She keeps peeing on my sofa!!!!!

[LazyHHZ]

Guys please give me some advice!!! I have a crushed velvet corner sofa and an 8 month old female kitten. She uses my couch as a litter box constantly and it is getting to the point I am struggling to cope. Her litterboxes are always clean and she spends a lot of time outside and she does use her litterboxes but she uses lots of other things as well. It is so bad now that I took all the cushion covers off of the sofa and then dowsed the cushions in pet friendly zoflora and also washed all the covers in detergent and zoflora. After 2 days of scrubbing my couch, she hadn't peed on it. I put the covers back on and the next morning I woke up and my couch was saturated in pee and a few poops as well!!! Not only my sofa though, if there is a pile of clothes, she instantly runs to them and pees on them. I was doing my laundry and I threw all the dirty clothes downstairs to go in the washer. She ran down the stairs and quickly peed all over them before I could get to her.
I do not want to re-home her and it is not even on the cards but it is at the point now where I'm in tears because I can't physically keep up with the cleaning, not to mention the damage to my couch!!!
She has been checked out by the vets and is totally healthy so definitely no health problems
Thanks guys!!

Hello. It is a pity that no one answered your message. I hope your kitten is fine and so are you. Too bad that vets didn't say anything about this. I'm mostly a dog person, but from my experience, your cat may have symptoms of separation anxiety, it's described in great detail here. This might help a cat owner too I hope.

[Sue P (Paddysmum)]

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Just one other thought:  When she "goes" does she show any signs  of discomfort, or unsteadiness on her legs?  Are her poos normal and healthy, or do they seem in any way dry or  hard?  Have you seen any suggestion of blood in her urine, or does it smell very strong?  I know she's had a clean bill of health from the vet, which is great, but was just wondering if there was anything about the act of elimination itself which is causing her difficulty when in the box (I suspect not, but as we were exploring before, it's worth looking at everything, if only to rule them out as a possible cause.)

[Sue P (Paddysmum)]

Now in my little house there is me, my partner and her. She is completely obsessed with me, following me literally everywhere I go and as soon as I sit down she is straight onto my shelf of a chest to sleep. Even if I am in the bath, she has to climb in with me and lay on my non wet chest/stomach.
She walks around in a sort of trot, skipping as she walks fast (I can't really explain it) and her tail is straight up and high.

She sounds adorable!  It's great that she's not notably slinking round, and she's holding her tail proudly.  That suggests it's not necessarily an external worry (though I wouldn't altogether rule it out at this stage).

She sounds quite bouncy, as a happy kitten should be.    And she's clearly very attached to you, her Mommy.   

We used to have a cat - the Fabulous Flynn - who used to enjoy sitting on the edge of the bath chatting to me whilst I bathed.  All was well until the day he lost his footing, fell into the water, and used me as a springboard to aid his lightning escape.  I still sport a four inch long scar on my thigh to this day, and sadly will never be a Bluebell Girl now. 

If you have a little time to spare, it might be helpful to keep a diary of the times when she toilets inappropriately, and whether you're in the house or away, upstairs in bed at night or elsewhere in the house or garden and out of her line of sight.  Sometimes this can give you a clue as to patterns of behaviour which aren't always immediately apparent.  She may be experiencing separation anxiety if you're not where she can see or hear you, especially given she was peeing on your clothes as well as the sofa..

Do you think there may be any correlation between when she began to explore outside, and when the peeing and pooping started?  If she can scent other cats outside, that might be prompting her to go outside the box, in an attempt to mark her territory.   I'm assuming she's been neutered, but even so, she may be nervous or stimulated by being able to scent other cats from the area on her patch.  Do you know if any visit your garden?

We have a bit of a wrong un in our neighbourhood, who regularly peers through the patio doors at ours.  Little Malt (the one who I was talking about earlier when she hangs over the edge of the box) goes mad when she sees him - tears around all over the house and fluffs up her tail until it's huge.  Given she's so little, it's quite funny to see, but we always makes sure she understands that she's seen the neighbourhood thug off the premises. 

Give it a whirl with some food dishes on the sofa after it's next been cleaned, and see what happens.  They don't need to her be her main food - just a small amount of treats will be fine, for experimental purposes. 

Let us know how you get on.   

