Cat Peeing Everywhere! HELP!

Sorry this is coming in late; it sounds like you've had a lot of advice so far. I am mostly a dog behaviorist so my knowledge of cat problems is pretty low. But I have a colleague who is a cat behaviorist:
The Cat Coach
Marilyn Krieger, Certified Cat Behavior Consultant
###-###-####
email: ____@____.com
www.thecatcoach.com
www.catchannel.com/experts/default.aspx

Also most Humane Societies have a "Helpline" or "Ask the Behaviorist" free service; for example in Silicon Valley there's the HSSV at http://hssv.org/behavior.html.

Good luck!

my firend's cat was doing that oo and it ended up he was diabetic and needed insulin. If that's not it, it sounds like he needs to be an outdoor cat or find a new home. It will create a very unsanitary enviroment for a baby.

vinegar will get the pee out. Have you had the cat neutered? Most cats don't spray when they are neutered.

Hey J. --

Been there done that...

1) Go buy a gallon size of Nature's Miracle. Be prepared to buy more.

2)You don't say if your big boy is neutered. If not, make the appointment.

3) Buy at least one more cat box. Keep ALL of the catboxes immaculately clean (at least for now). Clean them once a day. Once a week, take them outside and hose them down. Introduce big boy to the new cat box -- this one will now be his.\

4) Go around the house and thoroughly spray each area the cats have peed/pooped on with Nature's Miracle.

5) Rent a rug cleaner, add about 1 cup of Nature's Miracle to the solution before you begin to clean. Clean all of the carpets thoroughly

6) Mix 1 cup Nature's Miracle in a bucket of cleaning water (with Spic N Span, or something). With a sponge, go through the house and clean up wherever pee might have gotten -- floors, walls, etc.

7) If there is a specific place where the cats are peeing, cover it with tin foil (beds, couches, carpets). Cats HATE walking on foil. Crumple it up first, then straighten it out -- Tack it down so that the cats can't move it.

8) To the extent possible, close off the rooms where the cats have been peeing. WATCH THEM LIKE A HAWK. If they even enter into a room where they have been bad, bark at them!

9) When you see your cats use the litterbox, give them a treat, strokes, and happy words.

Keep at it -- it's a hard habit to break, but you CAN do it. Just like potty training a toddler, lol!

Best,

J.

Hi, I do not know how to stop your cat from peeing everywhere but I do know a way to help eliminate odors. I had the same problem with my cats and was told that if the male cats were neutered at a young age, they would not spray. Even neutering them after this "habit" has started would not help. My ex-husband who was in the carpet business said that when they have to clean carpets instead of replace them, they sprinkle 20 Mule Team Borax (in the laundrey aisle) on the carpet, then use a spray bottle with water to dampen it. Let set a day or so until dry, then vacuum. The carpet guys swear by it and it does work as I have done it before. It only removes the odor, not clean the floor for children to play on. Hope this helps some of the problem. R.'

I agreed with pretty much every thing in the post that started "get a gallon of nature's miracle". That stuff is great. And keeping the cat boxes extra clean is important.

It's great that you have a black light for inspections.

I had an area (behind a TV, next to a ficus tree) that the cats had done more than "here and there" damage, and there still seemed to be lingering smell that nature's miracle wasn't getting up. On a whim we tired a thick mix of OxyClean (the powered stuff for laundry) with water, and then used our carpet cleaner vacum to get that stuff out of the carpet. That got 99% of the smell up and made the area liveable.

A vet tech explained to me cats will not pee where they eat, so by keeping little dishes of dry cat food back there, that prevented the cats from re-using the area. We were lucky in that it wasn't an area with a risk of ants or toddlers. Keep an eye on the dishes as when they get empty.... you run the risk of the cycle starting.

Feliway isn't that great for keeping them from peeing, but it does keep my cats from scratching my sofa. (that and putting cat nip spray on the scratching post). I don't think I would us Feliway for pee...

GOOD LUCK!

With a neutered cat and if you have checked blood work to exclude a medical cause...psychological marking sounds like the issue. Once this behavior pattern is set it is difficult to treat. Some vets will prescribe an anti-anxiety med which might reduce marking. I have a cat with the same issue. We had to gate rooms we didn't want him in (he is old enough that his back stops him from jumping the gates most of the time). Nature's Miracle which you can buy at Petco etc can help reduce some of the smell. however, it gets in the carpet padding and the subfloor and I've never found a way to remove it. Once they mark an area the smell can encourage them to mark again.
As a RVT and cat lover I've also just decided once they mark some, especially clothing I just have to throw it out. Try to cover the area with a area rug or furniture so they can't smell it anymore after you clean and dry the area. Some cats are also very paticular and want clean litter boxs. Clean them daily and the rule of thumb is you need one more box than cats in a multiple cat household. So 2 cats want 3 boxes. Most of us don't do this but your cats may be particular. Also with the stray history this may be a behavior he established long ago which mean it will be tough to break.

