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Original poster

Why has the cat started doing this?

26 replies

ScruffyTeddy · 26/01/2008 13:00

I have four cats. They are all well over 5 and havent had a litter tray for years. About 4 months ago they broke the door off the cat flap, it took me ages to get a replacement door but I did as it was cold..brrr.

Since i've put the door back on every single stinking day I come back from work to find at least one wee and one poo in the back porch. Why?!! They've had a cat flap for years. The smell in the back porch is unbearable, I just cant get rid of it despite disinfecting the doors, walls and floor every single day.

I did think maybe some neighbours cat was getting in and doing it but yesterday I popped back into the house as i'd forgotten something for work, only to find my female cat scratching at the floor, trying to cover up a wee. They dont do it when im in the house.

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NAB3wishesfor2008 · 26/01/2008 13:22

Have they forgotten how to use the cat flap? Cats don't like change so maybe that is why. I would give them a tay again and gradually move it nearer to the door as days go by.

Watch what you clean their mess up with. If it has ammonia in it it will just make them wee there again.

MegBusset · 26/01/2008 13:27

Our cat has a litter tray with a cover & flap and has gone through phases of forgetting/being scared to go through the flap -- cue wee/poo on floor. When that happens we tape open the door til she gets used to going in and out again.

Also clean the areas that have been soiled with a solution of 10% biological washing liquid -- this will get rid of any smell which would encourage the cat to soil that area again. After cleaning, spray over surgical spirit with a plant mister.

Original poster
ScruffyTeddy · 28/01/2008 20:06

I bleached and mopped the walls and floor yesterday and nearly got rid of the smell.

I thought it was going ok but (possibly TMI alert), went to the loo tonight, turned around to find said cat peeing on the floor right in front of me. What is the matter with her!!?

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ambercat · 28/01/2008 20:14

My cat has started doing this aswell! She stared weeing on our beds last month, so we have been keeping the bedroom doors shut, but this weekend has started weeing on the hall carpet so is currently banished to the kitchen til i can figure out what to do with her.

She still goes out through the catflap but seems to come in to wee?!. Whats going on!

Know what you mean about the smell. I found a solution at Pets at Home that you pour on after cleaning up the wee and it gets rid of the smell. Seems to work but was a bit pricey.

thirtysomething · 28/01/2008 20:16

Could she have a Urinary tract infection? makes them go a lot and in unusual places - maybe sub-consciously wanting to get your attention as she knows whe's not 100%? just a thought....DD bed wetting is usually a sign that she has a uti so thought maybe same for cats!

bellabelly · 28/01/2008 20:20

Oh god, one of our cats has just started doing this too - by the front door, on the welcome mat which is such a pain to clean. Ambercat, can you remember what the stuff is called that you bought from Pets at Home? We've JUST put our flat onm the market and smell of cat pee is now first thing that will hit potential buyers as they walk in... It's doing my head in.

Original poster
ScruffyTeddy · 28/01/2008 20:23

I had some bob martin stuff from the pet shop, lovely little lady recommended it...absolute rubbish. It doesn't smell of anything and doesn't work, bah.

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systemsaddict · 28/01/2008 20:24

I second the UTI thought, good that you know which cat it is, get her checked by a vet. I put ours through weeks of unnecessary discomfort (through to outright pain by the end, but she's a stoic so hid it well) because I thought there was a behavioural reason for her weeing in the house - which made sense, at that point she was a new cat. V. v. guilty when we found out she had a v. nasty case of inflammatory cystitis. Always worth checking when cats wee in the wrong place.

Washersaurus · 28/01/2008 20:26

You should never use bleach to clean up cat wee because of the ammonia, it will encourage them to go in the same place again (so I believe anyway)

bellabelly · 28/01/2008 20:28

Ours is doing it when he comes in from outside ... Seeing vet this week just in case it's a medical thing.

Original poster
ScruffyTeddy · 28/01/2008 20:28

Im assuming she's the one who has been pooing too though?

Sorry Bella, but the welcome mat? Oh dear..."welcome to our humble abode" {squat and spray}..shudder!

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Original poster
ScruffyTeddy · 28/01/2008 20:29

Oh no, really washer?

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Washersaurus · 28/01/2008 20:30

Oh and try 'Wash and Get Off' spray that cleans and neutralises the odour and puts them off going there again.

I have lots of experience of this - one cat had recurrent cystitis and the other wee'd and pooed everywhere due to stress when we first rehomed her (in my bed, on my bed, on the carpet etc etc).

If it is stress related the vet might be able to give you some pheromone spray to help.

redadmiral · 28/01/2008 20:31

www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_ss_w_h_?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=cat+detective&Go.x=14&Go.y=9 &Go=Go

These books talk about how to deal with cats acting strangely.

Be warned that she will probably tell you to get 4 litter trays or something though...

It can be things like a more dominant one of your cats not letting her out of the catflap, or being stressed by someting in the garden. Mine used to pee on the floor when she was annoyed with me for being away for a few days, etc.

Original poster
ScruffyTeddy · 28/01/2008 20:34

We had our big Tom die around the same time...but it wouldn't be that would it? She didn't like him anyway!

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ambercat · 28/01/2008 20:35

The stuff i got was called Simple Solution, cat stain and odor remover. It did work but i think it was about £10 for about 600ml.

I think i might take my cat to the vets just in case.

Washersaurus · 28/01/2008 20:45

If your cat is weeing little bits all over the place he/she may have a UTI that needs checking out. They usually find it uncomfortable to wee so go in search of ANYWHERE to wee that may make it more comfortable for them. I once found my cat weeing in the bath!

I never had a cat suffering with UTI do a poo out of the litter tray though, that sounds more like a stress related issue.

I think stress is the usual cause - it could be children, other cats etc. It is definitely worth seeing the vet.

Original poster
ScruffyTeddy · 28/01/2008 20:49

Could be interesting trying to get to the loo with 4 litter trays placed strategically around it lol!

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Original poster
ScruffyTeddy · 28/01/2008 20:50

Yep, i'll give it another couple of days then maybe make her an appointment.

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Washersaurus · 28/01/2008 20:50

I had to give up on sisal door mats btw. I got fed up after replacing them for the 20th time!! For some reason it was like a magnet for them to wee on and nothing I tried would get the smell out well enough to stop them doing it again. I have nasty cheap looking washable ones now

bookwormmum · 28/01/2008 20:54

Maybe it's too cold for the cats to fancy going outside to wee? I'd certainly take her to the vet to rule out a urinary infection or worse. She might have been scared by a fox or something in the garden mid-wee and so she won't go out there again until she forgets.

Original poster
ScruffyTeddy · 28/01/2008 20:57

Just very strange that its only since I put a door back on the cat flap. The first time it happened I found it locked (am assuming dd had something to do with that ).

But its been open since, and we always had one anyway?

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bookwormmum · 28/01/2008 21:21

I have terrible visions of a cat head-butting the cat flap and falling back a la cartoon style now .

Cats are cautious by nature and maybe you have to show them that the flap is safe to use? Perhaps open for them and even shove persuade one to go through it?

redadmiral · 28/01/2008 21:36

Vicky whatsername might say it was the old Tom dying. Think sometimes cat inter-relationships can be quite complex.

Original poster
ScruffyTeddy · 28/01/2008 21:44

Nah, she couldnt stand him.

Oh and I have shoved gently encouraged her to use the cat flap, and she does...just not when its toilet time

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