going to abolish all the cats to the great outdoors ( as a full bag of equiptment that is hung up so the cats wouldnt do this exact thing is quite friggen expensive to replace not to mention near impossible to properly clean)
Which ever of the cats that was doing this ( not once but twice, even the new stuff once worn for a few games held some scent that this cat could not resist covering with its own) has stopped now, but its a pain to keep them out of the basement really.
That is probably the only downside of cat ownership that i can think of, them deciding for no reason to pee on things they should not be peeing on.
We had to throw out one duvet for this reason as well... now I am not one for cheaper priced duvets, so this particular one was well over $300 and less than a year old.
Needless to say after that I had almost sent them to be barn cats on our property, my reasoning was "If you want to p!ss where ever you want, go outside and enjoy yourself" But I couldnt.
Thankfully it has stopped, only the odd towel now gets a dousing but I can handle that and so can my man, much cheaper to replace them as apposed to expensive duvets and hockey equiptment.

I have no advice for you, but I feel your pain and annoyance over this. Hang in there, and I hope you can resolve this issue

Oddly we have noticed that some of his bouts of crazy peeing have been on Nathan's sweaty clothes after he gets back from a jog or a game.

Maybe there's something about sweat that attaracts cats and makes them want to cover up the smell.

I guess I should count my blessings that he isn't peeing on expensive hockey equipment or our nice duvet.

There is something about sweaty clothes ( or previously sweaty ones) that seems to trigger them for some reason.
Thankfully it is just towels, but it could be napkins they are peeing on, the point is they are still peeing on things they shouldnt be and it is equally frustrating.
Good luck figuring it out. If you find a solution, fill me in lol

could he have gotten his tail caught in the "cat" door without you noticing?? and now is scared to use it? is there something near the litter box that is scaring him away from it? I know are cat we had started peeing in the tub and when I put her litter in there she used it, hubs had put an old desk near the litter box so she wouldn't use it, moved the desk and she willingly used it again.

Years back when I had my two cats, one stopped using the litter box when I changed the litter. Put the old one back and she never again pee'd anywhere inappropriate.

That said, I noticed you said since moving the cats now have more room than they know what to do with. Made me think of house training a puppy and limiting the amount of room they have. What about confining the cat with his litter box into a smaller area for a while to try to break the cycle? Just a thought.

I don't think anything negative has happened with the kitty door, he seems to love going in and out of it, he'll follow me downstairs and instead of going through the regular door with me, he always goes through his kitty door:thumbs up. He loves hanging out in his own room and I often find him hanging out in there on the cool floor.

I think I am going to install a kitty-door,my boxes are in the downstairs bathroom and almost every morning,while the coffee is brewing,the aroma mixes with Rockys poopsmell:yuck:
Of course I go downstairs and clean it,but the aroma remains,maybe a kitty-door will help:fingerscr

Stacer! as Sugarcatmom said I was going through something similiar with Tabitha! I dont want to jump the gun and say all my problems are resolved yet with the Feliway diffuser BUT I have noticed 2 things recently..Tabitha is not inappropriatly peeing! yay! and she seems a bit more affectionate lately! I have only had the diffuser in for about 3 weeks! and its the first time trying it!

I pulled it out of the wall yesterday cause I noticed it smoking! Dont get alarmed but my diffuser was given to me free so I have no idea how long it was used before! I am going to order another right away and hopefully things stay the way they are!

Has anyone else noticed a smoking diffuser! its not smoking from the wall portion but the tip whre the pheramones are is whats smoking??

I read your thread about Tabitha, Winston and its a distinct possiblity that's what he has. I'm going to mention it to the vet at his appointment next week.

I checked my diffuser and the juice is all done, so I need to get another refill and perhaps two more diffusers so I can have one on each floor.

It's crazy how expensive the Feliway diffusers and refills are. And they stopped selling them at PetSmart. Buying it at the vet's office is so much more expensive. They sell some other brand of pheremone refill at PetSmart but I'm wary of it, what if it's not quality pheremone and I'm not sure if the refills will fit my Feliway diffuser.