I have a similar problem. Just purchased a fixer upper house and the entire place smelled like cat pee! All rugs and pads were replaced and the smell disappeared. Upon the first rain, the smell returned in 2 spots (near the exit doors). I used Nature's Miracle (from Pet Club). Got rid of 95%. Went on the internet and purchased another product...SCOE 10x. This seems to really work! Good luck. M.

I have a cat a love her dearly, but if she started peeing in the house on a regular basis I'm not sure what I would do. She does on occasion (if I let a laundry pile sit for too long) pee in the dirty laundry. She knows she can cover her pee up with the dirty clothes I guess. She seems to only do that on rare occasions and if the house gets cluttery. She will also pee on plastic grocery bags if they are lying around on the floor somewhere.
I hate to say it but it sounds like your boy cat needs to be an outside cat and not an inside one. He's spraying way too much and once they start doing that you cant stop them. If they smell any other animal scent in the house, they feel they have to mark it. Its sort of like reading pee-mail and then responding. If you can catch him in the act of "spraying" and spray him with a bottle of water, that might help change his behavior, but you will have to be really consistent with that punishment and catch him every time. Good luck.

Hi J.! I can relate to your problem. Both of our cats have had peeing issues - for one it's a medical thing...for the other....it's just attitude! And the attitude comes out whenever there is a change. Keep in mind that change creates stress for cats...and stress (in my experience) leads to the attitude coming out. So, look at things from the cat's perspective (sounds weird, I know)....you took him in and there was one other cat in the household. Then an additional 3 cats were added (all sources of stress for a cat). Then you moved (another source of stress) and got married (more stress)...and there was another cat in the house (more stress)...then there was a new child (your step-son)...and then a baby (more stress). So, your little guy is probably stressed out beyond belief. You can try a product called Feliway - it's like a glade plug in that only the cats can smell. It contains the pheromone that is calming to cats. I have used this and found it to be helpful. If that doesn't work, prozac will.

As for getting the smell out, I found a website with a bunch of different ideas on it and used one of them when I had to get cat pee out of my carpet. Here it is: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf636087.tip.html

I found the method posed by Wendy on 4/23/08 to be the most useful - it's about 10 posts down.

Good Luck!

I too have two cats one that started peeing on my 4 year old son's bed and the other pooping. Both males and have the pooping issue since I moved in with my husband. Just having my 2nd I was in no mood to deal with messes. We started pinning them at night with a baby gate. Since they can jump We used a long box to boost it. You can always lock them in a bath room at night. I found that after doing this for some time (months) they got the clue on who was the boss. They now can be left out at night and I don't have a poop mess in the morning nor any pee on his bed.
To get rid of the pee smell .... gook luck! Try going to a pet store to see what they have or try good old fashion vinegar. Poor it directly on the pee and use a steam vac with hot water only to extract as much as you can. Your house will smell like a pickle for a few days but it does work.

Hiu Jen, About 20 yrs ago I had the most gorgeous Persian cat that was doing that so I gave him away. It turned out that he had a urinary tract infection and stopped after taking meds. I felt so bad that I had given him away. Since your cat was a stray maybe he is getting old and they just lose control just like people or he ios now jeal.ous of the baby. If you have to put new carpet try Lowes or home depot. They are both pretty reasonable just don't let them get ytou too basd on the installation.

We have tried two products that both work, one is Nature's Miracle, and the other is Out Natural. The first one is only at pet stores. The second one I got at Wal Mart. Just rememeber if you are expecting, you can't touch any of this
cat pee. Also, we did have someone tell us that some cats paws will burn with the cheaper kitty litter. My sister in law had to make one of their cats an outdoor only cat because he kept peeing on all of the laundry. Good luck.
W.

