Considering giving him up :(

[Dontknowwhattodo223]

My cat started weeing in my living room. About 3 months ago. It seemed to coinside with a horrible cat outside staring at him through the back window. My cat is an indoor cat, always has been (his choice)
I have tried everything to make him stop. Feliway plug ins, pet remedy plug ins, pet remedy spray, I put curtains up at back door, extra litter trays, cystease capsules, calmex recommended by vet, numerous vet visits, all the cleaning things you can buy and absolutely nothing has worked. I've put puppy pads down now and am cleaning every day. My house stinks. I'm absolutely miserable. It's making me feel so low. I never thought I'd get to this point and i feel horrific about it but I'm thinking I might have to give him up. Next thing is I'll rip up the carpet and put down lino which I cannot afford to do.

Is he using the tray at all? If not, something about the litter or tray may not be right and he sounds very stressed. Try different litter - even an empty tray might be an option. You may also want to add an extra tray and keep them as clean as possible.

First step is to mitigate and reduce both your stress levels. We used washable incontinence pads in the area's he was peeing on. They can be chucked in the wash and dry very quickly - that made things much easier to deal with. You can normally find them on amazon for £5 - 10 depending on the size and they last for ages.

12 is not old for a cat but I would say 2 - 4 wee's a day seems a lot - maybe try him on a better quality cat food (if he'll eat it!)

Good luck - I hope you can find a way to fix this.

Have you tried getting him an enclosed litter tray? Cats feel very vulnerable when they go - and perhaps he's going in those area's because they feel safe from his "predator".

It seemed to coinside with a horrible cat outside staring at him through the back window.
Does that cat still enter your garden? If so then putting up blackout curtains won't work. That cat is probably scent marking outside which is making your cat scent mark inside. Which means your answer is to get the other cat to properly go away. Can you get a motion sensor water spray?

To clarify - your cat isn't incontinent, or ill. He is feeling bullied and he's trying to keep hold of his safe place by the only means he knows how. He's scared.

Is he neutered? My male cat had stones in his urine when he was only having dry food. It's really bad for them.

I would: change his food to decent quality dry, possibly trialling a urinary issues food; add another litter tray and use a different litter in each tray; be meticulous about cleaning trays twice daily; clean accidents with the enzyme spray (Simple Solution is a great enzyme cleaner and easier to rinse than bio laundry detergents); and, provide more activity, playtime etc. This covers most bases, whether it's medical, stress, boredom or habit.

Also at around his age is when cats can start to get arthritic and this can affect toileting habits IME, so a pain killer trial might be worth trying.

He had to have a cystostomy and nearly died when he was 3.

Dry food is fine, cheap dry food not so fine for some cats.

I've been "blessed" with many dry food preferring cats and all have had long lives with no related health problems.

Yes, he's got an enclosed litter tray.

Yes he's neutered

2-4 weeks a day seems a lot.

Really? The vet said that was normal.

Not sure if it's been suggested already but you can buy a pet enzyme spray on Amazon which breaks down cat urine.

This removes the odour, which is important because if they can still smell it then they will keep going in the same spot. The key to breaking the habit is to get rid of the scent.

Hi OP, I read your last thread but don’t think I’ve commented.
the curtains must make you really miserable. It must be so dark. Maybe try the film that stops people looking in but put it on the other side so the cat cant look out.

with regards cleaning the wee, if it’s near a corner can you pull the carpet back? Ot will have soaked to the underlay which is why the smell is lingering. You could cut a square of the underlay out and replace that. Then scrub the carpet with biological washing liquid or even bleach is the carpet allows.

I wish I knew how to help stop him weeing there though :(

It was Purina. He does get dry but hills urinary (he's 9) along with wet food.

Op has he had a urine sample done? You get the beads from vets and put in tray (difficult if he's not urinating in it though)

I have yeah, I've used all sorts of different pet enzyme cleaners including putting one I'm my vax spotwash carpet cleaning machine and scrubbing the carpet.

Tin foil can deter them from seeing in their usual places. However perhaps he'd just wee a couple of inches along from the foil?

But worth a try?

What kind of cat litter are you using? We switched to clumping cat litter which our boy definitely prefers and is easier to keep clean

Have you thought about putting him on a urinary dried food?

Try removing the lid from the tray - if its enclosed, he may be feeling trapped and unable to escape.

Latest research is that cats prefer open large litter trays.

Can you build a catio attached to the house with a shelter? Last resort I know.

I feel awful but I feel really disconnected from him now and pretty resentful. It's just become my routine now of changing puppy pads. It's a crappy start to the day.

It's a horrible situation.

I think you either contain him to outside and one room/a pen or PTS.

Is it possible for you to have a catio attached to your house? Overnight can he be confined to one room in the house that is relatively pee proof?

When we thought ours was going to live 24/7 in a pen however deluxe we then made the decision to let him free roam which thankfully has massively helped. If he ends up having to live in the pen we could try moving him to a very quiet house with one or 2 adult humans but if that didn't work it would be PTS. Regular cat pee all over your soft furnishings is horrid, never get rid of the smell.