Cleaning up urine...

rocketscientist

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Some of you may recall the issues I have had with my 7-year old rescue (trauma victim, was declawed at some point, has anxiety etc.). Well - with medication and Rx diet, I managed to get her to calm down drastically, yay!

But - she still pees on the floor average of about 3-4 time per week. She's been checked multiple times for health problems and as far as anyone can tell, they are nonexistent. I am going to talk to the vet about this (again...) when the COVID crisis has passed, in reality I have no hope that the vet can offer anything to actually stop the problem - we've tried just about everything.

Meanwhile, does anyone have any creative hacks for quickly, efficiently cleaning cat urine off a ceramic tile floor? I have tried both Nature's Miracle and Rocco & Roxie. They both work ok I guess, but the process is always the same... sop up the urine with paper towels, spray spray spray, wait 10 minutes, scrub the ever-lovin crap out of the floor with a scrub brush, wipe up with a rag. I am extremely frustrated, but I have just about accepted that I can't stop her from peeing. Thus I would love to at least make the cleanup process simpler, if that is possible.
 

Norachan

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Does she pee in the same spot every time? One thing you could do is tape some of those puppy pee pads to the floor. That way if she pees it won't soak down into the tile grouting so there shouldn't be any smell to get rid of.

What kind of cat litter are you using? I've heard that de-clawed cats can have trouble with the harder clay or wood chip litter. Have you tried shredded newspaper in her litter box?
 

Jcatbird

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The above is very good advice! Deep litter amount in the box too! Shredded paper and.cloth is something my sick kitty prefers.
I don’t know if you are detecting odor or not but at some point you may need to reseal the grout. As it ages and is cleaned over long periods of time, resealing just needs to be done anyway. It wears down over time. Not a difficult procedure but very effective against moisture.
 

Jem

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What kind of litter set up do you have? Type and size of box, type of litter, number of boxes, locations of boxes etc...
If she pees in the same spot all the time, have you tried putting a box where she goes? Have you only ever tried different clay based litters? There are also, corn based, grass based, pellets, paper, sand....so many options. Some people who have adopted a cat that was outdoors at some point in their lives and don't like to use litter boxes, have used soil for a time as they transitioned to litter...perhaps that would be an option. Does you cat poop in a box?
Sealing the grout is a great idea to help minimize the absorption, but in the mean time, you can take a white candle and rub the candle over the grout lines in the area she pees. It will leave a (non permanent) wax residue which will help repel the urine from absorbing. It needs to be done regularly (about once a week) as it does start to wear off. But be sure to scrub the grout lines very well before sealing them with grout/floor sealer when you decide to do it.
The pee pads were a life saver for me and my sick kitty. IF she uses a pee pad, after a while, place the pee pad in a shallow litter box, and see if she uses it. From then you could try to slowly add litter to the box with the pee pad, and eventually she my end up using it. At that point you can, INCH by INCH, move the box to an area that you would prefer...but also keeping in mind what type of location SHE prefers.
 

SpecterOhPossum

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Being declawed, her hands are extremely sensitive and very painful....You didn't declaw her so don't feel bad or take this wrong, but picture that your ftoes were cut off to your knuckes...imagine having to walk on teeny pebbles; like fish pebbles on that... that would hurt a lot. That's the typical reason as to why declawed cats don't use the box, ontop of trauma.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say it's either location or the litter. I ALWAYS advise to use a natural litter, they make fine grounded pine pellets, paper litters.. Tons, most importantly, you're going to want to hunt for a soft one. The softest!
Try putting the box where she's going. No matter how inconvenient the area is to have a box at.

if possible, a slow transition is always best. Try putting a handful of the soft natural litter in the area, more, more more.. Over the course of a few weeks, then something under the litter, then something around it, kind of high up..then perhaps a box, then a tray.. You know?
 

FeebysOwner

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Just saw this post - how are things going? I also wanted to offer my suggestions/comments, just in case they might be helpful.

I would like to point out that not all cats who have been declawed have sensitive paws - I have been adopted by 3 different declawed cats and fostered another one - and NONE of them have/had issues with using standard clay litter. I say this because in your case, if it were her paws bugging her she would likely not use the box with any regularity. And, since you didn't mention it, she must be using the box for pooping - yes?

Just a guess on my part, but since it is happening 3-4 times a week - and not all the time - it could very well be that the litter gets smelly enough that it is not to her liking. Some cats just can't stand the smelliness - whether that comes from not scooping out the boxes often enough, not cleaning the box regularly, or maybe even because she doesn't like to pee and poop in the same box. Also, if she pees on the walls/sides of the box, those areas should be cleaned off each time after she pees - the litter boxes tend to hold the urine smell on the walls. And, my current cat is more inclined to cover her poop, but not the pee - which helps intensify a lingering urine smell (inside the box only, thankfully for me).

Having said all that - you could try Fizzion or SCOE10x on your floors. There have been other members who said that they work very well on all hard surfaces (even wood); I would guess that some of them have/had ceramic tile/grout. I do think sealing the grout and using candle wax are good ideas too!!!
 
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rocketscientist

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So, a quick update. I ended up taking Her Majesty to the vet on Friday, after she peed on the floor 3 times in 24 hours, which is extreme even for Princess. Urine sample, exam and $100 later, she got a clean bill of health and the advice of "she is stressed out." Presumably from me being home more than usual. So I am cramping her style, I guess??

Vet made a few recommendations including a possible litter change - she suggested I might start with Arm & Hammer, which is easy enough to find, at least. She also suggested to experiment with different litter depths, and to spray Feliway near the litter box. The last one is the one I was able to try right away. I think it may be helping, but hard to say for certain - she has not peed on the floor in a couple of days now. As soon as I can, I am going to get some of the Arm & Hammer litter and see how that does.

As for cleaning... I am still kind of at a loss for that. Sealing the grout again would be a great idea and I would not mind doing it, but it would mean moving the litter boxes completed out of the laundry room, and there is just not another really good place in the house for them. I can't think of a good way to do it that would not cause problems. Someone did suggest trying to clean with vinegar, baking soda and vodka. I may consider that also.
 
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