Need help w/cat urinating on floor

[Rhyela]

Hi all, last week or thereabouts we discovered that one of the cats was peeing on the brand new carpet. We're trying to sell our home, so imagine my frustration. Not to mention the carpet is, as I said, brand new. Anyway, I bought a bottle of Nature's Miracle and dumped it on. I even lifted the carpet and applied it to the underside of the carpet as well as the floor underneath. It hasn't helped. When I get close to the ground, I can still smell the urine.

Tonight, I just caught Mia, the female, squatting on the carpet on the other side of that room. I clapped and yelled at her (it was just my reaction to seeing her do that), then dumped more Nature's Miracle on it. This time, I bought the strong stuff.

I don't know what the deal is. We've had her for four years and have never had a problem with her doing this. So why on earth is she all of a sudden doing this?!?!?! She was sneezing there for about a week, so I chalked it up to her just being sick. But the sneezing has cleared up, and yet she insists on peeing on the floor.

I love animals and all, but I'm not as patient and forgiving as I probably should be. We are trying to sell our house. We have a showing in three days, and I have this frigging cat peeing all over the floor. No one's going to buy it like that. Not to mention when we get in our new house, I am going to be anal-retentive about that type of thing. I'm just getting too old and too much of a clean freak to be able to put up with it.

I don't know what to do. I suppose we'll have to take her to the vet to make sure she doesn't have any kidney/bladder/UTI troubles. If everything comes back okay, then...I just don't know. I don't want to have to give her away, but I will if it comes down to it.

Does anyone have any advice? Should we shampoo that carpet back there? I'm thinking of buying one of those $30 jugs of Nature's Miracle and dumping it in the carpet shampooer instead of shampoo. Aside from that, I really don't know of any other option. I'm at wit's end here. I cried about it tonight in sheer frustration. This couldn't have happened at a worse time.

She's mainly my husband's cat, too, so I know he'll be devastated if we end up having to find her a new home. I'm sorry to any animal or pet-lovers out there, but animal urine is just one of those things I cannot stand. Barf, fine. Fur, fine. But urine? Nope. I re-homed my dog a few months ago for this very reason, and she was my baby. I will do it again if I must.

[Vephriel]

Ugh, I'm sorry to hear of that. I hate when my cats start doing that, it's so difficult to break them of the habit. Unfortunately I don't really know what so say for advice because I've never had much luck other than constantly correcting them and cleaning afterwards.

I work in a pet store, and for the past few years we started carrying a product called Urine off. It works phenomenally. My cats like peeing on the carpet in the hallway, so we use that and as long as you get it in time it does a great job at cleaning up both the stain and the odour. Maybe see if any places near you carry it? I found it works better than any other pet product I've tried because it actually breaks down the urine crystals.
http://www.urineoff.com/

Anyways, I'm sorry I can't be of more help, but I thought I'd toss out a recommendation because I personally have had great results with it along with my customers.

[Rhyela]

Thanks for the link, Veph. It appears a few stores in our area carry this, so we'll try it. I'm willing to at least try to get her to stop, but if nothing works.....

[cowmuflage]

She's fixed right?

[Chimera]

This happened very frequently in the last few months Lucky was alive. 16 years and he never once went outside the litter box and then suddenly he kept doing both waste removal infront of our large tv where he used to roll around (we chopped it up to a strange scent he was attracted to) but then it became weirder when he would pee on our potatoes. It wasnt even the potatoes he was after, it was the spot they were sitting in, which was tile floor. I havent found any reason that could explain the behaivors, nor how to break them of it. He was so dead set on doing it. We had to blockade him from the areas and lie garbage bags and towels on our bedroom floors.

I'd def try that Urine Off stuff if it works as well as it sounds. Ive never tried it cause for whatever stupid reason stepdad was intent on using Folex and never Urine Off so the carpet where he peed still smells like urine -_-;; I had no money so i couldnt buy it myself or else i would of when the problem was still new. I hope that things work out for you guys~

[Vephriel]

Yeah, we have to keep all the room doors closed in the house so the cats don't go in and pee on beds or clothes. We also ended up putting things in the place where they peed so they couldn't go there anymore, or moving the litter box there instead.

[cowmuflage]

It be because of the new carpet and she's trying to mark it as her own.

[Wain]

Unless she might have a bladder infection?

[SpiritBinder]

It may also have something to do with where she used to pee previously. I know some cats can be very sensitive to new odors and smells and it can really rub them up the wrong way. (Hence a lot of "Kitty no scratch" sprays and the likes generally odor based.)

I am assuming she is an inside cat or at least has a littler box inside somewhere? Have you used any strong chemicals or cleaners around/close to/or on her litter box? From personal experience cats are creatures of habit, they really prefer to pee in the same place if they can/feel comfortable.

On the flip side, I also know that for some cats, any responses, whether they positive or negative can be seen as a reward system for them.