[Catloverchloe]

Oh my goodness guys thankful all for the helpful replies!!! May I start by saying I never shout at her, I do not believe in shouting at animals. She is a VERY pampered kitty. She is indoor mainly but of a morning, I'll open the kitchen window for her and she will go into the back garden (never leaves the garden) and will run inside if shouted but is mostly back inside of her own accord. Now in my little house there is me, my partner and her. She is completely obsessed with me, following me literally everywhere I go and as soon as I sit down she is straight onto my shelf of a chest to sleep. Even if I am in the bath, she has to climb in with me and lay on my non wet chest/stomach.
She walks around in a sort of trot, skipping as she walks fast (I can't really explain it) and her tail is straight up and high.
Her litterboxes haven't changed since I got her. She hasn't really grown much since she was 9 weeks old so her litterboxes are plenty big for her, she can get inside them, walk a step, turn around etc. But when she "goes" she always holds onto the litterboxes edge with her front paws and have her rear end in the litterbox doing her business. Her boxes are in the kitchen (under countertop against a wall). She uses this most, in the living room (under a table against a wall), and one in the bathroom quite open. None of them are covered boxes, just tray types and are cleaned twice a day. I've actually forgotten when she started peeing on the couch, it was definitely a few months ago though.
Thank you for the info on the cleaner!!! I'll look into this right now!
Oh and just to clarify, I use pet safe zoflora and always keep out of reach until fully dried
Thanks again guys!!!

[Sue P (Paddysmum)]

Another one you might be able to track down is this one from pets At Home:


http://www.petsathome.com/shop/en/pets/simple-solution-stain-and-odour-remover-for-cats-4-litre-%28online-only%29

     I know I'll always have peeing ishoos (the cats not me .... my time will doubtless come  )     

 


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[Judecat (Paula)]

I lied, it's a enzymatic spray , the enzymes do the neutralising, the Tesco one is  just called pet odour spray, it works really well and is much cheaper than the one from the vet

Sorry, it was reading Sue's post that Rosella found made me remember correctly. I do apologise.

[Rosella moggy]

The only RX66 I can find online is in the US now but I knew I had tracked some down in UK a few months ago    I have read label on the back of the container I got last time and it's now called Command 66.  The website for the company I use no longer sells it as they appear to be into commercial cleaning services and pest control but I will ring them next time I need more (01787 248049).  Last time I rang the lady said she would ask Fred (or someone) to grab some of it next time they went to the warehouse and voila it arrived a few days later   

It is so very important to try and get rid of the smell and bear in mind that a cat's sense of smell is hugely superior to ours.

I know I'll always have peeing ishoos (the cats not me .... my time will doubtless come  ) as I have 7 of the blighters and there always seems to be a trubblemaker so marking is a bit of a problem and one cat in particular has cystitis on and off altho fingers crossed not for a while now.

Best of luck Chloe 

[Sue P (Paddysmum)]

Ah - I see Rosella has given some excellent advice and we'd  cross posted.  That's the name of the fluid, Rosella.  Brilliant stuff. 

I'd agree too that it's never a good thing to shut at or berate a cat who is soiling inappropriately (though appreciate the frustration can be immense). 

It doesn't act in the way people expect.  All it does is make the cat afraid of you, and propounds the issue.  You don't sound like a shouter though.   

[Sue P (Paddysmum)]

Catloverchloe, what you need to track down is what they call an enzymatic cleaner.  It has microbes in the fluid which eats and digests the bacteria, and neutralises their action and their scent, so making it totally odourless again.  There was a good one we used to use, but I can't recall what it was, as sadly they seem to have stopped selling it.  Still, you should be able to get one from the likes of Zooplus and Pets At Home.

It's great that you've been able to rule out any health issues, but what remains is that something major is challenging and upsetting your little girl and making her feel insecure, to the point where she feels prompted to mark everything as hers.  That's where the hard part comes in, trying to figure out what it is.

You could start with the litter tray.  Has she ever used it, or has this behaviour only begun recently?  If she has used the tray before, can you recall when she stopped using it, and whether there may have been a trigger?

Triggers can be things from changing the type of litter you use, or introducing a child or another cat, or a neighbour's cat patrolling the territory outside your home, especially if that cat isn't neutered.  It can be moving furniture around, decorating etc.  It's particularly telling that she peed on your dirty linen.  When your clothes are ready for washing, they will smell most strongly of you - "her people."  Marking them is her way of "re-claiming" them - and by extension - you from something she perceives as a threat to her relationship with you and your family.

We have 3 cats, two of which are semi feral.  They've settled a lot at 3 years of age, but as kittens, they were very traumatised and had very little trust.  Our problems began when that trust began to form.  Because they had begun to trust us, they didn't weant that taken away by any other cats (ie our large and in charge boy cat, Moray)

Barley in particular then began peeing on things - a chair in our bedroom was a favourite.  Like you, we tried cleaning it, to no avail.

What helped in our case, was using the premise that cats will not defecate or urinate where they eat, if they have a choice. 

We began putting small dishes of food on the affected areas - our spare bed, our chair, etc.  It only took two or three days, but then they realised they preferred being able to eat little treats from the dishes, than peeing on the affected areas.  We also put a couple of extra litter trays down in the most favoured ground level spots, with puppy pads underneath.  It took about a week before the peeing stopped altogether, but that might vary according to what is the trigger.