My cat was wonderful for 7 years until we moved, got new furniture, and had my son. Then she turned into a nightmare. Too much change for her to deal with at one time. Peeing in the baby's room and office, pooping randomly, especially around new furiture or the baby toys. Now I have her on a psych drug called Amytriptylline. It has been working wonders. The only problem is when I forget to give her her pill. You have to have a thorough work-up on kitty first to make sure it is not medical and only a behavioral issue. We also put a gate in front of the baby's bedroom door to discourage her from going in there. Good luck! Behavior issues are really hard to deal with and many people have gotten rid of thier cats because of them. Be patient and do not give up on kitty. Even if you end up restricting where kitty can go in the house. One last thought, keep multiple litterboxes and keep them clean. That way he has no reason to be going on the carpets. By the way, I used to be a vet tech.

I had (note past tense) a spayed female cat who never could get along with my youngest daughter. That cat urinated everywhere.... and we put up with it for over 10 years. When the cat finally got mad at us and urinated on my kitchen counters and stove we had to put her down.
The anxiety of my older female cat went down considerably. My daughter can finally climb in bed without finding her blankets or pillows wet, or her clothes or toys.
I cried for a long time after putting her down.... but realize that because I was always mad (and so was my cat-hating husband) that it didn't help the cats neurosis.
Sounds to me like you have done just about everything you can. Now you have to think of your family's health, and your sanity.

You have to treat the spots with Nature's Miracle or a similar product, but the main thing I just did was put my cat on Prozac. Seriously. Prozac or other anxiety drugs can be used on cats effectively for this type of problem. And if drugs don't work (I assume your cat is neutered), it may be time to get rid of the cat. So get thee to a vet.

p.s. - In response to Catherine's concern about giving cats pills -- I found these expensive things called "Greenies", $8 or so for a bag, but it makes pill-giving really easy. You just put the pill in the Greenie and the cat eats it right up.

Hi J., your situation is very familiar to me. Is your cat neutered? That first of all is a big help. We had a female cat who started peeing everywhere. Of course the smell was overwhelming. I found out the Natures Miracle works really good for the cat smell. I took her to the vet numerous times thinking something was wrong with her. This all happened when we were remodeling. She didn't like change. The DR. said she had anxieties and was going to put her on special medication, which we refused due to her age. If you do have other cats, another litter box can help. They sometime like their own space. We lost her last year due to cancer, but she led a good life. Good Luck

I also took in a stray cat. I had him fixed because the vet advised me that this would stop him from marking his teratory. It didn't work. He loved to pee on my laundry piles in the laundry room on laundry day. I tried to just keep him out of the laundry room. Then he started to spray the fridge and the door from the house to the garage. So Miguel became an outside cat! Then earlier this year he started to pee on the windshields of our vehicles and our rims. This was ruining my husbands rims of his truck. Miguel is very old and loves to be outside getting birds and rodents so my in-laws were in need of rodent abatment on their property, so off to cool Miguel went. He decided that he didn't like my in-laws property but their neighbors better. We see him on occasion when we visit. I am not saying to abandon your cat, we didn't abandon Miguel he simply moved. The neighbor has a weak spot for cats. What I am saying is that maybe your cat is getting old and just can't help himself or maybe he is just upset over all of the changes. Maybe he should be an outside cat? Good luck with what ever decision you make!

I would either put the cat in the garage or adopt him out. Cat urine and feces are very dangerous to children because of toxoplasmosis - adults and older children can fight off the disease but to young children this can be fatal.

Hi J.,
I have an equally originally-named cat, Felix, who was doing the same thing. He peed ON MY BED (with me in it!!) and pooped on my daughter's bed! My husband had an absolute flip out and was ready to take Felix in to the vet to have him put down. I talked him into letting Felix just be an outdoor cat. What we did was to put a cat door in the laundry room (which exits to the outdoors) and I would keep the laundry room door into the house shut. So he had a warm, dry place to get out of the weather where we could keep his food, water, and bed, but he stayed out of the house. (Although as a side note, he never slept in the laundry room - he seemed to prefer sleeping outdoors, even in the winter?!) Now we've moved into a new house and we set up Felix's food etc in the garage and put in a cat door to the outdoors.

It has worked well for us, and Felix seems happier. He is actually a great mouser and has kept our property free of mice, squirrels, etc. And the kids are outside all the time and play with him, so he still gets attention.

I have heard that sometimes vets can prescribe kitty prozac to alleviate the stress that causes them to want to spray everything, but that seems like kind of a huge hassle, trying to get a cat to take medication on a daily basis. But if you don't want to make Oreo an outdoor cat, maybe that would be an option?

Good luck, you're not alone on this one!