My kitty knows how to push our buttons and she can be quite the scamp, even knowing full well she will get scolded, she just loves the attention... cheeky thing. Maybe in this case your kitty may know it's not the right thing to do, but may do it anyways to act out?

After working this our with my cat, in order for her to not learn any more bad habits, we try and make whats she is trying to do, us uncomfortable as possible, but with out letting them know so much that they are getting us worked up. That way she gets no bite, and it gets boring + the uncomfortable and she gets over it fast.

Coming back to the odor thing, you could also prevent her from wanting to use the area via that method.

Smells like citrus,, cayenne pepper, coffee grounds, pipe tobacco, lavender oil, lemon grass oil, citronella oil, peppermint oil, eucalyptus oil, and mustard oil are all smells that they are not big fans of. A recommended specific cat deterrent one is
"Havahart's Cat Repellent". It uses capsaicin pepper and oil of mustard as its active ingredients. It repels by both taste and odor, has a lemon scent.

A lot of these scents can actually be quite pleasant for humans, and if your trying to sell you house, a peppermint, lemon, lavender smell within might not only mask any prior urine smell, but help make the house smell fresh and welcoming.

Anyway, I hope some of this helps, for you and your naughty kitty's sake. Best of luck!

[Mania]

No matter how many times I see this thread, my eyes keep skipping right over the "w/cat" text in the title ...

[Wain]

No matter how many times I see this thread, my eyes keep skipping right over the "w/cat" text in the title ...

Oh dear :/

[Sar]

Stick pepper down where she tends to "go". We have 3 cats (and a King Charles Cavalier Spaniel who's a greedy wee git ), a male, a female and her daughter.

The older female tended to do both outside the litter tray, so what we eventually did was remove the litter trays completely, which indicated to her that she shouldn't be "going" inside the house at all.

But her daughter used to pee behind our TV set until we put pepper down there, and she started to go in the tray shortly after that.

[zedxrgal]

You can also try coffee ground and /orange peels. Cats hate coffee and citrus (usually) so that's another way to deter - naturally from using those spots.
Yes shampoo the carpet but use Nature's Miracle for Cats. That stuff seems to work if you cannot locate the other. The house I moved into had cat piss all over in one room. Having a kitty myself I immediately went to work removing that before we moved in. I almost twice a week sprayed the areas daily with NM for cats and then let it set for 15 - 20 minutes then use a carpet shampooer (which I own) and a shampoo purely for pets. It worked like a charm. It was so bad but after multiple cleanings gone now.
Then when the areas are dry completely vacuum well.
This should help.

But yes because the carpet is new could be why she's not taking to kindly with it. Some cats do not do well with change.

[Lotusii]

My cat Odin used to have this problem and it turned out he was sick so you should definitely have the kitty checked out. She may be stressed or frustrated because whenever I pack for a trip or move (I have moved a lot with my cats) they misbehave. So maybe she needs a bit of comforting because change can be very stressful to our furry friends.

[Rhyela]

Sorry it took so long to reply. We took her to the vet first thing yesterday morning, and the urinalysis showed a high red and white blood cell count - so likely an infection. They gave her a penicillin shot and we now have her on 1 mL of Clavamox twice a day. Poor dear urinated in her carrier on the way home, too. She's never done that.

And now, whenever we see her in that general area, we take her to her litter box (which is in our bathroom since our home is kind of small), shut the door and wait until she uses it, which is usually immediately. Then we pet her when she's through.

I also bought a third litter box and put it in that general area. She used it tonight. I have been looking at the litter when she goes, and yesterday especially she would squat and little to no urine came out. I know when I had a UTI several years ago, it was painful and it felt like I always had to go even though nothing came out. So I definitely feel for her.

Our showing is tomorrow, so I have to un-block that area and just hope she doesn't pee there while we're gone. Seeing her use the litter box we put in that area makes me feel a little better, though.

The vet also had us buy some Feliway to spray around the house, so I've been spraying it where she usually goes.

Thank you for all the advice and well wishes! Hopefully this habit will stop once she's all better.

[Vephriel]

Aw, poor baby! I don't know why I didn't think of this the first night I replied here, but I remember hearing that sometimes when cats have urinary problems they don't understand why they experience pain while trying to pee, so they start to think it's because of the location (litter box) and try other areas in hopes that it won't hurt. I hope she feels better soon! Glad you caught it early.

[Rhyela]

It's okay, Veph, I actually didn't think about it until later that night. I remembered exactly what you just said - they don't understand why they feel uncomfortable, and they relate their discomfort to their litter box. That also explains why she would defecate in her litter box, but not urinate. Poor little kitty! Now I feel bad for getting so upset. Honestly, I'm just really stressed lately and that kind of put me over the top.

[Lotusii]

While I'm not glad she was sick I am glad that the problem has been figured out. When my kitty got better from his sickness, he went right on back to using his box with no problems so I truly hope your kitty does as well so you can go on being a happy family. I hope she gets better soon and I hope your showing goes well.