Cat Urinating Anywhere

[its tom the cat]

I have posted this before and keep hoping things will change but so far no. 2 year old male rescued from Cuba. No record of him being neutered and two local vets cannot find anything to neuter. One wants to do an ultrasound and another wants to "open him up" to search for the bits. Both pricey options but the second option is not in the cards.

Little guy pees but does not spray. Anything is a target from the sofa to a box of jig saw puzzle pieces to my hat. No real reason why. He has 2 litter boxes which are changed regularly. It has gotten to the point of having to lock him out of bedrooms (bed targeted) and limiting his roaming area. He does not go outdoors at all because he has no eyes. Not just blind but no eyes.

As I write this I have a load of pee pee targets in the washing machine along with a cupful of vinegar. I use vinegar but is there something else? Or perhaps a different kind of medical test to determine if the parts are still there.

Thanks

 

[betsygee]

Poor little guy.  And poor you, that's no fun to deal with. 

Have you had him checked for other medical issues?  One of our neutered male cats is prone to UTIs and has been through courses of antibiotics more than once for that.  

Have there been changes in his surroundings?  That's the other problem we went through.  Once we started transitioning our cats from indoor/outdoor to mostly indoor, Rico really went crazy, peeing everywhere.  It was getting bad.  

We had a couple of vet consults and now we've got Rico on an Rx urinary formula wet food.  Our vet suggested we not even give him any treats any more--nothing that might upset his pH.  And he's on Prozac.  He's been on it for three weeks now.  We had one incident of him peeing in the sink this weekend, but we were out of town and there was a cat sitter coming in, so he was probably more anxious with us gone.  We've been checking everywhere around the house and it sure seems like the Prozac is working.

As far as cleaners, I use a liquid enzyme cleaner that can be used in the laundry, too.  I find it works a lot better than vinegar or other cleaners.

 

[its tom the cat]

No its not fun at all. This is his only home since coming from Cuba. We have another cat but she lives in another part of the house.

I am reluctant to putting him on any medication and he did have a urine test months ago (this habit is not new) which was fine.

I am leery of most vets as they seem to be interested in up-selling as much as they can. I have other animals who live in a barn and have seen my fair share of vets. Sadly my favourite moved away.

Really in a bind as I may have mentioned in a previous posting that I am also the sole caregiver to my wife who has lung and brain cancer. Its like having a 2 year old in the house.

I will not get rid of my cat as I am not that kind of person but am always anxious when I come in from outdoors about being hit with a waft of that terrible smell.

 

[betsygee]

I understand the reluctance to put him on a medication.  We put off the medication for several months, hoping Rico would improve with time and the changed diet.  But eventually we decided to go that route.  It doesn't change his personality or anything like that, but helps "take the edge off."  

How about other things like Feliway diffusers, calming treats or collars?  We had mixed luck with those things but some people have success.

You've got a lot on your plate.  I hope you can find a solution.

 

[maggiedemi]

​What is his diet like? Does he eat alot of dry food?

 

[Primula]

Probably a dumb question, but how can he find the litter boxes if he is blind? What do other cat owners do who have blind cats?

 

[its tom the cat]

My reluctance to meds is that when we had Tom (adopted at 13 as a special needs cat) he had hypothyroid. The vets tried every med to stabilize his numbers and we spent literally thousands over his 11 months with us. It was all guesswork on their parts.

Another reason is my prime pets are rabbits and there are very few vets who know rabbit health. Fortunately I have lots of rabbit experience, word as a rescuer and in rabbit sanctuaries. Rabbits need very little medication, no annual shots and a lot of rabbit meds are actually for human consumption. Many vets try to sell you things for rabbits which are totally not required. I do use Metacam however. And Gas-X.

We have gone through many bottles of Feliway diffusers with no luck. Have not tried a collar or calming treats. One vet suggested feeding him where he peed but that does not work either.

I do not think its the litter as he does use his boxes. I use wood bedding pellets as they are cleaner and actually go to sawdust when wet. No dust at all. I use them with the rabbits as well and they are half the price for a bag twice the size of regular kitty litter.

You had mentioned enzymes for cleaning. Can you tell me what brands are out there?

Thanks

 

[its tom the cat]

His diet is primarily moist food but gets treats of dry. A Royal Canin product for dental. Probably less than a cup over 24 hours.

