Weeing on carpet/bed etc

[Desley (booktigger)]

Does he normally chirrup when he wees? Could be a sign that it was a tad painful.

[Christie]

 

Well done, Oliver!!

[Fire Fox]

 

[Janeyk]

Brill 

[Christine (Blip)]

It's such a relief when they get it right, isn't it?    Well done both of you and here's to a new regime of litter tray wees.

[Susan + 8]

Clever, beautiful little Oliver used his soil tray this morning and did a wee!!!!         

WOW!  I am so pleased with him  and so very glad I posted for suggestions! He knew he was being a good boy - he chirriped like a little bird the whole time he was doing it!  Thank you everyone for your wonderful suggestions  

Hopefully I won't need any tarpaulin for the bed now!!   

[Liz]

We do have a couple of pointers at the Clan and as they are both unhandlable not much chance of popping them in a crate!

I use Zylkene on my new ferals and have been giving Haper our current newbie his behind the chair in my upstairs study after he was let out by the 4 youngest former feral kittens the Oodie Doodies a.k.a. Jet, Turbo, Aztec and Maya who love to play with red toys and thought the pen catch would do!

I have used Zylkene with good effect but only on kittens 3 months and upwards - 2 Capsules a day was on the adults and one on each bowl of kitten food

Puppy training pads on top of plastic under grit boxes are also useful

My Pointers Ace and Blue have both been given the option to go and live outside and both flatly refused so afet 5 days I shut the window and both live happily on the inside with my other house cats and both adore the other cats and even the dogs just the human angle they aren't to sure of but Ace has been with us for 5 years and moved with us after drugging - he has been most distrustful of us since then and worming is a nightmare and a spread sheet!!!

[Teresa Pawcats]

Bless him,. as long as mum is prepared to keep cleaning up he doesnt know he is doing wrong.

You need to mop urine up with kitchen towel and wring it into litter tray before placing him in said tray and letting him gently smell it so he knows this is where it goes; same principle applies to stray poop too. Sometimes changing to a very soft litter can help also.

[Christine (Blip)]

when he was living as a feral he would have used soil, presumably

might be worth trying a tray with ordinary garden soil - if it doesn't work it won't have cost anything

This is a good idea - I've done it myself - but I was advised to use compost rather than ordinary garden soil in the house.  I think this is just to avoid bringing in a trayload of little critters though.

[Schmew]

Could you leave a flannel down in the hope he'll wee on that then perhaps move it into a litter tray? Also like Triggers idea and worth a try.

When i had stress wee-ers previously I ended up putting a tarpaulin over my bed whenever I wasn't in it, that stopped them peeing on the bed!

JaneyK, my old Ted bear used to do what your oldie is doing, he would do it next to the litter trays so after trying everything else I put lino over the carpet in the litter tray areas and had clean up kits ready at hand to use. Bit more management than cure but hey ho.

[Kay and Penny]

when he was living as a feral he would have used soil, presumably

might be worth trying a tray with ordinary garden soil - if it doesn't work it won't have cost anything

[Susan + 8]

Thanks Rosella, I'll give my vet a ring this afternoon  Thank you for all of your help and suggestions 

[Rosella moggy]

Amongst the remedies we've tried are Zylkene

Yes please Rosella, if that's not too much trouble? That would be very helpful. Is it safe for kittens?

TBH I'd prefer if you rang your vet to ensure you got 3rd party formal approval for use in 4 to 5 mth old kittens altho I'm almost certain it'll be OK.  I know it's perfectly OK for 6 month olds as Millie was on it for a while following her night stuck on our roof  .   Her resulting stress peeing was really bad but I think the Zylkene worked with her.  I know Liz uses it frequently with the ferals she catches and I think she allows them two capsules a day instead of normal one but can't remember how old they would be.  As far as I know there are no known side effects.  When you are happy to use it, PM your address.  I have a month's supply ready and waiting for Oliver 

I'm glad you mentioned that the Urine Off torch is useless - I was getting tempted as I already use the spray! That's a few quid saved! 

