Friend's Cat Has Been Urinating/defacating on the Floor

Hi B.. Cats hate change! It could be just the change of where the litter box is, anything, untill the cat adjust to his new home. My cat started doing this and then I realized I had changed the brand of cat litter that I had been using for quite awhile. So I went back to the original cat litter and she stopped. She might need to put the cat in the room where the litter box is until she realizes the change or again look if she's changed the cat litter etc. Good luck

I've heard of similiar problems when I worked at a vet's office back in high school... one solution that was sometimes inconvient but worked was to put a few more litter boxes in the house; especially in the room where the cat seems to be doing his business the most. Hope that helps a little. Good luck!

omg- no do not put him down...there are reasons. a new house, maybe a cat lived there before, there has to be something. There are ways to get a cat to use the litter box again. it could be as simple as new litter sh doesn't like - could be a hooded litter box vs. not, location. lots of things. when my cat started doing this - most of the time he had a urinary tract infection (although he never pooped on the floor). We did call in a pet behavioralist to help. i know it seems crazy - but pets are family to us. one i highly recommend is Sam at Pet Behavioral Solutions. She has a very high success rate with this type of problem. http://petbehaviorsolutions.com/

I hope this helps!

Hello, good luck. To get a cat to stop is tricky. I have 3 male cats all spayed and declawed. I have one of mine that peed on my newborns bassinet and his blankets. He was showing us that he was upset by the arrival. I cleaned that with vinegar and water and he never did it again.
Cats are tempermental, unfortunatly giving more love is it. The cat is probably upset by the move. In fact, for sure. Start the cat in a small area so it feels secure. Then gradually expand. If you don't clean the smell out all the way it will keep going in the same spot. The area needs to be a master bedroom and closet (if big) so it is around the owners smell. It comforts the animal. When we moved mine ran away 10 miles to our apartment from our house. good luck

I'm guessing the previous owners cat marked the area first. A year ago our cat started urinating in the formal dining room (where no one could see her). I checked online for more information. I found we could check off more then one thing on the list of causes; changed the brand of litter, hubby and I left town for a weekend, we had out of town company visit for a few days and we had recently taken in a dog. Cats don't like change. I went back to the old litter and haven't had any problems since. I also put tin foil and later saran wrap over the area under the table where she had gone. Cat's don't like the noise it makes when they walk on it.
As for the carpet, the professionals are unable to get the stain or smell all the way out. They suggested when we replace the carpet, that we bleach and then paint the concrete before putting new flooring over the top of it.

Hi B., this happened to me when I had to do a short sale on my home because of my divorce and move in with my mom. I had 2 cats, Rocky and Chuckie, and my mom has 3. I never had any problems at my house with my cats, but Rocky after the 3rd day at my mom's never returned. I'm hoping someone found him and he's in a good home now. Chuckie started spraying all over the house, along with one of my mom's cats. There really isn't anything you can do other than lock them up somewhere. they are showing their frustration at being moved. I have always been a cat person and loved my cats, but the last straw was when I was laying in bed reading and he backed up to my head and sprayed on my HEAD!!!!! YES!!!!! That was a the last straw! The next day we took him to the pound. I felt terrible about it but the house was smelling terrible and well, when you have a cat pee on your head, well...so I don't think there is anything you can do to fix it. Good luck!

A very simple solution....get rid of the cat! No animal is worth them messing up and contaminating your biggest investment! Maybe she can give it away and not have to put it down. Good luck.

If there is nothing physically wrong with him, then she could to try some major cleaning in the new home. If the previous owners had pets, he could be smelling them, even if their odor is undetectable to human noses.

I would definitely keep him confined to one room to begin with, but she might be well advised to clean the room thoroughly before forcing him to stay in there. A lot of people use the laundry room as their pet's room so there could be a lot of pheromones left behind. She should use a dilute bleach solution to clean the floor of the laundry room and wash the walls if possible. Make certain that his litter, food, and bedding is the same as it has always been and suggest she continue to use the pheromone plug-in or spray. If it can be avoided, do not wash his bedding-- it has his own pheromones on it which will comfort him.

Whoever usually is the one to pay attention to the cat should continue to do so regularly so he isn't "banished" from the family. If he's used to being part of daily family life, he'll be further upset by being ignored. She could also contact Dr. Kelly Moffat, a veterinary behavioral specialist. It will be somewhat costly but it may help. http://www.drmoffat.com/

This is no doubt a tough situation and I have been in a similar one. I'm a veterinary technician and I even had the vet at my disposal for daily visits and referrals! I ended up having to euthanize my beloved kitty because nothing I did stopped him from urinating all over my house after my first child was born. He simply wasn't able to adjust and I dealt with the urine for 10 long months before I had to make that awful choice. It was one of the hardest decisions I've ever had to make. I hope that your friend's kitty isn't as stubborn as mine.

Also, if it comes down to the fact that his behavior is not changeable, PLEASE do not suggest that your friend take him to the pound. That is not a solution. He will just become someone else's problem when they unwittingly adopt him and the cat will only suffer more stress from being passed around. If she is able to find a home for him privately with the new owner being fully aware of the situation and willing to work with it, awesome, but it's unlikely someone else would put up with that behavior. I hope this helps even if it may not be the response you were expecting. Best wishes to your friend.

Cats are funny critters. They react to moving, outside animals, strangers, etc. He may just be upset with the new surroundings and marking his new territory. My cat started doing this on a rug in front of our fireplace after we moved to a new place. the thing that has finally worked for me is a ultra-sonic catScram. It emits a sound that the cat finds irritating but you don't hear it. Check it out on the net. If he does this in a particular area this might work for you. Good luck!

