To give my cat away because he pees all over the house?

[Mousefunky]

I have a 1.5 year old Tom cat, adopted at four months. He is neutered and well loved.

The problem is, he pisses everywhere. I have asked for advice from my vet numerous times and yes, he has been checked multiple times for UTI’s and even diabetes, all came back fine. All the vet says is it’s behavioural and she advised a few products to buy such as Feliway, catnip and spraying the urine off stuff all over, all of which I have done (and spent a fortune on...)

I have had to change an entire rooms flooring, throw numerous things away including some of my DC’s toys and clothes and have spent a fortune on cleaning products because of it. I am also four months pregnant and dreading the cat potentially peeing on the baby’s things too.

He is a house cat and always has been so I considered maybe he wanted to go outside and have tried putting him out a few times but all he does is cower and meow at the doorstep to come back in.

I am furious because today I found he had peed all over my new living room curtains . I love him but I just can’t deal with this anymore. Does anyone have any advice or do I just need to admit defeat and give him away to a shelter?

Does your kitchen lead to the garden?

What I would do at this point is..
Restrict to the kitchen again.
Feed him on the kitchen windowsill.
Keep the kitchen window open all the time when there is someone home, so he can go out at his own pace.
Fully change the litter box daily.

I hope you can find an answer.

*You can't just put a cat outside the back door and expect him to go figure.

You need to introduce him to the garden slowly and regularly until he adjusts.*

This ^

Having volunteered for Cats Protection I got so fed up with being abused over the phone because we couldn't just 'take' the cats that were not behaving appropriately, were not wanted, no longer required... There simply is not the space or the money unless it's a true emergency!

Take him outside with some of his litter, put some of his used litter in some soil and physically if possible gently scoop his paw for him into the soil so he knows that he can 'go' there - ie the digging movement.

Cats are very clean animals and maybe he is stressed as he is not feeling clean. I installed a cat flap myself just a few months ago - cat flap cost a few pounds, installed simply but only if you're happy to drill or jigsaw through a door.

Jackson Galaxy said that when they pee it's because they feel insecure. Are there any cats that are outside that cause him to feel territorial?
They had a bad case of that in my cat from Hell.
It can be managed you just need to know how to make him feel secure at home.

PS cats don't like hooded litter trays.

Shocked at those who kill their pets (and that's what it is - saying "pts" minimises it and makes it sound cuddlier than the reality). If you take on a pet you take them on for good and bad, for any medical issues they might have. Shelters are bursting at the seams because too many just don't get this.

Having said that, I've been through this problem myself and know how stressful it can be, and can understand why the OP would consider rehoming.
In our case the peeing was due to renal problems - has the vet ruled this out? I've also had to recarpet etc too, and with a new baby it was so stressful at the time. But the poor thing was in pain using his tray and associated the tray with that pain so that was the reason. He needed medication and a special diet, plus lots of love, not to find himself outside suddenly, in a different place or worse!

You've described the cat as having difficulty climbing or jumping - this to me indicates an issue and is a reason not to let him wander far as he wouldn't be able to jump to escape a dog or other harm if he needed to.

Hope you get to the bottom of the problem and find a solution.

My cat has been similar, though not quite as bad. Turns out he is prone to UTIs.

Things that helped:

• Urinary food
• a water fountain
• sticking to one brand of litter (Tesco ultra clumping)
• getting rid or replacing all the places he pissed (new sofa, etc)
• avoiding "tray shaped" objects, so no laundry basket etc
• know the triggers and avoid letting the cat near them. We need to keep car seat, toy trampoline, big toy car, work bags, piles of laundry and the shoe cupboard completely inaccessible.
• moving house helped breaking some of the bad habits.
• take him to the vet whenever he gets worse than usual

I know what a pain it is. I had to bin most of my shoes and boots one day and was gutted.

I'd get the vet to test for crystals in his urine again.

OP I really feel for you. I got a cat from a rescue that was exactly the same, we lived with it for 18 months, tried all vets suggestions and animal behaviourist, threw away carpets rugs cushions clothes mattresess and children's toys as we couldn't get the cat pee smell out. In the end I took her to the stables where I keep my horse and she has lived very happily as a stable cat for the last 10 years. She still sprays on the horse rugs and hay bales etc but obviously this is less of an issue at the farm!

I'm sorry if this has already been said haven't rtft. Bleach/ amonia attracts them to pee so try a spot in the bottom of the litter tray. Have lots of trays all over the house so he has lots of choices. Keep him confined to limited rooms if you can. Don't put strange stuff on the floor, it smells unusual and will encourage scent marking. Cleaning with white vinegar helps neutralise the smell and discourages peeing in the same place. And don't use bleach/ amonia products to clean, it causes confusion. Hope someone's suggestions work for you.

