So my husband and I decided to get a couple of house cats. We have our boy Orson and our girl Mia, Mia is a year old and Orson is about 10 months old. Both are fixed. To start out we live in the UK so we need to make purchase of UK products.
Mia isn't a problem except she likes to scratch at the top of the stairs at the wood and we haven't been able to convince her to go after the scratching post on a regular basis. But we're going to try some citrus-smelling spray - though I need suggestions on this one :/. And maybe some double-sided tape.
Orson has been a big problem though. He was neutered at 5 months old but has been doing normal urination both before and after his surgery. He used to go into our closet and pee on my husband's old ju jitsu robe. I washed the robe with some vinegar and then had it dry cleaned and hung it up, but Orson will go back to that same spot and pee there if there are any clothes or if the closet door is left open. I am unsure of what to do.
Orson also peed on a brand new luggage bag I had just purchased. Just jumped right in and peed - I had some Simple Solution that I used but that only made the smell worse. I had to throw the bag out completely.
Orson will also go into the bedroom and pee on any piles of clothes or things he sees there. If a hamper is open he will sometimes also jump into that and pee, though most of the time he will simply lounge in it.
He enjoys going to the bottom of our stairs and peeing on newspaper. When we first got him I made note of this but as my husband and I go to work at 8am and don't get home until 6.30PM, we cannot stop people from sticking mail into the slot. I have considered getting a mail holder, but there is still the stench of pee as soon as you walk in - how do I solve this? Simple Solution did not work and I am not willing to try again. I took a water+white vinegar mix and rinsed the carpet as best as I could, then when it tried I sprinkled heavily with baking soda, then vacuumed to the best of my ability, but I fear the smell is still there and I am just not able to detect it.
I have considered trying Nature's Miracle as it comes highly recommended but how would I go about applying it to stairs and things? Should I get someone to come clean the carpets before dousing?
Besides that, Mia and Orson will play with our toes while we are trying to sleep. While we cannot be there to play with them during the day, they have many toys which we rotate out to avoid them getting bored, and they have a very tall and elaborate "playpen" area to climb to their hearts content, made up of a series of sturdy scratching posts which takes up most of our living room. When we come home, we play with them for at least an hour if we have no other plans, and then before bed we usually take out the lasers and we each play with one cat. This does not seem to tire them out as much as it tires us out.
We cannot shut the bedroom door because they tear up the carpet (granted it's ugly and red and will be replaced. but we don't want them tearing up new carpet, so cannot replace it until this problem is solved). I have read that buying the office mats with the little spikes works, but I worry they will simply howl or tear up the carpet away from the mat. Is there any other solution, so we can keep them from getting into our room?
I realize they are kittens and so they have a lot of energy, but it has been nearly a year now and their schedule still does not fit ours. We first got them when I didn't have a job so I was home all day with them and we still had these problems. We have been resorting to placing them in a large dog pen during the night so we can get a full night's rest - we used to pack it up with fluffy things, but one of them (we assume it is Orson), would pee on them and so we leave it bare - but one of them will still pee, and then they have to sit around in their own pee.
I am thinking Orson might have a UTI problem, from reading these threads. I will book an appointment for the vet and have him checked out. Though his urine doesn't have blood and he certainly doesn't seem to be having any problems peeing in places. I will also get Mia checked if Orson comes up clean.
We also assume it is Orson because when he was a single cat he was peeing in places. I was taking note of Mia and she is quite haughty and uses her litter box (we have 2, one's in the bathroom, the other is in the kitchen, though we have considered placing it elsewhere). We have tried a multitude of litter - they seem to have no preference whatsoever, and use whatever is available. We clean the boxes as soon as we get home, and before we leave for the day.
They are indoor cats and indoor cats they will stay. We do not have a garden and we live in a school neighborhood of careless teenagers and unobservant parents, and it is not uncommon to see dead cats on the side of the road.
Summarized:
- Best products to invest in?
- Best way to use products?
- How to get cats on our schedule? (we would like them to sleep at night and play during the day)
If we cannot take care of the peeing problem or the night time schedule problem, they will have to go. We will soon be planning to have a baby after we buy a house, and though I love our animals, I cannot spend the entirety of my pregnancy worrying about/cleaning up cat smells and having my sleep interrupted. I would like to train them so we can keep them. Any help is appreciated, thank you.