Hi B.. I have always had cats and it sounds like to me that even though this is a new home maybe the former tenants had animals and those animals used the carpet to go to the bathroom on. Once the scent is in the padding, it is very difficult to get the scent out. Peeing is also marking of territory.
Or the cat could be very very upset that they have moved. And he/she is being naughty and intentionally doing this.
Cats are very smart and can be vindictive.
Make sure the cat has a litter box that he/she can get to at all times.
There are chemicals you can buy from the housekeeping isle that might take out the deep odor that might still linger from past animals. If all else fails the cat might have to become an outdoor cat.
Good Luck
T. T
P.S. The litter box is very unhealthy for small children and pregnant women. Very unhealthy for pregnant women.

The cat is mad at her for moving. Sometimes cats get really aggravated with moves especially when they get older. Also, possibly during the move he got scared of the litter box, I know it is weird, but it happens. Buy a brand new litterbox, put the litterbox to one side of you and pet the kitty and give affection. Don't force the cat into the litter box. Run your hand thru clean litter and pet the kitty. Make sure the litter box is in a quiet secluded spot, cats like to have privacy when doing their business. It will take a lot of effort because the cat is not going to go back to the litter box immediately. Also, make sure the litter box is cleaned daily.

Hi B.,

We are having this same issue with one of our cats. I found a good article at http://cats.about.com/cs/litterboxproblems/a/urinewoes_2.htm this article just deals with urine, but it has some good info. I think the main thing is the move. Cats are all unique and some just don't adjust well. Tell your friend to follow the steps from the article and wait it out. Good luck!

D.

Hi B.,

I had a similiar challenge when I moved into a new home recently. I have 4 cats. If the cat is not fixed,that's the first thing to do. It won't be so prone to mark territory, especially if it is a male cat. If boxed trained put the box on the carpet where they are doing that and slowly over a week or two move the box to where you want it. If there is nothing physically wrong with the cat, get a new vet. Or get rid of the carpet. I did.
Or make the cat an outdoor cat. Sometimes that's best.

Best regards,
N.

how old is the cat?
R.

Cats are so individual that I don't know if this will help or
not, but when we moved to a new home, our siamese wouldn't
come out from under my bed for the longest time. We took a
small utility closet and put a little pet door in it and
put a litter box in it....we sat her in the box and closed the
door just for a few minutes and then we took her out and
pushSed the pet door open and let her sniff it etc and then
we pushed her through it.....when she came back out she went
back under the bed of course, but in a few hours we put her
in thru the pet door again and she came back out in a few
minutes and went back under the bed....for the first month
she went from the bed to the tiny closet and back then she
started investigating the house a little at a time (checking
out the kitchen corner where I put her food and water first
of course). She would sneak out at various times and
check out the house until she was comfortable with it....
Your cat is probably just frustrated and not "feeling at
home." Hope this gives you some ideas.
G.
(Mom, Grammy and pet lover)

If someone with pets lived in the house before her and the cat is marking, she should try shampooing the carpet with vinager. It will get rid of the odor so that the cat can't smell it anymore and won't want to mark. Your house will smell like vinager for a while but that goes away pretty fast and it smells better than cat urine.

is the cat old and incontinent(sp?)? I'd try a professional cleaning where they remove all traces of previous pet odors (those are HARD to get out, and we may not smell them but your cat sure does if this is what's going on here)

Good luck!

And while the cat's been there during difficult times in life, does that give it the right to create difficult times now?

My guess is that the previous occupants of that house had pets that went to the bathroom on the floor and your friend's cat is now smelling where the old animals did it and is trying to show that it is now his territory by "covering it up" with his own smell. I don't think that putting the cat down or getting rid of it are good options. As others have suggested, have the carpets/floors professionally cleaned and hopefully that will take care of the other animals smells. Also, moving the litter box to a more convenient place for the cat may help.

Usually defacation outside the box is indicative of disatisfaction of the litter box (ie location, type of litter etc). If the cat always goes in the same spot, try moving the litter box there temporarily. She cna probably moveit back to a better location eventually.ALso worth trying a different litter. Since it's a new home, I am guessing the cat just doesn't like the new litter location.
Have patience, it will resolve. Watch the urination though, you said health issues have been ruled out...what health issues? Did they do an Xray to look forkidney stones? Because it is also pooping, it is probably the litter issue, but just keep an eye on the urination too.
Hope this helps

The people before her at that place must have had cats and this cat is trying to make the place smell like him/ marking his territory ever since. I would suggest a good carpet cleaning and something to get rid of the odor afterwards - either Febreze, or something at the pet store. Other than that, I don't know. Good luck!

My curiosity is... Did the previous owners have pets? This happened with one of my mothers cats and we discovered that it had something to do with a confusion over the smell but not presence of the former residents pets. We had all the floors professionally cleaned and the problem went away.

My goodness. there are lots of things to try before talking about putting the cat down. First off, locking the cat up (if I understood correctly) is the worst thing to do. that's only going to make kitty more upset.

I would try placing a few more litter boxes around the house. Is the cat fixed? If not, it's definitely worth doing, although depending on the age of the cat, it might not help as much.

A great resource is a pet behaviorist. Here's someone that I've worked with before. http://petbehaviorsolutions.com/

If all else fails and she just can't keep the cat, she might try finding him another home or a sanctuary that can take him. Especially if there are no issues with aggression.

Good luck to your friend. I know what it's like to have your pet be there for you during tough times.