Cats weeing in the hall.

[SummerBreeze23]

Hi! I'm hoping somebody can give me some good advice about my two cats please.

They've lived with us since four months old (sisters) and they're now just over a year. Very well settled and confident generally.

They use their litter trays fine and they're always kept very clean (3 trays dotted around the house plus a spot in the garden)
But for some reason they've decided that a spot in the hall is a good place to go to the loo.
At first it was behind the front door but I can stop this by closing the inner door. Now it's just at the bottom of the stairs.

I've recently ripped up all of the carpet and underlay as, despite my best cleaning efforts, it stank. Now we're down to bare concrete which has been scrubbed (no bleach products) and has loose floor tiles. I throw a tile away if the cats go to the toilet on it.

Any ideas about how to stop them doing this though because I can't get a new carpet in the hall until we've cracked it.

I'm currently trying to feed them there as I've heard that cats won't toilet where they eat.

Any other ideas though? Thank you

Oh meant to say, the whole area has been doused with various cat smell reducing products both before and after taking the carpets up to discourage any lingering smells.

Has another cat got inside and gone up the stairs which has upset them. Putting their food there is a good idea but they might just go somewhere else. The more you clean the more they piddle to make it their area again. What about putting tinfoil down.

Have you tried putting a tray down where they go in the hall? That might sound counterintuitive but the idea is you then gradually move the tray (an inch or so a day) to somewhere you're happy to have it, and the cats follow the tray.

I did this with my first ever cat who liked to go in the corner of our square bay window, and though slow, it worked.

Thank you:

Tin foil doesn't phase them, I tried it to keep them off kitchen work surfaces but they couldn't care less.

No other cats have got in as far as I know (I thought when they went by the front door that another cat was probably just outside at some point.

We could do the litter tray thing, will give it some thought. I'm a bit reluctant to put a litter tray at the bottom of the stairs as dd will probably land in it as she gallops down the stairs but it may be a solution.

Have you ever managed to outdoor train a cat? It would be my ideal if they could use designated spots in my back garden but am I living in dreamland

You could try creating an outside spot by mixing some used litter in with some earth or sand and plonking them down. I wonder if its because if the cat outside the front door. Have you tried lemon or orange peel.

If another cat might have stressed them, Feliway is worth a try. Plug it in your hallway to counteract any scent they might be picking up.