Out Of Answers..What Else Can I Do To Stop This Cat From Peeing On My Carpet?

Question

4 year old female calico, spayed and declawed since 1 year of age. Lives with an older male and younger male cats, both fixed. 3 covered litterboxes (all the same kind) in the house, one that none of them uses anymore (despite moving it.) I've long been convinced it's a behavioral issue because she refuses to get along with the younger cat, but to cover all my bases, I arranged a vet visit to check for a bladder infection while treating tapeworms. The vet said she had a "mild" infection and put her on a 2-week regimen of what I can only describe as Amoxicillin for cats. She's been off the treatment for almost 4 weeks now and went back for a checkup at the vet and had a clean urinalysis.

Now I witnessed her approach one of the boxes, stuck her head inside for about 10 seconds, then walked away. On a hunch, I carefully watched as she slipped behind our recliner, where I found her crouched and peeing. I've had no other choice but to kick her outside. I have an infant in my house who is sticking everything she can get her hands on into her mouth, and the thought of her crawling through an otherwise-unknown pile of cat p**s and then putting her hands in her mouth disgusts me to the point of vomiting. My husband has been swearing she was still peeing, but I can't tell a difference between carpet pee and general litter box smell, unless the pee is fresh and I'm close to it.

But she poops in the litter box. The only time I find THAT on the floor is if we haven't cleaned them lately. So what the h**l gives? She KNOWS where she's SUPPOSED to go. Unfortunately I don't know how long it's been since this started. I am the only owner this cat has ever known, besides the one that dumped her and the rest of her litter in bushes in the parking lot of the apartment I used to live. Besides wondering if she would be able to bond with anyone else, the thought of getting rid of her breaks my heart; even leaving her outside is awful enough, but obviously I can't put this cat's needs over my baby's. I've tried taking the cover off one of the boxes and going back to Fresh Step litter, that we used until it got unreasonably expensive vs. Tidy Cat that was the exact same kind, and my living room remains her p**s ground.

Answer 1

It might have something to do with how you clean it up when she goes. Just cleaning, even with bleach isn't enough. You need to shampoo with a special product to get urine out. Cats can smell it even if we can't, and will go there again. She also may have issues because of the baby and or kitten. Try making a point of holing, petting and giving treats to just her, and of course the shampoo. Baby has to come first, but I hope it works out with kitty too.

Answer 2

There are a few things that you can still try.  First off, good call on going to the vet first.  I found that after my female had a UTI I had to switch the type of litter I used.  She refused to use the old kind because she associated it with the pain she felt when she was sick.

So, try using different types of litters.  My cat with peeing issues will only use certain types of litters, he prefers a fine grained clumping clay litter.  Refuses to use certain brands (Tidy Cat being one of them, loves Arm & Hammer).

Try changing up the types of litter boxes, as in having one uncovered.  You can also change locations to quieter areas and try adding more litter boxes.  You want at least one more box than the number of cats.

Make sure that the boxes are always scrupulously clean, so scoop at least once a day.  Possibly more for the higher traffic boxes.  For the areas you've been cleaning you can try a cheap home made solution.  Just be warned that it may bleach any areas that are not colour fast.  Mix 1 cup Hydrogen Peroxide, 1 tsp baking soda and 1 drop of dishsoap.  Mix in an open container and thoroughly soak the area, you want to cover an area that is roughly 3x the size of the original stain.

To me it sounds like this might be an anxiety driven behaviour.  One of my cats will pee on things like clothing, the bed and the couch when stressed.  After a vet consult that ruled out other bladder issues we did a short course of medication.  He was extremely stressed by a move to a new house, my fiance working out of town, and the addition of a new dog.  Clomicalm helped him relax and start using the litter box again.

I also used Feliway with some success, it's a phermone based product that is designed to reduce stress and marking.  I sprayed it in the cleaned areas that he was urinating on.  I also used a diffuser to spread the product throughout the house.

Good luck, there are still many options available.  Just avoid the punishment routes that people have suggested (spraying, scruffing, rubbing her nose in it).  These will only teach her to not pee in front of you, not that peeing in that area is bad.

Answer 3

Are you sure your kitty does not have arthritis in the declawed paws? This happens quite frequently and then it hurts them to dig in their litter and so the pounds are full of declawed Kitties that go pee in the house and not in their box. Does she bury her poo? It just might be something to check out.

Only the vet will be able to tell but, pain in the paws is a problem that is often overlooked as a cause.

Answer 4

Please don't rub your kitty's nose in her urine. No animal deserves that and there are many ways to modify their behavior without that kind of humiliation. Once they get past a certain age, cats don't have 'scruff' on the back of their neck, so you ARE grabbing a place that hurts them.

In addition to MrsLititia's answer, I wanted to add:

If she is putting her head in the litter box first, it sounds like she is well-aware of what she is supposed to do in there. It could be that the litter box is too dirty for her, so behind the recliner seems better to her.

Try putting the third, unused litterbox behind the recliner where she likes to pee. Perhaps she might adopt that as "her box" and feel better about using it.

I have a female cat who will pee on clothes/towels on the bathroom floor if we leave them there--Nowhere else in the house, though. She does the same thing... Head goes in the litterbox for a second and then she starts to creep around like she's thinking about where else to pee. A few times when she was sticking her head in the box, I'd just gently nudge her on the rump with my foot and she would get in it & go.

Another odd thing which may or may not be helpful: I keep one litter box IN the bathroom. When my boy cat was being bad about peeing outside the litterbox, my husband and I would each take him to the bathroom with us every time we went and close him in with us. We'd talk to him while we went potty and eventually, he started using his potty while we used our potty!!! Three years later, he still follows each of us into the bathroom almost every time & goes into the litterbox when one of us uses the toilet. Sometimes he just sits there for a second, sometimes he goes potty. But for some reason he just really likes to come in the bathroom with us. Maybe it makes him feel special?

(Another thing that could be a factor is the size of the box vs the size of your cat? Could it be hard for her to turn around in there? Have you eliminated all of those obvious factors?)

Answer 5

Use a pet deodorizing spray or she will continue to go back to the scent. If the general kinds you can find in the pet store aren't strong enough, ask your vet for a recommendation.

Answer 6

try getting a water bottle and spray her every time she goes back there maybe that will work but once they start peeing in one spot they will keep going there sorry to say but you'll have to rip up your carpet that will be the only way you're going to stop her next to getting rid of her and just think of it you're going to have to rip your carpet up anyway to get the smell out of it or you take the chance of the other cat peeing back there to   good luck

Answer 7

Grab her by the back of the neck if you catch her in the act,(even if you don't as long as it's fresh) and rub her nose in it like a dog. I know dogs don't like it anymore than cats, especially  cats. There so prissy anyway, and throw her in the room where the litter box is. I grew up with all cats. I have dogs now, 1 cat. I can't gaurantee this will work for every cat but it has worked on cats I have had in the past. Good Luck....P.S. Good Idea with taking the cover of the litter box surprised it did'nt work. Of course with a new child this could be her way of acting out as far as  not getting attention....