Consider the trays that you use for her litter too.  Are they easily accessible?  Are they big enough and deep enough for her?  We have a huge tray in the kitchen, which our smallest gurlcat prefers.  However, even though she's a small cat, she always manages to position herself in the tray so that her little bottom hangs over the edge and most of the wee goes on the puppy pads.     It doesn't bother us, because the floor is tiled and easily cleaned, and she does try very hard.  I think we'd need to have a very deep box type affair or a covered tray to prevent that, though I have my doubts she would use a covered tray.

That said, some cats prefer a covered tray.  Others don't.  Some cats don't like it if their tray is somewhere they think they could be "ambushed." - for example if it can be seen by external cats.  When cats leave poo uncovered, it's to send a signal and a scent marker to other cats:  "This is mine - keep away - you're not welcome!".  Doesn't matter where those cats are indoor or outdoor.  They still use the same senses that would help keep them "safe" in the wild. 

If she doesn't like the litter for some reason, she may not want to use the tray, but will use the area near the tray because she knows what the area is for. 

Where does your little girl like to hang out during the day?  Is she indoor only, or indoor/outdoor?  if the latter, what sort of flap do you have?  Does she prefer to hide under things, or be up high?  How does she walk, when she walks across the room - is her tail low, or is it high, and in the air?  These things are all indicators of her mood and her reactions tot he world around her.  A confident cat will carry her tail high, maybe with the tip crooked.  A cat who isn't confident will often carry their tail low and their ears back rather than pricked forward.   Does she like to play?  If so, where does she prefer to play?  Does she instigate play, or do you?  These things too will help give us clues to what might be going on. 

You're going to have some detective work to do to get to the root cause of this behaviour, and observation will become your best friend in that regard..

In the meantime, you could try plug ins, such as Pet Remedy or Feliway, and zylkene sprinkled on her food.  It's a non-harmful food supplement which can be very effective in treating anxiety in cats.  You can get it from your vet, or again from outlets such as Pets At Home or Zooplus online.  You won't need a prescription.  Alternatively, Royal Canin Calm dry food comprises the same proteins in it which are contained in Zylkene.  However, I wouldn't recommend feeding a totally dry diet to any cat, so you'd need to make sure she got wet food, as well. 

[Rosella moggy]

Hopefully you are ensuring whatever you wash with Zoflora is completely dry before your kitten allowed access.

https://www.zoflora.co.uk/pet-hub/pet-safety-faqs

I haven't come across using anti bacterial spray but assume same thing would apply about ensuring area dry.

So sorry you're having this trouble.  Once a cat has used an area it is so difficult to stop.  Is she stressed for some reason?  Hopefully you don't scold her as that would of course make things worse.

There's a thread that gives ideas on inappropriate soiling.  I'll see if I can dig it out. 

https://www.purrsinourhearts.co.uk/index.php?topic=26577.0

I use a product called RX66 which helps get rid of smell.  I'll see if I can find that too.

[Catloverchloe]

I haven't tried that no. Is it just any anti bacterial or a specific brand because I have been through 36 bottles of zoflora which is anti bacterial and hasn't worked. Speaking of which, I have literally just put my hand down the back of the sofa cushion and it has come out soaked through. She has peed again!!!! I just cleaned the sofa an hour ago!!!

[Judecat (Paula)]

Have you tried an antibacterial spray, you can get a spray from Tesco. You can also get one from the vet, but a LOT more expensive, it neutralises the bacteria and makes it far less likely to get repeat pees and poos. I hope that it helps.

It stopped one of mine doing inappropriate pees.  

[Catloverchloe]

Guys please give me some advice!!! I have a crushed velvet corner sofa and an 8 month old female kitten. She uses my couch as a litter box constantly and it is getting to the point I am struggling to cope. Her litterboxes are always clean and she spends a lot of time outside and she does use her litterboxes but she uses lots of other things as well. It is so bad now that I took all the cushion covers off of the sofa and then dowsed the cushions in pet friendly zoflora and also washed all the covers in detergent and zoflora. After 2 days of scrubbing my couch, she hadn't peed on it. I put the covers back on and the next morning I woke up and my couch was saturated in pee and a few poops as well!!! Not only my sofa though, if there is a pile of clothes, she instantly runs to them and pees on them. I was doing my laundry and I threw all the dirty clothes downstairs to go in the washer. She ran down the stairs and quickly peed all over them before I could get to her.
I do not want to re-home her and it is not even on the cards but it is at the point now where I'm in tears because I can't physically keep up with the cleaning, not to mention the damage to my couch!!!
She has been checked out by the vets and is totally healthy so definitely no health problems
Thanks guys!!