Perhaps I should clarify.  The silver one I got from them was absolutely useless but Mark got a black one from them some time before that he thought was pretty good. 

[Susan + 8]

If you saw him do this you could pick him up and place him in the tray straight after but if he's preferring a separate place for wees and poos it can be difficult some cats do prefer that but you want it to be in a tray not other places.  Have you cleaned the soiled areas as suggested on the link?

Sometimes I catch him just as he's taking up position and I will quickly pop him into a tray and reluctantly he will go in the tray...but that's only if I catch him first and then stand over him while he's in the tray!

I thoroughly clean each and every area I come across and it works in that it puts him off that particular area...but then he will just go and find somewhere else (not a tray though, unfortunately!  )

I know it is sometimes easier said than done isn't it    unfortunately sometimes it works sometimes not.  I follow my own suggestions, I plonk Pepper in his tray after but it makes not difference and I clean the area but he just goes in another spot.

Thanks Janey, at least I know there are others going through the same thing  I still love him to bits, and wouldn't trade him for the world  ....just wish he would use a tray!!! 

[Janeyk]

If you saw him do this you could pick him up and place him in the tray straight after but if he's preferring a separate place for wees and poos it can be difficult some cats do prefer that but you want it to be in a tray not other places.  Have you cleaned the soiled areas as suggested on the link?

Sometimes I catch him just as he's taking up position and I will quickly pop him into a tray and reluctantly he will go in the tray...but that's only if I catch him first and then stand over him while he's in the tray!

I thoroughly clean each and every area I come across and it works in that it puts him off that particular area...but then he will just go and find somewhere else (not a tray though, unfortunately!  )

I know it is sometimes easier said than done isn't it    unfortunately sometimes it works sometimes not.  I follow my own suggestions, I plonk Pepper in his tray after but it makes not difference and I clean the area but he just goes in another spot.

[Susan + 8]

Amongst the remedies we've tried are Zylkene (supplement that works with some cats to calm them down, I can send you some Susan if you like coz I got in loads for Freddie - seemed to work at 1st but "tailed off")

Yes please Rosella, if that's not too much trouble? That would be very helpful. Is it safe for kittens? They're still a bit smaller than average due to their feral start in life, but the vet has told me it's nothing to worry about and that they're both fit and healthy   

I'm glad you mentioned that the Urine Off torch is useless - I was getting tempted as I already use the spray! That's a few quid saved! 

Thank you for all of your suggestions 

[Susan + 8]

The easiest way to train a cat is to use a cage, that way they have little option.

Thanks Desley, problem is he's been in a cage already, when I was taming them and socialising them with my other kitties. He would wee in the bed in the cage, and also on the newspaper on the floor. I had thought he was protesting against the cage and had hoped that it would stop once he settled in properly...but it hasn't 

[Susan + 8]

If you saw him do this you could pick him up and place him in the tray straight after but if he's preferring a separate place for wees and poos it can be difficult some cats do prefer that but you want it to be in a tray not other places.  Have you cleaned the soiled areas as suggested on the link?

Sometimes I catch him just as he's taking up position and I will quickly pop him into a tray and reluctantly he will go in the tray...but that's only if I catch him first and then stand over him while he's in the tray!

I thoroughly clean each and every area I come across and it works in that it puts him off that particular area...but then he will just go and find somewhere else (not a tray though, unfortunately!  )

[Rosella moggy]

In normal circs the 1 tray per cat + another tray may be appropriate but when you have 6 cats the idea of 7 trays is a bit daunting.  A lot of cats seem to prefer weeing and pooing in different trays and I used to scoop very regularly before they started going out.  

