Cat pissing all over the house

[Mimikyuu]

I don’t know what to do anymore. My husbands cat just pisses everywhere and we are nearly at divorce over it. She has 2 litter trays, has been to the vets multiple times, we’ve tried felliway etc. Nothing is working and I don’t know what to do. I don’t want to live in my own house anymore. I’m too embarrassed to invite people round and we have 2 young kids and I just feel
horrible. Obviously rehoming is the last things he wants to do but I feel like we’ve run out options now. Anyone have any ideas or been through something similar?

Your dcat really won't feel hard done to..

It’s only 5 so had a long time left. I’m considering giving him an ultimatum tbh but I think he would just resent me. He still resents me for the other cats.

It’s likely territorial stress.

the only thing that worked for mine was a) him living as an only cat in a house where there wasn’t a big cat population, and b) a course of anti anxiety drugs.

If anything medical has been ruled out by the vet then it’s a behavioural issue.
Is he spraying or squatting and leaving puddles?
Has he ever used a litter tray / been trained to use one?
Where are the litter trays located?
Have you tried different litter textures?
Do the two cats get on? Or do they fight?

I would look for a feline behaviourist to get to the bottom of what’s going on. There’s usually a reason for this. A lot of the time it’s because the cat doesn’t feel safe / secure to toilet outside or in the tray or there’s territorial anxiety etc.

https://www.cats.org.uk/help-and-advice/cat-behaviour/finding-a-behaviourist

I second the anti-anxiety drugs advice.

How are the drugs administered?

I wouldn’t go for drugs before I’d tried a feline behaviourist. Drugs should be a last resort after everything else is tried imo.

Amitriptyline is good for anxiety related issues in humans and it’s well tolerated.

I second removing all peed on items, reducing room availability but the big thing that really worked for us was no litter trays indoors (we have a cat flap though). It seemed to stop her associating indoors with toileting. And lots of fuss and loving instead of shouting in frustration.

We build a shelter outside for the litter tray so it would keep dry but she now has her spot in our garden she goes in and we just clean it up daily.

We tried bringing a piece of furniture (previously peed on and cleaned up) back in and she weed on it as soon as she has the oportunity. Lesson learned.

Has cat been tested for urinary problems such as stress related cystitis. My car has a problem where if she is even slightly stressed or doesn't have a specialist diet she pisses everywhere. Took ages to diagnose but once she did and was on the specialist food it stopped.

I had a house cat that did the same. Was a wonderful pet and my first baby until I had an actual baby. The cat got stress incontinence and for attention would wee all over the house, on furniture, next to where I was sitting etc. He then started weeing blood so we went to the vets and they said it was all stress related. Having a baby in the house had upset him and that as the baby grew up he may settle down but the only way to get him to stop is for things to change at home. I couldn't get rid of my baby so very sadly I had to rehome my cat. I just couldnt have him sad and in physical pain and I couldnt have the constant mess around my baby. I miss him everyday! I spent a long time finding a new home for him and I know he is happy and relaxed again now.

It sounds like your cat has been through a lot of changes and this to me sounds very similar to my story and it will be stress related. I'm sorry to say it sounds like they may need to be rehomed.

There isn't anything medically wrong with her....she just doesn't like you or the kids and the upheaval it has bought to her life. You moved in on her territory.

There isn't much you can do other than win her round. One my cats did this when I had twins. It's been painful breaking the cycle and getting him comfortable again to stop doing it.

Re it not being fair on your cat if both cats were confined to a small indoor area: if you did want to do this, you could have a chip reading cat flap in the door between the utility area (or whatever small indoor area pissing cat is confined to) and the rest of the house. These cat flaps read the cat's chip and only permit entry to cats who you've programmed to be allowed. Have the cat flap set to only allow your cat through.

Get rid!

I feel you, OP. In a similar situation myself and have said it's me or the cat. And I love cats, I really do. But we live in a small flat and I can't have my baby daughter crawling anywhere near feline piss and shit. It's heartbreaking having to rehome. We only fostered him because DH's bloody useless sister thinks it's ok to fill her house with multiple cats and he was stressed. He had improved but he's old now, it's a medical thing I think but I just can't cope anymore. Looking out for a nice home for him though, can't bear for him to be sent off just anywhere.

Has the cat been spayed/ neutered?

Have all soft furnishings that have been peed on been removed? Carpets, curtains, cushions, couches, armchairs, etc...

Have you used enzyme cleaner on all hard surfaces (floorboards under carpets, walls, doors, tiled surfaces, wood furniture?

You could look at installing a microchip catflap in an interior door, allowing your cat usual access, but restricting naughty cat. I have 12 cats, and when one starts this is bloody depressing. Our whole house is designed around the pets as its the only way to live a clean and comfortable life and even so it's a lot of work. I really do feel for you. Try smart cat flaps to give each cat a different permission to access different areas. Some cats just don't ever care/learn where they should pee.

How is this relationship going to work? He wanted a house full of feral cats that pissed everywhere. You moved into the house and made him give up MOST of the pissy cats. Presumably the compromise was that he was allowed to keep just the one pissy cat. Now you have children living in your boyfriend’s cat piss house, you can’t have guests. The relationship is already damaged as you made him give up most of his pets. And now you’re arguing over the last pissy cat when it’s his house 🤯🤯🤯

My husbands cat just pisses everywhere

They don't like you. Pretty obvious. Or they're old....

we have 2 young kids

Jesus! What are you waiting for?! Time the cats take your husband out of the home.

Your kids will love you for that.

Id just get rid of it .... thats the husband (and the cats )
He sounds like he has an illness ( again the DH) as no-one could live like this
Id leave 100%
Cat piss smell is disgusting and you, your kids and clothes probably smell of it by now

It’s our house, we are married.

I'd second getting a cat behaviourist and watching the cat like a hawk to figure out if something is triggering it to wee in inappropriate places. For example, our cat is using a litter tray temporarily because we've just moved house and he started peeing indoors when he never had before.

Turned out his trigger to pee was us doing ANYTHING to the litter tray- so we'd clean it out, he'd see us doing it and for some reason he no longer wanted to use it. We now wait until he's sleeping somewhere else and clean the tray without him seeing (which solves the problem). If he does see us do it, I then have to gently post him inside to show him it's ok to use. It's like trying to fill a Christmas stocking without a child seeing except I'm not Santa, I'm the cat shit fairy.

Anything the cat's peed on needs to be absolutely doused in enzyme cleaner (Nature's Miracle is good) or thrown away. Any other type of cleaner won't do, the cat will still smell the piss- and the stinky substance in the pee will also recrystallise in warm weather and start stinking again unless you break it down with enzymes. Normal cleaning won't get rid of the smell and won't stop the cat pissing.

I’m going to order some enzyme stuff and put it in the carpet cleaner and do the whole house. (Well my husband is!!)

Any tips on litter tray deodorant? I hate it, I feel like it’s all I can smell even when it’s just been cleaned

Are you also going to get a feline behaviourist on board to help work out what’s going on?

You met, married and moved in with a man with a house full of feral cats and piss? On purpose? The mind boggles 🤔 was this not an issue for you at any point? The remaining cat is still young and there is already resentment over the other pets he’s got rid of, I don’t know how you’ve got to this stage so quickly. Or how you’re going to solve what’s apparently a non issue for him that he had before you married