Out Of Box Urination- Help!

[Catsnkiddos]

Just before thanksgiving we had all of the flooring in our house replaced with hardwood (all three floors). Since then, the cats have been peeing in the dining room, the guest room and the living room! This morning I found a spot in the laundry room! Nothing has changed in the home EXCEPT the flooring. Everyone is UTD on vaccinations, have clean bills of health from vets (we stagger their appointments, but the last 2 were in last week), litter stays the same, food the same, etc. We have 6 cats and 9 litter boxes that are cleaned everyday. The litter boxes are being used, but clearly not all the time by all cats. This started almost immediately after the floor installation.

A separate new behavior is scratching my brand new sofa and love seat (replacing the exact same models with a new color version to match the new floors). I have placed scratching posts and cardboard scratchers all around the furniture, but they are still doing it. It seems to be for attention as they scratch, await my response then frisk about trying to get me to play- though I hear them at night going to town for real! The furniture arrived about 2 weeks ago, and the LOVE to lay on it as mush as they did the pieces they replaced (it is literally the exact same sofa and love seat we had, just in a new color). They are making me crazy!

Any suggestions for my naughty kits?

 

[FeebysOwner]

Seems odd that all of the cats would be reacting this way to new flooring and furniture. But, it is likely one of them is the initial culprit and the others are 'following suit', especially if they can smell the urine where the others are peeing. Might also be the same theory with the scratching of the furniture. They leave a scent behind when scratching that the other cats can pick up on.

Can you clean the floors with something that you have used before, something that the cats are used to smelling? But, make sure to treat the pee areas first with an enzymatic cleaner to ensure the urine smell is gone. Ditto with the furniture. You can also buy a black light which would show areas where the urine still resides.

And, with the furniture, you might have to try double sided sticky tape on the areas they are scratching. I have never personally tried that, but many members on this site have stated it will deter the cats from scratching as they don't like the tape.

Did you mention the peeing on the new flooring to the vet since you were just there a couple of weeks ago - just to see what they had to say?

 

[Catsnkiddos]

Right now I clean them, then coat with Nature's miracle. They come back to the same spots regardless The cleaner I use is actually what we use for all purpose cleaning (it's what I wash the walls with, wipe down counters, wipe cabinets with once a week, etc- my daughter has allergies so we use this particular cleaner, and have to clean everything all the time).

My vet seemed unconcerned- he advised the cleaning we were already doing and to catch them in the act and place them in a litter box. They are doing this overnight or when we go out so I am not catching them in the act.

I think I know the main scratching culprit. He does not not hide his naughtiness..but I caught two others giving it a whirl. Lincoln, my main scratcher, is frisky about it- he waits for you to come over to him to stop scratching then he darts under the sofa and leaves his bum out in hopes you will try to grab him. I refuse to engage in play when he has been naughty. The other 2 just tried a scratch and when scolded ran away. I will try the tape.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Get the black light and see if anything shows up. If so, then the Nature's Miracle is not doing the trick. I have never used it but there was one member who was frantically trying to find a product called Fizzion. This member swore by it in terms of removing cat urine smells. If you are in the US, there are a number of web sites that offer it. I am not sure about specific stores.

Until you can resolve the peeing problem, is it possible to restrict them to a specific room/area overnight? At least that way, you have one isolated room to deal with in terms of clean up.

 

[Catsnkiddos]

Looks like I can order that fizzion stuff on amazon or chewy. I wonder if it is safe on wood? I'll order some today and see how it goes.
We can certainly take them to bed with us (most already do sleep with us)- but that can only be a short term solution.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Everything I found about Fizzion online says it is safe to use on wood... I'll see if I can find the member who was searching for it and perhaps we can ask them directly. There was also another member who likes SCOE 10x. I'll see if I can find them as well.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Norachan is the member who wanted to find Fizzion. Perhaps, she will see this post and let you know if she ever used it on wood flooring.

B Beyond Confused is the member who likes SCOE 10x. Hopefully, she will see this post and tell you whether or not she has used it on wood flooring.

 

[Norachan]

Fizzion is fine to use on wood.



Our house is a log cabin, so I've used it on the floors and walls where the cats have sprayed.

I'm using Nature's Miracle at the moment, because I can't get Fizzion shipped out for some reason (I live in Japan) I'm quite happy with how that works too.

 

[Beyond Confused]

B Beyond Confused is the member who likes SCOE 10x. Hopefully, she will see this post and tell you whether or not she has used it on wood flooring. [/QUOTE]

SCOE 10x is amazing, though I've never used it on hardwood. That doesn't mean it won't work, I just haven't done it. You can find a ton of information, including uses and how to use on their website. Just google SCOE 10x.

 

[danteshuman]

Can you try double sided sticky tape on the couch and giving them a cat tree by the couch?

About the cat pee; I would really try to investigate who is peeing out of the box & take that cat to the vet.

One 4 month old boy started peeing out of the box. We were taking him in to be neutered. I advised my mom to have the vet check him out for a UTI (she thought it was hormones .... but he was squatting to pee.) Turned out he had a mild UTI & he is on antibiotics. He stopped peeing out of the box. He appeared perfectly healthy. So if you can; find the cat peeing out of the box and have the vet check them out. Maybe set up your phone to record while you sleep at night?

