At my wits end

[sillywoman1234]

So, cat is 7. Always been skittish and nervy.
We had some building work done a while ago and although things have been pretty much back to normal for a while, she is peeing and pooing everywhere.
During works we shut her upstairs and despite regular cleaning of tray, it reeked up there from her going everywhere else. Still stinks now and having a tray next to kids bedrooms was horrible.
Before this, she would use the garden.

We now have to keep every single bedroom door shut, but sometimes one of the kids forget or she does a Houdini and manages to get in, and she will make a beeline for my bed/whomever bed and pee in it.
My mattress is ruined. I can't afford another. She pees in it whilst I'm asleep with my toddler. Right next to us.
I have a mountain of laundry for 7, on top of peed on bedding, curtains, etc.

I have feliway. She isn't ill . Stress apparently. Despite it being as normal as ever.
I am beyond exhausted with being woken at 4am and having to wake toddler, to scrub mattress, strip bed etc.
Not possible to confine cat elsewhere. She goes outside mostly for a poo but straight back in to pee on whatever. She isn't fussy where.

I don't know what to do anymore and I can't think straight from tiredness and constant cleaning and washing. And I'm feeling pretty resentful.
Wtf do I do?

No very good advice but - I have been there with an elderly cat. I can only think of confining her in a room with no carpet as much as you can. If she is peeing everywhere, make sure any unused plug sockets are covered - my cat fused our electrics by peeing into a socket.

Thanks. Confining not possible, unfortunately. She's desperate to be allowed into bedrooms again, which is not happening. I just don't know how much longer I can deal with this tbh.

I think once certain areas smell of wee they just keep doing it there. Have you tried a special cleaner for cat's wee and poo? I can't remember what it's called but we got some when my previous cat started weeing on our duvet. I tried everything but she could still smell the wee there so kept using it as a toilet. This cleaner was the only thing able to completely disguise the smell. Once I used it she never weed there again. It's a cleaner you get in pet shops specifically for this purpose.

Yes. Urine off is one we use. Doesn't deter her in the slightest

Which cat litter do you provide?.

You say she isn't ill - has she been tested for kidney function? Kidney malfunction can cause uncontrolled peeing (that was what was wrong with our old boy, but it reached a stage where meds were no longer helping).

It's so hard because you end up feeling bitter and resentful, dreading what you might find in your own house, unable to keep the smell under control and so on.

It might be worth talking to your vet about your options - are there any 'psychological' meds you could try - what would the vet do in your shoes sort of conversation. The sad thing is that she can't be happy if she's peeing everywhere but it sounds as though you're doing absolutely everything you can for her.

This is so frustrating for you. It's the one thing I dread.

I'd say the first thing to do is take her to the vet and explain what she's doing. She may have a medical problem. Ask your vet for advice to stop her urinating everywhere. They might give you something to help calm her? If it's because she's stressed, you may need to confine her to one room with her food, litter tray, etc. Don't let any strangers into that room. Does she have high places she can jump up to and places to hide away? It's all about her feeling secure. Does she have more than one litter tray? You could put litter trays around the house for her, in quiet places. They should be kept clean at all times. The general rule is 2 litter trays per cat. Even though you've cleaned the places where she's peed, she'll probably still be able to smell her urine and will want to go there again. Try to keep her away from these places.

It's very hard work. I've got a very nervous cat, but fortunately, she doesn't urinate outside the litter tray, but she does poo. This is the reason why I don't have many carpets in my house.

As I said above, I'd start with a visit to the vet for a check up and a chat. Good luck

Cannot confine and tbh I suspect it would make her feel worse, not more secure. She doesn't have a tray- no where for it to go in the house - too much traffic and kids etc- she uses the garden and we clear it up there.

I found none of the special sprays worked at all when my cat was peeing on the sofa.

Have you tried Vetpro dress and anxiety tablets? You can order online (I think) or get from your vet. It's all natural ingredients too. One of ours suffers terribly from separation anxiety. We just empty the powder into a bowl with a lick e lix

*stress obviously, I don't think a dress would help in this situation

You need a tray with ultra clumping. I wouldn’t fancy going out to wee either.

I agree I agree with a tray. Clumping lutter you can clean out once or twice a day. And somewhere peaceful. At the moment she is anxious and stressed and wants to wee inside and you haven't provided her with a toilet so she has nowhere to
Go other than on your furniture.