 

[its tom the cat]

Not a dumb question but a funny one. He can find anything. Brought him home and said here is your dining area and here is your bathroom. Took him about 30 minutes to have the house scouted down pat. He very seldom runs into doors, never into walls and jumps up on tables sofas and beds. One time he peed on our grand piano. Since my wife was diagnosed she stopped playing and fortunately I had put a cover over it. Peeing did not bother it, thankfully. I watched him. He jumps up on the piano bench then jumps onto the piano.  Me being smart thought that if I took away the bench it would solve the problem. Next day he is sleeping on top of the piano! He had jumped from the back of the sofa across about 4 feet to get there. Lying in my lap sound asleep he suddenly jumped up and started chasing a fly! True story. He finally caught it! Amazing creature. Has very long whiskers and big ears.

 

[Primula]

http://catcentric.org/care-and-health/removing-cat-urine/

Anti Icky Poo is mentioned somewhere in the link & I recently read a post on this site where someone raved about it. Others swear by Nature's Miracle.

 

[betsygee]

My reluctance to meds is that when we had Tom (adopted at 13 as a special needs cat) he had hypothyroid. The vets tried every med to stabilize his numbers and we spent literally thousands over his 11 months with us. It was all guesswork on their parts.

Another reason is my prime pets are rabbits and there are very few vets who know rabbit health. Fortunately I have lots of rabbit experience, word as a rescuer and in rabbit sanctuaries. Rabbits need very little medication, no annual shots and a lot of rabbit meds are actually for human consumption. Many vets try to sell you things for rabbits which are totally not required. I do use Metacam however. And Gas-X.
We have gone through many bottles of Feliway diffusers with no luck. Have not tried a collar or calming treats. One vet suggested feeding him where he peed but that does not work either.
I do not think its the litter as he does use his boxes. I use wood bedding pellets as they are cleaner and actually go to sawdust when wet. No dust at all. I use them with the rabbits as well and they are half the price for a bag twice the size of regular kitty litter.
You had mentioned enzymes for cleaning. Can you tell me what brands are out there?
Thanks

I've had the best luck with Nature's Miracle products. http://www.natures-miracle.com

 

[maggiedemi]

The reason I asked about diet is my male cat had this same problem if I give him too much dry food. I have to keep it a little under half a cup of dry food. The rest has to be wet food, or he gets bladder problems. He had to go to the vet for UTI, they gave him Antibiotic shot and I had to give him antibiotic liquid mixed in his food for 10 days. You also might want to try a different litter. It's worth a shot. Clumping clay litter only has to be changed like once a month. The Non-Clumping kind should be changed once a week. My cat also had problems when I would try to stretch the non-clumping litter over a week. That's why I switched to clumping. Just throwing some ideas out there to try to help you solve this quick. 

 

[its tom the cat]

Took him to the vet today. Like all other vets she could not find the testes. She determined he was a real Tomcat by his odor and the jowls. She could do an ultrasound and although the not fully qualified technician she was convinced he could find the parts if they are there. The cost was between $370 and $611. If the testes were found a neutering was between $525 and $612. If he is neutered there is no assurance that he would stop this habit. 

When I wash soiled items in the washer I use a full cup of vinegar. Most of the time it works, to my nose anyway, but apparently he would still smell it. 

 

[moorspede]

You haven't mentioned what you've tried. Have you grabbed a blue light and scrubbed everything clean that your cat has peed on? 

Have you tried cat attract? You can either buy the litter or buy a jar of it and mix it in clumping clay litter. 

 

[its tom the cat]

Have not tried the clumping because my plumber says it can block the drains. I use bedding pellets which are wood and have used them for years for my rabbits. My other cat likes them and so did this guy. I used to have a "dust-free" gravel type litter but it was hardly dust-free. I had to use a mask each time I cleaned the box. I still have some and did mix it in with his pellets seeing if that would make a difference. Not much yet.

When he pees on the floor I blot it up and toss the paper towel away. I then scrub it with vinegar. Apparently even though it looks and smells clean to use, cats can still smell it. Anti-Sticky-Poo might be the answer. I don't know how it would work in a washer but the vinegar works well but apple vinegar works better.

 

[IndyJones]

Can I ask why you must flush the litter? (I assume this is why you are concerned about the plumbing)

Here we can put litter in the green bin (municipal compost).

And I would not flush non clumping litter either all litter is bad for plumbing.

 

[moorspede]

You could read these and see if anything in them works for you.

[Article] How To Solve Litterbox Problems In Cats: The Ultimate Guide

[Article] 16 Experts reveal the most common litterbox mistakes (and how to avoid them)  

 

[its tom the cat]

I do not flush the litter but do flush the stool and I was of the impression that there would be clumping litter attached. I put all of the old litter into a green garbage bag and it goes into the trash.

FYI my rabbits use the same type of litter in their boxes but I have organic farmers who come by weekly to gather it. Rabbit pellets are amazing fertilizer.

 

[its tom the cat]

Thank you. Will do.