Cat wee - help!

[LastingLight]

Our much beloved and elderly boy ginger cat has taken to using our study as a toilet. We think this might be because he is finding it difficult to get through the window to go outside and/or he is going senile. We decided to ban him from the study but last night he was sleeping on my desk went hubby went to bed and hubby felt too bad to disturb him. In the night he weed on a multiplug and we woke up to no power this morning.

How do we get the smell out of the carpet? We can't find specific spots, it's just sort of diffuse. How do you get the smell out of suedish shoes?

We will have to put down a litter box for him in the house. Since we cannot explain to the two girl cats that the litter box isn't for them, is one box enough or should we have more? What is the best cat litter to use?

I'd go for a couple of trays at least until you see how things pan out over the next few days. (If they were all indoor cats, the rule of thumb would be one per cat plus one but if the two girls still use outside, then you may not need quite so many as that.) Definitely more than one, anyway, and I'd also be having a look at your general arrangements ie cat flaps, keeping them all in overnight because of nighttime dangers etc.

How old is your elderly cat and has he been to the vet recently to check how he's doing? And how old are the girls?

As to cat litter? You'll find as many different preferences as posters, I suspect. I always go with clumping natural clay because that's what my boys prefer - but many other households have completely different preferences.

(By the way - the plug that was peed on - was that a gang adaptor flat on the ground or a multiway plug inserted at wall level? If the latter - which you shouldn't really have for fire reasons - then he may be peeing 'up' so there could be some unhappiness there as well as relieving himself. If he's potentially going to pee on electrics, I'd be looking at your electrical and fire safety arrangements as a matter of urgency also.)

Sorry for so many questions. (Oh - and I'd bin the shoes, myself. Carpets can be scrubbed with warm water and a non-bio detergent and you could find spots with a black light if you can get hold of one - although from what you say, it sounds as if he may just be wall-peeing rather than carpet peeing. That may be why you haven't spotted it.)

Thank you for your answer. Boy cat is around 15 and sees the vet regularly as he has chronic kidney disease and is on medication. I've made an appointment to take him tomorrow. He is definitely doing it on the floor, the adapter was also on the floor. The girl cats are 9 and 10.

Mention the peeing to the vet tomorrow then and get a couple (or more) litter trays in today.

Best of luck. My own old boy is 19 with arthritis but he just about manages with peeing (he has a couple of trays to himself) so I know what it's like with an older cat.

Baking powder or bicarbonate of soda eliminate the smell effectively.