A cat problem need help

here's the problem. At least one of our four cats has decided that peeing and pooping on the basement floor is ok. It's not. Had to take the carpet out and would like to put carpet back in but not if someone is gooing to keep that up.

the scenario:

4 cats and 1 dog live with us. Two large litter boxes that are scooped and cleaned regularly. Basement floor is an old concrete floor that used to be covered only by a carpet, no pad or anything else. Now it's just a bare concrete floor that has had the occaisional wetting or droppings left on it.

The dog has decided that he too can do this but he's not very smart when it comes to bathroom etiquette anyway.

Got any suggestions DUERS?

Maybe you need a third litter box and could put one down there in the vincity

Only, no basement. Sigh. We have four cats and one Patron Saint of Spunk, Max, a black Pomeranian. One of my cats is quite old; he's almost 19. We have another very young male cat. Everyone is spayed or neutered (well, all the four-legged types!). The boy cats like to one-up each other in the pee contest. They target anything left on the floor, and one particular patch of carpet in the living room. We have three large, well-maintained litter boxes. It's a territory thing, I guess. And sometimes, I think my little old guy doesn't want to navigate the pet doors, so he'll poop on the floor.

Oops, he knows I'm telling on him. He just came in here to honk at me and give me that long staring thing he does. He's still lovely--big, black cat with green eyes. Somewhere there's a portrait of a black cat getting older...

:)

RV

1) Never, EVER clean up a "pet stain" with ammonia or any product containing ammonia. The smell of ammonia mimics stale urine, which triggers the pet to re-mark the spot. Clean with bleach, and/or one of those pet products specifically designed to eradicate "waste" odors.

2) If it's one particular spot/area the cat is doing this in, put a bowl of food and/or water in that spot. Cats have a built-in genetic aversion to "marking" an area where food is.

Good luck!

I would make that basement off limits to all aminals!

If you discover the offending cat you could give it a
refresher course in litter training.

And do not put carpet down. Gee whiz, sorry to hear it. I tried dried peppers, Irish Spring soap, mothballs; the royal stupid-head cat just tippy-toed around all that. Dry sprinkle carpet freshener seems to annoy the royal cat-type occupant the most.

Aluminum foil? Double sided tape? Let us know what worked.

My vet says at least one box per cat. I have two cats, three boxes. Also screened them off so they have privacy. And make sure the dog isn't pestering the cat while he's doing his business. There are books you can get that offer more suggestions, or call your vet.

The others I've seen in this thread so far -- especially adding litter boxes -- are good. Also, not cleaning with ammonia -- it smells like pee to cats, and won't dissuade them from soiling the same spot. There are several good organic stain/smell removers, I know others have had good luck with them -- they remove the 'there was pee here, so it's okay for me to put pee here again' reflex.

There's also a product that's like a plug-in air freshener, only it contains pheromones similar to those produced by a mother cat; it's supposed to soothe cats and discourage them from spraying, if the spraying is stress-related. Knock wood, I don't have a spraying problem, so I've never tried it and can't testify to its effectiveness, but again -- anecdotal evidence says it works in some cases, to cut down on stress/territorial pissing. It's made by a company called Feliway -- it's a Feliway plug-in -- you can Google it, or you can check pet stores. I've seen it in several around here.

I've got a cat who does this occasionally -- poop only. She was the first cat, and she's pretty much the boss. She uses the floor when she's stressed. She hates the dog. The dog isn't leaving. Neither is she. Since it's not constant, and she's polite enough to leave her comments next to the litter box, we've just decided to just live with it. We put a cheap carpet remnant on the floor under the boxes. That way, when Her Highness decides to make a little brown editorial comment, at least it doesn't go any farther than the rug under the litterboxes.

Some do, in fact, even resort to putting cats in a cage with a litter box to retrain them to use it, especially at times they can't supervise them. It's an alternative, but I'd only use it as a last resort because I'm sure it's a pain in the neck for both the cat and the human, doing this, and even it doesn't work in every case.

And of course, the person who advised talking to a vet was spot-on. Sometimes, cats become incontinent because they have other health problems -- urinary tract infections, constipation, etc. -- and need treatment or medications.

Good luck -- wish I could be more encouraging or confident, but there's no one solution that works for every cat. Your vet also could probably make recommendations about behavioral options, especially if s/he knows your cat's personality reasonably well.

They were supposed to dissuade the cat from peeing in inappropriate places. Some of them, though, smelled like CAT PEE, I suppose to give Princess stupid-head the idea that there was a tiger or something already peeing in the room.

You are right to rule out a medical cause. UTIs are not uncommon. You all are giving me some good ideas. I just have a beautiful, neurotic animal. Not unlike some people very very close to me.

That's a more delicate term for "shit-eater" ... it's pretty disgusting actually .... but they clean up after themselves ....

Recycle ! :bounce:

have talked to the vet since one of our cats does have regular UTIs. Don't know what it is with her but she's always getting them.

multiple litter boxes might be the way to go and I had forgotten about the antiammonia cleaners. Have been using a bleach based cleaner but that was a good reminder.

IF anyone cares, we tried some new wood or cedar pellet type cat litter and I think it's great.

and I agree that you need more of them. Pee spots on the floor should be washed with bleach and then soaked with enzyme solution (can get it at most pet stores). Then spray the areas where they urinate with "Boundary" or some other repellent, or leave orange peels in the spots.


Even this may not help if you have a cat with urinary tract infection--they start to associate the pan with pain and try to void at a different spot. Try to figure out which one is doing it--even if you have to set up a video camera. The cat in question may need to see a vet.

in the spot the cat pees on. They are absolutely freaked out at the sound of piddle on the foil and will usually stop using that spot immediately.

anti-social things to get your attention. I'm assuming they have been altered. If not, you need to get both sexes de-sexed. If this isn't the case, then this means you will have to put your psychologist hat on to figure out what is bugging them. Could it be a need for sunshine or a cuddle? Why are they in the basement? Also, if there has been other animals pissing in your basement before, like other cats, dog and other critters, the smell might make them want to cover it up with their own scent.