Cat Peeing Randomly Part 2

[marbear56]

Hello! I've posted on here about one of my (now) three kitties, who had a peeing problem as a kitten. Finn, my male neutered almost 2 year old tuxedo has recently picked up the habit of peeing on my couch somewhat daily now. The weird thing is, I cant seem to find a cause for it. 

Here's what I "think" I've ruled out as a cause:
 

1. Too many cats in a small area. We've had our third cat for almost 6 months now, and up until this month there hasnt been any issues. The introduction was slow, but now Finn is better buddies with our kitten than he is with his littermate brother. We frequently see them hanging out, and have plenty of litterboxes (4) one in each room all cleaned frequently. Which he is still using normally. 

2. Illness: Finn has been to the vet who reports a clean bill of health. His brother Beag (littermate) has problems with FLUD (?) so all three of the cats are on a dry/wet urinary food diet (including treats). They have urinary dry food and water available pretty much all day (since they dont tend to overeat) and get a small amount of wet food every night. 

3. Territory?: We moved to a new apartment at the end of February - and Finn had seemed to adjust totally fine. We have a ton of cat trees, and he now is able to look outside the window from any room. I thought this could be it, but it seems weird that he would start this behavior, three weeks after moving. I bought Feliaway immediately after the first pee thinking that would help, but it hasnt done much. 

All in all Finn is acting normally. He's playing, sleeping in his cat trees belly up and stretched, using the litterboxes and is coming to my fiance and I for snuggles, and is all around normal. Its just that he's now randomly peeing on the couch when we leave the room. 

Any Ideas? 

 

[denice]

Are you using an enzyme cleaner like Nature's Miracle or a carbon dioxide cleaner like Fizzion to get out all the smell?  Even though regular cleaners can clean well enough for us to not smell it the kitties still can.  If he can still smell it then he will return to that spot.

 

[tnhand1022]

How many litterboxes do you have? Are they hooded? Maybe try a different litter? I switched to metal litterboxes & corn litter, and haven't had any pee problems since (Dumor chicken feed crumbles $15/50lbs).

Is there a window behind your couch? Or near the couch? If Finn sees another cat hanging around outside, he could just be marking his territory. Crushing up a bag of mothballs & sprinkling them under your windows outside will keep all cats away from your home. FAR away!

 

[marbear56]

Denice - Yes we are using Natures Miracle and letting it soak into the cushions as well as laundering the fabric part of the cushions. 

thhand1022 - We have 4 hooded litterboxes, not that they dont like them - it just hasnt been an issue for them. They've had them both ways (open/nonopen). Now that I think about it, it might be the window. We moved from an 8th floor apartment to a 1st floor apartment, and now they have full view of the outside world (which has squirrels, people and dogs). Our couch is against this large view, so that might be it. I havent seen any stray cats (outdoor cats are not allowed in any of the nearby communities), but it might just be the squirrels or animals in general. He LOVES watching the birds though, so I would hate to take the window view away from him for territory reasons. I'll try the mothball method!

Should I cover the window?

 

[tnhand1022]

You might try taking the hoods off for a bit, until you get this resolved. Hoods are great for people, but not so hot for kitties. Their little noses are just so much more sensitive than ours! Which would you prefer - a nice open toilet in the bathroom, or a port-a-potty? 

The brand new view might be making Finn feel insecure, like he doesn't "own" his space anymore. Maybe put a nice cat tree in front of the window, so he can get a high, safe vantage point. Dollars to donuts, I bet there's a cat roaming around outside. If you haven't seen it, it's probably feral. It might even be sitting under the window and "challenging" Finn when you're not around.

Me personally, I wouldn't cover the window. If the mothballs didn't work, I'd move the couch & make the window area be a cat station - litter box, cat trees, scratching posts, etc. Anything to make Finn understand that the window is HIS & he doesn't need to mark!

Good luck to you. Pee problems are no fun at all!!

 

[marbear56]

Thhand1022 - Thanks, I'll give the lidless litterboxes a try. My youngest kitty tends to kick litter everywhere, but I'd rather see the couch pee free. The weird thing about the window is that it is a totally catified area. There's a huge (three-tier, multiple spot/hide box) cat tree next to it for peeking, as well as it "connects" to the back of the couch which all three cats have free roam of. (Finn and my other two like to chill on the back of the couch and watch the birds). The cat tree also links to a walkway above the fireplace which they have free roam of. (we arranged furniture to make multiple run routes since we figured it would help with having the little one, if our older two had more escape routes and vertical space). 

I'll pick up some mothballs today and will give it a shot. It just seems weird that he's marking the part of the couch (Lshaped) that's against the wall and not the window. It's actually normally the spot where I or my fiance sit - so I'm wondering if it has something to do with us. Although his behavior towards us otherwise doesnt seem to have changed. 

Bonus kitty picture of them in the tall cat tree in our old apartment. The "culprit" Finn is relaxing on the top tier. 

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• marbear56
• Feb 23, 2015

 

[tnhand1022]

Aww, is Finn a tuxedo? So cute! Looks like you've made a little cat-topia by the window. My kitties are jealous!

Maybe try some strips of double-sided tape on the area where Finn is peeing, to discourage him from that area of the couch? I guess he might just pee in another spot if you do that though. Hmm...

I recommend getting Netflix, just to get lots of tips from My Cat from Hell episodes. 

 

[marbear56]

Yes - he's my little sweet selectively snuggly tux! I LOVE my cat from hell (although its a tear jerker). That show really proves that kitties aren't spiteful, just scared. I'll try some more things (mothballs/maybe an additional feliway plug in/rewashing everything) and will see if that helps!

I'll try to update everyone if I can get him to stop!