ARGH!!! I can't take it anymore!!!

[danaekitty]

My cat Olive keeps peeing on stuff! At first I thought she was rebelling against a dirty litter box, so I made special efforts to make it nice and clean for her. Today, however, she has peed on her favourite chair to sleep on, and the litter box was clean! Well, mostly clean.

Sometimes I let both cats outside for an hour or so, and they roam around the front yard, but I only let them out when I'm sitting oput there to watch, and they of course want to go out all the time, so I'm wondering if now she's rebelling against not going outside enough.

She usually pees on the couch, which I can clean by removing the cushion covers and bleaching the cushions, but this was her FAVE CHAIR, and it doesn't come apart. It's soaking in Nature's Miracle at the moment, but I tried that stuff on the last chair she peed on (this one's twin, which now lives in the basement), and it didn't really work. Why would she pee where she sleeps?

I'm at the end of my rope. I take so much care to make sure my house isn't one that guests smell cat pee when they walk in the door, and she is killing me!!!

What do I do? Has anyone tried steamcleaning their furniture after it's been peed on? Does anyone have any better chemical or training ideas?

I will try ANYTHING. I refuse to get rid of an otherwise very adored cat.

[Dracko]

When one of my older cats did that it turned out she had the start of kidney disease. She would pee on my bed and trust me, that was pretty gross to slide under the covers to a wet spot!

I ended up putting a litter box upstairs and downstairs. Almost w/o fail she didn't have more accidents I think cuz the boxes were more accessible to her.

[danaekitty]

Thanks for the advice, but Olive's only three years old, and we live in a one storey house. She is pretty much just steps away from her box anywhere. And she only pees in a couple spots - the couch and those orange chairs. Thank god I bought them used.

Are there any other signs of kidney problems? She has been doing this since she was small, so I can't imagine that if this was the cause of kidney problems it would have gone undetected for this long.

[Stacer]

Have you had her checked over for a urinary tract infection?
We seem to always be going through the same problem, pee everywhere.

I would recommend not using bleach to get rid of urine, it has ammonia in it (and so does urine) so your kitty can still smell "urine" on the couch. Which could be why she continues to pee there.

We use tons of Nature's Miracle as well as vinegar. I rinse whatever has been peed on really well with cold water until the urine itself is rinsed out, then I either soak it in vinegar for a few hours or I soak it down with Nature's Miracle and let it sit. For me, rinsing first is the key.

Making sure they don't smell urine is important so they don't return to pee again inthe same spots.

[sugarcatmom]

Have you tried setting up 2 or even 3 litter boxes? Especially since you have 2 cats, it might be a good idea. For sure you'll want to rule out any urinary tract related issues, so if she hasn't had a vet check-up recently that would be the place to start.

Stress can be a factor with inappropriate elimination. How well does she get along with the other cat? Even if there are no overt signs of hostility, it's possible that there are underlying subtle territory issues between them. Putting another litter box in a different area of the house can help, as can increasing the amount of vertical space that the cats can claim (like with a cat condo or shelving or window hammocks, etc).

I'd also suggest trying a couple of Feliway diffusers if you haven't already. This can sometimes help with stress (like from her wanting to go outside) or if it's a territory thing.

The other thing that could be at the route of this might have to do with the furniture itself. You say you bought them used, so it's entirely possible that they were "marked" by cats previously, and she's just doing her due dilligence by re-marking them. Even if they weren't actually peed on before, they would have had strange scents from their previous owner, and some cats are strongly compelled to mark over-top of a new smell in order to make it familiar to them. Any way you can remove the furniture from your house entirely and see what happens?

[Frenchy]

She has been doing this since she was young ? And you never took her to a vet to have it checked out ? I think it's time for a vet visit !

[danaekitty]

Originally Posted by Stacer

Have you had her checked over for a urinary tract infection?
We seem to always be going through the same problem, pee everywhere.
We use tons of Nature's Miracle as well as vinegar.

I have it sitting in Nature's Miracle now. Fingers crossed. The other chair that she did this to didn't work with N's M, but I think I didn't use it properly and/or she peed there again after I had doused it.

Originally Posted by sugarcatmom

How well does she get along with the other cat? Even if there are no overt signs of hostility, it's possible that there are underlying subtle territory issues between them.
I'd also suggest trying a couple of Feliway diffusers if you haven't already.

She and the other cat (Zelda) don't get along all that great - Z hisses at O all the time, and the take turns sort of dominating the other. Z's fave thing is to wake Olive by licking her, then start biting her until she leaves, and then taking her warm sleeping spot.
Do the Feliway diffusers change the cat's personality any? And do they still work in a house full of open windows and fans?

Originally Posted by Frenchy

She has been doing this since she was young ? And you never took her to a vet to have it checked out ? I think it's time for a vet visit !

She goes to the vet regularly. The vet doesn't find anything physically wrong with either cat.

It genuinely seemed to be a picky litterbox problem at first - every time she's done it, I've found the litterbox really needed a clean, and as soon as my bf and I worked out a cleaning schedule, the problem went away.

[sugarcatmom]

Originally Posted by danaekitty

Do the Feliway diffusers change the cat's personality any? And do they still work in a house full of open windows and fans?

No, the Feliway diffusers won't cause a personality change, beyond possibly helping a cat feel calmer and more at ease. As for working in a house with open windows, they do, but you'll probably go through the liquid faster. And the effective radius might be smaller. If you could put one as near as possible to the places that she pees, that should help.

Originally Posted by danaekitty

It genuinely seemed to be a picky litterbox problem at first - every time she's done it, I've found the litterbox really needed a clean, and as soon as my bf and I worked out a cleaning schedule, the problem went away.

Which is why you really should get at least one more box, but I'd recommend 2 more if you can. The average cat pees 2-3 times a day and poops once a day. Multiply that by 2 cats. So even if you're cleaning the box every 24 hrs, there could be a substantial accumulation of waste for a cat to have to dig around in by the time that 24 hrs rolls around. That would certainly be enough to make me pee on the couch. In comparison, I have 3 litter boxes for one cat and he uses all three, even though I clean them multiple times a day.

Is your litter box covered or uncovered?

[Magicwildwolf69]

well if your other cat bothers olive she might bother her when she is using the litter box and that could result in her peeing other places as well.

When we started having trouble with eclipse and serena he would harass her and she would pee elsewhere. We since added a second litter box. i have three cats but a small apartment as well. most of the problems went away. Eclipse still gets after her sometimes but she has stopped peeing everywhere on us. something you might want to consider is another litter box.

[danaekitty]

Originally Posted by sugarcatmom

Is your litter box covered or uncovered?

Our litterbox is covered, but with no door on the front. Does that mak a difference?

Thanks so much for all the advice. I will get some Feliway diffusers and an extra litterbox. I love Olive very much and just want her to be happy!

[Jim Hall]

i agree another litter box and if you have a cavered one make sure it is as claen as you can possibly get it you cant smell it but i bet your kits can
does olive seem stressed? do the two kits get along?

[BenMax]

Is the litter box covered or open? Some cats like the security of the cover while others prefer not. I now have 5 cats (yes 5) and all have their own preferences. I have ones with and without tops. It worked.

Also, try replacing an old box with a new one. Sometimes (after about 1 year) the plastic gets yukky no matter how often you clean it (usually in the corners). I clean my litter boxes minimum 3 times a day (scoop only). Once a week I change the litter in it's entirety with a good old fashion scrubbing.

If it's not medical, then it's behavioural. Sometimes cats are as fussy as we are and need things a certain way.