Mia isn't a problem except she likes to scratch at the top of the stairs at the wood and we haven't been able to convince her to go after the scratching post on a regular basis. But we're going to try some citrus-smelling spray - though I need suggestions on this one :/. And maybe some double-sided tape.
Orson has been a big problem though. He was neutered at 5 months old but has been doing normal urination both before and after his surgery. He used to go into our closet and pee on my husband's old ju jitsu robe. I washed the robe with some vinegar and then had it dry cleaned and hung it up, but Orson will go back to that same spot and pee there if there are any clothes or if the closet door is left open. I am unsure of what to do.
Orson also peed on a brand new luggage bag I had just purchased. Just jumped right in and peed - I had some Simple Solution that I used but that only made the smell worse. I had to throw the bag out completely.
Orson will also go into the bedroom and pee on any piles of clothes or things he sees there. If a hamper is open he will sometimes also jump into that and pee, though most of the time he will simply lounge in it.
He enjoys going to the bottom of our stairs and peeing on newspaper. When we first got him I made note of this but as my husband and I go to work at 8am and don't get home until 6.30PM, we cannot stop people from sticking mail into the slot. I have considered getting a mail holder, but there is still the stench of pee as soon as you walk in - how do I solve this? Simple Solution did not work and I am not willing to try again. I took a water+white vinegar mix and rinsed the carpet as best as I could, then when it tried I sprinkled heavily with baking soda, then vacuumed to the best of my ability, but I fear the smell is still there and I am just not able to detect it.
I have considered trying Nature's Miracle as it comes highly recommended but how would I go about applying it to stairs and things? Should I get someone to come clean the carpets before dousing?
Besides that, Mia and Orson will play with our toes while we are trying to sleep. While we cannot be there to play with them during the day, they have many toys which we rotate out to avoid them getting bored, and they have a very tall and elaborate "playpen" area to climb to their hearts content, made up of a series of sturdy scratching posts which takes up most of our living room. When we come home, we play with them for at least an hour if we have no other plans, and then before bed we usually take out the lasers and we each play with one cat. This does not seem to tire them out as much as it tires us out.
We cannot shut the bedroom door because they tear up the carpet (granted it's ugly and red and will be replaced. but we don't want them tearing up new carpet, so cannot replace it until this problem is solved). I have read that buying the office mats with the little spikes works, but I worry they will simply howl or tear up the carpet away from the mat. Is there any other solution, so we can keep them from getting into our room?
I realize they are kittens and so they have a lot of energy, but it has been nearly a year now and their schedule still does not fit ours. We first got them when I didn't have a job so I was home all day with them and we still had these problems. We have been resorting to placing them in a large dog pen during the night so we can get a full night's rest - we used to pack it up with fluffy things, but one of them (we assume it is Orson), would pee on them and so we leave it bare - but one of them will still pee, and then they have to sit around in their own pee.
I am thinking Orson might have a UTI problem, from reading these threads. I will book an appointment for the vet and have him checked out. Though his urine doesn't have blood and he certainly doesn't seem to be having any problems peeing in places. I will also get Mia checked if Orson comes up clean.
We also assume it is Orson because when he was a single cat he was peeing in places. I was taking note of Mia and she is quite haughty and uses her litter box (we have 2, one's in the bathroom, the other is in the kitchen, though we have considered placing it elsewhere). We have tried a multitude of litter - they seem to have no preference whatsoever, and use whatever is available. We clean the boxes as soon as we get home, and before we leave for the day.
They are indoor cats and indoor cats they will stay. We do not have a garden and we live in a school neighborhood of careless teenagers and unobservant parents, and it is not uncommon to see dead cats on the side of the road.
Summarized:
- Best products to invest in?
- Best way to use products?
- How to get cats on our schedule? (we would like them to sleep at night and play during the day)
If we cannot take care of the peeing problem or the night time schedule problem, they will have to go. We will soon be planning to have a baby after we buy a house, and though I love our animals, I cannot spend the entirety of my pregnancy worrying about/cleaning up cat smells and having my sleep interrupted. I would like to train them so we can keep them. Any help is appreciated, thank you.
