Rescue car weeing in the house - help!

[Hellvelyn]

We adopted a lovely, affectionate, one-eared moggy about a month ago. She has access to the garden which she doesn't seem to much like, a large litter tray which is cleaned every day, but still insists on weeing in corners of the carpet and tiled floor. We are constantly clearing up and I'm becoming rather paranoid about the smell.
The vet wants a urine sample and has given some anti inflammatories in case she is in any discomfort but this doesn't seem to have made any difference. She will use the litter tray but not reliably. She's also poohed on the carpet. We have tried a variety of odour killing cleaning products which are supposed to deter repeat weeing. We've also put dishes of dry food in the places she likes weeing and this seems to help deter her, but she just goes somewhere else. I am running out of ideas of what else to try. She came from a house with 8 cats and was injured when she arrived at the RSPCA so I guess she might have come from a bit of a chaotic life where weeing on the carpet was the norm. What else can do to deter this? All ideas very gratefully received.

😂 so sorry I couldn't help but laugh at the title lol , I was intrigued!

Have you tried adding an extra litter tray and changing the type of litter used?

Is she spayed?

I would try not keeping the litter tray too clean. After she has wee in it or a poo leave it and see if she then has another in there. Or if she wees elsewhere soak it up on some kitchen roll and put this in the litter tray. This is how we encouraged our rescue to use her litter tray. If it seems to he working when you clean the litter tray out a small amount or the dirty litter back in the clean tray.

Yes Hilts she is spade. Would you put the second litter tray in another room?

If she has a favourite corner where she wees put a second litter tray there. I think tbone point we had a litter tray in all 4 corners of the living room.

Try Feliway plug ins.
Keep her in one room, she might be stressed.

However, I adopted a cat that would wee anywhere, never found any definitive medical reason, possibly nerve damage from an accident but also possible behaviour issues from early life. Spent a fortune on Simple Solution, vinegar and kitchen roll over the years.

Your poor cat sounds traumatised, hence my suggestions above. Vet procedure is test for UTI and give Metacam, antibiotics.

I would suggest feeding wet food only as dry can cause discomfort in the bowel/constipation which then irritates the bladder.

Could you give her a room of her own with a washable floor and keep her in it? A radio playing quietly, Feliway plug in, sit with her and cuddle her, a covered bed or cardboard box on it's side to hide in - all the things that are recommended with a new, shy or nervous cat, even if she didn't appear to be nervous.

Peeing inappropriately is a sign of stress, trying to tell you something is wrong, or just never been litter trained. She might just need time. may not feel happy around small children?

Have been there, it is tough but give her a chance to settle, slowly. Be prepared that it may improve but also may not be perfect, she needs a lot of love and understanding, if you are stressed by it she will know.

You are doing the right things. YY to PPs' suggestions - feliway, putting extra litter trays where she pees. Simple Solution spray is a good start with neutralising the smell, but belt and braces, you can back up with another wash with bio detergent then surgical spirit.

I'm sure you've tried different litters but also, try plain soil in a litter tray. Coming from a house with many cats it's quite likely she is used to weeing outdoors. It doesn't have to be forever - once you have something that works, you can tweak it. A tall cat tree, ideally floor to ceiling, is good to help her feel secure. Zooplus has great value ones and they don't have to take up a lot of space.

Our rescue cat was never reliable with a litter tray and was better when we removed it entirely - but she was a very outdoorsy cat. We managed it mainly by confining her to hard floor areas of the house, with constant access to outdoors, and putting her out for half an hour after meals. We also insulated the shed and filled it with cat perches etc so she had somewhere else to go.

Our vet also suggested, in extremis, crating the cat with a litter tray for a few days and extending her "safe area" from there only very gradually, continuing to lock her in there at night. We never tried it - she hated being shut in the house let alone a crate, so shutting her out for a bit seemed much kinder. Also I think she'd just have pooed next to the tray in protest. However with a more indoor cat it might be different.