Am beside myself with excitement: it's just possible I've solved my cat pee problems

[anotetofollowso]

So our 5-month kitty has weed outside his litter box ever since we brought him home. He faithfully poos in the litter box, but has pretty much weed on every bed in the house; in any bags (e.g. gym bags) left on the floor, and on articles of clothing left lying about.

I've googled endlessly for a solution to the problem. I finally followed up on one suggestion and bought a second litter tray and placed it far from both the litter box he poos in, and from his food. Well he barely waited for me to finish pouring the litter into the new tray before he leaped in and did an extravagant wee. I hadnt even tipped the litter bag back upright yet. It's only one wee in the new box but I am praying that this proves to be a lasting fix.

Had to share my excitement! Please hold thumbs for me.

Well done! Didn't you post here for advice? That's part of our standard recommendations I think ...

I had a bed-wee-er once. Grim.

Excellent. Fingers crossed that he's turned over a new leaf now.

Oh no no no. It all went horribly, dreadfully wrong this morning again.

I could see kitty sniffing around on DS's bed, getting ready to wee so I snatched him up and put him on the new litter tray. He sniffed around there too but then stepped out having done bugger all. Five mins later, he weed on a towel DS had left lying on the floor (I know, I know, but one problem at a time ) . I grabbed him as he began wee to try to move him to the tiled corridor. With the result that I have a long trail of cat piss from one end of the bedroom carpet to the other. Sob.

I am in despair about this. I was so hopeful that a 2nd litter tray had solved the problem. Now I'm pinning my hopes on having him neutered soon (he's 5 months) but in my heart of hearts I don't really think that is going to solve the problem.

Any advice gratefully received. Or just recognition that this is @#$% NIGHTMARE !!!!!

Ah hah! He's not neutered? Get him snipped as soon as and hold off despairing until that point.

Was his tray clean? Ie no lumps that you hadn't got out yet? You could try an ultra clumping litter, the grains are smaller so its softer on their pads plus some are talc scented which they seem to like.

I'd neuter him but remember he is still only a baby.

Yes - what kind of litter are you using. I'm thinking that he loved his new tray last night when it was split clean so you might have a real fussy blighter who is most particular about his litter or tray state. Some of them are like that.

THanks for the replies - much appreciated. I'm using a silicone sort of stony litter. His tray was clean, i.e. no lumps, I had raked it through. But I hadnt replaced the litter after only one wee so his tray must have traces of that.

Do you really think neutering will help? I do hope so.

Neutering sorts them right out. Has he "dropped" yet?.

Is it clumping? The silica one I tried didn't clump and it didn't smell very nice.

My cat frequently wees on the side of his tray & sniffs at it suspiciously if I don't clean it off. Like any cat around here is stupid enough to come in and use his tray.

My boys have always liked fuller's earth (natural clay) clumping but are also pretty particular about which one - Sainsbury's or the Coop are the preferred brands because they appear to be the right texture for them although I do keep a rougher brand in the cupboard for emergencies.

Those types clump nicely (so you can just lift clumps out, smooth over and top up) and don't smell nasty. They definitely don't require wholesale replacement after one use!

I remember with Oneago, however, when a friend had given me some wood pellet litter to use up and I tried it in his first tray when he arrived in the evening. He took one look at it, sniffed and immediately went and peed copiously all over a split new duvet that my father had just bought. That was my lesson learned - I went down to the local supermarket for their opening the next morning and bought some natural clay. No more problems and I dumped the rest of the wood pellet stuff. They can be fussy blighters at times.(Not all of them of course.)

My sister has a similar problem. She has two rescues, a male and a female. They were both neutered at 6 months. She has 2 litter boxes; one is used by the male and the female poos in it. The other isn't accessible to the male and the female wees in it (she wouldn't use it while he had access to it). The male sprays all over the house though. Does she need a third box? He does seem to have terrible anxiety issues too which we think might have something to do with it.

