Cats urinating everywhere...solutions?

[Psychonabike]

Really hoping someone can suggest a solution to this problem.

I have had cats all my life (I'm 47) and never had this issue before.

After our family cat of 10 years died suddenly, we got two kittens, sisters A + B. They were moggies and far too young to be away from their mother, and we took them because everyone in the house loves cats (3 kids) and they needed a home. Definitely a new experience for us -previous 2 cats had been pure breeds and stayed with their mother until a little older.

The kittens seemed to settle in fine, although one (A) was always a little nervous and would occasionally wee/spray but not very often.

About 2 years later we took on another two kittens; siblings, one a tom, C + D. Probably a mistake, with hindsight (we rocked the boat?) , but there were reasons at the time. We have a large victorian home and garden -have chickens and bees too, so a reasonable amount of space in a rural location. We didn't seem to have great difficulty settling the new kittens in; at first the pairs kept to different areas of the house and garden and then just gradually integrated.

Maybe a year after the new kittens settled in, A (who had always had the occasional wee/spray) started spraying a lot more. We started to suspect that her spraying was making the others start too (judging by the sheer number of wet patches, yellowy spray marks up walls etc).

Then we had a disaster. We presume something died under our old floor boards. A terrible smell took over a room. Cat A started urinating and spraying all over the room, the other 3 joined in, and we just had a horrendous smell that resulted in a carpet, all underlay being thrown out and the floor boards needing bleached etc.

Ever since we've basically had 4 cats who urinate and spray everywhere.

Tried feliway, urine scent neutraliser etc. Cats have seen the vet, all healthy and well.

We seem to be stuck with 4 young cats that can't come in the house...and we're missing out on a lot of what we all love about having cats.

As a temporary measure we installed cat flaps for our utility room and on a small sunroom so the cats would have indoor spaces that don't have soft furnishings. Plenty of beds and climbing areas in each. Through the winter added electric heat pads to the beds. Stopped allowing them in the house while we had a deep clean and dealt with any left over scent from all the spraying. But even after this, any cat that gets in the house accidentally, immediately sprays everywhere. Recently we tried introducing the tom back into the house for a cuddle now and again; he's a confident and chilled out character, but after a couple of visits, he sat on the sofa and completely emptied his bladder.

A couple of the cats are real lap cats and it's just so sad that we can't have them in to just sit around on the sofas with us.

Can this situation ever improve or is this it now?

Huge sympathies OP. My cat went through a phase like that and it did get completely better.

Is there a safe place for them to wee outside? (I assume so.)

Maybe try some fresh litter boxes inside the house?

I thought bleach had something in it which cats detect that smells like urine. This could be triggering the urinating. You can buy an enzyme block spray that is supposed to stop cats smelling the enzyme in urine. I'm just wondering if the cats can still smell bleach enzymes from floorboards? Each time they wee in the house you need to clean with an enzyme blocking cleaner not bleach. The more they smell bleach the more they will wee.

Also are any Tom cats spayed?

Unfortunately bleach is probably the worst thing to have used - it contains ammonia and can encourage cats to urinate even more as a result. You need to use a proper pet enzyme solution to deal with any accidents.

I assume all the cats are neutered?

• Make sure everyone is neutered (cats obviously 😂)
• At least two litter trays
• Clean any mess with a fairly concentrated solution of biological soap powder and hot water then wipe down or spray with white vinegar or use Simple Solution Extreme enzyme spray. Make sure it is the Extreme one. We have one who occasionally still sprays up a specific cupboard door and often misses the litter tray but he has special needs so we're more forgiving.
• Unless they're really stressed they know what they're doing. We have another one who threatens to spray in order to get what he wants. He knows it annoys us.
• Never use bleach

-The final radical solution involves drugging your cats. If all else fails get some catnip and sprinkle that around their favourite weeing spots. Most effective are the tins of Kong premium catnip. It distracts them.

I sympathise, this sounds awful. My cat has done it on and off for years, we’ve tried everything, it’s a stress / anxiety thing. The one thing I have found effective if I’m consistent with it is putting Feliway Cystease capsules in her food. You break open the capsule and it’s a powder that you mix in with food, they don’t notice it. That seems to work if I give it regularly (daily at first then you can drop to every other day). Amazon is the cheapest place to buy it usually.

I second not using bleach and this may have exasperated it unfortunately. Can you go over the whole area with a good enzyme cleaner?

Thank you all.

Yes, I should have said, after we found out about the bleach thing, we went over everything with an expensive neutralising cleaner from the vet.

All cats spayed and neutered at the earliest appropriate age.

The instigator -cat A, I do think it's a stress thing. She is an anxious cat who was somewhat over-loved by an enthusiastic ND 4 year old as a kitten.

The others just joined in and seem to have a variety of reasons. One (B) actively dislikes me (swipes a clawed paw at me as I walk past) and sprays over things only I use, often right in front of me. Not joking. I cycle, and am the only one in the house that does. She deliberately targets my cycling stuff. The tom and his sister just seem to have joined in and it lacks any rhyme or reason. They don't appear in the slightest bit stressed.

We did try having lots of litter trays around as we wondered if a bit of landscaping outside had limited their options. The trays went unused, and as I say, we're fairly rural so I don't really think limited options is the issue.

Have shared the thread with DH and we'll see what we can come up with from the various suggestions. Thanks.

My old female cat used to pee on DH's cycling stuff too - she wasn't anxious, I think it was just her way of marking it/him.

It stopped when he stopped leaving his cycling stuff all over the place

As you have multiple cats your main problem is going to be stopping the others from peeing where the anxious one pees - as marking over existing urine is incredibly common for cats.

Might be a long shot. But when I worked as a nurse a client had a similar issue, she tried everything. In the end she got a cat behaviourist in and I think they solved the problem!
This was many years ago though. Your cats are probably stressed, but now it may be more behavioural/ habit so a specialist may be the answer :)

We had a spate of it when neighbours Tom's intruded into the house stressing outy younger female cat. Valerian drops helped plus microchip catflap that excluded Tom's but that's not your specific issue. Being vigilant to clean it up seemed to halt progress. I've got mostly hard floors which makes it easier to spot puddles Note to self though... Expensive Method brand Wild Rhubarb disinfect smells just like... You guessed it cats pee!!!

If your cats are mainly living outdoors, then when they are brought in they will mark to make it theirs.

Things I've tried (twelve cats here!) include using lots of litter trays, place where they are marking and try different litters, I find the Canada clay types the best. Using garden soil can also encourage them to use it. It might seem overwhelming, but it gets them into going, and can gradually be reduced and put where you want them later.

Make sure there are lots of escape routes and high up getaways. Confining to a single area might make cleaning easier, but also increase stress. Make sure each cat can access food, water, litter, sleeping areas without competition.

No leaving towels/clothing/bags on the floor or laid about, it's an open invitation to pee!

Cover surfaces you don't want them on with kitchen foil.

Keep cats entertained with play/toys, but don't allow them to be pestered.
Watch Jackson Galaxy, he has good tips for solving pee/stress issues.

As hard as it is, try to stay calm and not get annoyed, it only makes things worse!

Try calming supplements such as zylkene for your stressed cat. A glass of something stronger is recommended for you 😉
Remember that this is solvable, but might take hard work, patience and time.

I have a highly strung cat that wees in the house. Vet check up is fine. Tried all the biological sprays with no success. Plus all the plug ins, calming sprays, calming tablets etc. Had a modicum of success with weekly valerian drops but she's done a huge carpet pee this morning. I'm now resigned to the weeing 😕

Ps. She's an outdoor cat with access to indoor private litter tray
A Tortie so a bit mental anyway