We have 4 trays (none of them small and 1 is a jumbo).  We also have a peeing monster but he is aged 9 and been with us 4 years.  Amongst the remedies we've tried are Zylkene (supplement that works with some cats to calm them down, I can send you some Susan if you like coz I got in loads for Freddie - seemed to work at 1st but "tailed off"), Feliway, proper thorough clean ups (biological powder and surgical spirit), disinfecting trays with stuff from PAH, urine off (including their completely useless urine detector torch), other enzyme related sprays which I still use .........I've even bought mattress protectors for the beds coz of past duvet peeing ....... Liz on this site calls them "pointers"    She has two such pointers and just cleans up after them which tbh is about where I am now with Freddie but.....  

As Oliver is only a kitten, I'm pretty sure he will learn his way out of this behaviour but I would guess it is stress related due to his unhappy early start.  

I think I'd go the Feliway/Zylkene route to start with as long as you're quite sure he is OK.  Our vets test urine samples for us very cheaply though.  Think we get good deals from vet as we are in the 6 cat club  

Just saw your last post.  I think it's a question of catching them just as they are about to wee elsewhere and quickly pop them into a tray to pee.  Easy peasy (not)     I would try and ensure a tray is near to any preferred peeing spot of course.

[Desley (booktigger)]

The easiest way to train a cat is to use a cage, that way they have little option.

[Janeyk]

He could need to learn to use the tray but if his sister uses it and the others then usually they copy.  If you saw him do this you could pick him up and place him in the tray straight after but if he's preferring a separate place for wees and poos it can be difficult some cats do prefer that but you want it to be in a tray not other places.  Have you cleaned the soiled areas as suggested on the link?
I have a bit of a problem myself because my old boy prefers to do his poos on the floor but will wee in the tray (opposite to you) and that's something I'm trying to sort out atm.

[Susan + 8]

4 trays for 6 cats. They all prefer the same tray, which gets emptied twice a day and anything bigger than wee is removed immediately, whilst the other three trays are largely ignored and I clean those once every couple of days. He will happily join in and use the "favourite" tray for his number two's, he just will not use a tray for his wees. How would you train a cat to wee in tray? I know you would normally put some of their business into a tray and wait for puss to get the idea, but with wee that quickly absorbs into whatever he's chosen as his toilet it's a little more difficult 

[Desley (booktigger)]

It might be he needs training to use a litter tray, or he might be particular about the litter he uses - how many trays do you have?

[Susan + 8]

Thanks Janey.

Oliver is an ex feral kitten. I caught him and his sister a couple of weeks after a rescue trapping in my area caught their mother and brother. I told the rescue that there was still two kittens left, now without a mother, but they told me the kittens were probably dead and not to worry about it  . I eventually caught Annie and Oliver roughly two weeks after they'd been left to fend for themselves (they were approx 8 weeks old when I caught them). Oliver has preferred weeing in his bed from the moment I brought them indoors, whereas Annie happily uses her tray. He's a happy, lively, purring bundle of fluff so I don't think he's stressed to be here with me , so I wonder if it's something to do with being forced to fend for himself from such a young age?  Do you think a feliway might help?

[Janeyk]

Usually if they start toileting in different places it's for 1 of 3 reasons, health (such as cystitis), litter tray related or stress related.

I'd get a vet check first of all to rule out any health related issues. 
Also, the advise is 1 tray per cat plus 1 extra and if you've recently changed the litter that can cause  this behaviour.
Or, could there be anything that's stressed puss out recently?

This link from our Behaviour Guides section will explain further and may be of help: http://www.purrsinourhearts.co.uk/index.php/topic,26577.0.html

[Susan + 8]

Hello,

My 16-18 week old kitten appears to prefer weeing on fabric. He doesn't seem particularly picky, and has so far been to the toilet on the carpet, saturated a kitty bed and now seems to want to use my bed - I got a definite whiff of cat wee this morning as I snuggled down into my duvet - lovely! 

He's happy to use the tray for his number 2's (and not my pillow, thank goodness! ), so I'm not sure why he's decided to be different for his wees?

I have Urine Off, which is fine for dealing with the problem after the event has occured, but is there anything I can do to encourage him away from doing it at all?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions