Cat uses litter box sometimes

greenergirl

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Hi, At about 5 weeks old, I rescued 5 kittens who were born under the house across the street. I adopted one of them, the shyest, along with my 2 other cats.

"Forest" was scared of me all of the time... He would run away when he saw me, about once or twice a week I'd find someplace outside of the litter box where he peed. Otherwise he peed in the litter box. First thing I did was bring him to the vet, who gave him a clean bill of health. I got an extra litter box, so that there were 3 in my house, in different locations, as well as tried 3 different litter types... none of this made a difference. I would find that he peed on my bed, on the couch, in my laundry, on a book laying on the table...

About 3 months ago, I tried the Feliway plug in- the change in the cat was remarkable. He wasn't nearly as skittish and way more affectionate. The peeing outside the box still happened, but less.

I moved a month ago, and now have a roommate who also has 3 cats, so there are 6 in the house now. The peeing outside the box is now multiple times a day. We have 6 litter boxes throughout the house, yet he is choosing the carpet, or the seed tray I just planted. I just ordered some more Feliway, and put Forest in a room by himself...

I don't know what else to do?
 
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greenergirl

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He is fixed, and only about 9 months old. Should I bring him back to the vet to check again for any health issues?
 

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Hi G greenergirl ...Because Forest is peeing multiple times a day, I would bring him back to your Vet, and have them do a 'culture and sensitivity' test on the urine sample, to check for crystals or bacteria?

Sometimes cats will avoid litterboxes if they associate them with any pain.
Your Vet will probably want bloodwork and a urine sample, to rule out anything physical

Have you ever tried "Dr. Elsey's Cat Attract" litter....or 'additive' to the litter. It might be worth trying.
(I'm sure there are more types, and can be bought elsewhere,....reading reviews might help decide.)

Sometimes peeing on clothes is a sign of 'marking', or liking the soft texture, and smell of the material.
Fragrances, laundry smells, the scent of favourite humans,...all can cause a cat to pee on clothes.
I moved a month ago, and now have a roommate who also has 3 cats, so there are 6 in the house now. The peeing outside the box is now multiple times a day. We have 6 litter boxes throughout the house, yet he is choosing the carpet, or the seed tray I just planted. I just ordered some more Feliway, and put Forest in a room by himself...
Could your Forest possibly be stressed by the move, still, or by the other cats?
Could you set up a 'web cam', 'phone video', 'baby cam'...to try and record Forest when he attempts to go to the litterbox.
 
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greenergirl

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Thanks so much! I bought Forest to the vet, and the urinalysis came back normal. The urine was highly concentrated, but the collection was taken in the morning. I got the Cat attract litter, and more Feliway plug ins. I just ordered a pheromone collar today. I've also been giving him CBD drops for the past week. He's still peeing on my rug, and my new chair this morning... But he did also just pee in the litter box just now- which I gave everybody treats for... ugh... I've been thinking about building them a fenced in outdoor play room- I don't know what else to do...
 

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I moved a month ago, and now have a roommate who also has 3 cats, so there are 6 in the house now. The peeing outside the box is now multiple times a day. We have 6 litter boxes throughout the house, yet he is choosing the carpet, or the seed tray I just planted.
Thanks so much! I bought Forest to the vet, and the urinalysis came back normal. The urine was highly concentrated, but the collection was taken in the morning. I got the Cat attract litter, and more Feliway plug ins. I just ordered a pheromone collar today. I've also been giving him CBD drops for the past week. He's still peeing on my rug, and my new chair this morning... But he did also just pee in the litter box just now- which I gave everybody treats for... ugh... I've been thinking about building them a fenced in outdoor play room- I don't know what else to do...
Did your Vet give you any suggestions about what might help? Or what further steps to take?
(I mean we pay vets enough, you'd think that they would come up with some helpful ideas.)

If medical is all clear, then you move on to behavioral.
So I'm thinking that Forest is still 'stressed' by something.

Until you find out what is stressing him, ....you'll have to try to 'protect' the areas he urinates on.

Try putting down those plastic tarps, that you can buy in dollar stores or hardware stores...or even putting some of those plastic dropcloths on your new chair, and then putting a fabric blanket or bed sheet on top. You can use fabric furniture covers, too, but I find them a little expensive. They make furniture covers which are waterproof, too, but again, somewhat expensive.
Buying those 'waterproof protector sheets' that they sell at walmart, usually to protect mattresses from spills or incontinence is another idea.
But he did also just pee in the litter box just now- which I gave everybody treats for... ugh... I've been thinking about building them a fenced in outdoor play room- I don't know what else to do...
That's actually really good that he just peed in his litterbox....since it shows that Forest is okay with it...but the problem is he's not consistent with it.
Your idea of building them a 'fenced in outdoor play room' is actually kind of genius.
It would hopefully lower every cat's stress level.

I know I asked before...but do you think any of the other cats are stressing Forest out?
 

Poweranni74

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We also have this problem. I have a pet theory, that pretty much everybody with multiple cats, has this problem. See my avatar? That is our Urinator.

Who'da thunk it?

We also have two little girls who are scheduled for a spay on Jan 20th. When they get meowy and roll on the ground, pissed on clothing and bookbag and blankets become a problem. Also the cats start peeing outside the box, when the boxes get too dirty. I can tell you how we manage the problem and you can take what you want from it.

First off, any in-tact cat in the house or in the vicinity can trigger urine marking. This is actually complicated but for simplicity sake, either being in tact, or having a neighboring cat who is, can trigger a biological sprinkler system.

If you buy a black light and flip out the lights, you can literally SEE the way the environment looks/smells to the cats. The place looks graffiti tagged, and if somebody literally tagged your house, your first impulse is to paint over it.

Then basically it is damage control for us. Keep the floor mopped, use Mr Clean (or something similar) and some bleach and mop all areas. Get a real janitors mop and bucket, not some squeege thing. our cat LGK, basically has confined his urinating to one patch on the hardwood floor.

Yes, it is damn annoying, but the problem is contained. We just know to watch for a puddle in this particular patch of floor, then clean it. No, it is not perfect and it is disgusting, but not ok with it being a death sentence for the cat.

If your cat is being on a patch of carpet I would yank the carpet up in that corner and lay down one of those thresholds you nail down, and get some of that clear plastic carpet cover with mini spikes. They sell it at home depot. Then cover the surrounding carpet. We use Clorox urine remover.

Hope that offers some insight.
 
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greenergirl

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Just wanted to update this thread. My vet advised a lot of things, but what seems to have worked is CDB oil. It's been a good month since I've found any pee that wasn't where it's supposed to be! He's also way less stressed and more cuddly.

I also built an outdoor cat play room and some of the cats are using that which keeps the litter boxes cleaner longer. Probably helps :)
 
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