Hi J.,

I had a female cat that sprayed everything, but mostly my couch. I took her to the vet who said there was nothing wrong physically and gave me prozac for her. (You know what it's like getting a pill down a cat, right?) Anyway, the prozac didn't help because I wasn't consistant - gave up trying with getting the pill down. Long, long, story short, the cat did have a urinary infection all those years - the vet just tested the "surface" urine and didn't get enough urine if that makes sense - and, I believe it was partly psycological too. I divorced my husband and the cat's peeing got worse, especially when I brought a date home. Fast forward four years, I remarried and gave the cat do my ex (when I got pregnant) - who had a much calmer lifestyle and the with the urinary meds and lifestyle change, the cat stopped spraying.

Good luck to you - if your vet has not recommended prozac, I'd give it a try.

J.

Hi J.,
Cats are funny. I've been around cats forever and they still seem to amaze me.
One thing you didn't mention... have you spay/neutered the cats? Often times the "big male" comes out when he is in "need".
Regardless, pets get upset when there is change even the changes we don't notice as much. My grandma has 3 kitties and when she has company they hide, but afterwards one of them will poop in the living room on the rug if she doesn't close it off. My Aunt had a kitty that when she got mad would pee in the toaster, I think they went through a dozen toasters.
But these are just a cat's characteristics just like you or I have and they can't always be controlled.
Here are some things to consider:
Add more litter pans
Close the door to the baby room when you can't see it
Spray areas with "No-go" (from Pet Organics) $10 - find it at Petco or online
Give your cat more attention (sometimes your pets see you give others affection and attention and act out when they are bored or lonely)
Spray bottle with water - if you can keep an eye on your kitty and you see he's making a move spray him with water to tell him no

Just promise you won't consider putting your cat down, that is so cruel and inhumane that anyone could ever do that.

Best of luck to you and your family!

L. B.

Hi Jen,
Before my boy was born I had two wonderful kitties, except the male peed. We thought we could control it, but he peed on the laundry in the basket (clean or dirty), on any fabric on the floor. I did everything...vet, litterboxes, etc (short of a pet psychic).
We had to get them a new home. It was excruciatingly painful to give up my babies, but I found out that cat urine is toxic and I could risk the babies stuff getting peed on.

I know it is hard if you have to make that decision to find him a new home, I just wanted to say I am here for you if you choose that.

There really is no way of stopping a cat from peeing. If you live in the southbay, I know of a really good cat rescue - if she has room she'll take him.
Best of Luck, I wish I had the answer for you.

Sorry but that cat would have been an out door cat at my house years ago. I have no tolerance for them ruining my home and costing me money when I have children to take care of let alone dealing with that awful smell. I don't think there is any other answer to end the problem. They say you can't teach an old dog new tricks. Well it goes for cats too. your more animal lover then me if you can put up with this. Outside kitty is my only answer. Good luck

Our cat behaved in a similar fashion before. Believe it or not, it was due to her stress! It sounds like you've had a lot of change in your household, which may be causing your cat to pee and poo outside the litter box. Our cat responded to the introduction of a dog to our household by peeing outside the box (sometimes just outside the box, other times in other locations in the house). After multiple trips to the vet to assure she had no physical cause for the behavior (she was straining a lot while peeing and producing small amounts usually, sometimes with a little blood mixed in), it was determined that she had experienced FIC, Feline Idiopathis Cystitis. You can look it up on the web for a full explanation, but it's basically brought on by a stressful environment. So we made some adjustments to our household like moving the scratching post to the cat's zone (well away from the dog's zone), allowing her to eat moist cat food (we'd only been giving her dry food), providing her with a kitty water fountain (which she LOVES) to encourage more hydration for her, and being sure her litter box was always clean and easy for her to use. She soon stopped with the peeing behavior and was a healthier cat.

As for cleaning the carpets, we've found the best product is called Anti-Icky-Poo (funny name, huh?). It was recommended by a dog trainer and really works. It's a Live Bacteria/Enzyme Solution that attacks the enzymes in the urine and breaks them down to eliminate the smell that humans and cats smell. By eliminating the smell, the cat is less likely to pee again at that spot. It works well on cat vomit too. It's a bit more expensive than some other carpet cleaners, but much more effective. Good luck with your cat. I'm sure it'll all work out!

