Kitten Peeing On The Couch

[smosmosmo]

But why doing it in the first place?
And now, that I have washed everything, and laid a puppy pad on the spot that she likes the most, why is she keeping peeing on the very spot?

This morning I saw her playing and then running onto the couch and peeing on the pad.
Twice!

Cats mark their territory with their own smells, and nothing smells more potent than their own eliminations. When you got her she was anxious to claim your house, and probably chose your couch because you're there often and it's soaked up your scent - she was saying this human and this home are both mine.

I went through something similar with my cat - I boarded her for months before her owner decided to give her to someone who dumped her outside for a couple months. She lived like your kitty, sleeping outdoors in a trash heap, and was traumatized when I got her back. I'd had her home for a week and one day out of the blue she took a poop on my bed. A few days later she peed on the other side. I know it was her saying, "I live here, this is MY house, I'm not going anywhere and you can't dump me outside again." She stopped using my bed as a toilet after that peeing incident, but that probably had to do with her being familiar with my house - she realized I wasn't going to let her go and started using her box normally again.

With your kitten, your house is completely new to her and she's terrified of being left outside again - this is probably why she peed on the couch the first time. The fact that she keeps peeing on the same spot (and not on anything else in the house) tells me that she's still smelling her pee in your couch - cats have an incredible sense of smell. Are your couch cushions removable? If they are, I'd take the entire cushion to the coin laundry and wash that with vinegar or an enzyme cleaner.

 

[catsknowme]

yes, dealing with a singleton has its challenges! I concur with @Kflowers and @Mamanyt1953 that hissing and loud, kitty-ear-annoying screeches are the ideal way to discourage biting & scratching.
In his book "The Nine Emotional Lives of Cats", Jeffrey Mousson points out that by 4 or 5 WEEKS of age, kittens' brains are more or less fully mature & have rather complex reasoning abilities. His anecdote is about his kitten Miki who learned to sheath his claws when he climbed the author's legs. The author was wearing shorts As the author shrieked out in pain, Miki sheathed his claws and never tried climbing up the author's legs unless the author was wearing pants. Instead, if he sees bare legs, Miki paws them with his claws sheathed, as his way of asking to be picked up. If the legs are wearing jeans, he climbs up. So, in one fell swoop, Miki learned about shearing his claws AND that clawing hurts bare legs but not jeans!

 

[Sarthur2]

Ten pee clumps a day is not unusual for a kitten. Kittens have very small bladders and pee often, especially on a wet food diet, which is a healthy diet. She’ll pee less as she gets bigger!

 

[Antonio65]

She is adorable, but she does not need to be near your face right now, so just use caution. It sounds to me as if she is just a little baby who has none of the wisdom chips that a regular kitten would have gotten from a mom or siblings.

She wasn't near my face, she was curled on my lap while I was watching the TV and would stare at me with loving eyes. Then out of the blue she reached my eye with her paw.
Luckily enough there was a combination of my eyes closing and her claws freshly trimmed!

I had very young kittens before, so I know they need some training, but it seems that every kitten is different
My sweet Lola was 10 days old, I had no experience at all and internet was far to come available and rich with information.
Despite this, she was sweet and lovely since the first day. I had to teach her how to meow, but mainly how to purr

 

[Antonio65]

I know it was her saying, "I live here, this is MY house, I'm not going anywhere and you can't dump me outside again." She stopped using my bed as a toilet after that peeing incident, but that probably had to do with her being familiar with my house - she realized I wasn't going to let her go and started using her box normally again.

Poor sweet soul, what a terrible experience she had!

Are your couch cushions removable? If they are, I'd take the entire cushion to the coin laundry and wash that with vinegar or an enzyme cleaner.

The cushions are removable. I removed them and uncovered them too.
I soaked the naked cushions with enzymatic cleaner, I left them sit for a while outside home for an hour or so, so that the cleaner could work. Then I exposed them to the sun till evening.
Meanwhile I washed all covers at the coin laundry, I tumble dried them, brought everything back home and exposed them to the sun till evening.
Then I put the couch together again and covered it with puppy pads.

On Saturday she peed on the pads three or four times (I changed the pad every time).
Then on Sunday she peed twice on the pads, and I laid tin foil and citrus peels.
She stopped.

 

[Antonio65]

Ten pee clumps a day is not unusual for a kitten. Kittens have very small bladders and pee often, especially on a wet food diet, which is a healthy diet. She’ll pee less as she gets bigger!

That's what I knew.
Anyway this morning I sent a message to the vet about this issue, I'm waiting for her reply.

 

[catsknowme]

When she swatted at your eye, it is likely that she saw very tempting eye movements as you watched your show. It's a good thing that you blinked in time! Hopefully she's learned not to repeat that mistake

 

[Antonio65]

The situation is getting worse and worse.

First af all I need to say that I bought and plugged in a Feliway diffuser.

This morning she peed under the kitchen table and a few minutes later on the cushion of a chair!

She peed 6 times in 8 hours, three times in her box at night, one time under the table at around 7:15 am, another time in her box shortly before 8 am, and on my chair a few minutes later.

