AIBU to expect 4 cats to stay in utility room/study?

How old are the cats? And do any have health problems? What colours are they? Is it just the messing that’s the problem or are they fighting each other? The reason I ask all this is that there are a lot of cats up for rehoming and an older cat, one with any health problems (including being known for messing inside), ones that dislike other cats and weirdly even black/black and white cats can all take longer to be rehomed (kittens excepted).

If you can somehow make your husband change the litter more often (at a minimum any solids or clumps should be scooped out twice a day, even if the whole litter is only changed every few days), and if you improve their living conditions - then they still might be better in a familiar environment than rehomed.

The spraying/pooing may be down to stress at too many cats in a small space, not clean enough litter trays or not enough private/hooded ones - but it this point it may also be habitual as sometimes even the best enzyme cleansers can’t get rid of all the scent once they have started doing it.

As a bare minimum it sounds like the cats need the access to outside, cleaner and possibly more private (hooded) litter trays and more spaces they can get away from each other inside the utility and study in bad weather (cat trees with comfortable perches, hooded cat beds tucked away under chairs/tables etc) and some attention from your husband each evening. If they get all that, then unless they are actively fighting with each other, they will still probably be happier than in a rehoming centre with no guarantees of how long they will be there.

If your husband won’t put in the minimal work to do all this though, then yes, it’s better to consider rehoming and hope for the best.

Scooped
I use clumping litter fairly deep so the wee doesn't touch the bottom
I WFH so I scoop out wee and solids as soon as he's done it

I rarely do a full clean but the litter is so deep there's nothing at the bottom except dust

They were actually re-homed although they were outdoor cats anyway. They just weren’t allowed into the house at all when they were making me physically sick.

The problem under discussion is four cats peeing & pooing everywhere throughout OP’s house, who is pregnant. 🤷🏼‍♀️

P.S. my cats go out to toilet. We are very rural though, so they have many options. I was not a fan of indoor cat litter.

Litter only needs scooping daily (preferably twice daily), not a full change. If you keep on top of the scooping and remove any wet clumps and top up with fresh, it’s fine to go a few days between full changes. Exactly how long depends to some extent on what litter you use.

It's very odd behaviour for cats, especially all of them doing it. Cats are a clean, private species. The main reasons they would be urinating and defecating around the house is due to illness, environmental stress, unclean litter trays, or not enough trays for them (the general rule of thumb is one per cat + 1 extra)

If they're all doing this, the only 2 options I could really advise is either bringing in a cat behaviourist, or rehoming. There is something very wrong within the house if they're all doing it. Even feral or semi-feral cats, who get brave and occasionally venture indoors, don't usually display this behaviour.

Scoop daily.

Depending on your cats, full litter change every 3-7 days.

Well as responsible owners of them, they need to now meet their needs. They took them on, look after them. Too many animals being turfed out of their homes just because it’s easy to ‘get rid’.

We have 2 cats who "own" the conservatory. They come in and out via the cat flap, and they have their creature comforts i.e. supertall cat tree, heat pad, cosy blankies etc in that room only. Any surprise vomits/poos/cat prey brought as presents are confined to that room. We bring them into other rooms for snuggles, but then it's back to their base. I wasn't sure when we got them how I'd be, but turns out I am just not one of those people who could cope with arriving home to a turd or a dead shrew on my bed. My affection for them doesn't run that deep. In short, I think it sounds fine, and infinitely better than what's happening now with the turds all over your living space!

Why are they not all outdoor cats?

This ^

The litter trays need to be emptied every day! Of course, you'd find somewhere else to poo if your toilet was full of shit! Cats are very clean animals and will use the trays but they need to be scooped almost straight after, it you don't want smells, or the cats pooping elsewhere.

It sounds like you are living in squalor but you really need to get a grip and get it cleaned up before introducing a child into the mix.

Poor cats & poor child!

he's VERY stubborn and will not listen to me
He always acts like I'm making a mountain out of a mole hill
He will not listen and just thinks he is right all the time
He's now got angry and said I'm exaggerating it

OP, do the two of you disagree about other things, and if so, is he stubborn and angry about those too?
Putting the cat issue aside for a moment (and it is a big issue), if this is his general attitude towards your opinion, wants and needs, it is very worrying.
It's going to be even worse when the baby comes. What if the two of you disagree about something to do with the baby? Such as what name to choose, your preferences for the birth, whether you breastfeed or bottle feed or both, whether your/his family visit and if so how soon and for how long, decisions about whether to cosleep, sleep train... the list goes on.

The cats are already a big problem but I think they could also be part of a bigger one, sadly.

If this is true then the cats are either ill and need medical attention or very stressed and unhappy. So he needs to take them to a vet to see if they can find out what is wrong, and if there appear to be no medical issues, try diffusers or other strategies for making them feel more comfortable. But he absolutely needs to enzyme clean where they have toileted because they have now learned to go there.

-Your husband is lazy and useless.
-There should be at least one litter tray per cat ( an extra one or two doesnt hurt)
it needs to be changed /cleaned EVERY day - cats are very clean and don't want to poo/wee in a dirty litter box.
-any wee issues need to be checked for illness

This is a husband problem, not a cat problem, cats don't behave like this if cared for.

So the poor cat has had 3 litters in a short time....he doesn't love cats.....and why didn't you neuter them?

The poster is pregnant. She shouldn’t be cleaning litter trays and it’s her DH that wanted the cats. It would be kinder to rehome them as they’re clearly not having their basic needs met.

I hope you DH is going to step up with baby the signs are pretty shit if he hasn't got time to change litter trays daily. Even if you can't smell it the cats can....why agree to 4 that's mad if you don't even like them ....even if you do that's more mad cat person

These cats are very unhappy re home them all.

Go educate yourself. Properly cared for cats are not a risk.

@notaurewhatusername cats aren't properly cared for though

You are being unreasonable as you can't expect them to be contained all the time it's unfair.
Your husband should have trained them properly, I think you should re home them all.
Your husband is not looking after them properly it's not fair on them.
He has a duty of care and he's not doing it, make him re home them all, if he won't call the rspca and get them to re home them.
He is being a selfish prick, if he can't look after cats what's he going to be like as a father, he sounds very very lazy

FFS, the litter trays need to be cleaned multiple times per day, not once every three days.

How would you like to use a toilet that was only flushed once every three days, despite being used by multiple people?

Sounds like these poor animals need to be rehomed.