Multi-cat Urination Problem

Hi,
We have 5 cats: 4 male, 1 female. All are either neutuered or spayed. We also use Feliway multi-cat diffuser.
3 of the cats will pee on beds, almost immediately if we leave a bedroom door open. They will also pee on other fabric, like towels or nightgowns if we leave it on the floor in other parts of the house.
We have several litter boxes and we keep them well-tended.
The cats have been checked out by the vet and the problem does not appear to be medical. Indeed, if we keep the bedroom doors closed and keep stuff off the floor, then we can go for long periods without an incident. They use the litter boxes just fine.
But any slip up, like an accidentally open door, and we have wet bedsheets.
We thoroughly clean any peed-upon fabric with oxyclean and apple-cider vinegar, and then machine wash, so as to get rid of any possible lingering smell attraction.

So, we are at our wits end for how to deal with this.
If anyone has any suggestions, we would be most grateful!

One addition to my post...this is full-fledged empty-the-bladder urination, not spraying.
Thanks.

Hello and welcome to TCS. Sorry it's litter box issues that brought you here.

Our first question is always, have they been to the vet. But since you mention they've been vet checked, we can probably rule out an UTI.

Next question - how long has this been going on? And do the cats get along ok?

Also, are the litter boxes located throughout the house, or in one location? And with 5 cats, the "rule" would be 6 litter boxes (one per cat, plus 1)

And about cleaning the bedding, is oxyclean an enzyme cleaner? If not, look into getting something like Nature's Miracle.

Here are some TCS articles with more info.

How To Solve Litterbox Problems In Cats: The Ultimate Guide
Litterbox Problems? Here's Why You Should Call Your Vet
Inappropriate Peeing, Spraying, Toy Obsession And Leg And Hand Nipping
Spraying: When Your Cat Uses Urine To Mark Territory

Combat Cat Urine
How To Remove Cat Urine Odor From Your Home
How To Get Cat Pee Smell Out Of Clothes And Linens

Do they eat a lot of dry food? I would try increasing their canned food, decreasing the dry food and see if that helps.

As said above, question would be since when are they doing it, how many litter boxes there are (6 with 5 cats should be provided) and where are the litter boxes? And how often do you clean them?

The litter should be cleaned once a day, latest every two days. As you have a problem I would do it once a day. Additionally the litter boxes should be in the main rooms for the cats. So at least one in the bed room. How large is your place? And do you have enough catwalks and scratch/rest areas for your cats? As an example, I have a floor to ceiling cat tree, another medium sized cat tree and a scratch barrel with 3 sleeping caves and on on top for my 2 indoor cats. Additionally they have access to our wardrobe in the bedroom and a bookshelf in our living room. These are the basics for me. We moved here four month ago and I want to give them some more catwalks to walk around on the living room and possibly some more areas in the bedroom as well, as these are their two main areas.

I hate to say it, but I think you are just going to have to be more diligent about keeping clothes off the floor - buy extra hampers if you need to, and/or shove all the clothes into a closet that that has a door that can be shut.

As far as the beds - another effort on your part - but you could try putting plastic (tarps, shower curtains) over the beds during the day. Cats typically don't like the plastic and therefore shouldn't be so keen about getting up on the beds to pee on them.

You probably have pee smells left on some of the stuff that you can't smell but the cats can. You can try to buy Nature's Miracle and use it to soak the bedsheets, etc. in the washer, for perhaps several hours. Then, do the routine you described above afterward to finish cleaning them. Sometimes, urine soaked materials that have been washed and dried end up having the smell sort of 'sealed' into the fabric, and it is nearly impossible to ever remove it.

And, anywhere there is carpet, you can buy "The Equalizer" (on amazon.com and other web sites) and use it to remove the smell. This might require you to buy a good black light to see where some of the old dried pee might be in the carpeting. This product does not require saturating the carpet, hence a shorter drying time. If there are areas that have been there a while, it may take more than once to completely remove it.

Ditto on the litter boxes. Also, I don't think OxiClean is an enzyme remover, which might be why your cats are always going on the bed; they can still smell the urine. You can shine a blacklight on where they peed to see if you really got all of the urine out.

From what I've seen, Nature's miracle is more a hit or miss while Nok Out seems to be a favorite. Does your house have two or more stories? If so you'd want to have some litter boxes on each story.

Have you ever caught which three are the perpetrator?

It might be worth while to buy a black light, small will do. It will show you where there is cat pee, places you may not realize it is, like under the edge of the bed, or in a corner.

Some cats, who have excellent litter box manners just can't resist a pile of clothes, or even one article of clothing. Some want the clean clothes.

I think getting your clothes and the beds is a form of territorial marking - Be aware all cats, this human belongs to me!

With that as a possiblity, are there outdoor cats in your neighborhood? Some people insist on letting their cats out with no idea of the chaos they cause. Since cats are good at not being seen, check your front, back, and side doors for tom cat spray. Either take the black light out at night or move around so the light moves over the door. In the day the spray spot will look like a darker spot of the same color paint that is on your door. Enzyme cleaner or white vinegar -- every day.