I have been having problems with one of my 3 cats urinating in a couple of different areas lately and the house is starting to smell horrible. We took him to the vets to see if he had a urinary tract infection and it was negative, and he still keeps going. He is going on rugs, new hardwood floors, and the basement floor.
I have tried Nature's Miracle (does not work), numerous products from Fosters & Smith (none worked) and numerous cleaning products that also never worked. We heard about cats not liking citrus, so we put lemon juice in a few bowls in the problem areas and the cat drank them! I am going to try a mixture of peroxide, baking soda and vinegar. Hope this works! Any other suggestions would be great!
The cat may have a kidney or bladder problem. My daughter's cat started peeing on beds so the vet said a kidney problem and my daughter got the cat food made specifically for this problem.
I had great luck using just plain, white vinegar. One (or both!) of my cats urinated on my bedroom floor and the room was just awful. I found a tip on this site and someone suggested pouring straight vinegar on the spot. I soaked the area. Then I put a piece of plastic wrap on the spot and covered it with a bowl (or something so the plastic stays put). I had to keep it like that for a few days, but it seemed to work. If I put my nose to the carpet I think I can still smell traces, but at least it's not wafting through the air. I suppose some good carpet cleaner might take the rest out.
A few days after that one of them urinated on a spare bed. It soaked into the matress and I did the same thing. Voila! Smell gone.
If it isn't an infection problem, then it is probably a behavior problem. Those are harder to treat. First if you have 3 cats, then you need at least one litter box for each cat plus one (so 4!). Make sure they are in different locations and cleaned daily. You can try different kinds of litter (clumping, pine, clay, crystals). They recommend open litter boxes not the covered kind. Make sure they are in quiet locations, not the center of the traffic area of the house. Make sure if you have an old cat that the litter box is low enough so it can get into it. Some cats get arthritis as they get older and can't get in and out of the litter box as well. Make sure the litter box is big enough. If you have a really big cat make sure they aren't getting in the litter box but not fitting and give up and go to a rug somewhere. If all else fails, try locking one cat up at a time with a litter box and see who it is that is causing the problem. There are medications you can put them on to help with behavior problems. But it must be used in conjuction with these other things to stop the bad behavior. You also have to rule out infections, bladder stones, and diabetes as possible causes.
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Request: Discouraging a Cat from Urinating on the Floor
Archived on 12/31/2007
What can I use to stop the cat from urinating on my floor? I tried using many things.
Wolflove from IA
Answers:
RE: Discouraging a Cat from Urinating on the Floor
Several suggestion:
* change the type of kitty litter
* twice a day 'clean' the litter box
* have heard of an herb (lavender, maybe) that you can add to box, call shelters and the vet maybe they know of this
* I have had cats in past 45 years that would urinate if another pet was added to the household
* if addition to household, pay double the attention to this cat. some are very jealous.
****i would take the cat to a vet he could have a urinary problem which can be deadly. (07/31/2007)
By cat lover
RE: Discouraging a Cat from Urinating on the Floor
I agree with cat lover on her advise. I have had many cats in 40yrs. Another thing that I have tried was to put the cat in a room, with the door shut and a litter box. They will get reintroduced to the box and they will remember where it is. It may take a day or two. (07/31/2007)