Thank you again for your replies. I'm not in the UK so I don't have the wonderful choices of cat litter available there. But if I've understood correctly then a clumping letter is the one preferred by some cats, is that right? I'll seek out the closest local equivalent.

I'm such a novice cat owner that I have no idea if my cat has 'dropped'. Is it obvious? Do I just check him him out for dangly bits below the penis?

Crazy Cat Lady, do you mean I should get THREE boxes for one cat? Oh dear.

I think he probably doesn't like being part of a multi-cat household - hence the spraying. (He's showing he's upset about life.) Putting out a third tray wouldn't hurt at all though. The rule of thumb is 'one per cat plus one' and although that would start to get silly if you had 8 or 9 cats, say, having three is worth a try.

Are there any other signs that they might not get on?

(Sorry for the slight hijack, OP.)

Sounds like a third box is needed. Does he like living with another cat?

Two for one cat should be fine, anote. Seniorboy has two and uses either as the mood takes him. (I originally gave him two when I was going away for a night but kept them going when it seemed to agree with him.)

Out of interest, anote, is he to be allowed outside during the day when he's of an age and neutered? I've noticed in the past that my outside-going boys have generally been neater with their inside trays. (They've preferred to do their duty inside the house.) It's as if going outside dilutes their attention to inside conditions.

Of course, your local laws may not permit going outside - but just a thought. Some cats love being indoor cats and some aren't too keen on it and demonstrate their displeasure.

Apologies for the hijack, I got overexcited realising that I should ask here about DSis's cat, it had never occured to me before!

There are no real signs that they don't get on. They don't interact a huge amount but they don't fight.

She'll likely be the dominant one so he's probably minding his Ps and Qs. He doesn't sound happy though. In my experience, spraying is generally a sign of that - it all boils up inside them and they do a 'Take That You Blighters!' to let off steam.

Maybe she could watch them more carefully and check how they're interacting ? Eg who eats first/drinks first/ where they sleep - all those sorts of things.

This cat is quite well endowed but its the best photo I could find.

Sometimes the fur is long and you can't see them.

Don't go poking around down there, you'll feel like a sex offender.

This is not my cat btw.

Nothing could stand in the way of his meals - he's an eating machine. She has to carefully measure out his food or he'd be the size of a house. He's been like that since she got him. He's not a happy cat, generally. He seems to love cuddles with her but can't bring himself to allow it very often. They do both sleep in the bed with her though, and during the day they'll kip on opposite ends of the not-very-long couch, so he's obviously not too bothered by the other cat?

Sorry you're having trouble OP, I hope you find a solution asap. I've had cats with toileting issues and it's grim.

However, I just have to say, I love that Fluffy googled cat bollock images for you

Together with the other posters and lurkers who've done it this afternoon, it'll send the Google Management Stats haywire!

I'm very generous like that though. It's a fine pair of cat bollocks too. I did wonder if he had a cotton wool all stuffed down there.

Yes it's no wonder he's showing them off

I'm loving the idea that someone somewhere is scratching their head and wondering why so many people are googling cat bollocks all of a sudden.

I love you all but Fluffy most of all for a mighty fine pair of cat bollocks. I agree, posting cat bollocks catapults one instantly into the Mumsnet hall of heroes. Thing is, even with that splendid example before me, I'm still not sure what gives with my cat down under. (I did say I was a novice cat owner). To be honest he just looks like he has a huge, swollen anus and no bollocks - do they start budding and then grow or something ? [big grin]

Today was better in noteland. I'm delighted to report that the cat weed in the new littler box (and also pood there). Cant work out what or why but who cares. Point is I didn't clean up any cat wee today and am that has made all the difference.

thanks again for the replies.

That's promising. If you're keeping it nice and clean, maybe he'll get into a routine of using his box. (If you sense a routine developing, it might also be a good idea to give him extra play or toys to make sure he doesn't get bored. Then when he feels the need to go, he'll only have half his mind on it and will (hopefully) head for his tray to do his duty quickly.)

Good luck and let us know how things go.