Elderly cat weeing in house, tried everything

[girlghostbusters]

We have two elderly cats (female) who are now 14. They are indoor cats and always have been. We have lived in our current house for 3 years.

It used to be that we'd find an outside-the-litter-box deposit rarely, either wee or poo happening only a few times a year and clearly tied to something (stress, dirty litter box).

For the last 18 months or so, the house constantly stinks of wee. It is usually one cat, but the other contributes as well. We brought them to the vet, who found no problem (other than being elderly). I hired a cat behavioural expert (recommended by the vet) who came to the house, met the cats, and made some suggestions, all of which we implemented (more litter boxes, cleaned more frequently, and on both floors, plus enzymatic cleaner). Nothing has helped.

My husband has declared an end -- it's either put the cats outside all day (which I am convinced will kill them, as they're not used to roads/traffic/outdoor animals), or give them up to a shelter (which would kill them, because who would adopt them?).

I hate the idea of my pets dying, suffering or being scared, but I also hate that my children live in a house stinking of wee, which is the first things visitors notice. I don't want my children to live in 'the cat wee house' (I definitely have bad memories of kids being terribly bullied for this when I was a kid).

Any ideas on how to stop this?

Our 19 year old female began wetting outside of the tray after she lost her sibling, almost always when no-one was in the room or overnight.
In the end, we bought an XXL dog crate, lined it with puppy training pads and bedded her down in there overnight.
It mostly solved the problem for her remaining 6 months. Could you do the same?

Only had this issue with one previous cat who was 22 and had cancer. We had to have her put to sleep because of the cancer which had spread throughout her whole body and the only symptom was urinating outside of the litter tray. (The oldest cat we've had lived to 24 and we adopted him when he was 12 so 14 is like a teenager as far as im concerned!)

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My cat started weeing outside her box but not until she was 21. It was awful but she confined her 'accidents' to my room which was on the top floor so no one else had to suffer. She died at 23 but I was stressed about it for those last two years. I never found a solution. I had a litter box in the en suite bathroom and she often used it when I used the toilet so I started making a point of going there frequently (even if I didn't have to go I'd pretend).

I don't think 14 is actually that old. However, rehoming two fairly elderly cats with this issue, or turning them outside all day when they have always lived indoors, are both cruel and out of the question. The cats are probably picking up on all the understandable tension in the home and the stress will be making them worse. Have you thought about rehoming DH?

Semi-joking aside:

• Do you have a room or rooms without carpet and soft furnishings, such as a kitchen or utility, where the cats could spend the unsupervised time when you are out or in bed? Or can you make such a place from a spare room, dining room, office etc? It doesn't need to be big, but does need to have an easily reachable window for daylight and to watch the world go by, food and water, a couple of comfy beds, toys, a scratching pole and litter trays. I'd recommend putting a bird feeding table or similar outside the window for enrichment and to provide a heated pad. We have this one and it has made a huge difference to our older cat: KOZEEPET Puppy Electric Heat Pad - Vetfleece It is big enough for two cats. A spare cover is a good idea. We also put a piece of Vetbed over ours.
• Make sure the sides of the litter trays are low for ease of access for older cats.
• Try this cat litter, if you haven't already: Biokat's Diamond Care Vet Line Attracting & Calming | zooplus.co.uk
• Everyone has to take responsibility for keeping doors shut and unsupervised cats out of the rooms with carpets and soft furnishings, and for tidying away anything from floors and surfaces the cats might wee on.
• Another option a friend has is a nice shed with a catio around it. For two older indoor cats it has to be heated except for in the summer and also have a raised sleeping/viewing platform and a socket for a heated pad.

You've already put in a lot of effort by the sound of it and this is some more, but that's the deal when we take on pets, even when they turn out to have (p)issues.