I have taken him to the vets six or seven times over the past year to rule out any medical issues and ask for advice, the last time was about three weeks ago. Every time she has simply said there is nothing wrong medically and that it sounds to be behavioural. I have tried everything she suggested at a great expense. I would say she is tired of seeing me but given the amount I spend, probably not .

He does have two different types of litter tray upstairs and downstairs but seems to prefer the hooded one and barely uses the other one. Also, he does pee and poo in his tray most of the time but he is also fond of peeing elsewhere...

I do avoid ammonia based cleaning solutions and have tried cleaning with vinegar in the past as well as bicarbonate soda (both advised by my nan who has kept rescue cats for years.)

He doesn’t have any specific triggers E.g the Bath Mat which was initially his favourite thing to pee on so I binned it and hung the new one on the side of the bath after each use. He will always find somewhere new to pee so I can’t hide everything in sight. When I kept him restricted to the kitchen which has his bed, litter tray and food/water he still found places to pee.

I can’t keep his food on worktops because he can’t jump on worktops. He can only jump as high as my kitchen table but I don’t really like him climbing where we eat.

I would only rehome him as an absolute last resort, honestly. But with young DC and a newborn in the house, I just don’t think it is hygienic or safe so hopefully trying the new litter and slowly introducing him to the outdoors helps.

Thank you for all the advice so far everyone, it has been invaluable. Have text DP and told him we are watching the BBC programme tonight .

A shelter won't 'rehome' him. They will kill him.

My cats stand looking out the door too. Once they're sure there's no danger, they step outside. Sometimes they will just sit outside near the doorstep. I bought my cats two tatty rat looking toys from Home Bargains, they have catnip in and they love them. They are always killing them, lol.

A shelter won't 'rehome' him. They will kill him.

Not necessarily. There are plenty that have no kill policies. Such as the Celia Hammond Animal Trust.

There is a shelter close to where I live that I suppose is closer to a sanctuary. She definitely doesn’t put any healthy cat to sleep and has even kept a few long term due to disabilities she felt would prevent them from being safely rehomed.

A shelter won't 'rehome' him. They will kill him.

As per my previous post, a sanctuary rather than a rehoming shelter is where such pets go to live out their lives. There are also rehoming centres which keep the difficult cats and do not PTS. For many years I have supported a sanctuary where they get a home for life, and only support those where they have a no kill policy.

It is also likely that a new home in such a place is all he needs. Vets do tend to opt for 'behavioural issues' when they are unable to find something medical.

Cats are sensitive creatures and the only way they can let you know they are unhappy is by peeing, they pick up on stress and hormone changes, sadness, illness, but sometimes they need a totally different home regardless of how loving the one they have is.

The fact he can't jump makes me think your vet could have missed something. Do you think it might be worth getting a second opinion? My lovely 13 year old cat (who had been with me through thick and thin from before I met my DH) had been in and out of the vet's surgery with stress related symptoms, in her case over grooming, as she couldn't cope when DD1 came to live with us.

But then she suddenly took a turn for the worse. She moved to my DM's house to get her away from DD1 and to also give her space from our other cat, who she tolerated but they weren't best friends. We took her to another vet and it turned out that there were a lot of health problems that our own vet hadn't spotted, including dental problems. She'd had gingivitis on and off. There was a huge vet bill necessary and she would have been on medication for life.

I did look into rehoming her. But my mum travelled a lot and wasn't in a position to offer her a home. She couldn't cope with living with us, but the vet didn't think she'd cope with being rehomed. So we had no option other than to PTS.

What worked for us was giving our cat her food in the place where she had just weed.

They're very clean, and they don't want to eat in places where they've urinated.

After that she got the message.

My cats use a cat flap, but won't use a hooded litter tray.

He wouldn’t use the flap on the front of the tray, I had to take it off to get him to use it so I’m not sure whether he would grasp a cat flap.

I will try a second opinion though to see if there’s anything my vet has missed.

I'm pleased to hear that, @Mousefunky my biggest regret is that I didn't do it sooner. It was devastating to lose my beloved cat. She was such a lovely pet. I got her when I bought a property for the first time, a one bedroom flat that was a really big step for me.

Are some of the trays higher at the sides than others? I've know cats who didn't always use their trays because the ones they were near had high sides and joint pain made it difficult for the cat.

He wouldn’t use the flap on the front of the tray, I had to take it off to get him to use it so I’m not sure whether he would grasp a cat flap

He would probably grasp a cat flap. My stupid (but beautiful) cat got it after a lot of shoving him through both ways and tempting him with tuna!

Not rtft so apologies if already mentioned... but maybe speak to your vet about antidepressants- as it seems to be a stress thing. Amitryptilline or clomipramine May help?
Also have you been on icatcare.org lots of sensible advice there

I've mentioned it earlier, but in case it got missed, check his eyesight. Blind cats often have continence issues, are jumpy outside, and are reluctant to jump (they wouldn't know how high to jump or where to aim for).