 

[Catsnkiddos]

All 6 cats have been to the vet over the past month (it is regular checkup time of the year). They had routine blood work and annual fecals all of which were normal/healthy results. The vet had no real guidance which is why I thought I'd tap the hive mind here For what it is worth the litterboxes as mentioned previously are cleaned EVERY day- and they are being used for sure....I need to figure out how to stop this- cleaning is great, but I need it to stop!
Both the sofa and love seat are and have been surrounded by scratching posts and cardboard scratchers to offer the appropriate alternatives. They have a tree in this room, one in the office, one in the basement and one in the upstairs balcony/hall. They have beds on every floor, baskets, and cat caves. They have toys and we play with them ALL THE TIME. They also play with the dog and each other. They have indoor grass they can chew and roll in/on. I got tape today so will try it out tonight. I slept on the sofa the last two nights and there was no scratching (I usually hear it from my room in the middle of the night)- but when I am awake and sitting here the main culprit goes at it. He doesn't stop if I verbally scold- I have to go to him and move him along- I can't fake it, I can't just semi move toward him- I have to go up to him to stop him.

 

[FeebysOwner]

I realize with 6 cats it is very difficult to catch the guilty one in the act. But, I am going to take a stab and say it is the same sofa scratching culprit. It would still be helpful to try to confirm it is same little guy!

Anyway, here is an article that you might want to consider as a couple of options for determining which cat is your pee-suspect. See if you might want to entertain either or both options. Of course, before you do it, you might want to make sure all the inappropriate pee places have been thoroughly cleaned - if you don't you might just find more than one culprit since they might all pee in those places once one of them has.

Which Cat Did It? - Petcha

Another suggestion is to try calming products, but again it would be more ideal if you could find the guilty one first. Courtesy of another member (@Furballsmom), here are additional things you can try with your cat to see if it helps with his behavior.

You, Your Cat And Stress

Here's a list of other things to try;
You could try low volume classical harp music, there is an app called Relax My Cat, there is MusicForCats.com and also George Handel compositions are known to help a cat to relax.

Also, you could try one of these, only a small selection of a fast-growing section of pet products: Note that some of these will work on some cats, and not on others. It's a try-and-see.
Bachs Rescue Remedy, Richard's Organics Pet Calm-this one is drops that you put on the tip of the tongue. Also, Quiet Moments Cat treats, there is Calming Care, Calm-o-mile, Sentry, Natures Miracle calming spray, Vetri-Science's Composure is another item to look at, Pet Remedy (it has valerian) is yet another, as is Essential Pet Pet-ease, Only Natural Pet (brand and website) has a calming product, Pet Naturals also has one I believe.

Also Thunderease has diffusers as does Sentry, and feliway although diffusers are expensive and not always the answer.

You might want to check with your vet, but some people have good results with CBD oil, plus there are vet-prescribed calming products too.
Lambert Vet Supply is a website to look at, and of course chewy, also there's Petwishpros, drsfostersmith, animaleo, Petco and PetSmart, and other pet stores.

There is also product called a lickimat which could be helpful, as cats can be calmed by the process of licking. The LickiMat - Food Puzzles for Cats

This discussion's post talks about some other products;
Calming Treats For A Very Picky Cat

Hope some of this helps.

 

[Beyond Confused]

All 6 cats have been to the vet over the past month (it is regular checkup time of the year). They had routine blood work and annual fecals all of which were normal/healthy results. The vet had no real guidance which is why I thought I'd tap the hive mind here For what it is worth the litterboxes as mentioned previously are cleaned EVERY day- and they are being used for sure....I need to figure out how to stop this- cleaning is great, but I need it to stop!
Both the sofa and love seat are and have been surrounded by scratching posts and cardboard scratchers to offer the appropriate alternatives. They have a tree in this room, one in the office, one in the basement and one in the upstairs balcony/hall. They have beds on every floor, baskets, and cat caves. They have toys and we play with them ALL THE TIME. They also play with the dog and each other. They have indoor grass they can chew and roll in/on. I got tape today so will try it out tonight. I slept on the sofa the last two nights and there was no scratching (I usually hear it from my room in the middle of the night)- but when I am awake and sitting here the main culprit goes at it. He doesn't stop if I verbally scold- I have to go to him and move him along- I can't fake it, I can't just semi move toward him- I have to go up to him to stop him.

That sounds like quite the cat haven you have there with all the hiding nooks and crannies, trees, scratching posts, etc.

We already mentioned the SCOE 10x for getting rid of the smell, and that's the one I'd vouch for personally. I did a quick check last night, and it can be used on hardwood. But again, check their site for all the specifics on how to use it.

For the couch scratching, have you tried putting plastic covers around the furniture? They sell actual products online, but I read a comment on one of them where someone said they went a much cheaper route by going to the Hobby Lobby fabric section and buying however much of the clear plastic you need and then wrapping the corners or the whole piece of furniture. They secured it with fabric pins. I tried that, and the push pin things made me super nervous because they weren't in my furniture securely. I guess it's all in how your stuff is made. Anyway, someone here said they would use safety pins in place of the push pins, which is a great idea. Whichever way would work for you, I'd say the plastic wrap would be worth a shot. Plus, going to Hobby Lobby is more economical and you can get however much you need.
I took a cat in for a few weeks, and that plastic broke her immediately. One more note, at my HL, they had 2 different clear plastic options. I bought the one that was thicker.

 

[Catsnkiddos]

I have ordered felliway refills (we hadn't had them functioning in about a year...but it can't hurt to reinstate them) and I am waiting on arrival of some new cleaning products I ordered online. I put the tape all over the sofa/love seat where the scratching is done...he still scratched tape, even removing it from some spots. I bought a water spray bottle to squirt him in the act, but he doesn't seem to mind that at all. He bats at the water, flops over, generally is nonplussed by a squirt. I shall try this plastic wrap- anything is better than the destruction of the furniture- it wasn't cheap and hubby is starting to give me the side eye about the expense versus cat nails. The urinating seems to have increased in frequency. I wish i knew WHY the kitty had started this. The hardwoods are warm, I have put rugs over them in places for the kitties to enjoy... but ugh this naughtiness must cease!

 

[Beyond Confused]

Maybe it's time to ask your vet about kitty prozac.