The situation is unbearable! So far most of the mess has been kept in the dark from my wife, but the chair cushion will be easily spotted. I removed the cushion and soaked it with lots of enzymatic cleaner and left outside.
But this story will lead to bad consequences.

First of all, the kitten will have to go as soon as possible, I don't think my wife will ever want to keep her after the last episodes.
Secondly, this could close the door to all future fosterings. My wife won't trust any cat anymore. This is the third case in a row of a cat who makes mess in the house!
Thirdly, I myself won't be able to trust a future kitten, and I couldn't be able to help more kittens in the future.
Last, the kitten could not find a home, because if she misbehaves somewhere else, she will be returned in no time, and her future will be fuzzy!

It's a bad situation indeed!

 

[Sarthur2]

I’m so sorry to hear this. Perhaps your neighbor could give it a try now?

 

[Antonio65]

I’m so sorry to hear this. Perhaps your neighbor could give it a try now?

My neighbor is on holiday till next weekend.

 

[FeebysOwner]

She is peeing way too much, as you have already gathered. Have you heard back from the vet yet? I would certainly hope the vet recommends a urinalysis/urine culture. If she does have an infection, that would explain a lot about her behavior.

 

[catsknowme]

She is peeing way too much, as you have already gathered. Have you heard back from the vet yet? I would certainly hope the vet recommends a urinalysis/urine culture. If she does have an infection, that would explain a lot about her behavior.

I agree that something physical is probably wrong. If the vet cannot find something wrong, perhaps a plea for an actual kitten rescue to take her in will get you a miracle and she can be placed into a group of other kittens. My little dog Mia was rescued from the kill shelter - she was an owner surrender for inappropriate peeing, a misconduct that she continued at the shelter - but once she got into our home, her problem vanished before she entered the front door - I have no idea why....

 

[Antonio65]

She is peeing way too much, as you have already gathered. Have you heard back from the vet yet? I would certainly hope the vet recommends a urinalysis/urine culture. If she does have an infection, that would explain a lot about her behavior.

I have an appointment in two hours time.
The vet wants to run an ultrasound scan of the kitten's abdomen.

I feed her wet food only, to which I add a table spoon of extra water. The vet reckons this is too much water, and it could lead to the excessive peeing, but it wouldn't explain why she pees in the wrong places!

 

[Antonio65]

My little dog Mia was rescued from the kill shelter - she was an owner surrender for inappropriate peeing, a misconduct that she continued at the shelter - but once she got into our home, her problem vanished before she entered the front door - I have no idea why....

I had fostered a kitten in October last year. The idea was to keep her, but she starting leaking liquid poop all over the house, everyday, dawn till dusk, it was a real nightmare! Just think to mop all floors several times a day.
It came out it was our home, the kitten didn't like the place. We rehomed her and all went fine.
Sometimes there are hidden reasons!

 

[catsknowme]

Maybe there is a history in your place that the cats are smelling. Their sense of smell surpasses even a dog's. or maybe it is the building materials that were used. Kitties usually don't pee and defecate randomly for emotional issues. So I would suspect the residence, not the residents. All the more reason to see what the vet says - especially if you mention the past kitten having bathroom issues. Definitely a mystery going on there & time for good detective work.

 

[Sarthur2]

I agree that with the past history there may be an odor or scent that the kitten is picking up on.

 

[Hellenww]

Since you had isssues with past cats messing in the house there may be scents you've missed. Get a black light and check the whole place at night. Use your enzymatic cleaner as you see spots. Check outside your doors and windows as well.

 

[mwallace056]

Maybe there is a history in your place that the cats are smelling. Their sense of smell surpasses even a dog's.

is this true? proof? I always thought dogs have better sense of smell than cats, and quick Google search and I have found its depends on the breed, different breeds have different sense of smell, some better than cats and some worse.

 

[catsknowme]

is this true? proof? I always thought dogs have better sense of smell than cats, and quick Google search and I have found its depends on the breed, different breeds have different sense of smell, some better than cats and some worse.

This isn't the report that I read but it refers to the same theory

A cat’s nose could make it better at search and rescue than a dog ...

 

[catsknowme]

is this true? proof? I always thought dogs have better sense of smell than cats, and quick Google search and I have found its depends on the breed, different breeds have different sense of smell, some better than cats and some worse.

This isn't the report that I read but it refers to the same theory

A cat’s nose could make it better at search and rescue than a dog ...

 

[Antonio65]

At 7 pm we had an appointement with the vet, yesterday.
The vet ran an ultrasound scan and found nothing. Bladder, kidneys, liver, stomach, were all fine.
She found some reactive lymph nodes in the kitten's abdomen, but she says this is consistent with the roundworms the kitten was diagnosed with when she was found. The vet says the lymph nodes might stay reactive for some weeks after the treatment.

The vet adviced me not to add extra water to the wet food and see if there's any difference.
She also told me that the Feliway diffuser is wasted money, it's totally useless.

The visit and the scan were free of charge, of course. So far, three free visits for the kitten, even the fecal test for the roundworm, were free of charge.