I too have had to deal with cats urinating/marking in inappropriate areas. You have already received a lot of good advice. The fact that Oreo sometimes poops outside of the litterbox suggests that there might be a litter box issue. If it has been awhile since you bought a new box you might want to invest in a new one. Make sure it is large enough for him to fit in comfortably (most out there are way too small). Most cats prefer clumping clay litter but some out there prefer a different type. You might want to play around with different types, scents, and depth of litter. Some cats like open boxes, some like covered ones. Guidelines are to have one more box than number of cats in the house (3 boxes if you have 2 cats). I know it can be hard to find enough spots but I would make sure to have at least two boxes minimum. Make sure they can access the boxes easily and try to spread them in different locations of the house if at all possible (with babies crawling around that sometimes becomes a bit difficult!). Definitely scoop the boxes 1-2 times daily and fully dump out and wash thoroughly at least monthly.

Use foil or food dishes to discourage from marking areas that are used consistently. Natures Miracle and Anti Icky Poo are two enzymatic cleansers that can help clean the areas affected. In our house we tend to keep all doors closed to give the cats less access to the bedrooms/bathrooms. Feliway diffusers that plug into the wall can help reduce stress/anxiety but it sounds like your guy may benefit from additional drug therapy such as fluoxetine (Prozac). I would find a vet that has an interest in behavioral issues and schedule an appointment with him/her. Hope this helps!

hi, Im assuming he is fixed which usually helps...I hate to say it, but I am afraid there may be too many cats for the territory and maybe not enough litter boxes? I have a cat who likes to be the only one and will not share a box!!!! I have to keep them separated since she bullies-if she has to be kept in-i usually bring her in at night and the other stays in,i make sure they have their own litter boxes preferably in different areas/rooms. Cats are not pack animals so he may be feeling threatened/stressed for space if your vet has ruled out urinary problems-one thing to watch for esp for males is feline urinary syndrome which can be deadly if they cant pass the urine due to blockage, so watch for straining and meowing like he is constipated.I have lost cats to this and saved others if caught in time-it is sometimes hereditary but can be managed with higher quality food, beware of the cheap stuff with high ash content.hope things get better and something works !!! oh, and if he got fixed too late,it may not help as much-but be aware of bladder infections and maybe give him more space-

Felway spray sprayed in the nursery and living room might help.

I am very involved in cat rescue and have had over 100 cats wander through my house at some point in time. I have lots of experience with litter boxes issues and really have only found two things that work...

First, get a gallon of Simple Green and rent a steam cleaner...unless you have one. DO NOT dilute the Simple Green. Only steam clean the areas that have been urinated or deficated on. Do not clean your whole carpet.

Second, purchase the special Cat Attract litter. It is pricey but you should only need it for a month or so. Follow the instructions precisely! You will also want to put a litter box in every room that the cat has access to. Put them as close to the area where the cat is peeing. Make sure that the litter boxes are large enough for your cat and offer a mix of covered and uncovered options.

Simple Green is repulsive to cats and also does an amazing job getting the urine smell out. Your carpets will also be sooooooo clean so don't panic about a slight color difference. The cat attract litter is fantastic and 9 out of 10 times has solved the problem for me. Cats can't help but go to it. You might have to use it for life but typically you can wean the cat off. It usually takes me a month or so. Sometimes I have to mix that litter with clumping litter for a few months.

If this does not work then medicating sometimes is the only solution. I had one foster cat that was on meds for a year but was then able to go off of them once he realized that he had a permanent home with me. Some cats just cannot handle stress.

Good luck!

Hi J.,

I feel your pain! My fiance moved in just over a year ago and brought a wonderful loving male cat with him. I already had 3 dogs and a female cat. He started peeing in the house as soon as he moved in! Mainly it was him establishing his space. Also part of the problem was I had a 17 year old dog, who had some accidents from time to time so I think there definitely was some odor left in the carpet.

Since then it has gotten a little better. There are a couple of things that we notice will make him pee. Make sure the cat box is always cleaned out. If his box is messy they will go elsewhere. Male cats especially. Also, if you spent a lot of time with him before your baby, he's just jealous, plain and simple. Tedddy is definitely my husband's cat and if he has been gone for a while, working a lot and not paying the cat attention. Well, the cat get's his attention if you know what I mean!

For cleaning up the mess... use Nature's miracle. It works great and does eliminate the odor. Make sure you always use it full strength. I know it's pricey, but it just doesn't work if you water it down. If I find something on the carpet, I soak it in the Nature's Miracle and just let it dry. If it is on clothes (he has peed on a clean hamper of laundry) put it in the liquid bleach section in the washer. Again, use it full strength.

I know it sounds corny. but our cat seems to be better if he get's a lot of love and has a clean box!

Good Luck!