Stacer you have to probably get them from the USA..the problem is that the diffuser is not CSA approved so some companies will not ship cause its a hassle...having said that I have talked to soo many people that are using it and they all get them shipped different ways! Chico2 gets hers by regular mail...

If you think it is similiar to Tabithas problem let me tell you it was an expensive go to come to a possible conclusion..I did blood work, urine tests, bladder tests, x rays, and then an ultra sound...nothing came out 100% positive...she did have a urinary infection and blood in her urine but right now its perfect?

The vet also said it is hard to diagnose because it is irregular! not always peeing everyday! we went months before she started up again! I guess that is why its called ideopathic? If you to save some cash you may want to give the Feliway a shot..I have heard the other brands dont work as well as Feliway?

Good Luck

Cindy

I read your thread about Tabitha, Winston and its a distinct possiblity that's what he has. I'm going to mention it to the vet at his appointment next week.

I checked my diffuser and the juice is all done, so I need to get another refill and perhaps two more diffusers so I can have one on each floor.

It's crazy how expensive the Feliway diffusers and refills are. And they stopped selling them at PetSmart. Buying it at the vet's office is so much more expensive. They sell some other brand of pheremone refill at PetSmart but I'm wary of it, what if it's not quality pheremone and I'm not sure if the refills will fit my Feliway diffuser.

Chico gets her refills from some lady on ebay. She says they're pretty inexpensive. I'd tell you to go to Amazon, they're not bad there either, but I don't know what the shipping would be.

This is the store that chico gets hers from: http://stores.ebay.com/Whiskers-Wags-and-More

Amazon doesn't ship Feliway to Canada.

I am just waiting for my re-fills now,I pay $41US including s/h for 2 re-fills,delivered by the mail-man,it usually takes a little more than a week.
The refills are $16.95US each.
If anybody goes in to the Whiskers site,she is not advertising Feli-Way anymore,she had trouble with International customers(not Canada).
Although you deal with Jayne,it still has to go through E-Bay.

Winston,did you write Jayne??

I bought the other diffusers a while back(forgot the name)at Pet-Value and they did not work the same.

Winston about the smoking,I noticed that too a couple of times,I always unplug them when I go out,or when it's running really low.
I do not have them plugged in 24hours/day,I figure it will still be in the air for a while.

I at one time used the diffuser for the other one from Pet-Value,it does not work well with Feli-Way refills.

Sugarcatmom,I notice Feli-Way is still advertised on that site,so no need to write Jayne,it's on the third page.
Jayne knows our Forum,I don't know,but it might help to mention my name,Anita.V,I have bought several from her.

I took our diffuser out of the wall last night and the little hard wick that comes out of the refill actually had burn marks on it. I'm wondering if I should replace the diffuser, we bought it 3 years ago but it hasn't been used that much.

Stacer that's strange:shrug:
I did notice this afternoon,that little puffs of smoke comes out ever now and then,maybe that's just the way it works..
I don't think the diffuser can get too old,as long as it is a Feli-Way diffuser,not another brand,
But if you are worried,replace it..

I've had the same problems with Mrs. Schwinn's cats. She only did it on my stuff (the cat, not Mrs. Schwinn) when we started dating, and it was on my bike gear. Then when we moved in together, it was on my gym bag. It was actually my 11 year old nephew who suggested the sweaty clothes angle. However, the cat started doing it on Gracie's stuff, too. She seems to have warmed up to her, however, and I now keep everything zipped up in bags, off the floor, and it hasn't happened lately.

Every once in a while, however, I still find it. Fortunately, it was only one time I didn't find it before I wiped my sweaty face on the bike trail...:yuck: (you could hear the scream for miles when I realized...)

Schwinn,I have this mental pic of you wiping your face with cat-pee:yuck::laughing:
It seems to me,it's more common than not, that cats spray ever now and then .

I just recieved my refills today,I ordered it sept 9th,not bad..:thumbs up